Book ll Challenge l Category B - A small defense fortress

[Alfadas]

Hi all, here I am again with a small fortress for challenge l category B. I know it is not that good, but I listened to tips from earlier mocs, that said that I should use cheese slopes on the wall, and more details on the wall, and more plants on the ground. Here it is:

Here are some soldiers from the Black Spire trying to take the fortress (They don't stand a change!)

Ladders and battering rams won't help 'm!

Yup. A dead soldier. Many will follow.

That is a high wall (no it isn't, just perspective).

Details of the left wall. They really need to clean it, all that moss, just gross.

If the Black Spire breaks the doors, there is this warrior (and another I forgot to photograph ) to kill them. Some horses in the stables.

The right wall. Again too dirty. Guys, stop drinking and start cleaning! (I know that the lightning is not good on this pic, sorry.)

So, here is the other warrior on the ground. Apparently I did photograph him. And the soldier on the wall is jumping to kill Black Spire enemies.

That is it, hope you like it! Any form of comment is welcome!

[gazumpty]

Nice scene...I like the relentless action that you have managed to capture with the staging of your minifigs :)

I'd only suggest your castle wall needs a wee bit more texture and colour to break up the expanses of light grey :) plus this MOC deserves a nice white background and proper photo-lighting :)

[Lord Vladivus]

The Black Spire are certainly throwing a lot of troops at the defenders! The foliage looks good, and they're some nice figs! The stables are a great idea too! I'd add a little more texturing to the wall, a few 1x2 snotted tiles maybe. I'd also try to get a plain, probably white background- at the moment the background is a bit distracting, and dark. That might help with light levels too. (I'm not too good with backgrounds myself...). It's great to see so many team Nocturnus entries.

[Alfadas]

Thanks!

I know the lightning isn't super, I still need something to go as background (the poster I used is missing, don't know where it is). As for the walls, I don't have enough bricks to make that. For the next build, I can use a bit more stone bricks (those 1x2 with lines on front), and maybe scrap some more cheese slopes here and there, and offcourse find a new poster as background.

[soccerkid6]

I think this is your best build yet, keep listening to advice and you'll keep improving

Your fig posing is excellent, it really looks like a siege is taking place. I like the moss on the left wall and the rockwork underneath it looks great! Neat stables inside too. Keep it up

[Alfadas]

Thanks! Of course it is not as good as yours, but someday I can build as good as you can! But therefore I need more small bricks and an awful lot of practice!

[Gunman]

gogo team nocturnus! kick their ladders! good job jeroenaa (for mitgardia!! ehh i mean nocturnus!)

[Alfadas]

Thank you!

[Kayne]

jeronoaa, glad to see you building so much lately! I really like the action going on here as well, and I agree that it deserves some more love in the photography. You mentioned using a poster for the background, but if you do not have that, a suggestion is that I use a white sheet that I drape under and behind my builds. In Photoshop you can edit that out. For those that don't know, Photoshop CS2 is now freeware if you go to the Adobe page. Also, if you turn the flash off on your camera and have some Daylight bulbs to light the build in little lamps, that can help the lighting a lot. Shouldn't be too expensive either, I bought 3 clip utility work light shields from Home Depot for like $6 each, and use the CFL 100 watt equivalent bulbs that was like $5 for a 3-pack.

[Alfadas]

Thanks! I tried photoshop once, it turned out to be a disaster so I am not going to use that anymore. But a white sheet is good, I see if I can find it somewhere in the mess I call attic. More lights isn't a problem either, I have a few lamps I can use. Flash is out from now. Thanks again!

[Tomsche]

I seem to miss the Hornburg in there though ;-)

Just kidding, I really like it

[Alfadas]

Thanks!

[lord raphael]

not good! that is awesome

[Alfadas]

Thanks!

[Gideon]

Your building and minifig posing skills are definitely improving! I don't think those walls necessarily need more details, it's a matter of style imho and you've got enough details to avoid the "big gray wall syndrome".

However, I think you still need to work a bit on your photography... There are a lot of good guides out there, I suggest that you spend some time reading those and your MOC presentations will be improved

[lord raphael]

the best bit for me....hmmmm i would probaly go with the gates and then the ladders

[lord raphael]

I could not help but notice you have some ladders.Where did you get them?

[Alfadas]

I could not help but notice you have some ladders.Where did you get them?

I bought them when I bought most of my bricks, a couple of months ago. I thought I bought them here: toypro.com.

I know this site is not very cheap, but my father paid half of it, so I didn't really matter.

[lord raphael]

Thanks a lot.I think i will order 2 ladders for future mocs.Great help.

[Alfadas]

You're welcome, I am going to order parts there again after the Holidays. Nice 1x1 rounds and more 1x2 normal bricks. More details in larger MOCs.