SkaForHire

I know the feeling about the far distance from a Lego store, I spent most of my life in NW PA, there is nothing there but ONE TRU. SInce you are in the USA, look for TRU sales (if you have a TRU). They usually do BOGO 50%, so even with the mark up on non licensed sets you are saving money. On licensed sets, its usually the bigger the set the more likely you will save money. As for the chess sets, I think those make great Kaliphlin or Avalonian troops. Some people here might trade you for the other half so that you can get double -- or maybe you can go splits with someone from another guild. Unfortunately, since many of the dragon troops have the dragon chest logo, that screams more Avalonia to me. Although, there is no set insignia for any guild, we kind of just gravitated towards certain looks over time. Avalonia went dragons early, Kaliphlin eventually adopted the lion unofficially, Mitgardia doesn't really have an insignia, and anything goes in Nocturnus. But Like I said,people use all of the different heraldry in each of the guilds. Their are black falcons in at least three of the guilds, I use bull knights in Kaliphlin, crownies are abundant in at least three of the guilds. So really, anything goes. I like Alt bricks, at least the foliage does not look that bad in my opinion. I have some roof pieces that I would not buy again because they look too different. There are many photo tutorials on this site, I just don't have a link to one. I am guessing there has to be an Iphone tutorial.

Your right about the modernity of Fort Dextrus, in medieval English I suppose it would be Dextrusfort. I really do like Knight's Climb as it plays off Queen's Cross, but I got to name that one too, so I might be partial. Whoops... rest of post. I do hope it becomes a group build like the other two guilds have. We probably need one of those.

Hello Grazing, some people use their Iphone exclusively, so you might not need to upgrade camera just yet. If you are set on upgrading, knowing your budget would help some of us make suggestions. The first question, what country are you from? That might help some of us give you suggestions. In the USA, I hit any lego store wall I can, usually a few times a year they will have foliage. In my opinion, this is the best way to beef up on newer foliage. I joined Kaliphlin and though, heck I would never need green or brown, that is a lie. No matter what, get all the brown half arches you can find. I would check the tree guide in the history forum for more ideas on foliage. As for entry buys, it depends on what you are planning on making. If you want some good classic castle looking stuff, you are in luck -- the new castle line is cheaper than LOTR and just came out. With a few good sales, you coulg get your figure count up quickly (although the blue figures scream Cedrica or Kaliphlin, the red/black figures with new arms could fit pretty much in any of the guilds). If you want that more "earth tone" feel, LOTR sets are going to be your best bet, the first wave should be retiring soon, so there may be some deals to be had. Also, I bricklink a lot of (too much)stuff. As for selling, ebay is probably the fastest sell.

Great points and suggestion. As for joining, you have the basic gist. You can also build both Avalonia and Mitgardia MOCs, although perhaps for the guild you do not join, you could have a character that you control from your home guild "visiting" the location that you have put up the MOC. There really are no strict rules here, other than don't off someone else's character without their permission.

I will respond to that, since he is on a plane right now going back home. He made an interesting "on the way to MS" MOC before leaving my house. Although he didn't take his sigfig home, so I guess we won't see Sergio much more after this for a while (not that we saw a lot of him anyway, he only was in the battles and a few of MY MOCs... Scarst did build most of the Battle of Khordeem scenery though). He should post it tonight or tomorrow with the story. Edit: as for his fig, when I had to make it, I just stuck him in a breastplate with green arms and legs. That beret is hard to get though. I only had one.

Eastgate is called Eastgate because it is the gate to the East from Avalonia and they mystic isles. It has always been debated land between the former rulers of Avalonia's predecessors and Kaliphlin. The escarpment outside of Queen's Cross (where I built my tower) has a road, that has a series of fortifications called the Jackal's teeth (NM's creation) I assume that the northern road has a similar series of fortifications. I thought that road had a name, but I don't see one. We could get really creative and call it Northgate. HA. Or Dragon's Fangs, or Kaliphlin City, or "the heights of _______," Whatever it is, I think the people of the town should really hate Queen's Cross for taking up most of the trade into Kaliphlin. They should feel a bit miffed by the authorities. Or, even better, make it a toll road. Other names, Al'Grace, Edmond's Tower, Knight's Climb, The Crossing, Redgate, Gatetown, Stargate(hahaha), Fort Dextrus

Definitely understood. I hope you passed with flying colors!

I promised I would come make a few notes, and Kabel deserves more bumps for his awesome guide. There are a few things missing here that I thought needed added. I don't really see anything wrong historically, so all your facts seem to be straight. I also think you probably have not gotten to Carrack and Galley yet, so I will only make a few comments about them. For Caravel, it should be noted that these were really the first non-oar ships in the Mediterranean, as most ships had been Galleys and Galleas (sp?) in the inner sea since the Phoenicians. However, what made them unique is the depth of haul, as even galleys were starting to get lateen sails by the later middle ages. The hull depth allowed for two things, carrying more cargo - and more importantly - stabilization on higher waves out at sea. Whereas the longboat or galley would tip over if hit by a 10 foot wave on its side, a caravel would "roll" over the wave because of the buoyancy of the portion of the ship below the waterline. This is what allowed Columbus and the curious Portuguese sailors to get more "daring" in their travels into the Atlantic. As for the fighting cog, these were mostly rowed at each other, strapped together, and the participants would fight as if on land, until one side was the victor. The battle escapes me at the moment, but during the 100 years war there was an attempt at a mass channel crossing, and this was the largest of these types of naval battles that we know of. Once I find the name I will link it. Like you pointed out, these fighting cogs had castles on both ends of the ship, usually for archers. However, most battleships of this era, even on the Atlantic coast were some form of galley, as they could be equipped with a ram, were faster, more maneuverable, and did not require that much precision to build. Since most naval battles happened within earshot of land, they did not need seaworthy vessels, just those that would float long enough to survive the battle, so shallow draft vessels were ideal. I will add more if I think of anything, but that is what came to mind after reading the guide.

@kabel The best pic I have is this one http://www.flickr.com/photos/65096750@N07/6883838651/in/photostream/ unfortunately, I can't figure how to share a picture off an account that is not my own on the new Flickr. (I lost the password for that original account last summer, and have a new one) I mostly deal with the later types of ships in my own work (1500s - steam power), but I do know a think or two about medieval ships. I will go make some comments. I have read it, but didn't have time before. There were a few little details I noticed.

No, it was built into the challenge (it was stuck in the ice)... I was just giving you a hard time :)

Nemo, I am really glad you joined (rejoined?) GoH. Excellent work from you, as always.

Hey my challenge II had a ship in it! I also find it funny that DM made Cannondale, but it was a good pick, as everyone else is dead, ruling, or in jail. (Spoiler)

But in Nocturnus, they are just dieing for you to join.

Good thing my character is already dead, DaMaximus is clearly planning to reenact the red wedding at this party. Anyway, interesting little scene here. I like seeing a lot of old characters, what happened to Darecold anyway?

Very cool, great features. I agree, those doors are awesome. I like that it is two-sided, and you have most of the basic castle functions covered in your build. Great job!

That does explain it more. Nice pictures, a fearsome little vessel... I suppose it would be used mostly for reconnaissance?

That is pretty cool - is it magic based? Or does it run on some other sort of power?

I think it was just a difference across the pond, Hollow lanes is apparently what they are called in England, so all is good. I was just confused! Still, very cool MOC!

So, your foliage was so good, I did not realize this was a sunken road until you all were writing about wikipedia. I think we mostly call them sunken roads here, but I like the term Hollow Lane better. I was trying to figure out why you called it a hollow lane... haha. G Great job here!

Great figures, indeed! Really nice road MOC. Look forward to more.

Number one source of news in Historica though...

Good work, nice rocks, nice pictures angles. Better light may help, but without knowing what you are working with, it may be hard. You have a good white background, but getting more light (without shadows) will really brighten this up and make the details sharper. I like the action posing, the shield is very cool.

Yeah, I suppose we kind of took over the history writing, between the early works of DaMax and myself (I penned the original Kaligem story) and then Masa, NM, and Kai, we fleshed out a lot of the pre-guilds history with a Kaliphlin flair. @LD Yes, that would be a good example of the Paris I am thinking.

Wow, explosion! Hahaha. Well, it sounds like there is a lot of good builds coming out of everyone. Can't wait to see.

@DaMax Yes, he lived, clearly. He has a secret that shall be revealed soon. I am torn about making a character from scratch to run, since I am using all but Merith in the Eastgate civil war, and Merith is part of the quest line group build we are planning, I would have to make up a new character. I killed Abu'Dun at Queenscross, he would have been a perfect choice though.