robuko

So many superb ideas here, great thread! Those space marines are incredible. Yes to neo M Tron and exploriens, I love those simple play features. Yes! Good humans, bad humans, neutral humans, greedy and morally flexible humans. Red, yellow, blue, black, white? Whe I saw the first shots for AC I really hoped the alien commander genotype was a chaotic rogue alien faction fighting the uglies on Earth's behalf, but, no, just another green baddie. Lego's HR department must a be pretty tough place for green aliens. Earth colonials have got it coming to them, the distinct freedom-loving alien factions should team up and force some aggressive negotiations. Yes and yes. Like in Neuromancer. Space rasta pirates. And a space rasta pirate monkey, if you must. I would prefer a space rasta pirate dog. Ninjago 2012 has lovely parts and just needs a little nudge to build the perfect neo insectoids set, a giant green praying mantis insecto-base. Head is a detachable stubby double-bubble delta fighter. One arm is a super cannon and the other is a salvage claw. Body is a research lab cum buggy carrier, revealed when the wings spread out. Legs could be motorised like a zoid or AT-AT. Pilots are Twitch-headed. Doesn't have to be aligned with anyone. I want to build this but probably I'll never get round to it.

Grum64, your story is amazing, and humbling. I am sure your grandson must be so proud of you, and I am overwhelmed by your achievements. I was so pleased when I finished the Unimog, the thought of building it as you do is fabulous. What size are the clamps you are need? From your description, I guess the ones you are using are quite small, but for the use you require, I wonder if it would be possible to rig something up from technic. I am not a skilled builder, but it sounds like you want to have something a little like 2 parallel arms that will close their clamps simultaneously, with equal pressure, and in parallel. I am seperated from my bricks at the moment, so I can"t make anything, but the mechanism I am thinking of would be a little like 2 of the arms from 9189. Would it be too large? Maybe we should make this a technic challenge, there are so many talented builders here, I am sure someone has the answer. bricklink is a reasonable guide to seller prices, for reference, although it would be an upper limit for almost all auction sites.

Thanks WhiteFang for another fabulous review. And thanks lego for another amazing series, with so many new moulds, and for being a bit more sensible with distribution. Much against my expectations, the bagpiper is my current favourite. Surely the flower stems are too useful to be exclusive?

Mpya Stedor is developing beautifully and with a great cast of characters. Great stuff DaMaximus. Mikel, best spider ever! Great legs and use of a tyre. Now I see the whole point of that geonosian torso= female knight debate, looks perfect in tan. Erynlasgalen, I have serious PaB envy now. Your grotto looks lovely, especially the floor and ceiling, very nice texture and lighting. Is anyone planning to go underwater for Challenge 3? It seems like a bit of a gift to Kaliphlin, but it`s hard to get it right. My best idea now is themed on flying fish.

Congratulations! You have been absolutely excellent as a mod and you will be sadly missed here. Great news for you!

Simply inspired. Well played, the lipstick is genius but the whole thing is great. The manifolds, lowline roof and the ducktail all stand out, while the cars chairs are a massive win.

I think this is a nicely built model, but most Japanese people would find it in very bad taste at an especially sensitive time. I was in Tokyo in 3/11, and the stress of getting my family out after the first reactor blew is not a pleasant memory. The land side looks very realistic , but I do not think the wave is accurate. Almost everything I have seen showed it not as a wall of water, but as a tide that didn`t stop rising until it destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. There is a very very big debate in Japan as to whether the complex was damaged by the earthquake before the tsunami btw, so showing it whole is actually quite political and sensitive too, though I am sure you are not intending to make any statement on this.

Lovely! Some really nice techniques with the arches, roof tiles, and especially the astrological arcanae! Love the mosaic! What are the yellow stars over the door? Somehow this makes me think of a Hollywood movie where there is one massive star in the lead role and a very good ensemble cast backing them up. Great job, I cannot believe how quickly you are building at this level!

Nice figs, DaMaximus! I would be equally grumpy if I was woken up and summoned Ska, that is bad news, I hope you find somewhere good in good time. We will miss your builds, but I hope you stay active. The Mitgardian bard competition is now open to all guilds btw and it would probably suit you. NM posted a great ditty, or do I mean shanty, there. gabe, wow, another smashing free build. Superb ideas from you and Kayne for guest lecturers. I would love to hear about photography, "directing" the composition ("You, minifig! Stand there! No, not like that! With more, you know, oomph! And not in the way of the background detail!), and post-production techniques to help the image. I am off agin next week, holiday this time, so I won`t get much building time for Challenge 3. Still struggling a bit to come up with something suitably on-topic yet off-beat, that I can execute on. I don`t really want to get caught up in a bestiary arms race of "my dragon`s better than your manticore" - mostly because I won`t stand a hope at brick built beasties! I am thinking along the lines that Water is the Significant Thing going on with our crystal....

NiceMarmot, first try or not, that is fantastic forced perspective! Nice idea on the moonlight reflection, great micro city build, and a very engaging story. Feels like a Greek myth so far, I wonder how it will end...those Greek stories always end badly Great photography too, you really nailed it with the focal length. How deep is this build and how wide is the rearmost plane? I`m guessing something like 18 at the front, 24 deep and 24 wide at the back? Looks superb.

Thanks Dextrus and the story tellers for a very entertaining evening, we have all learned much about our history and the present, and possibly ourselves. Thanks especially to the listeners. If any Mountain mummies are feeling the urge to join the Holy Order after hearing our tale, welcome all!

Gex, Is this where the crystal is hiding? Monsters, water, a thin veil between the worlds...prophetic. I like the Academy idea rather than the badge. Maye it could somehow fit in with the Petraea University Community Guild Build? (if that`s the right interpretation, I missed that discussion while I was away.) I imagine the concept of Unseen University meets Hogwarts meets Arabian Nights, it would have no time limit as a team build, it`s infinitely expansible depending on what technique you want to try next, and each module earns you Academy Architecture badge kudos depending what technique skills you used....

Thanks all for your kind comments. I have wanted to play with the idea of turning 3d bricks into a 2d background for a while, so it was nice to try with the haut-relief on the first and last scenes here. The story is sourced from the Disney Aladdin cave scene, but I needed a reason for the Monks to be Mad so..... sorry Isabella! Good point my truth seeking friend! Yes, I only noticed that problem with the sun after it was too dark to rebuild and take more photos, and actually I don`t have the parts to change it. The lighting really sucks on the last shot too, making it look like the sun is on the wrong side - again! Today, the Holy Order is an educational charity with a focus on purification of the soul. It attracts those who have lost their way and are looking to forget, and turns them into rather fanatical missionaries who don`t blink quite enough. We can`t fully believe what the Duke Strange says, and there is no record of his service at the Monastery. Our friends in Abyssan don`t take him seriously anyway, he appears to be a simple good-natured eccentric who loves a good time. If they suspect he was trained at the Holy Order and is in personal contact with the profane oracles, Nocturnus might just respect him a little more. But the way it is now suits us just fine, we pay a little more this way for our brimstone, salpetre and quicksilver, but we get good volumes of the stuff, and that`s what we value right now

Brilliant gabe! I can practically hear the surf, your shoreline is very evocative. The story is very entertaining, I got the first riddle, as a good Kaliphlin, but the second one eluded me and I guessed "time" for the third. For me, the white discs are a real highlight, I have been thinking along these lines with the white curly feather bits, but the discs are an excellent treatment, reminds me of Hiroshige. The posing and body of the horse are amazingly well done and in good proportion. I would prefer a thinner neck and maybe a 1-wide head, but the wider treatment conveys a real sense of power. The investment in blue slopes is paying off!

My dearest Jarl, is this offer as open as your voting? You are my hero for narrative scenes and I would love to hear your thoughts. I am conflicted between the psychological effectiveness of the story vs the skill points for big monsters, in particular. I really enjoyed the election campaigns. My vote went to kabel purely on the skill of the builds, which were all great, especially the parliamentary scene. Congratulations to the victor, your pro-business regime will do great wonders for the local economy and we would love to help in any way we can. So that you can afford our Southern delicacies and luxuries

Really nice techniques for the floor layers and the foliage, it`s very encouraging somehow to see how the minifigs turn what was already a very promising WIP into a great dio. I like how the beakers of mead are foaming over. Yay friends! The PGTC offer our heartfelt congratulations to the happy couple. Does the young lady know about the secret torture chambers with lakes of blood?

I do like the consistency of your Quinn story, and the detailing of your finishing touches or "frame" gets better with each build. Beautiful posing and lighting. Are you using a lamp here?

Dextrus, a moving story, wonderfully told. The legend of Kathyrin leading the little ones to freedom and tickling a bear is a firm favourite in the Jones household. We all know the bear became her devoted pet afterwards, but where did the little folk settle? Kcaj, this is a really promising start. I really like the stonework in the top right corner, the guardians are brilliant, and the fountais will look amazing lit up. Mikel, a very intriguing beginning and a cautionary tale, we are curious what lies within. Duke Strange's chef Anatole begs you to preserve some of these new spiders, to serve with coffee. The spider on a string looks great. NM, "building modular" in the style of SoT and removeable walls and doing proper finishing have been occupying my thoughts lately, seen some very nicely finished vigs, I think from de Gothia, that capture the essence well. Oh, I totally agree with the comments on comments above. I am always delighted to get thoughtful C&C, but many of us have demanding jobs, families and other priorities. If I have time, I try to give constructive feedback if someone asks for it, otherwise I tend to follow the late great Nnenn's view that the model has been built as the builder wanted it, and I am more likely to note aspects that I particularly admire. Captain BB is a fantastic and prolific builder, I do wonder if his character Zakon Goldblade is a Nocturnus agent, maybe the chaos he has incited in Avalonia a couple of times is a type of gamesmanship?

Angeli, another great MOC and a suitably haunting story. Great work, love the plant life and the daemons especially.

Apologies for double post, I saw that the other entries posted as threads, so I guess I should too: There is an ancient tale, or maybe it was not so long ago, of how the Holy Order of the Mad Monks was founded, and how the great temple and its vast catacombs came to be. It began one enchanted evening in the Eastern badlands, not too far from Qarkyr. Rasputin (no relation) and his sweetheart Isabella were walking back to the village of Arrakheen after a day of talk and laughter, fruitlessly hunting for scorpions, when Rasputin stumbled over a smooth and shiny stone. Suddenly around them, the sands swirled and parted, and the head of a great beast rose from the sands. "Who dares disturb my slumbers?" roared the beast. Isabella trembled with fear but she would not be intimidated by the monster. "We are Isabella and Rasputin. Who is it that addresses us?" "Are you pure of heart and deed?" boomed the great voice. Rasputin blushed, and calculated his odds. What was the downside? "Of course we are, our honour is unimpeachable!" "Then today is your lucky day! Only the pure of heart may enter the Cave of Wonder. Great treasures, great riches await the pure of heart, but be careful what you take. Everything has a price" And they saw that the beast's tongue was a staircase down into a cave. Now, Isabella was of what passed for a rather wealthy family in Arrakheen, but Rasputin was the poor son of a camel herder and the thought of treasure tempted him greatly. If he was a wealthy man too, then maybe Isabella's father would look upon his suit more favourably. Driven by greed and his desire to win acceptance, he entered the cave, and Isabella followed. Down and down and down they walked, until the ground flattened out, and they saw a golden glow at the end of the tunnel. They walked towards it and found the source of the light was a cave filled with riches that sparkled in the depths. Isabella thought the giled cavern rather nouveau and gaudy, but Rasputin was bedazzled by the classy bling. A vast horde of treasure, gems, gold, and legendary artefacts surrounded them. They stared and stared. And jumped with fright as a golden statue of a bygone hero greeted them. "Wotcha! Roll up Roll up to the Cave of Wonder, all genuine treasure and historical wotsits of great importance. Fancy a ruby, Love? Goblet of Holy Water, Sir? Blessed with some big old crystal of something special, innit, you'll live to seven hundred after one sip. Everlasting lamp, pet? Genuine, used once, it is, be sorry to see it go, but plenty more out back in the stockroom. Impenetrable Helmet of Acathansus White, him what fought the dragons? The Key to Dokodemo Door? Takes you anywhere in a heartbeat, dunnit, even Mitgardia, brilliant piece of work that, Samurai wrought. Tell you what," and his voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, "I can do you a special deal matey, 3 for the price of 1, how's that? Now, what takes your fancy?" Isabella had an eye for the real deal and she exclaimed with delight, "Oh Ras, look! The long lost diadem of Rowena Ravenpaw! Mummy would love it! And a time turner dagger! This place is loaded!" Rasputin gaped in awe. "We'll take them, Old Hero! We'll take your Dokodemo doorkey, we'll take the Holy Water, and we'll take the time turner dagger!" They would live 700 years, with power over time and space with this trinity. "Right Guv, a very shrewd customer you are, I can see. But," and his voice dropped to a whisper again, "you know there's a price, right?" "Name it" said Rasputin in a hushed tone. "Well, not to put too fine a point on it, your excellency, but the price of immortal life and mastery of space and time is not, in fact, our cheapest deal this week. It would have to be," the statue cast his eyes at Isabella, who was still thrilling at the tiara, "It would have to be your good lady there." Rasputin considered the proposition carefully for about half a heartbeat. Isabella was a fine girl, he loved her dearly, and he had sworn only this morning that he was hers forever. But that was before he knew about the cave, so it didn't really count. There were plenty of fine ladies, and with the ability to go anywhere at any time, well, he could meet any lady of his choice. "Done" he said. And he drank the Holy Water and grabbed the key and dagger, while the golden statue dragged the weeping Isabella away. "FOOL!" roared the voice of the great beast. "Only the pure of heart may enter!" And the cavern started to fill with boiling lava. Rasputin was doomed, and worse, Isabella with him, for his greed and treachery! But no! He saw a magic carpet twitching to escape the molten rock and he hurled himself onto it as the stone crumbled beneath his feet. The headlong flight through crumbling caverns left Rasputin senseless and exhausted. When he awoke, it was already morning, Isabella was nowhere to be found, and his face was wet with tears. The magic carpet was real enough, but the knife and key were just a knife and a key. He did live to 700 though, and he spent most of those years digging with the dagger, down through the sand to find the Cave of Wonder again. He never found it. But his digging is what created the catacombs, and the rocks he excavated became the walls of the great temple we know today. And that is how the first Mad Monk founded the Holy Order. ps There is a rather interesting story that is told in the Strange embassy below stairs. We all know the current Duke says much that is nonsense. He once told a scullery maid that he owes his dukedom to a clumsy stumble, a hungry statue and a banana. No-one really knows how he got hold of that carpet.

I really like this Cristoph. Especially the shot with the burning Sun and huge camel. Reminds me of "The Hungry Caterpillar" in style. Very nice

Muad`Dib! Very nice, I have been planning something like this too, but I think you did it much better than I would have! Lovely expression on the riders` face.

This is a great build but the timing of the post is dreadful, on the first anniversary of the Japan disaster.

Wait, Avalonia has a King? We wonder what High King Darconius thinks of that... We understood that Rex was just a name, not a title. Well, your majesty, you have a wonderful throne room and our caravans stand ready to supply it with any luxuries you might wish from Kaliphlin.

Nice tower Mikel, love that baseplate! Is it duplo? Those spiders are scary. What else is in the cave? Question on challenge 3. Didn`t I just do that story for the mythMOC? Should this be one big MOC with the character moving through it? Or several MOCs? I think originality is going to be a big problem for challenge 3 - there are only so many ways to remake Indiana Jones with a dragon or whatever. Needs careful thought....