Basiliscus

Interesting discussion! For once, I know exactly what I want to build. The challenge is water themed, so where better to hide the crystal than behind a waterfall? That's the plan anyway. Just ordered some stuff from Bricklink and am about 1/8 way through my entry. I really want to make sure I enter something this time! As well as that I am hoping to create a couple of all-LEGO scenes showing Bahru and Wahil discussing the crystal, and some background work Bahru does. Anyway that's a heads up!

Questions for the judges of challenge 3: One thing that Sirens-of-Titan does very well, is create a variety of scenes for each MOC. For example, on each of his MOCpages "MOCs" there are actually several distinct scenes. Given that challenge 3 has no size limit, and a story has to be told, can one enter a variety of other scenes along with the main MOC and have these judged as a complete set? Or would only the main MOC be counted? How much will the story count toward the final score?

SI-mocs - I don't think you have anything to apologise for! You're letting us get on with things and that's the way it should be. You're letting us populate the world as we see fit and that can only mean good things! SkaForHire - sorry to hear that you might not be building for a while. I hope you will still post around here...we will miss you! Well done to everyone who entered the myth challenge! Some lovely entries. Look forward to seeing all the challenge 3 entries!

With such a fantastic prize on offer...let's get Kaliphlin back to the top of the leader-board after round 3! I know I will be entering...!

Just wanted to say thanks to the organizers for putting on such a fantastic prize for Challenge 3. Whoever is lucky enough to win it will be delighted I am sure!

Love the variety of the scenes you build. Some simple yet fantastic techniques used throughout. Keep up the good work!

Interesting discussions there about the future of GoH. I personally wouldn't add any more guilds at this stage, maybe if after a year you want to mix things up then you could introduce them then and allow the people to change guild. I think it will just depend on participation levels - maybe after 1 year everyone will be burnt out with Historica MOCs and want to build in other themes - I know for one there are a few non-Historica things I would like to attempt, but due to a general lack of building time I can only really focus on GoH. I think as the bar is raised the number of MOCs will reduce - there are a core of members contributing regularly and I guess ultimately they will be the ones who take things forward in the next stage. But that is all far in the future at the moment. With regards to Challenge III, I have a fairly good idea of what I'd like to build. I think my MOC will probably show Wahil's son Bahru finding the crystal, after all Wahil is far too old to go hunting around in old buildings!

Lovely work. The architecture is fantastic, and a lot of nice little details - such as the timbered effects, windows and door. The angled bridge is nicely done, and the colour blocking is very natural. One thing though - the water is a bit basic and I would have liked to see the water level reduced a bit (otherwise it looks like it is overflowing!). Overall though, a great MOC.

Nice work. Great to see you continuing with this faction! Look forward to seeing the adventures!

I've added some information on my characters. The Wiki is a good idea!

The Wiki looks good. I have written a few things and I will try and add some more information on it sometime over the next 2 weeks! Well done gabe! You're looking like the man to beat at the moment! I was wondering - how does the points system work? Is the 500-odd points added to the 600-odd from the watchtower challenge? Looking forward to challenge 3 - hope it is announced soon!

robuko - thanks for that information! That's very helpful as I would like to enter challenge 3 and the sooner I start thinking about it the better, particularly if there is no size limit! At the start I was trawling through all the guild threads but as the number of posts has increased I no longer have time! Good luck with the round 2 judgements! A question for Simon: are the free builds being judged? If so, can you tell us anything about the points system for them? If so, can you tell me if my stained glass window was counted as a free-build? Thanks!

Mini challenges sound good! I'm not too good with myths, so I might give this one a miss, but I am going to try another free-build before the next competitive build! Good luck in the embassy scoring! I didn't enter but I will be cheering you all on! Woop woop!

Thanks for all the comments everyone! Thanks for that. I did notice a couple of areas on the lion where I could have done a bit better, being a perfectionist and all! I included the shields on the stone guards at either side to ensure everyone would know what it was supposed to be! There are legs for the lion but sadly you can't see them due to the statue! PS - I love your new avatar - it looks great! There is a mixture of cheese wedges and trans plates. Basically, how it was done was behind the main window there are a load of 1x6x5 panels in trans-clear. These allow light through but, if you arrange them as in the photo on Bricklink (i.e. with the flat bit facing the camera) then they provide some stability for the window itself. Then, on each side there is a row of 1xN bricks, so the window is held in place on three sides. Gravity is your friend here - some of the window is attached (the more you can attach together the more stable it is) but unfortunately I didn't realise how rare trans-clear tiles are so I had to improvise and use trans-clear cheese pieces (that was the hardest bit - where a tile would have done the job I had to rework some of it to take cheese slopes). Most of the upper part of the window is purely held in place by gravity but you'd be surprised at how stable it is - a little bit of friction goes a long way! In general I dislike cluttering my Flickr photostream with WIP shots etc but if you want a better look PM me your email address and I will send across some photos. Hope that helps! I hope this won't ruin the magic but I cheated and did it in Photoshop! I could have tried to get a shot like this naturally, while I am not lazy I am very impatient so I didn't bother. I use two lights - one set placed higher up to illuminate the interior and another one behind the window but at an angle so as not to oversaturate the window (I wanted the interior to be dark so it was always difficult to get a good range of light). Then I did the same technique used to do High Dynamic Range imaging. I used this same idea in a previous MOC (for the left-hand light). Basically, what you do is you choose a single photograph taken by the camera. Then in Photoshop you take this image and make one copy which is under-saturated (very dark) and one which is over-saturated (very light). Then I put the lighter image behind the darker image. I then turned the darker image into a layer mask and etched out the centre so that you could see through to the lighter image. I discovered that if I only made the brush 50% transparent at this stage it gave it the eerie "misty" look shown here. It was a bit of trial and error to get right, I won't lie to you! If you have Photoshop Elements 10 if you PM me your email address I will happily send you the .psd files. Sorry if that wasn't what you imagined - it wasn't as skilful as obtaining this naturally but hopefully it looks ok!

I think this is a great example of a great idea well-executed. The details are fantastic - the ornate ballroom floor, the musicians balcony, the pool, etc! All add to the atmosphere. However, the exterior is no slouch either! It looks fantastic! What a nice sense of scale you get from looking at the photos, and the fact you had room for two buildings just adds to the fun. Well done!

Brilliant entry gabe. A very innovative shape and lovely round roof using what I think is a new part? The overall architecture is very appealing, the way you've mixed in some gold with the white works very well. The dark tan and the trans-green for the swamp is excellent too. The well-built interior rounds off a top build. My only criticism is that on a couple of the photos it seems very "busy" (primarily the fourth one down). There are so many rich colours popping out at me! However, this is a very minor point and I wouldn't want it to detract from what is otherwise a fantastic entry and in my opinion will probably place very highly in the competition. Good luck!

Well, since I didn't manage to enter the embassy challenge, I can say this: this is my favourite entry of all the guilds! (Don't tell Lord Flagg that!) Where do I start? Firstly, the photography is excellent. Everything in focus and no clutter in the background. The palm trees are great, the colour blocking is tidy and natural, the gate is beautiful (my favourite part ) and the main tower is simple yet fits in nicely. Those gold gratings are perfect for the architecture. One criticism - you should put a link to your Flickr on the photos and in your signature! I would like to favourite these!

Fantastic work and a strong entry for the Kaliphlin cause. You've used simple techniques to create some lovely architecture. The combination of tan and light bluish grey looks beautiful. One thing - the photos on Flickr seem a bit blurry? I hope you don't mind me pointing that out.

Very nice MOC. Great interior and I love your army design. Good luck!

Fantastic story, very believable. And nice scene too...especially the boats!

Brilliant work. A fantastic addition to the Kaliphlin guild! Some fantastic little details in here. Firstly I love the exterior and the way that you mixed Kaliphlin and Mitgardian styles. I particularly love the roof - it reminds me of an Orthodox church or similar. But me the interior makes this MOC. Firstly, you bothered building one (I rarely do) but secondly I love the little details. The bookcase, fireplace, lighting, etc! The list goes on! All is excellent and wish you best of luck in the contest.

Nice work. Lovely foliage detail and the windows are great.

Nice work! Good entry. You've captured the Kaliphlin architecture very well and I like the exposed wooden beams. Good placement of minifigures. One thing is though - the colour mixing is a bit overpowering - there are so many colours overwhelming the eyes!

There's been some excellent embassy entries so far, keep it up loyal Guildsmen! As I mentioned previously, I won't be entering the embassy challenge, but here is a free-build (click the picture for a link to the Eurobricks thread): Now I am off to build a Sudite temple, hopefully finish it soon!

Hi all, After a busy start to the year, sadly I won't be able to enter the embassy challenge, but I have been working on this. I wanted to do something a bit different from the Sudites faction - I imagine this as an Avalonian style church in Stone Town, Isle of Gorr. There's only one shot, so enjoy what little there is! ***** Inspired by Those Who Have Gone Before by Cuahchic, on Flickr A young knight visits the tomb of his ancestors to pray for their assistance on the eve of his first battle.