Bruce's contest thoughts CCC-IV

[JoshWedin]

Hey Bruce,

I really like this "tradition" too. I've been looking forward to your thoughts for some time. And thanks for the mentioning several of my creations.

Josh

[wunztwice]

I also really like the pageant wagon too! I actually just learned about these not too long ago and this is a great example!

Thanks for pointing out my hay cart. Its a testament to LEGO that we can come up with varying ways of even making hay! (I also found it a bit funny that in three of them there is a grey peasant with a black hood.)

Some great transportations entries here, thanks for recapping them, I missed a couple, so it was nice to finally see them!

[DARKspawn]

g2's knight's transport. This one made me laugh. It's kind of like the horses in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

I had the very same thought I wonder if there is some kind of automated coconut mechanism built into the cart

Keep it up, Bruce This makes for a great summary of the comp

[pj_bosman]

These personal thoughts are fun to read - thanks for sharing them.

[Bruce N H]

Bridges: This category was probably my favorite. There were so many cool and creative entries.

Patrick Bosman's rope bridge was the well deserved winner among a group of superb entries. I love the precariousness of the bridge. It really feels like it's swinging back and forth. The action of the scene is very well presented. The dense vegetation is also great, and the cypruss trees look really good (they usually look too fake to me).

Tied for my second favorite were DARKspawn's Mizo Megami Ichidou and Kenn's Auldhamlet Bridge Aaron's Japanese bridge is full of beautiful details - the Torii Gate, the curve of the temple roof, the gong inside the temple, the floating lanterns, and the rounded tops to the posts on the bridge. The action is also very fluid with the flying figs (very Crouching Tiger-esque) and the climbing ninjas. Kenn's is also full of great details. I particularly like the mottling and the lion-heads on the gate tower. The rounded pilings are really cool (and a detail most would forget) and the whole bridge is full of life on every level, from the fisherman and rats down at the river level to the guards atop the tower.

Jens' Lost Digger Bridge rounds out my personal favorites. As others have noted, the construction technique to make the curved bridge is very creative and looks great. Other great details are those little evergreen trees made with flower stems (I SO have to try that), the sleeping guard, the lost digger himself just missing the vein of silver, and the steep sides to the gorge. I also like how the water isn't flat, but is truly flowing downhill. Is it me, or does the red wizard have one yellow hand and one fleshy?

Other entries, in no particular order:

Supernova's forest crossing Clever technique to make the rickety suspended bridge. I think it would have looked better in brown, though perhaps there was a part shortage reason for this. I also like the little rafting forestman.

Joe Butler's rope bridge Another creative technique to make the suspended bridge. I'm not sure if I'd be willing to cut up one of my nets, but this gives a good look.

Neonbug and Lorax's stone bridge The technique to make the stonework is really striking and well done. I'd be interested to see construction photos to see how that was done. The well and buried skeleton are nice details. I do think the secret chamber portion seems unfinished. It could cetainly use a pillar in the corner so it doesn't sag, and it seems empty. Perhaps there should be forestmen hiding down there, waiting to ambush the soldiers on the bridge? Or maybe some highwaymen hide their stolen treasure down there?

supernova's SNOT bridge The technique to make the arch in this bridge is very nice. The black 1x1 round plates on the edges of the bridge are a nice finishing touch. One negative on this one is that there are some gaps in the plates (visible in this pic) that make it look unfinished.

plucky's dragonback bridge This is such a fun idea, and the dragon is a great sculpture. Great details include that easel and palette and the lyre (I'll definitely use that design someday).

Alban Nanty's bridge under construction - Another great educational MOC, showing how those arches were made. Having two arches in the bridge is perfect, since it makes it obvious what the incomplete section is without too much explanation.

Stefan Dittmar's broken bridge This one is almost the reverse of the previous one. The water solution is very interesting and the lost treasure is a great punchline.

Josh's Bridge over troubled waters The waterfall is really effective (that's a lot of trans clear 1x1 rounds) and I like the leaping (orange!) fish. The bridge is also a really nice shape.

Stambi's hanging bridge Great solution for the bridge shape. Is the central span only held there by gravity? The claws on the hanging owls are very clever.

Jens' Netherlands-style bridge This is great in that it's a bridge style no one else would have done. The fact that it works is really cool. Clever use of levers 3 ways to make tulips, mushrooms, and ducklings.

Bruce

[DARKspawn]

The Medieval life & Bridge cataories were definately the shining stars in this years comp. There were some truly amazing entries.

[BreadMan]

I felt the bridge category by far had the most high-quality entries of all the categories this year, and I imagine it was one of the hardest to judge (guess everybody wanted that Forestmen's Crossing! ). A few more hilights I liked that Bruce didn't mention:
Lord Mikal's Log Crossing and Schvatt's Magic Bridge for their creative interpretation of the category.
Some nicely detailed architecture work by Sir Brithead and marian19.
sir k1089's Ruined Bridge has great landscaping and a very accomplished desolate atmosphere.
Greystone's Timalway Bridge has some nice details, I like the use of pirate ship hulls to create the huge support beams.

Fantastic work all around!

[jens]

Lost Digger Bridge

Is it me, or does the red wizard have one yellow hand and one fleshy?

The hand is tan. I wanted to show the nicotine-color from smoking his pipe over the years.

Thanks for complements also for my other entry

regards,
jens

[pj_bosman]

I like how you put all your entries together on this photo, makes a nice scenery

[Bruce N H]

Castle buildings:

DARKspawn's barracks is a great winning entry. There are a lot of nice build details like the way he uses levers to make this angled railing, the half-stud offset window and this bay window.

BohuslavIII's palace was actually my favorite entry. I wish there were more pictures, but all of the little ornamental effects are really nice and match gothic architecture very well. I wish there were more pictures.

A few others, in no particular order:

Thomas Wunz's market square has a nice variety of stalls and the stretched out neck of the man on the gallows is a funny/morbid touch. I like the viking printed 1x4 tiles alongside the stall windows.

Mockingbird's To Become a Knight The angled offset of the building is a nice touch, as are the frames around the windows.

Kenn's church has some nice details like the construction of the steeple, the chandalier, and the small cross-shaped windows.

Tony Varos' mage's tower also has a nice roof construction and he packs a lot of detail into a small space.

Bruce

[Bruce N H]

Castle fortifications.

My personal top three were all very close to eachother:

Supernova's King Richard's keep This winning entry has a lot of nice details, like the cross windows, the line of tall slopes above the gate, and the inclusion of backwards headlight bricks to be small gaps in the masonry. The color scheme goes back to great old official sets.

Wolfpack Chief's azure keep The irregularity of that stonework at the corners (what do you call that, btw?) gives nice realism here. I also really like the crossbars in the windows and the ornamentation at the ends of the black beams.

BohuslavIII's town fortification This is a similar MOC to the above azure keep, and is also very nice. I like the inclusion of these pieces and the printed yellow and black tiles in the windows.

Others in no particular order:

Tony Varos' Red Stripe Tower wins my "best inclusion of totally odd parts" award for the clever use of those basketball bases. Nice shape to the tower, too.

campbedm's Castle Glum Keep Gets a really interesting effect out of alternating the orientation of those wedge bricks.

Stambi's gate to Town Werewolferin Of course the standout here is the use of stacks of turnstyles to make the arch over the gate. The 45 degree angles on those protruding windows and the SNOTty roof are also nice.

Megan's sequoia of secrets is a really fun MOC. Probably should have gone in misc, though. To me the tree looks like the Grizzly Giant in Yosemite Natl Park.

Bagman's gate (and his wall as well) have nice patterns made with the round bricks. This would be a good technique to use and then include a rounded tower with the 1x3 brick/1x3 round, so the pattern in the rounded tower would not look as out-of-place as it often does.

Neonbug and Lorax's girls' tower Once you get past the color scheme you see great usage of the skateboard ramps and those new bionicle raised baseplates.

Jens' gate The gate itself is really well done, with tiles on both sides. The peasant peeling potatoes is hilarious, and I've always loved that goat design.

Bruce

[supernova]

Thanks Bruce! This tradition is great and I love to hear your comments which kinda summarises a large part of the best MOCs from CC IV!
And thanks for mentioning my bridges as well as my keep!

Supernova's King Richard's keep This winning entry has a lot of nice details, like the cross windows, the line of tall slopes above the gate, and the inclusion of backwards headlight bricks to be small gaps in the masonry. The color scheme goes back to great old official sets.

The backward headlight wasn't intentionally included as part of the molting wall, its main purpose is to hold the lamps in the interior of the keep
if it helped made the moc better it was purely coincidental

[wunztwice]

Wow, again all super entries you've covered here Bruce! I missed a couple of them, one of the reasons I love your re-cap.

There are a Metric TON of awe inspiring techniques in the bridge, building and fortification sections. Very nice work all around C-C!

[Spongey]

More great reviews. I agree with you about Bohuslav's entry for the Castle Buildings. I think it was great. This is not to take anything away from Darkspawn- his was also an excellent entry.
As for the Castle Fortifications, I think that the winner was clear cut, and the details were great. Congratulations to Supernova.
Thanks for more great reviews, Bruce.

[Lord Felix]

Great reviews. Nice job. I always love this after the CCC.
On a side note, Jens, you have a TON of dark grey