Gilles Gaer

Well well It has been years that I haven't posted anything but there we are: I finally got around to posting my latest MOC (5 years in the making) - a creation inspired from the Sainte Chapelle in the castle in Vincennes and a legend attached to its construction (construction of the MOC, not the actual building :)). The chicken and the church The building instructions are currently being reviewed on rebrickable Gilles

Amazing moc, thanks for sharing! I was wondering what's your opinion regarding adapting the model for XL motors and 4x7x11 battery box (only got a limited technics collection). Does it sound remotely feasible? What would the performance loss be? Cheers

Huzzah! You've been quite quick...

Here's a MOC Left4Bricks inspired me, when he mentionned "Dark Medieval Times" in a previous moc of mine (There). I'm not a big fan of either Satyricon or Wolves in the Throne Room but I thought it was a great name for a moc. The last (many) hours I've been building I have been watching a french series called Kaamelott (no clue if it exists in english but I hope so as it is an amazing piece of art... and comedy). At some point in season 5 I believe, the king reflects on his deeds as a king and the meaning of/duty attached to/ the one wielding power. I guess it influenced me as well. Anyway, enough talks, here's the thing: The Throne Mine for the Taking The Immobile Sentinels Silent Servants of the Crown And I With Faith Now appears my Fate Blade in Hand The young Knight And I With just a Crown to protect my Life And a Parade Sword To defend my Right Despair Has revealed the Wolves In the Throne Room The Sentinels, Immovable And I Alone Cheers gg

Dear all Here are three little scenes from a famous painting. I did it the other Sunday as I was waiting for the sun to appear so as to take pictures of another MOC (finally only managed it in the last couple of days)... Three cheers to the first who can point to the story/name of the characters/name of the painter! Hope you like it... gg

Thanks for the comment! By the way: the duke is a nobleman you see. It is beneath is dignity to look afraid or do as lowly things as feeling pain ;-)

It had been a strange day... watching this newborn felt exhilarting despite the clouds over the kingdom. I was glad Isabeau gave birth to a daughter: my brother, John and Paris would never have forgiven me a boy... I knew I was in danger in the capital... the University and the crowd prefer the Burgundian... It's is somewhat amusing that the fearless does not even carry out is misdeeds himself, although I am sure he will nonetheless take pride in the killing... Edit: changed the whole post ;-)

Very nice moc-ing, I like your bamboo forest. Not a fan of the blood, though, I'd try some lego blood gg

Someone also pointed out to me that natural light works wonders on moc... although it's granted that it's a wee bit harder to tune to your needs I guess you have seen Hinckley's post http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=10520 gg

Agreed with the distortion I did it to emphasize the dying knight (the eye was a bit attracted towards the archers) Regarding my setup, it's extremelly simple: (larger version on the photostream) I have a kind of black granit table which works great as background provided I'm careful with reflexions of light on it. I used on black chair as background as well, trying to hide the seam between table and chair. No additional lighting (at this step... see below). On close shots of the fig, I tried to avoid patches due to direct reflexion. The mill and two trees are separate from the moc for optimal placement (as per The Lady and the Blade). I use my wife's very good camera (nikon D5000) with a fairly standard 18-55mm objective. I normally take most of the shots with automatic settings but this time I was playing around the manual settings (I have much to learn ). As I was shooting a dusk battle, in addition to the black background I tried keeping the aperture opening short (I think about 1/200 but it of course depends on the ambient lighting... ISO was 1000 if I remember correctly). Automatic focusing works ok but for very close shots I manually focus on the point of interest (also playing around with the depth of field). I also try to comply with the rule of the thirds (although this can be sorted out later). I mostly lucky to have this great camera! I photoshoped most of the pictures for minor adjustments (mostly croping and adjustment of brightness and contrast). On the picts with the burning mill I brightened the flames to create a kind of burning effect. I did this by following steps 9 to 11 of this tutorial. I guess one can do the same kind of manipulations with opensource software like gimp (should try one day). Here's what I can say there... Cheers gg

Men of Lord Cotterg had been pillaging the countryside for about a week now. Count Gaer could do little but watch his serfs being slaughtered and his stockpiles burnt. Finally gathering knights and squires from his house, he led them to a field of his chosing where they could await Lord Cotterg's onslaught. After putting the mill to the flame, Lord Cotterg and his soldiers cross the ford and assault the lightly fortified positions of his nemesis. The battle starts and splinters into dozens of private struggles where neither nobility of soul nor magnanimity prevail. Images of desolation unfold as battle progresses: a too eager knight beheaded by a peasant... a squire backstabbed in the midst of a fight... Lord Cotterg unmerciful gaze while bludgeoning a helpless soldier... While the bloodshed continues a young man of Lord Cotterg's retinue dies from an arrow wound in the stomach. As his life is leaving him, he contemplates the Abyss he's heading for... I had been planning to build a battle as a display for my knights for some time. The "conflict" monthly challenge on classic castle gave me the perfect incentive to finally do it! Full set on Flickr Comments and advices are of course very welcome! I should add that I've seen the Grunwald battle scene (as well as numerous others) which probably influenced me in some ways. Cheers gg

Great! I like your castle a lot, especially the fact that it looks busy and alive! gg

Queen Ann's revenge... I wanted another ship to battle my previous acquisition, namely the imperial flagship :). She was a nice build, although I prefered the flagship... Next will be the mill village raid, if it's ever sold in switzerland... (if anyone has a date...) gg

Thanks all! It's true that the path the church could be better and especially not this steep. Guess I'll have to extend my collection of green plates :). gg

Thanks all for the nice comments (and for the deeplink). Cheers gg