Book II - Kaliphlin: Guild sign-up and Discussion

[Yzalirk]

I am partial to Brickarms for blades, but have a good bit of Brickforge as well. I have a bunch of (now discontinued) green and sand green colored Brickforge Falcatas for use as plant material in an upcoming build. If you want some magical looking blades, Brickforge is a good place as a number of the weapons are available in trans colors and glow in the dark. Brickarms has a good cobalt color which is close to the Lego color called metal blue on Bricklink. Brickarms also does chrome more frequently, and has done chrome blue and chrome red.

Okay, but I meant like swords and stuff.

I know BrickForge has that cool staff where you can put a gem in, I might get a few. But I still need to save money for actual parts like bricks, slopes, and plates. Lots of minifig parts are expensive, so I assume buying one of each minifig part would be good.

[gedren_y]

Toywiz out of New York has several customizers' parts including Brickarms, Brickforge and Brick Warriors, though their selection may be limited in all but Brickarms. They also have loose Lego parts, custom printed/painted figures and parts, BrickStix brand reusable decals, and minifig stands by Minifig World and Catspaw Customs. For more brands of customizers, click Minifig Pro in the M section of Shop All Brands.

Sorry if I this seems like a commercial.

[Yzalirk]

It's okay, you're just trying to help.

I just don't like ToyWiz because they're prices are ridiculous! As for weapons, for my GoH soldiers, what swords do you suggest from BrickWarriors? I was thinking some of these and maybe some of these or these? What do y'all think?

[Maxim I]

@gedren: the squire is commanding some of my defend groups back in Stedor :) we need good men there as well :)

@behemoth: please don't make the mistake to put your money in an army!! With your 400 dollar, you better spend it to bricks and stuff like that. Ofcourse a small army (around 24 warriors) is needed to defend your settlement and to make some nice Mocs.

Next advice is: consider third party bricks as an extra for special characters. For the price of one special helmet you can buy a complete warrior on bricklink :)

Edited August 18, 2014 by Maxim I

[Yzalirk]

@behemoth: please don't make the mistake to put your money in an army!! With your 400 dollar, you better spend it to bricks and stuff like that. Ofcourse a small army (around 24 warriors) is needed to defend your settlement and to make some nice Mocs.

Next advice is: consider third party bricks as an extra for special characters. For the price of one special helmet you can buy a complete warrior on bricklink :)

Okay, that's what I'm most worried about. I don't want to spend too much on minifig stuff. So does 25 Uruk Hai minifigs sound good? I'll customize them, of course. As for armor, I plan on using the Brute Armor from BrickWarriors because it's cheap, it's awesome, and it's armor and a helmet in one. But I'll be getting them in both Steel and Pearl Gold. The Pearl Gold troops are basically elite soldiers.

[Gabe]

Okay, but I meant like swords and stuff.

I know BrickForge has that cool staff where you can put a gem in, I might get a few. But I still need to save money for actual parts like bricks, slopes, and plates. Lots of minifig parts are expensive, so I assume buying one of each minifig part would be good.

Falcatas are swords though! And they fit in very well with the Kaliphlin style, i've used them before with my own forces, as well as the khopesh. Before you dismiss Brickforge entirely, they do have the excellent "30 under 30c" promotion, which allows you to pick up a awful lot of armour and weaponry very cheaply. My last order there i spent about $30 including shipping to Aus and received over 90 pieces! At the moment they have some nice helms and blades on sale, albeit in a range of odd colours. (That's never bothered me though, i just paint over them with model acrylics - the oil based stuff is pretty hardy and resistant to chipping, even on hilts)

[Yzalirk]

Falcatas are swords though! And they fit in very well with the Kaliphlin style, i've used them before with my own forces. Before you dismiss Brickforge entirely, they do have the excellent "30 under 30c" promotion, which allows you to pick up a awful lot of armour and weaponry very cheaply. My last order there i spent about $30 including shipping to Aus and received over 90 pieces! At the moment they have some nice helms and blades on sale, albeit in a range of odd colours. (That's never bothered me though, i just paint over them with model acrylics - the oil based stuff is pretty hardy and resistant to chipping, even on hilts)

I may end up doing this. I'd just need to get some really good paints that would last for a long time. And 25 soldiers is good, right? Like I said, I still really need bricks and other assorted pieces along with other minifig parts like hair, heads, hats, torsos, legs, and accessories for my other builds that aren't GoH related.

[-Carson Haupt-]

I may end up doing this. I'd just need to get some really good paints that would last for a long time. And 25 soldiers is good, right? Like I said, I still really need bricks and other assorted pieces along with other minifig parts like hair, heads, hats, torsos, legs, and accessories for my other builds that aren't GoH related.

Really even that might be a bit excessive, my army of Avalonian soldiers is around 10, I find my self using civilians a LOT more than troops.

[Kai NRG]

I may end up doing this. I'd just need to get some really good paints that would last for a long time. And 25 soldiers is good, right? Like I said, I still really need bricks and other assorted pieces along with other minifig parts like hair, heads, hats, torsos, legs, and accessories for my other builds that aren't GoH related.

25 soldiers is plenty. Personally I only have two or three matching soldiers, which is (very) annoying at times but I can work around it (and don't want to spend money on figs!). I'm sure you could find use for 25 in one build, but if you find it's really pushing things, 10-15 would probably cover what you really will find (not absolutely necessary) but a huge benefit.

[Gideon]

I still almost never use more than a handful of minifigs in a build, with a few exeptions. If you are on a tight budget I would advice putting most the money into bricks rather than into an oversized army

[SkaForHire]

Falcatas are swords though! And they fit in very well with the Kaliphlin style, i've used them before with my own forces, as well as the khopesh. Before you dismiss Brickforge entirely, they do have the excellent "30 under 30c" promotion, which allows you to pick up a awful lot of armour and weaponry very cheaply. My last order there i spent about $30 including shipping to Aus and received over 90 pieces! At the moment they have some nice helms and blades on sale, albeit in a range of odd colours. (That's never bothered me though, i just paint over them with model acrylics - the oil based stuff is pretty hardy and resistant to chipping, even on hilts)

I have never thought about that for all those off-colored deep discounted weapons I bought by the 10s. That is a great idea.

On another note, I have always been an army builder, starting with pirates. So I have wasted way too much money on minifigs over the years. The main units of Eastgate and Gear for the battle, I got bulk pieces from Germany by the 50 count. For around $215 I made about 150 figs. Of course, unless you are posing unit pics, fighting large battles, or war gaming -- there really isn't much point in having over 20 of the same troop.

[Yzalirk]

Really even that might be a bit excessive, my army of Avalonian soldiers is around 10, I find my self using civilians a LOT more than troops.

25 soldiers is plenty. Personally I only have two or three matching soldiers, which is (very) annoying at times but I can work around it (and don't want to spend money on figs!). I'm sure you could find use for 25 in one build, but if you find it's really pushing things, 10-15 would probably cover what you really will find (not absolutely necessary) but a huge benefit.

I still almost never use more than a handful of minifigs in a build, with a few exeptions. If you are on a tight budget I would advice putting most the money into bricks rather than into an oversized army

I have never thought about that for all those off-colored deep discounted weapons I bought by the 10s. That is a great idea.

On another note, I have always been an army builder, starting with pirates. So I have wasted way too much money on minifigs over the years. The main units of Eastgate and Gear for the battle, I got bulk pieces from Germany by the 50 count. For around $215 I made about 150 figs. Of course, unless you are posing unit pics, fighting large battles, or war gaming -- there really isn't much point in having over 20 of the same troop.

Okay, thanks for the advice guys. As for pieces - How many of the same pieces (bricks, plates, slopes, tiles, ect.) should I get? I was thinking maybe 50 each, or is that too low?

[Gideon]

Okay, thanks for the advice guys. As for pieces - How many of the same pieces (bricks, plates, slopes, tiles, ect.) should I get? I was thinking maybe 50 each, or is that too low?

Depends on the kind of parts you are talking about, I usually use several hundreds of 1x2 plates in my builds to get the level of detail right

I would advice against buying too many large bricks (rather go for many small), as nothing larger than Nx4 looks good in a detailed build if you ask me.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Gideon

[Yzalirk]

Depends on the kind of parts you are talking about, I usually use several hundreds of 1x2 plates in my builds to get the level of detail right

I would advice against buying too many large bricks (rather go for many small), as nothing larger than Nx4 looks good in a detailed build if you ask me.

Okay, so with larger pieces (like bricks and plates) I should buy a bit less? With plates, I'm looking to buying maybe around 50 large plates to actually start the base of builds and get parts to make like a border around it.

[Kai NRG]

Okay, so with larger pieces (like bricks and plates) I should buy a bit less? With plates, I'm looking to buying maybe around 50 large plates to actually start the base of builds and get parts to make like a border around it.

Typically, yes, the smaller the piece, the more you should get/the more useful it's going to be. And after all, you can (almost) always use 4 2x2s instead of a 4x4, plus, you have the added versatility that you can also make a 8x2, or some odd shape, etc. Honestly though, you're not going to get everything you want at the first go, no matter how much advice we give you - you'll just have to play around with it, build some MOCs, and see what it is you most need for next time!

[Yzalirk]

Typically, yes, the smaller the piece, the more you should get/the more useful it's going to be. And after all, you can (almost) always use 4 2x2s instead of a 4x4, plus, you have the added versatility that you can also make a 8x2, or some odd shape, etc. Honestly though, you're not going to get everything you want at the first go, no matter how much advice we give you - you'll just have to play around with it, build some MOCs, and see what it is you most need for next time!

Ah, okay. So what would be the most essential and important parts I should get without a doubt? (Links would be useful )

[robuko]

Different people use different parts and have different styles. Some use only system pieces, others use technic and Bionicle. It's really up to you to find what works for you. Having said that, I totally agree with Gideon, small bits are more useful. Plates and tiles especially. And 25 is too big for a starter army, 6 would be plenty. Realistically you can only get about 10-15 figs on a 32x32 base and still see any details of the MOC.

[Yzalirk]

Different people use different parts and have different styles. Some use only system pieces, others use technic and Bionicle. It's really up to you to find what works for you. Having said that, I totally agree with Gideon, small bits are more useful. Plates and tiles especially. And 25 is too big for a starter army, 6 would be plenty. Realistically you can only get about 10-15 figs on a 32x32 base and still see any details of the MOC.

Okay, I'll probably get about 15 or 20 soldiers, depending how much money I have after getting pieces. I'm not planning on getting any Bionicle nor Technic pieces by the way.

[gedren_y]

You'd be surprised by how some Bionicle and Technic pieces can be used. There are some great plant and creature applications, as well as internal structure for your builds. There are some minifig scale weapons from the Bionicle line that might be a good fit for your orcs. They take up nearly half this page on Bricklink. They are mostly flat silver and pearl light grey, but a good number of them would pass as orc made things.

[Hobbythom]

Behemoth, I would advise you to build a MOC in Lego digital designer. When you've made something you're happy with you can extract a parts list which you can use on bricklink to order the parts. This will give you feel about what you like to use and allows you to build a moc with a minimum of orders, thus saving money.

In general I would advise you to do what feels right for you. Wether you're building a castle, an army or choosing a character do as YOU please. It is YOUR hobby. YOU should be the one who is happy with the result. Noone on this forum can help you with that.

[Maxim I]

I'd be delighted to have your trading posts in Ruadh! A general trading company is always practical. Our artists will need materials like metal ores, paints and dry pigments, and luxury cloth fit nicely with the artisan theme.

I have a very rough map of the of what I've planned for the settlement, including this part with an area for artisan shops. I'm imagining the builds to be roughly the size of Kai's music store (it looks like the building itself is 16x16, but that's only a loose guideline, and doesn't include space around the shop). Let me know if you'd like to be in that area. If you want to do a larger build, I can put you off to the right, across the pathway.

Would it be all right with y'all if I counted your trading posts for HSS requirements?

edited to add: Ruadh is a dry, dusty place, with little natural vegetation. However, we do have fountains, and raised flower beds. Most of the buildings are from native stone. There is no distinct architectural style, as our residents come from across Historica and bring their own visions of Kaliphlinite architecture. They often incorporate details and materials from their homelands into their builds. Do what you want, and have fun!

Maestro has the honour to open the first trading post in Ruadh:

[Yzalirk]

You'd be surprised by how some Bionicle and Technic pieces can be used. There are some great plant and creature applications, as well as internal structure for your builds. There are some minifig scale weapons from the Bionicle line that might be a good fit for your orcs. They take up nearly half this page on Bricklink. They are mostly flat silver and pearl light grey, but a good number of them would pass as orc made things.

They look alright but I'd rather have some weapons I could reuse for other character races.

Behemoth, I would advise you to build a MOC in Lego digital designer. When you've made something you're happy with you can extract a parts list which you can use on bricklink to order the parts. This will give you feel about what you like to use and allows you to build a moc with a minimum of orders, thus saving money.

In general I would advise you to do what feels right for you. Wether you're building a castle, an army or choosing a character do as YOU please. It is YOUR hobby. YOU should be the one who is happy with the result. Noone on this forum can help you with that.

I might try LDD out but last time I used it, it lagged constantly, so the frames were not good. I just hope I don't get a virus or something.

[NiceMarmot]

I can definitely make your sig-fig and add him to some of my future builds, with your permission of course. But like I've said a few weeks ago - I only like using the fleshied minifigs. So, would this head do? Or this one?

Anyone else?

Well, this is probably a good fleshie alternative. Or maybe this one, but it's more expensive.

[Mike S]

I have a very rough map of the of what I've planned for the settlement, including this part with an area for artisan shops. I'm imagining the builds to be roughly the size of Kai's music store (it looks like the building itself is 16x16, but that's only a loose guideline, and doesn't include space around the shop). Let me know if you'd like to be in that area. If you want to do a larger build, I can put you off to the right, across the pathway.

While they are not a merchant entity, Bishop Jamon and the Aslanic Order would like to establish a presence in Ruadh by building a temple if you so permit.

[Yzalirk]

Well, this is probably a good fleshie alternative. Or maybe this one, but it's more expensive.

I can definitely get the second one you listed and it looks better for your fleshy minifig.

Anyone else want to be fleshified and be in some of my builds? As for parts, should I mostly get 1x1, 1x2, and 2x2 plates? As well as cheese slopes and what length bricks? 1x1, 1x2, 1x3, and 1x4 bricks?

Also, is LDD free?

Edited August 19, 2014 by Behemoth