MiloNelsiano

While SK and LD might be the most extreme improvements from first to latest MOCs, I certainly don't think it would have to be limited to them. I think you could probably find noticeable improvement in anyone that's built enough.

There's a LUG in Munich called Bricking Bavaria. Their website is www.bricking-bavaria.de I've been wanting to go to a meeting sometime myself but haven't made it work yet. Different retailers have different sales all the time, so it's hard to recommend one place, but this website, www.brickmerge.de keeps track of current sales at different retailers. If you're more interested in parts, the two Lego stores in Munich of course have pick a brick walls, but a far better way is at LegoLand in Günzburg, where they have a much larger selection, and you pay per 100 gram, rather than trying to fit everything in a cup. It's a little farther for you, plus there's an admission fee, but it's probably something your daughter would love--my son sure does at least. Guilds of Historica can definitely be overwhelming at first, but lots of people dive right in and learn as they go.

I think all the ideas so far have merit, but I like this the most, as its most likely to appeal to new/would-be-members. It can be a little intimidating seeing all the amazing builds front pages every week, and it could deter members from joining because they'd be too embarrassed (I was at first) to post their beginner MOCs among all the great ones. I had also thought posting the old story would be good, but really, it's all there in the story index. If anything, that could be updated, and there would be little need for it here.

Welcome from a fellow American living in Germany (Augsburg)! If you haven't already, I recommend checking out the Guilds of Historica subforum in the Historic section here. There's lots of great builders there (Cesar Soares included) and plenty of MOCs to look at. It's a very welcoming community with a focus on helping each other build better through feedback.

Greetings, fellow Avalonians. I haven't been too active lately--work has been pretty hectic--but I have a new free build finished and two others in progress. However, the laptop I normally do my photo editing on is no longer with us, so I'll have to figure something else out before I post. However, I do have a teaser pic for those interested!

If it were a different weekend, I would definitely try to make it to steinchenwelt. Frauenfeld is one of the few Swiss towns I know (I've played basketball there a few times), but the timing is impossible for me to make this year. Hopefully there's a good turnout, and take lots of pictures for us!

Great looking first build. I especially like the rock work. I think Avalonia was indeed the right choice for you. This fits perfectly.

Thanks to all for the comments, I really appreciate the feedback. For a long time my pirate theme was always yellow, though my castle builds have always been fleshie. However, I decided I'd like to try to make it work with fleshie figs. The toughest will be the islanders, although I do have a few ideas for them. There are two islanders in this build actually, even though it's probably a little early to have them involved with the Sea Rats in this way. I went with the straight line as that seemed most realistic for the tide line. However, looking at the pictures, the very distinct line does bother me a little too. Unfortunately, no. I ran out of wedge pieces to make the walkway flush with the border (one of many complications I ran into after deciding the build should be diagonal, which ended up being pretty pointless since the only thing at 90 degrees with the baseplate is the water and border), so I just had the border run underneath and planned not to photograph the build from that side. It would seem, however, that I got rather sloppy with the pictures. And then I got lazy and decided not to fix it! Yeah, I thought about that a little bit. It's hard to MOC in a town that was just built, as it really is hard to know how far along they are with building everything. I don't think the buildings are too far ahead of what could be expected, though the solid brick pier might be a little advanced (especially without a current stone quarry in the area).

Just posted a new Bastion build. There's nothing to be licensed, but here it is.

Revenge on Mardier -- MiloNelsiano -- Sea Rats Fate of the Dogged Wench -- MiloNelsiano -- Sea Rats

News of the decimated fleet soon reached Bastion. Hearing that one of his ships, the Dogged Wench, had been lost at sea, Captain Quick soon began plotting revenge. He gathered the lowest of Bastion's citizens that he could find; murderers, thieves, deserters, smugglers, poachers, vagrants, and even a lawyer gathered, men from all over the known world. The commotion attracted some of Bastion's industrious women to stop by to watch. Better pictures of the figures under the spoiler. Well, I've been wanting to do a MOC with the MMV buildings ever since I got it (thank you, fred67!), and I thought it would fit in a pirate scene just as well as a medieval scene. After starting the build, I got a very bad urge to do a pirate figbarf, which I really had fun with. Some might be less convincing pirates than others (still unsure about using Tauriel's body) but there's a few I really like. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed. C&C welcome!

The best suggestion I have would be to bricklink different minifigs. There are several good civilian types in the castle theme (among other themes).

The Dogged Wench was attacked and was quickly overwhelmed. While the rest of the trade fleet was farther away from the attacking fleet, The Dogged Wench was quickly cut off and boarded by overwhelming numbers. Captain Withers had known and sailed for Captain Quick long enough to know what would happen should he allow his vessel to be taken. Withers would survive and be jailed long enough for Quick and his crew to break into the jail to rescue the rest of the crew. However, Withers would be killed on the spot for his failure. No, Withers would go down with his ship. Taking a torch in hand, he made his way down into the hold where the powder was kept. Hacking into the nearest keg of powder with his cutlass, he lit the powder as it spewed from the gash. The Dogged Wench blew, taking out numerous soldiers that had boarded, and damaged enough of the ships around to enable the rest of the trade fleet's escape (for the time being). [/url] Well, I was trying to make this little build look like a dark, cramped hold that might be found below deck. I think I accomplished that, however, the result caused difficult bad photography.

Definitely one of my favorite microbuilds. Great work, especially on the house.

All the tasks on the first page of Avalonia except the attack of the drow are a good start. I think in book 3 it will start over and we'll have to reclaim. Looking at the map from book 1, there's a BIG difference.

Glad to have you! It is not required to select a piece of land, you can live in an already established location. You don't have to be the ruler of the land you select either. Picking out your land allows you to decide what is there, and that includes buildings, landscapes, people, background stories, etc. While you'll have one main sigfig character, you can come up with lots of other characters that live in your land. If you want to build in someone else's territory, it's best to ask, but as long as it's a reasonable request, I'd have a hard time imagining someone saying no.

I'll start by saying don't worry about asking nooby questions--there's tons of information here and understanding it at first can be overwhelming, or at least it was for me a first. Interior builds is absolutely fine. You can build what you want as long as fits within the developed parameters (Fantasy medieval, as opposed to steam punk or firearms). There may be some contests where you have to build outside, but you're never obligated to participate in them. While we would definitely love you in Avalonia, if you think kaliphlin's style suits you more, then go with what you're most comfortable with. One of the main focuses here is to improve your ability to build, so you're always encouraged to step outside your comfort zone to build something you've never done before. By trying new things and receiving feedback, building abilities are improved. If you feel most comfortable building interiors in kaliphlin, go ahead and start there. Eventually you can work your way to building landscapes (small at first if so desired), or you can work your way into building different styles from the other guilds. Or if you only ever want to build interior kaliphlin builds, then you only build those. It's all acceptable, we're really just happy to have more people involved!

Do trade companies have their own money pool? Where money earned must be put towards furthering the company? Or does the money earned go directly to the builder of the specific building, or get distributed evenly among members, or does this vary upon the company?

Would someone be willing to explain Merchant Companies a little better? I've been trying to find more information but I'm still struggling to understand them. What are the pros/cons? Is this also for Sea Rats or just for the other factions? A little more thorough explanation than what I'm seeing in the economy rules thread would be very helpful!

Could anyone tell me if Macy's plume works on the Roman helmet? I think it should, but just want to make sure it doesn't hit the neck guard in the back.

Everything about this build is great, but the bellows and the rats struggling to operate it are just awesome.

Thanks for the feedback everyone, glad you liked the shrub idea. You're right, but the rest of those pieces were tied up in a different build, and I didn't have the time to make it work. I also wanted a bigger build in general, specifically where the Algus is to show the changing weather, but haven't had the time this month to make it work.

Thanks everyone for the feedback! They do have 8 legs, but the two in the back are particularly hard to see.

Thanks for the feedback guys, this turned out a little more simple than I originally wanted, but I was pleased with it given a busy schedule. The barricades on the sides would drastically slow their march and let the archers pick them off. It's not shown very well but they would extend out to the edges of the mountain where passage for an army would be impossible. Thanks, I actually got one set of the ghosts in a copmike Christmas raffle 2? years ago. The other set I got when my father in law bought me the corsair set. I didn't really know what to do with them because they're so specific to the movie, but I think they work ok for avalonian soldiers.

[The Frozen Beyond, Cat. A] Hadrian's Pass [The Frozen Beyond, Cat. B] Ice Spiders [The Frozen Beyond, Cat. C] Fire Shrub