ZCerberus

I joined because I was looking for a place to get feedback on some old pirate ship MOCs. This was hands down the best place for pirate MOCs on the web. I really think this site has improved my skills so I think it is great that the site has kept growing!

The parrot is really cool. I am not sure I love the water technique. I think maybe you could try to overlap the shore line a bit to make it more interesting and less boxy.

I agree that perhaps this tower has been overlooked with the flurry of activity. I think it is one of the best. I like the tower- but the detail outside of that is really great. I like the uneven wooden fence and the waterfall and hot springs. should certainly be top 5 in Mitgardia.

The bowyer was always there ;) but I can switch it!

I think I have everyone who has signed up on the first post in this thread. Please let me know if I have missed anyone or have not linked the first post to a completed creation. I don't know when the next main challenge will be issued, so maybe getting on the Albion task with the down time will help us strengthen our position as the "it" guild of Historica I updated the drawings in the first post a few times. They look much more cohesive now I think! Let's make this thing the true Pearl City of Historica!

They did have both space and STAR WARS themes as well as castle and Harry Potter. So a liscense theme doesn't always exclude a related theme. Even so, I would expect castle might take a little time off though. Even if LotR does put other castle properties out to pasture for now, without an ongoing property like Star Wars has with the Clone Wars, LotR probably won't be a castle replacement forever (the second Hobbit movie comes out in 2013, so LotR might die after that). It seems as if most "subthemes" only go a few years anyway, so Kingdoms could have been replaced soon anyway. Don't forget, we got some TERRIBLE castle subthemes in the past (I am looking at you fright knights and jelly bean knights) so if you don't like LotR you may only have to suffer a few years. In the past, I might get a bigger set for a few cool elements, but usually I build it once, then sort out the pieces for MOCing. I am always more inclined to get smaller sets. That is my only fear, that my army builders might go away. That was the problem with PotC for me. I wasn't a repeat buyer. No army builder like sets with a few geneic soldiers or generic pirates (the captain's cabin/zombie attack deal was sorta close, but not close enough). It seemed as if LEGO was figuring that out with the Star Wars battle packs, so who knows. I hope LEGO gives us some generic characters and not only heroes in a few cheaper sets or some straight up battle backs so LotR can be a source for cool parts and lots of dwarves, Gondor knights, elves and orcs too.

The only real surprise to me is the June date and the start with LotR sets. I thought it would be Hobbit and Novemberbish. Still... very nice to see the official bit!

Good find m'boy! I would hate for this MOC to be forgotten by us as well, so... [bloggedcp][/bloggedcp]

That link appears to be a mobile version. Also, you are not searchable on flickr, are the photos set to private? Anyhow... I think I sorted that out... Here is the tower... When you select the properly sized image on flick, right click it and select "copy image location" and paste that into the box that comes up when you press this button here on Eurobricks.

Once again, give us a link to your flickr page. my guess is you are not pasting in the image link, but some extra webcode that is not needed.

Almost nice enough to be Avalonian But really, very good work! I bet you guild leaders are really licking your chops to get in on this guild action!

You're new, so I think we need to take a little pitty on you! Give us a link to the Flickr page and maybe we can figure out what is going wrong for you. My guess is you are trying to link to the webpage and not the image.

Some cool features here. The door has to be the highlight for me!.

I think we all seem to agree on one thing- there is a lot of steam behind this and we should move past the will it or won’t it and onto what we will or want to see. I think since the release is coming the same year as the Hobbit (or so we all suppose), it will be Hobbit heavy. PotC and Indiana Jones had far more sets release on the movie property that was released around the same time than they did on the older properties in the franchise… same thing for years in which a Star Wars and Harry Potter movies came out. As popular as LotR could be, I worry some for LEGO any time they go with a licensed theme. I think the issue is themes that succeed (HP and SW, I am looking at you!) seem to have sets and builds that I would want outside the theme. In other words, even if I had never seen SW, I would want an X-wing or a snow speeder... if I had never seen Harry Potter I think the Hogwartz Express or the Burrow would appeal to me. If I had never seen PotC, however, would I want Isla de Muerta? Would I want the boulder escape scene from IJ? NO! We are AFOLs so we look for minifigs and cool new parts, but the main audience, the bulk of the sales, are probably with parents and tweens. They want things they think their kids would enjoy building. They are going to gravitate to an awesome space ship or fantasy castle over the fountain of youth or that goofy cave set from PoP every time. I am sure LEGO has done tons of research on this already, so they don’t need me telling them this, but LEGO needs to keep that in mind and give us siege weapons, castles, and Hobbit dwellings and NOT a recreation of a scene where the only thing to be built is a set is a tree or a small rock formation. If they have a $50 set and I am a parent, I would buy a cool little castle outpost, even if my kid had never seen LotR, over a collapsing bridge play set from the mines of Moria and my kid loved LotR. An AFOL might go for the Moria set if it had a Balrog, but parents don’t always value the same things as AFOLs. We need to keep the parents of kids interested for a theme to survive.

Well the timing of the first wave was to coincide with the movie release, so it is possible it is a second half theme and not a first half theme. There is still plenty of places to go with more sets. Howver, if I am being honest I must also add I wasn't thrilled with the first wave of PotC sets. They had some cool new pieces, but with the exception of QAR, none of the sets really struck me as being a good representation of the movie scene. I think that might be the issue LEGO faces with themes. They are trying to recreate "a scene" in themes like PoP and Indiana Jones and PotC and not focusing on making sets people would want even if the theme name wasn't stamped on the box. I think Star Wars has survivied as a theme because people would want those sets/vehicles even if they have never seen Star Wars or the Clone Wars TV shows. I personally think LEGO should try to move away from set pieces like the wacky rock formation in Isla de Muerta or the goofy fountain and focus on making things people like to build like houses, ships, and carts. On the LotR thing... I have a feeling it is going to happen. I have no more knowledge than the average joe and haven't seen any photos or anything, but there is so much smoke, I think there must be a fire somewhere. Like Pirates II, there is some concern by castle fans that there will be no Castle sets in 2012. I think it is because they are working away on LotR. I am a bit surprised since the movies are PG-13, but then again, so was the last Harry Potter flcik, SW: Revenge of the Sith and PotC. I think the series will succeed so long as LEGO focus on building things people would want to build outside of the film franchise like a hobbit's house, or an outpost, or a seige weapon and not silly things like a hobbit and a troll in the forest with a single tree as the only build element. I think we should save the LotR disucssion for the LotR thread though. Ceck that out here

Cool. Like I said, when you are producing at a higher level, you need to look for smaller things to improve. Looking forward to seeing this!!

Love the shape of this tower and the shapes inside the tower. I also like that an interior was added. This tower certianly is thick and very strong looking. A little baren around the base and I agree with Viceroy that minifigs would liven it all up a bit.

Good work! I also have issues taking photos of trans pieces (I have done several things with stained glass windows) that look great with natural light, but just can't quite be caught on film. Correct me if I am wrong here- but am I to understand Siercon and Coral are TWO people who have teamed up to bring us MOCing greatness? If so, I applaud how cohesive everything is, even with more than one chef in the kitchen.

Neat idea, well made, good details, very nice. It is indeed original and has some very unique features. I agree with your concern that it is may be a little too self contained as I am not sure without the back story I would have known this was a section of mountain bridge. I may have understood that better had at least one side been mountain or something. I think this is more an issue with the 32 x 32 restriction than with your building skills though. I also think it is too narrow to be a major trade bridge. I suppose in the mountains everyone is on foot so it might not need to be large enough for a cart or something, but I would hate to squeeze through this bridge with a large pack or a pack animal of some sort... especially with all the trolls and dwarves about! I do love the shapes and details though, it is just so unique. I think you are right that the look is so eye-catching the other stuff is far less important. Great MOC overall and sure to be a challenge contender!

Very nice. I am looking forward to seeing it once you have the rest of it filled up. So far though, right on. Perfect for our guild, nice detail, but not too busy. Only bits of constructive criticism… The transition from the dark green to the bright green foliage around the river looks a bit strange to me. Maybe it will look great when you are done, but maybe you could try the “regular” green foliage pieces instead or in add the “regular” green ones between the dark and bright green. Really up to you, just a thought. Secondly, I like the fence running along the path as it looks well constructed, but I do not know who or what we are trying to keep out or in! If the fence is to force people to go through the gate, maybe the fence should be stronger, if it is instead to keep animals off the path to the gate, then I am not sure the portion between the gatehouse and river is needed, but that opinion may change depending on how you build the rest of this MOC. Some may say, “Z, I think you are really nitpicking here, those are such minor details in a great start to a MOC!” and I would respond with, “When the builder shows he is capable of building a great and super detailed MOC, you have to go a little deeper if you want to make suggestions for improvements!”

I would check out the MOC pages link as the other pictures show some more of the town. That middle building for examples is a cute little church. I think the MOCer for this creation does a lot of MOCs for another LEGO Pirate site and has some other stuff worth checking out on his MOC pages as well!

Weirdest thing ever ... While making that post my computer was attacked by malware. I don't think it was the MOC as it is from a legit site... But be warned if you get a pop-up while viewing. Looks like Windows just issued a bunch of security updates now too... I think that should do it. Carry on... carry on...

[pid][/pid]194B Our news scout SirSven7 has found us another cool MOC to discuss so... let's discuss!! You can find more info here [bloggedcp][/bloggedcp]

Like I said when you posted this as a WIP, I get a very strong Lord of the Rings vibe from this tower. I think you did a GREAT job of making improvements on it since the WIP stages. Really nice build. You took the suggestions and though I can still tell it is the same tower, this one just strikes me as so much more developed. I look forward to seeing your Albion build, you are quickly becoming a force within Avalonia!

I wish I had some inside knowledge... but alas I am as clueless as the rest of you. I have read everyone's thoughts and my opinion is as follows... Last year we got PotC in May/June because that was when the movie came out. We got the BP in November when the DVD came out, so I don't think a lack of a winter refresh means the end of the line. There is still plenty of material to choose from for more sets. Someone said the minifig of Davy Jones in the Black Pearl signaled the end... But even with Davy Jones in a set, there is still plenty of other characters we are missing (Bootstrap, Governor Swan, Cutler Beckett... many, many, many more) and plenty of really good playable sets as others have mentioned. Where is the Kraken? Where is Tortuga? Where is the Dutchman? Where is the docks or jail scene from the first movie? Singapore anyone? Hoe about Tia Dalma's shack? Any sets to feature Pintel and Ragetti? I think we will see more PotC so long as LEGO has the Disney liscense. It is my opinion LEGO wanted pirates back and only capped pirates II because of the PotC liscense. I am a little disturbed we haven't heard ANY concrete rumors, but I think we will see something in 2012 to keep the theme going for 2013 and more PotC movies.