Bruce's CCCV Contest Thoughts
Yaay Bruce keep 'em coming!
Between plotting to kill you all and chasing balls of yarn, I also build [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/30639040@N02/albums]MOCs[/url]
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- Maedhros
- Knight Templar
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Hey, Bruce! Glad you liked my Nos Galan Gaeaf. Ironically enough that was my least favourite of the entries I made though
The wraith was my favourite part, but that was actually a cameo of sorts from a short story I wrote this summer. >Mistress Sorrow< (a link to the story is in my sig if anyone's interested)
Anyways, love to hear your comments. Keep 'em coming!
The wraith was my favourite part, but that was actually a cameo of sorts from a short story I wrote this summer. >Mistress Sorrow< (a link to the story is in my sig if anyone's interested)
Anyways, love to hear your comments. Keep 'em coming!
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- Augustinus Hipponensis
Yeah, I wish I had gotten mine in before Aaron's, so it wouldn't look like I copied him so much. I love those flags, they go great in later medieval MOCs. Thanks for the kind words!Bruce N H wrote:
DARKspawn's Festus Fatorum and Dan Hall's Carnival of Venice kind of go together in my head, as they have some similarities - the water and two more levels above, the flags, the crowd of figs. Actually, these also go with Giorgio's MOC above in many ways. Favorite details in DARKspawn's MOC include the flame eater, the juggler, the strong man, sidesaddle lady and the stiltwalker. The little build detail with tiles and 1x2 plates with handle under the edges of the battlements is very nice. The whole wall in eneral is very balanced and attractive. What does that guy in the water have against the poor ducks?
In Dan's MOC we've got that great use of Batman fig masks. The cobblestone design is great (inspired by a NWBC MOC?). I'd like to have better pictures of the gondola, which is nice. I hadn't seen that flag from the Avatar set before. I'll have to get some of those. The red/white poles are nice and really help set the Venice location.
PS: The plaza was inspired by a NWBC MOC.
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- Sir Dillon
- Man-At-Arms
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- Giorgio Chronas
- Villein
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Great thoughts
I think these thoughts are fantastic. Gives me a chance to relook at the entries and find new stuff I hadnt realized before. Keep on writing Bruce, you still got some more to go
Giorgio
- Bruce N H
- Precentor of the Scriptorium
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Next up, fortifications.
My own top three:
DNL's Hrothingas - Another MOC that was clearly at the top of the category. This was the one that really captured the before/during/after feel. The landscaping is great, including that little waterfall. In the main house, the mottling is a great mix of plates and bricks, with some round bricks and log bricks thrown in, to give a really interesting look. Good mushrooms and lettuce. The tiles on the roof of the wooden building are also great. Probably the best thing here, though, is the "during" scene. Really all aspects of building a wall are shown - mixing and spreading the mortar, chiseling and fitting stones for the outer wall, the rough filler material to make the wall's interior, the wooden frame to build an arch. The scaffolding and crane are also great. The plank bridging the stream is a good detail. In the "after" the wall has a nice shape, and I like the use of skateboard wheels in the bars for the stream opening. Some of the changes in the landscaping are nice - of course that tree had to come down, and now there's a path (with some new mushrooms springin up).
Aliencat's Richleaf Village - Here there are three distinct buildings each with nice styles. I particularly like the crossed roofbeam design on the brown building. The little church also has a very nice roof, both the crossed part and the little wooden beams near the top of the steeple are very nice. A couple of gravemarker designs I hadn't seen before. I'd like to know what's going on with the priest and that barbarian over on the side. I hope that more pictures are posted, especially of the fortified town, so we can see more details.
Maciej's Monastery - I really like the overall shape here with the enclosed courtyard, also that little back door fenced area. Probably my favorite life detail is the guy working on pulling out the stump so they can build the wall. There's a little wheelbarrow design that is hard to see. Could we see a better pic of that?
Others in no particular order:
Athos' fortified spring - cute idea for a MOC. As always, Steve's castles have a great classic feel. I really like the rock with the spring in the unfortified picture.
Robert Black's fortification - Another good one that includes before, during and after. I like how this is both building the wall and rennovating the ruined church. The waterscaping is really nice here. Also the guy fixing the roof in the "during" image. Wading the stream before vs a bridge after is also nice. I hope he posts more images of this.
Josh's You ain't getting in - The wall itself has a really nice design with those arch and window details. Lurking gator is nice.
Sir Brithead's Poor Man's Fortification - This is a really nice tree design and I like the spears poking up out of the ground. The edges could be a little more concealed. I'd also like to see some landscaping breaking up the flat expanse behind the wall.
Pepin's house on the hill - Man that's a steep driveway. I like the little well design. The man taking a bath is a fun detail.
Tanotrooper's Roman Bridge - I'm not a huge fan of the multi-colored walls, but the SNOT curved road surface is really nice. I'd love to see this go the full span.
Kelderic's Fortified Pass - Really nice landscaping here, the BURPs are well-concealed. Very good use of color contrast here, with the almost all dark-gray rock with a few accents and then the light gray gate.
My own top three:
DNL's Hrothingas - Another MOC that was clearly at the top of the category. This was the one that really captured the before/during/after feel. The landscaping is great, including that little waterfall. In the main house, the mottling is a great mix of plates and bricks, with some round bricks and log bricks thrown in, to give a really interesting look. Good mushrooms and lettuce. The tiles on the roof of the wooden building are also great. Probably the best thing here, though, is the "during" scene. Really all aspects of building a wall are shown - mixing and spreading the mortar, chiseling and fitting stones for the outer wall, the rough filler material to make the wall's interior, the wooden frame to build an arch. The scaffolding and crane are also great. The plank bridging the stream is a good detail. In the "after" the wall has a nice shape, and I like the use of skateboard wheels in the bars for the stream opening. Some of the changes in the landscaping are nice - of course that tree had to come down, and now there's a path (with some new mushrooms springin up).
Aliencat's Richleaf Village - Here there are three distinct buildings each with nice styles. I particularly like the crossed roofbeam design on the brown building. The little church also has a very nice roof, both the crossed part and the little wooden beams near the top of the steeple are very nice. A couple of gravemarker designs I hadn't seen before. I'd like to know what's going on with the priest and that barbarian over on the side. I hope that more pictures are posted, especially of the fortified town, so we can see more details.
Maciej's Monastery - I really like the overall shape here with the enclosed courtyard, also that little back door fenced area. Probably my favorite life detail is the guy working on pulling out the stump so they can build the wall. There's a little wheelbarrow design that is hard to see. Could we see a better pic of that?
Others in no particular order:
Athos' fortified spring - cute idea for a MOC. As always, Steve's castles have a great classic feel. I really like the rock with the spring in the unfortified picture.
Robert Black's fortification - Another good one that includes before, during and after. I like how this is both building the wall and rennovating the ruined church. The waterscaping is really nice here. Also the guy fixing the roof in the "during" image. Wading the stream before vs a bridge after is also nice. I hope he posts more images of this.
Josh's You ain't getting in - The wall itself has a really nice design with those arch and window details. Lurking gator is nice.
Sir Brithead's Poor Man's Fortification - This is a really nice tree design and I like the spears poking up out of the ground. The edges could be a little more concealed. I'd also like to see some landscaping breaking up the flat expanse behind the wall.
Pepin's house on the hill - Man that's a steep driveway. I like the little well design. The man taking a bath is a fun detail.
Tanotrooper's Roman Bridge - I'm not a huge fan of the multi-colored walls, but the SNOT curved road surface is really nice. I'd love to see this go the full span.
Kelderic's Fortified Pass - Really nice landscaping here, the BURPs are well-concealed. Very good use of color contrast here, with the almost all dark-gray rock with a few accents and then the light gray gate.
Last edited by Bruce N H on Mon Apr 07, 2008 3:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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- Bruce N H
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Next up, Trade and Industry
My own top three:
Lolas' Miller's Nightmare - Another completely gorgeous winning entry. There is so much here to look at, from the Takeshi Itou-esque landscaping, to the interesting roofline with both slopes and plates, to the great use of that brickface technique, to all of the "action". In the break in the dam, the splashing water looks very realistic. The use of the light-up aspect with the fire is very dramatic, especially this pic. The chairs as part of the waterwheel and the barrels as waterway are very clever. What's with the two guys carrying a cauldron of bones? Poor piggy trapped in the water.
Sly Owl's Cheddar Gorge - This is awesome for all of the innovative details, especially the clever elements used for fluid motion - plumes horns and beard for pouring milk, wizard hat as pouring water, plumes as steam or boiling liquid and plume and safari hats as smoke. That mousetrap is such a clever design. Tires as cheese molds. Cute goat (inspired by Jens?), and one of them is eating a sock. chest lids as sides of that milk trough. Inclusion of round plate, tile and hinge bricks in the wall to give it a more rough-hewn look. Swaddled baby. This MOC probably gets the award for the most clever new techniques packed into a small space.
Lomero's Harbour - Another simply beautiful creation. Use of wing plates in the walls of the white house is clever to get that angled beam. The rounded front of the green house is very nice, as are the tile doors. Great implementation of that brickface technique and a good balance between studs and studless areas. The action of the scene tells a clear story. My favorite tiny detail is a gray hand as a support bar in the pully setup above the door of the white house.
Others in no particular order:
RichardAM's forge - I like the stairs up the side with barrels stored underneath. Some good details in the workshop area and with the furnished apartment above. The outside is a little barren - I agree with a Flickr commenter that a horse tied up would be good, presumably waiting to be shod. My favorite detail is the hatch leading down to the cellar.
Robert Black's Shipwright - There are some nice details here. I particularly like how the shipwright is framing a new boat. My complaint here is the utter brown-ness of the whole scene. Yes, many of those things (boats, barrels, crates, oars) are only or predominantly available in brown, but the ground could be different - maybe green with some blue for the edge of the water, planks could as easily be tan, etc.
Thomas' Coal Mine - Very nice landscaping and vegetation here. I particularly like the rocks around the mine entrance, the craggy tree trunks, and the mine interior with the rockface and the support beams. One complaint is the unrealistic thickness above the mine - one little layer of rock, then a thin layer of dirt, then trees. Also, the filler color is black, but the mine is all in gray--seems like if this is a coal mine they are really unlucky and picked the exact wrong place to dig - they should be a few feet over in all that black coal. I'd like to know more about the section with the skellies - is this an old cave-in?
Michal Herbolt's Old Pilsen Royal Brewery - I really hope there are more pictures posted of this. The tall roof on the gray house is really nice, as is the curved out portion of the side - unfortunately the roof over that curved out portion is less successful. Wheel hub piece around the shield above the gate is a nice detail. I like the action in the courtyard, including the design of the long pot handles. I'm confused by the brown log-brick portion of the right-hand house. It kind of looks like it's a garderobe, but if so that would be pretty mean to the guys drinking down below. Swirled color BURPs down below melding into straight dark gray burps above is nice, though I'd include more dark green detail below to have a better transition from greenery to bare rock.
Athos' Winery - I like the grapevine design in the back and stomping out the grapes in front. The house is a little simple in design.
Maedhros' Skellies R Us - Well, the subject matter here is a little gross, which put me off. Also, there's too much black to see details (though that black skelly against a black wall is very ominous in that it's kind of subtle and then sneaks up on you). However, I really appreciate the joke - the surprise the workers in the front right get when they open up the wrong coffin.
Sir Nadroj's Bakery and Mill - I'm not exactly sure how this works as a business as the millworks inside should surely crowd out any room for a bakery. Very nice landscaping around the stream, and I like the cattails but would rather they were more bunched up, however, the land over on the other side of the building is all flat and could use some variation. I like the waterwheel design a lot - how are the plates attached? The varied stone construction (all 1x1 plates?) below and the detail with the black turntable bases above is nice, but to me the angled black tiles above don't work too well.
Maciej's Mountain Mine - I really like the levels and the overall shape here. It really feels like the mine goes down a long ways. The ore-car design and the little tracks are also quite nice. My complaint on this one is the color combination, which seems more like random combinations of blocks. I think it would be better if the mine area were one predominant color with a very light touch of other color accents. The little winch to raise/lower supplies is very nice.
Crises' Stone Works - A nice little scene. My favorite part is probably the pond in front with the geese. The nest is a good touch. I like the design of the roof over the well and the dark blue cheese slopes for water in the barrels. I'm confused as to the little overhang thingy. Is this to keep the stone dry? The fact that the chimney has those corner panels to look like it is hollow is a good touch of realism, and I like the little cheese slope detail on the windows.
Stone Goblin's Gold Mine - This was my favorite of the "mine" MOCs. I really like how the dressed stone building in light gray is built right into the rough stone in dark gray, and opens onto both the exterior and interior. The angled bit is very nice and the mix of brown tiles and grills is very effective. Inside there is a lot going on - the skelly crushed by a falling rock, the ore-car design using chairs, that angled conveyer-belt thing. Two complaints are the completely flat floors and also I wish there were some little veins of gold in the walls for the miners to dig at. I really would have expected this to be run by dwarves, btw. Are there more pictures coming?
Segedsi's Ballista Workshop - This one may have passed many people by, as the exterior is blocky and one of the photos is unfocused, but there's a nice bellows design here that should be noted.
Maciej's bakery - The outside of this is nice, but I really like the interior. A lot of detail here but it doesn't seem overly cluttered. The curtain by the bed is nice, and the fig action seems natural. Kitten reaching up to the table outside is a cute touch.
Barbara's Watermill - What stands out here is the all-plate construction of the building. The bridge is, IMO, less successful since they are so obviously columns of 1x1's so they don't look sturdy. The flour bags and sunflower designs are nice.
Aliencat's Sappers' Guild - I particularly like the angled walls on the right-hand building. Fabuland pick as a symbol on the building is a nice idea.
Stambi's Tannery - I hope more images are posted, as there are some good details here. Brick 'skins' are an interesting idea. I particularly like the arches lining the well, the flag as pouring water, the cow skull hanging on the building, and layering the arches in the building to get a peaked doorway. BTW, how is the brick-built bull head attached to a horse body?
Pepin's Windmill - Nice scene. I think my favorite bit here is the chicken coop and hens. The smoochin' couple is a cute detail.
Michal Herbolt's Woodcutter - I like the levels here, but the cliff face is probably a little too sheer. The raft made of logs is a good idea. The tan woodchips where one fig is chopping down a tree is a good detail.
Derek's fish market - Just wanted to note this as the first use of those Bionicle squid thingies in a CC MOC. Wonder how they're cooked?
Linwik's port crane - To me the cool thing here is the mechanism inside. I wish we could see more pics showing how that is put together. I really like that little cart that the rope runs across as well - neat detail. I do wish that massive construction on the front were in a color other than black.
Rupi's Burger King - Okay, well, this is gross. Good idea for a way to use the skelly horses. Hook hand guy is a cute subtle detail. I like the custom flag and shield decals and the king's actual plate-built burger. The ground is too mottled here, IMO, and obscures other details.
Micah Berger's dwarven mine - Even though I'm usaully a huge fan of your brick-built creatures, these dwarves just don't quite work for me. I do really love the Rube Goldberg-like moving parts for automated digging. The little mushrooms are a cute touch.
DARKspawns apothecary - Not much to say here except that this is a beautiful creation. I particularly like the lab equipment, hanging skeleton, and telescope. Very nice roof design. Partially chopped tree and goblet as doorbell are nice details.
Mockingbird's Mill - The use of robot arms as the wind-vanes is such a cool idea, especially after seeing endless iterations with ladders or ship rigging. All tile exterior, with those SNOTty round windows, is very nice. Neat idea for the flour bags using old toros.
DNL's shipwright - Nice shape on the brick-built hull here. I also really like the rickety dock. Here the green ground offsets most everything else being brown (see my complaint about Robert's shipwright above).
Luis' Tax Collector - Very nice roofline on this, particularly atop the tower with those crennelations. The pully mechanism is nice, and I like those grill panels turned sideways.
pkowalcz' fire in the hole - This is the one mine entry with really thick ground above the mine, which makes it seem more realistic. Action of the scene is well done.
Whew, that was a big category.
My own top three:
Lolas' Miller's Nightmare - Another completely gorgeous winning entry. There is so much here to look at, from the Takeshi Itou-esque landscaping, to the interesting roofline with both slopes and plates, to the great use of that brickface technique, to all of the "action". In the break in the dam, the splashing water looks very realistic. The use of the light-up aspect with the fire is very dramatic, especially this pic. The chairs as part of the waterwheel and the barrels as waterway are very clever. What's with the two guys carrying a cauldron of bones? Poor piggy trapped in the water.
Sly Owl's Cheddar Gorge - This is awesome for all of the innovative details, especially the clever elements used for fluid motion - plumes horns and beard for pouring milk, wizard hat as pouring water, plumes as steam or boiling liquid and plume and safari hats as smoke. That mousetrap is such a clever design. Tires as cheese molds. Cute goat (inspired by Jens?), and one of them is eating a sock. chest lids as sides of that milk trough. Inclusion of round plate, tile and hinge bricks in the wall to give it a more rough-hewn look. Swaddled baby. This MOC probably gets the award for the most clever new techniques packed into a small space.
Lomero's Harbour - Another simply beautiful creation. Use of wing plates in the walls of the white house is clever to get that angled beam. The rounded front of the green house is very nice, as are the tile doors. Great implementation of that brickface technique and a good balance between studs and studless areas. The action of the scene tells a clear story. My favorite tiny detail is a gray hand as a support bar in the pully setup above the door of the white house.
Others in no particular order:
RichardAM's forge - I like the stairs up the side with barrels stored underneath. Some good details in the workshop area and with the furnished apartment above. The outside is a little barren - I agree with a Flickr commenter that a horse tied up would be good, presumably waiting to be shod. My favorite detail is the hatch leading down to the cellar.
Robert Black's Shipwright - There are some nice details here. I particularly like how the shipwright is framing a new boat. My complaint here is the utter brown-ness of the whole scene. Yes, many of those things (boats, barrels, crates, oars) are only or predominantly available in brown, but the ground could be different - maybe green with some blue for the edge of the water, planks could as easily be tan, etc.
Thomas' Coal Mine - Very nice landscaping and vegetation here. I particularly like the rocks around the mine entrance, the craggy tree trunks, and the mine interior with the rockface and the support beams. One complaint is the unrealistic thickness above the mine - one little layer of rock, then a thin layer of dirt, then trees. Also, the filler color is black, but the mine is all in gray--seems like if this is a coal mine they are really unlucky and picked the exact wrong place to dig - they should be a few feet over in all that black coal. I'd like to know more about the section with the skellies - is this an old cave-in?
Michal Herbolt's Old Pilsen Royal Brewery - I really hope there are more pictures posted of this. The tall roof on the gray house is really nice, as is the curved out portion of the side - unfortunately the roof over that curved out portion is less successful. Wheel hub piece around the shield above the gate is a nice detail. I like the action in the courtyard, including the design of the long pot handles. I'm confused by the brown log-brick portion of the right-hand house. It kind of looks like it's a garderobe, but if so that would be pretty mean to the guys drinking down below. Swirled color BURPs down below melding into straight dark gray burps above is nice, though I'd include more dark green detail below to have a better transition from greenery to bare rock.
Athos' Winery - I like the grapevine design in the back and stomping out the grapes in front. The house is a little simple in design.
Maedhros' Skellies R Us - Well, the subject matter here is a little gross, which put me off. Also, there's too much black to see details (though that black skelly against a black wall is very ominous in that it's kind of subtle and then sneaks up on you). However, I really appreciate the joke - the surprise the workers in the front right get when they open up the wrong coffin.
Sir Nadroj's Bakery and Mill - I'm not exactly sure how this works as a business as the millworks inside should surely crowd out any room for a bakery. Very nice landscaping around the stream, and I like the cattails but would rather they were more bunched up, however, the land over on the other side of the building is all flat and could use some variation. I like the waterwheel design a lot - how are the plates attached? The varied stone construction (all 1x1 plates?) below and the detail with the black turntable bases above is nice, but to me the angled black tiles above don't work too well.
Maciej's Mountain Mine - I really like the levels and the overall shape here. It really feels like the mine goes down a long ways. The ore-car design and the little tracks are also quite nice. My complaint on this one is the color combination, which seems more like random combinations of blocks. I think it would be better if the mine area were one predominant color with a very light touch of other color accents. The little winch to raise/lower supplies is very nice.
Crises' Stone Works - A nice little scene. My favorite part is probably the pond in front with the geese. The nest is a good touch. I like the design of the roof over the well and the dark blue cheese slopes for water in the barrels. I'm confused as to the little overhang thingy. Is this to keep the stone dry? The fact that the chimney has those corner panels to look like it is hollow is a good touch of realism, and I like the little cheese slope detail on the windows.
Stone Goblin's Gold Mine - This was my favorite of the "mine" MOCs. I really like how the dressed stone building in light gray is built right into the rough stone in dark gray, and opens onto both the exterior and interior. The angled bit is very nice and the mix of brown tiles and grills is very effective. Inside there is a lot going on - the skelly crushed by a falling rock, the ore-car design using chairs, that angled conveyer-belt thing. Two complaints are the completely flat floors and also I wish there were some little veins of gold in the walls for the miners to dig at. I really would have expected this to be run by dwarves, btw. Are there more pictures coming?
Segedsi's Ballista Workshop - This one may have passed many people by, as the exterior is blocky and one of the photos is unfocused, but there's a nice bellows design here that should be noted.
Maciej's bakery - The outside of this is nice, but I really like the interior. A lot of detail here but it doesn't seem overly cluttered. The curtain by the bed is nice, and the fig action seems natural. Kitten reaching up to the table outside is a cute touch.
Barbara's Watermill - What stands out here is the all-plate construction of the building. The bridge is, IMO, less successful since they are so obviously columns of 1x1's so they don't look sturdy. The flour bags and sunflower designs are nice.
Aliencat's Sappers' Guild - I particularly like the angled walls on the right-hand building. Fabuland pick as a symbol on the building is a nice idea.
Stambi's Tannery - I hope more images are posted, as there are some good details here. Brick 'skins' are an interesting idea. I particularly like the arches lining the well, the flag as pouring water, the cow skull hanging on the building, and layering the arches in the building to get a peaked doorway. BTW, how is the brick-built bull head attached to a horse body?
Pepin's Windmill - Nice scene. I think my favorite bit here is the chicken coop and hens. The smoochin' couple is a cute detail.
Michal Herbolt's Woodcutter - I like the levels here, but the cliff face is probably a little too sheer. The raft made of logs is a good idea. The tan woodchips where one fig is chopping down a tree is a good detail.
Derek's fish market - Just wanted to note this as the first use of those Bionicle squid thingies in a CC MOC. Wonder how they're cooked?
Linwik's port crane - To me the cool thing here is the mechanism inside. I wish we could see more pics showing how that is put together. I really like that little cart that the rope runs across as well - neat detail. I do wish that massive construction on the front were in a color other than black.
Rupi's Burger King - Okay, well, this is gross. Good idea for a way to use the skelly horses. Hook hand guy is a cute subtle detail. I like the custom flag and shield decals and the king's actual plate-built burger. The ground is too mottled here, IMO, and obscures other details.
Micah Berger's dwarven mine - Even though I'm usaully a huge fan of your brick-built creatures, these dwarves just don't quite work for me. I do really love the Rube Goldberg-like moving parts for automated digging. The little mushrooms are a cute touch.
DARKspawns apothecary - Not much to say here except that this is a beautiful creation. I particularly like the lab equipment, hanging skeleton, and telescope. Very nice roof design. Partially chopped tree and goblet as doorbell are nice details.
Mockingbird's Mill - The use of robot arms as the wind-vanes is such a cool idea, especially after seeing endless iterations with ladders or ship rigging. All tile exterior, with those SNOTty round windows, is very nice. Neat idea for the flour bags using old toros.
DNL's shipwright - Nice shape on the brick-built hull here. I also really like the rickety dock. Here the green ground offsets most everything else being brown (see my complaint about Robert's shipwright above).
Luis' Tax Collector - Very nice roofline on this, particularly atop the tower with those crennelations. The pully mechanism is nice, and I like those grill panels turned sideways.
pkowalcz' fire in the hole - This is the one mine entry with really thick ground above the mine, which makes it seem more realistic. Action of the scene is well done.
Whew, that was a big category.
Last edited by Bruce N H on Mon Apr 07, 2008 3:02 am, edited 2 times in total.
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I'm not sure if Liwnik is active here, so let me comment. This crane is obviuosly modelled after the famous Port Crane of Gdansk which is build from very dark wood. In sunny day it looks almost black.Bruce N H wrote:Next up, Trade and Industry
Linwik's port crane - I do wish that massive construction on the front were in a color other than black.
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- Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2005 10:29 pm
- Location: In the Dark Forest
The mine does have gold veins but they were not pictured in my 3 chosen shots. Located in the 'skeleton crushed by boulder' room only though. The mine is more of a HQ, an entry point and transporting location than where the actual digging takes place deeper inside. Since I was limited to three shots I decided to go with a front shot, an open-up shot, and a close-up conveyer shot. I thought of showing the veins pic but thought the conveyer shot had more going for it.Bruce N H wrote:
Stone Goblin's Gold Mine - This was my favorite of the "mine" MOCs. I really like how the dressed stone building in light gray is built right into the rough stone in dark gray, and opens onto both the exterior and interior. The angled bit is very nice and the mix of brown tiles and grills is very effective. Inside there is a lot going on - the skelly crushed by a falling rock, the ore-car design using chairs, that angled conveyer-belt thing. Two complaints are the completely flat floors and also I wish there were some little veins of gold in the walls for the miners to dig at. I really would have expected this to be run by dwarves, btw. Are there more pictures coming?
I finished going through all the photos of all my CCCV mocs(picking the best). So now its down to editing with the help of my brother. So the pics are coming!!!
My MOCpages:[url]http://www.mocpages.com/home.php/2746[/url]
Our store(Peppermint Pig and I)
LibertyBRICK:[url]http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=Stone_Goblin[/url]
Our store(Peppermint Pig and I)
LibertyBRICK:[url]http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=Stone_Goblin[/url]
These thoughts are always interesting, even when they don't apply to my entries. Always nice to see what other people like and don't like.
Thanks for doing this!
Steve
Thanks for doing this!
Steve
[url=http://www.johnny-thunder.blogspot.com/]Travel with Johnny Thunder![/url]
I'm afraid not, I took the three pictures needed for the contest and took the MOC apart again, in hindsight I should have taken more, but too late nowBruce N H wrote:About: Aliencat's Richleaf Village:
I hope that more pictures are posted, especially of the fortified town, so we can see more details.
I can't speak for Michael Herbolt of course, but the brown log-brick portion reminds me of the part sticking out the front of this building, which doesn't look like a wardrobe to me, but more like a closed veranda. I think that's the look Michael Herbolt was going forBruce N H wrote:About: Michal Herbolt's Old Pilsen Royal Brewery:
I'm confused by the brown log-brick portion of the right-hand house. It kind of looks like it's a garderobe, but if so that would be pretty mean to the guys drinking down below.
Between plotting to kill you all and chasing balls of yarn, I also build [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/30639040@N02/albums]MOCs[/url]
[img]http://stopthetrack.com/lego/embassy/alienambassadorpng.png[/img]
[img]http://stopthetrack.com/lego/embassy/alienambassadorpng.png[/img]
Heck, no. Maybe at a glance ... but upon close inspection they are two completely different creations. The only similarity is really in the flags & the multi-leveled aspect.Traveler wrote:Yeah, I wish I had gotten mine in before Aaron's, so it wouldn't look like I copied him so much.
Oh & they both rock, of course
~Aaron~
[url=http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?m=DARKspawn]Brickshelf[/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/8401641@N03/]Flickr[/url]
[url=http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?m=DARKspawn]Brickshelf[/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/8401641@N03/]Flickr[/url]
- Bruce N H
- Precentor of the Scriptorium
- Posts: 6311
- Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2003 9:11 pm
- Location: Middle Zealand
- Contact:
Next up Medieval Journey.
My personal top three:
Stone Goblin's Call to Arms - Really cool idea to break up the space into three scenes that lead one into the other, wrapping around the base. The mosaic backdrop is a really cool idea. In the first scene, my favorite detail is the man on the right talking to his son. I can imagine him saying something about how his son will be the man of the house until he returns. Bedrolls on the back, and one hat tipped back, are nice details, as is the kimono design with the handle plate. In the snowy scene, the snow-covered bamboo is really nice, and those two capes really look like the wind is blowing. I almost missed the lurking ninja. In the final scene, what is up with the naked guy in the back? Also I don't know what the custom is with the exchange of letters before battle. Neat flag design. I like that better than simply using the soft plastic flags from the ninja theme. Cute cameo by Stone Goblin.
Hippotam's Last Journey - Even leaving aside the kraken attack, this is just a great ship design, including the tear in the plate-built sail. I like the non-square base, and the barrels and chest in the water is a great effect. As to the action, my favorites are the guy jumping with two swords and the chopped tentacle.
Artizan's Caravanserai - Really neat to bring in a different culture (also with Stone Goblin's above). The design of that window with the yellow accent is great, as is the door. Interesting headgear. At first I was confused by the hats on the two guards, but when I looked up what the real hats look like, this was probably the best possible brick solution.
Others, in no particular order:
Elephant Knight's Journey - The cliff here is just too varied, IMO. I like the idea of the cave, but I think this would have been greatly improved if the cave went back several studs, and then there was the black backdrop. That would have made it look much more like a cave going back into the dark and not just a black wall.
Robin Hood's Dissident's Ambush - Nice landscaping here, but this suffers from the same effect I discussed upthread about the Song of Roland entry in Legends. If there is going to be a lot of fig action, the backdrop should be relatively monochromatic. Else it gets muddled and hard to tell what's going on. I'm a little confused by the physics of the stream that falls down into the canyon and then crosses it to go through a crack on the other side. It seems like the water should have followed the easiest path down the canyon. Oh well, lurking ambusher in the crack i cool. The placement of the figs on the ridge above is confusing. They look a little like dead bodies rather than waiting to attack. Blocking fence is well done.
Cyril's Dead Prince - Just wanted to point out a great bird design here that might have been overlooked.
DarkTide's Unfortunate Event - The landscaping is really good here, but it's hurt by the camera angle. At least one picture more from side-on than from above would really help show off that depth. This is something that I've seen before - someone will put a lot of effort into molding a landscape so it's not just flat, but will then photograph from a high angle, so it ends up looking all flat. Very good action here with the falling figs and objects.
sir Brithead's Dark Forest Path - Very nice trees here, particularly that twisty one in the back. I also really like how the cobblestones and mud are built into the ground. In many MOCs these end up sitting on top of a green baseplate. Is it intentional that the shape with the curved path and raised back part sort of matches the Dark Forest Fortress?
Egypt's Perilous Journey - This one actually succeeds at making me feel cold when I look at it. The variation in the water is great, and the tracks in the snow is an awesome detail. The scene itself really looks like it's illustrating a story. It sort of reminds me of Anthony's Cold Winter's Knight. About the only improvement I could suggest would be to make the cape blowing in the wind as in Anthony's vig.
Josh's Journey to Laketown - How could I not love a Tolkien scene? Outstanding landscaping here. This is what I meant in my comment to DarkTide above - the lower camera angle shows off the steep hills. Only complaint is that Bilbo looks naked since the lighting washes out the colors a bit and you can't really distinquish the yellow and tan.
Barbara's Pilgrims - A great example here of learning some details of medieval life through a MOC. Great inclusion of the souvenirs. The three-way sign, angled tree, SNOTty roadside shrine, and that travel-pack using a turban are all nicely done. Only improvement I could suggest would be to increase the landscaping, making the slope in the road from Jerusalem even more pronounced. Outstanding attention to detail in that this could be an actual road meeting assuming these three roads meet somewhere in northern Italy and we're looking southward. Or was that coincidence?
Remyth's Noble's Return - This one is a nice little MOC that I hope has more pictures posted soon. I like the shape of the bridge and the detail around the side windows particularly. This one was probably hurt by the choice of photos. Only one high overview shot is necessary, and it would be much better to have a low-angle shot from the front left that shows off the bridge, the noble, and the door. This is also hurt in that there is not much of a sense of action and journey - it is more about the nice small keep.
Sir Dillon's Criminal's Journey - This is just a beautiful MOC. The fact that this isn't in my top three is really just a testament to the overall quality of MOCs this year. I think each year just gets better, and there are many MOCs in each category that would have been clear winners in previous years. I really like the different take on 'journey', the gallows, the variety of buildings, and the various crowd placement. Favorite details include this railing and the chain here. As Tony noted, varying up the rooflines, and finishing the ground would have improved this. I'd also like to see someone in the crowd throwing some rotten fruit maybe.
Maciej's winter traveler - A really nice scene, though I'm not a fan of the lime green. Favorite details are the partially uncovered walk, the snowman, and the frozen stream and waterfall. In the back the transition from dark gray BURP to white LURP is too sharp and should be broken up a bit. I'm not thrilled with the transitions between squareness and roundess in the tree.
DNL's Pilgrims - Really nice cliff and ruined tower. I particularly like the arch and the dead body down below.
Steve's Viking Voyage - Nice scene here, and good that the church interior is furnished (though that image is out of focus). The nice detail here is the rolled up sail.
Kelderic's Narrow Path - Nice landscaping, but I've commented on that before. Re-using the same base lost this points with me, btw. The shape on that wagon is nice.
Tania's hunter - The effect with the water to give the shadow of the beast below is really interesting here.
My personal top three:
Stone Goblin's Call to Arms - Really cool idea to break up the space into three scenes that lead one into the other, wrapping around the base. The mosaic backdrop is a really cool idea. In the first scene, my favorite detail is the man on the right talking to his son. I can imagine him saying something about how his son will be the man of the house until he returns. Bedrolls on the back, and one hat tipped back, are nice details, as is the kimono design with the handle plate. In the snowy scene, the snow-covered bamboo is really nice, and those two capes really look like the wind is blowing. I almost missed the lurking ninja. In the final scene, what is up with the naked guy in the back? Also I don't know what the custom is with the exchange of letters before battle. Neat flag design. I like that better than simply using the soft plastic flags from the ninja theme. Cute cameo by Stone Goblin.
Hippotam's Last Journey - Even leaving aside the kraken attack, this is just a great ship design, including the tear in the plate-built sail. I like the non-square base, and the barrels and chest in the water is a great effect. As to the action, my favorites are the guy jumping with two swords and the chopped tentacle.
Artizan's Caravanserai - Really neat to bring in a different culture (also with Stone Goblin's above). The design of that window with the yellow accent is great, as is the door. Interesting headgear. At first I was confused by the hats on the two guards, but when I looked up what the real hats look like, this was probably the best possible brick solution.
Others, in no particular order:
Elephant Knight's Journey - The cliff here is just too varied, IMO. I like the idea of the cave, but I think this would have been greatly improved if the cave went back several studs, and then there was the black backdrop. That would have made it look much more like a cave going back into the dark and not just a black wall.
Robin Hood's Dissident's Ambush - Nice landscaping here, but this suffers from the same effect I discussed upthread about the Song of Roland entry in Legends. If there is going to be a lot of fig action, the backdrop should be relatively monochromatic. Else it gets muddled and hard to tell what's going on. I'm a little confused by the physics of the stream that falls down into the canyon and then crosses it to go through a crack on the other side. It seems like the water should have followed the easiest path down the canyon. Oh well, lurking ambusher in the crack i cool. The placement of the figs on the ridge above is confusing. They look a little like dead bodies rather than waiting to attack. Blocking fence is well done.
Cyril's Dead Prince - Just wanted to point out a great bird design here that might have been overlooked.
DarkTide's Unfortunate Event - The landscaping is really good here, but it's hurt by the camera angle. At least one picture more from side-on than from above would really help show off that depth. This is something that I've seen before - someone will put a lot of effort into molding a landscape so it's not just flat, but will then photograph from a high angle, so it ends up looking all flat. Very good action here with the falling figs and objects.
sir Brithead's Dark Forest Path - Very nice trees here, particularly that twisty one in the back. I also really like how the cobblestones and mud are built into the ground. In many MOCs these end up sitting on top of a green baseplate. Is it intentional that the shape with the curved path and raised back part sort of matches the Dark Forest Fortress?
Egypt's Perilous Journey - This one actually succeeds at making me feel cold when I look at it. The variation in the water is great, and the tracks in the snow is an awesome detail. The scene itself really looks like it's illustrating a story. It sort of reminds me of Anthony's Cold Winter's Knight. About the only improvement I could suggest would be to make the cape blowing in the wind as in Anthony's vig.
Josh's Journey to Laketown - How could I not love a Tolkien scene? Outstanding landscaping here. This is what I meant in my comment to DarkTide above - the lower camera angle shows off the steep hills. Only complaint is that Bilbo looks naked since the lighting washes out the colors a bit and you can't really distinquish the yellow and tan.
Barbara's Pilgrims - A great example here of learning some details of medieval life through a MOC. Great inclusion of the souvenirs. The three-way sign, angled tree, SNOTty roadside shrine, and that travel-pack using a turban are all nicely done. Only improvement I could suggest would be to increase the landscaping, making the slope in the road from Jerusalem even more pronounced. Outstanding attention to detail in that this could be an actual road meeting assuming these three roads meet somewhere in northern Italy and we're looking southward. Or was that coincidence?
Remyth's Noble's Return - This one is a nice little MOC that I hope has more pictures posted soon. I like the shape of the bridge and the detail around the side windows particularly. This one was probably hurt by the choice of photos. Only one high overview shot is necessary, and it would be much better to have a low-angle shot from the front left that shows off the bridge, the noble, and the door. This is also hurt in that there is not much of a sense of action and journey - it is more about the nice small keep.
Sir Dillon's Criminal's Journey - This is just a beautiful MOC. The fact that this isn't in my top three is really just a testament to the overall quality of MOCs this year. I think each year just gets better, and there are many MOCs in each category that would have been clear winners in previous years. I really like the different take on 'journey', the gallows, the variety of buildings, and the various crowd placement. Favorite details include this railing and the chain here. As Tony noted, varying up the rooflines, and finishing the ground would have improved this. I'd also like to see someone in the crowd throwing some rotten fruit maybe.
Maciej's winter traveler - A really nice scene, though I'm not a fan of the lime green. Favorite details are the partially uncovered walk, the snowman, and the frozen stream and waterfall. In the back the transition from dark gray BURP to white LURP is too sharp and should be broken up a bit. I'm not thrilled with the transitions between squareness and roundess in the tree.
DNL's Pilgrims - Really nice cliff and ruined tower. I particularly like the arch and the dead body down below.
Steve's Viking Voyage - Nice scene here, and good that the church interior is furnished (though that image is out of focus). The nice detail here is the rolled up sail.
Kelderic's Narrow Path - Nice landscaping, but I've commented on that before. Re-using the same base lost this points with me, btw. The shape on that wagon is nice.
Tania's hunter - The effect with the water to give the shadow of the beast below is really interesting here.
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- Sir Brithead
- Apprentice
- Posts: 165
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 4:32 pm
- Location: Beorn's house