blueandwhite

Honestly, most feedback on Eurobricks seems to fall into two categories IMO. The first is of the "OMG, that's so awesome; I could never build something so fantastic!!" variety. This feedback is usually reserved for MOC experts and well-known builders who are frequently front paged on this and other sites (brothers-brick for example). Many MOCs by these builders will include endless comments of "awesome" and "amazing" with constructive comments being few and far between. Basically most of these posts are simply folks trying to impress upon the builder how utterly mind-blown they are by his or her work. The problem of course is that it is very hard to give constructive criticism to somebody who is identified as a "MOC expert" and not sound a bit pompous (or like a complete windbag for that matter). I consider myself a decent enough builder, but I find it very difficult to give any meaningful constructive criticism to the many expert builders on these forums. Most of the MOC experts we have here are simply building on another level making it virtually impossible to provide a comment that goes beyond "awesome". The second type of feedback that I frequently notice is where builders give advice to builders who are just starting out. This feedback is often more useful and thought out but is generally reserved for those builders who have not achieved what many would consider a true mastery of the hobby (if there could ever be such a thing). Giving constructive critique of a build is easier when you appreciate that the builder isn't significantly more skilled than you are (at this point). If I'm giving feedback to a new builder, I hope my observations are beneficial. In the rare circumstances where I provide feedback to a true master builder I am constantly concerned that my words may very well be misconstrued as arrogance rather than advice. Receiving criticism from a person who is less-skilled than you are can easily rub folks the wrong way. Interestingly enough, I find that it's the intermediate or average builder that has his or her work completely overlooked as most people simply can't be bothered making a comment. The work is neither worthy of the unconditional praise that is dumped on many true masters; nor is it easy to find meaningful or constructive criticism for these MOCs. Sometimes this means the MOCs of some pretty decent builders go relatively unnoticed because the builder isn't a member of the established building elite. This can be very frustrating for many builders because most MOCs fall into this category. Unless your MOC is exceptionally good or you are a new builder who shows some promise you probably shouldn't expect much in the way of feedback. This isn't a slight to anybody; it's just that there are too many MOCs for any single person to comment on. Ultimately most of them will go relatively unnoticed.

What's the word I'm looking for here? Awesome! Nothing else needs to be said... except awesome again!!

If that's the case, I really hope we see a UCS castle set soon as it may be our last opportunity. A joust set does sound appealing as it could come with copious helpings of brown bricks and tiles for the fenced areas. If Kingdoms is a dud like your suggesting, we'll probably be seeing elves and dwarves again in the near future. This should thrill most fantasy fans!

Good stuff. There are a number of nice details in this scene. I particularly like the water pump with the lightsaber handle as a spout. You seem to have all your bases covered when it comes to key buildings for a western town including the necessary casino and saloon. Sinners can then go to church after a night of debauchery provided that they don't end up in lockup at the Sheriff's office. Now that you've photographed the town, the real question is whether it has been 'blown up' for parts yet.

This looks so good in these photographs! Si, I was wondering how long the exposure was for these shots as they look absolutely perfect.

I simply hope that LEGO continues to use these wonderful pieces in large quantities. They are easily one of the most versatile bricks out there (probably the most versatile brick we've seen in the past 5+ years), so seeing the available supply of cheese slopes dry up does not appeal to me in the slightest.

This is an amazing MOC. It was definitely one of my highlights from Brickfete as you really need to see it up close to appreciate how cool it is. I can't wait for version 2.

That's just as well because printing seems brighter on light grey/bley than it does on brown. The old forestmen shields were brown but even when new, the printing seemed dull compared to the other factions.

You don't need to be an expert on the middle ages to see that there isn't a lot of historical accuracy happening within the Castle theme. The middle ages spanned several centuries and produced a wide range of tools and costumes which varied greatly century to century. If you consider how much fashion has changed over the past 30 or so years, just imagine how dramatically things would have changed over a span 10x as long. The various helmets given to LEGO's knights is probably accurate enough for a children's toy, however a Knight wearing a bucket helm would not likely be riding side-by-side with a knight who was wearing a close helm or armet which came into use centuries later. The scale mail worn by many of LEGO's infantrymen would predate both. Kettle helms were certainly worn throughout much of the middle ages. The bullet helm and nasal helm are probably meant to be early medieval helmets with a chain mail aventail though neither helmet looks particularly close to anything you would find in a history textbook. Whether the knight/infantryman has printed mail or a surcoat doesn't really say anything about the way they are armoured considering that it was common practice for some time to wear a surcoat over your armour; a practice that was only discarded in the late middle ages. Of course, when it comes down to the accuracy of costuming soldiers didn't wear a standard uniform to begin with so the idea of lining up 300 black falcons or crownies doesn't really fit with what a medieval army would look like anyhow. As you mentioned, oval shields were typical in the early middle ages but dropped as armour developed. The heater shield (triangular shape) was more common in the later middle ages but would also be dropped as armour continued to improve and the use of two-handed weapons became more common. Simply put; if you're looking for historical accuracy you're going to have to make some pretty dramatic modifications to your figures.

I'm a huge fan of large interiors and this is both large and an interior so it wins on both fronts. I have to say that the mottling in the walls is fantastic. You've mixed a wide range of colours together that in most circumstances should not work, yet they work perfectly here. The dark green in the walls strikes me as being particularly bold. Good stuff!

Amazing work is par for the course from you Andy! Seriously, the texture in this MOC is unbelievable. The extensive use of goblets to create the facade of the cafe is probably one of the more original part usages I've seen in a long time. The best part is that it's unbelievable straightforward. Seeing the textured 1x2 bricks that are hidden behind the goblets only enhances the effect. This MOC is simply too cool for any additional words (from me at least). Kudos, and keep putting the rest of us to shame ! We love every moment of it.

This really is a fantastic little scene. My only suggestion would be to add a walkway along the inner wall for your defenders. As it now stands, the wall around the city would be difficult to defend given that the soldiers on the inside don't actually have the high ground. The scene itself is quite attractive. I think you simply need to improve the fortifications a bit. A microscale castle or stone fortification behind the small city houses would also make the scene a bit more imposing.

At $40 this is a steal! Other than a few gems like 6085 and 6074, this is one of my absolute favourite classic-castle sets. The figures are wonderful and the colour-scheme is nearly perfect with the red roofing and yellow tudor wall pieces breaking up the drab exterior. Even though you're missing a few pieces, the heart of the set is still there. As I consider this the last truly great classic castle I can say I'm really impressed and more than a bit jealous. Great find.

I saw this the other day and thought about leaving a comment. I really like this scene. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a cutaway showing the caves below or if the earth has given way to reveal the long-since deceased dwarf miners. In either case the scene is quite well done. I quite like the way you have the rail car in the background. I also like that you've managed to blend the light-grey elements with the dark grey ones by casting them in shadow. Good work!

If the rumored list is true, you have to wonder what will become of the Green Lantern. He isn't mentioned anywhere. On the DC side of things this line sounds like a Batman line with a few A-list cameos from Supes, Luthor and Wonderwoman. If his Comic Con fig is the only LEGO version of Green Lantern made available, prices will go through the roof! The absence of other heroes is a bit disappointing though.

This question really depends on what you're looking to build. From the classic spaceman in your sig, I'm guessing that you're probably looking for something more sci-fi. Amassing a surplus of bricks that you'll never use isn't necessarily the best way to build a collection. Assessing what you need and then searching for an appropriate source of parts is a good way to go. As others have mentioned, for general bricks most of the S@H exclusive sets will give you a better return on your dollar. This is also because many of these sets contain many small elements as opposed to a few large, specialized ones. Of course, not all parts are created equally. A cheese slope, while incredibly useful in large numbers hardly carries the same value as a ship hull piece. It's important not to fall into the trap of thinking that more pieces make a set more valuable. If your looking for a general assortment of bricks that can be used across a range of themes, I would guess that Tower Bridge is the best value for your money right now. As a set it probably won't give you everything you need, but it will certainly provide you with a nice foundation of bricks. If you have more specialized needs you probably need to review your options more carefully to determine which sets are going to give you good value.

Excellent work. More than anything else, I'm impressed at how smoothly the reddish brown has been incorporated into the design with the old brown hulls. This really looks incredible. There really isn't much to be said here as this is easily on of your most beautiful works thus far. I look forward to seeing her along side her sister ships in the future.

Oops . Yeah, I guess it would have been a bit easier to explain the details if I had provided them to you first. Also, you've got to give Space its due; that display was really something else. Actually, sand green is still available. Sand green 1x2 bricks aren't terribly hard to come by but they aren't common. Sand red was discontinued a number of years back so sand red 1x2 bricks are very pricey. I purchased a number of service packs with the sand red bricks in 2001 at $6.00 per 100 1x2 bricks. Today on Bricklink, a single sand red 1x2 brick will usually set you back about a dollar. I have 500 of them so at today's prices I wouldn't have used them. This is one of the things about Caerlaverock castle that appeals to me. When I was planning my castle I had also considered modeling it after Bodiam Castle in England, but that castle is rectangular and IMO, not nearly as interesting. I also like the feel of the tudor sructures. I actually borrowed this from my previous castle Brickmoor as it was one of that castle's stronger features. I felt that the tudor buildings added a bit of variety to a structure that was otherwise predominantly grey. I toyed with using tan or yellow for the tudoring, but I found that it was too distracting so I went with white and black which are relatively neutral. Thanks again for the comments. They've been really positive and greatly appreciated.

This is going to look fantastic when it's finished. The colour-scheme and unique shape of your make it quite eye-catching. I know this has been asked before, but is that the final length or are you looking to acquire more hull sections before you finish it? She looks quite impressive but she could certainly stand to be a tad longer. I'm looking forward to seeing the final build soon.

This room was something of an accident. I ended up with a lot more interior space than I initially expected allowing me to make a second great hall. When I was first designing the room, the floor was studless and the ceiling and walls were as they are now (covered in studs) so I started sticking random jesters on the wall. I liked how they filled out the space so I decided that having a bunch of gravity-defying jesters was a way to make this smaller hall stand out from the larger hall that now rests at the back of the castle. Maccusswell was built with this room in mind. I was largely inspired by some of the great interiors I'd seen done by other castle builders like Jojo and . Interior spaces seem to be something that a lot of Castle builders ignore, however they can look quite impressive when given a bit of effort. Maccusswell was designed to open up around the great hall which actually splits into four parts. Thanks. Landscaping has always been a nightmare for me. I find that I run out of bricks very quickly when I'm landscaping. You may notice the rock patches near the moat. These were simply the result of running out of green bricks and plates. I'm going to need to build up my collection a bit before moving on to future MOCs.

This is a nice little manor house you've constructed here. The mottling is well done and the landscape is quite pleasing to the eye. The curved stairway in the courtyard is also very attractive. I do think that the back wall could stand to be a few bricks taller but this is a very minor point as the whole MOC is quite pleasing to the eye.

There are a few things you could do to improve the river. First, the river's proximity to the church is a bit awkward. It seems very unlikely that the builder would choose to build his church so close to a river. The river is literally on the church's doorstep. A second thing is that the river is actually above ground level. This looks a bit unusual as most bodies of water would be lower than ground level. To modify this you could build up the ground using green bricks and plates. Regardless of the river, this is a pretty nice effort. Good work!

I really like the fact you can lift the roofing off to reveal the interior details. The frozen water and icicles are also a nice touch. The snow-covered tree also adds to the scene. In some ways, this reminds me of a smaller-scale version of Norro's Entrance to the Caves. This build is very clean and pleasing to the eye.

Thanks for the compliments! Needless to say, I won't be dismantling her anytime soon. The goal is to eventually build a village, a tournament and a large church to round out the scene. Fortunately for you, I have actually included 4 photos, not three in the opening post . In all seriousness, I had hoped that the Brickshelf gallery would have been moderated a tad more quickly. I'm sure that any interested AFOLs will take the time to click the links. Modularity has been a major goal of mine ever since I built my first castle. With Maccusswell Castle I essentially achieved most of the things I wanted to do with Brickmoor. I'm actually looking forward to working on some different projects including a postmill and a church (medieval of course). I'll probably add some small touches to Maccusswell as I work on other parts of the display. In fairness, the shape is not my own as it was inspired by the actual Caerlaverock castle in Scotland. Dr. Carney also did a beautiful rendition of this castle over a decade ago which to this day remains one of my favourite MOCs. Thank you again for the compliments. This castle took a lot of time to complete so they are greatly appreciated.

This is just a sign to rebuild! It's clear that you need to think bigger than a castle! I expect to see your fortified medieval city in 2 years ! (Oh, and nice storage)