Age of Mitgardia - Stables Phase 2 - Muninn Ranch

[mccoyed]

It's autumn at the Muninn Ranch, where Bergir is master. He and his wife live in this house, while Eindrin and his family's home is a few miles away. He has come with his children to visit the ranch and check on the eggs he has brought. One day, he will replace Bergir as master of the ranch since all Bergir's sons died long ago and only Eindrin remains to carry on the trade.

Eindrin is quite excited by the hatchling, too excited to clean up the egg shells while Bergir attempts to feed it. Because it is an orphan, it falls to Bergir to give it its first meal. Eindrin thinks the hatchling is one of the legendary white chobos that Mitgardians occasionally claim to see in the mountains. Bergir knows better.

"All chobo are born white of feather, boy."

"Oh."

Away from the grown-ups, Eindrin's children play in the snow that will soon cover the ranch and surrounding countryside as winter sets in. Eindrin's firstborn, Helva, is a mischievous and spirited girl whose constant companion is her dog Hurin. She prepares a bucket of snowballs to ambush her brother, Eindal, who is a gentle boy and fast friend of the youngest of the Muninn Ranch chobo.

Meanwhile, Kensley takes a break from wagoneering to snack on the last few Gysha greens clinging to life amidst the snow.

Inside the house, Bergir's wife Maiken, prepares a stew.

Bergir and Maiken's sons were all warriors. They are proud of them and keep their war-gear displayed prominently in their humble home. Some, perhaps the southron guildfolk, might be embittered at the loss of their children in warfare. Bergir and Maiken, however, keep to the old ways and believe their sons feast in the Hall of the Gods.

Thanks for having a look. I'm really proud of how the house came out and included some pictures of how it opens up on my flickr. I'm becoming very fond of this group of characters and the concept of chobo-rearing but all good things must come to an end. In Phase 3, which takes place a decade later, we'll see how everyone is doing over at Muninn Ranch. Especially with all these rumors of war brewing and troubles in the south...

C&C is welcome as always!

[MKJoshA]

Wow! So many great details! I love the inside of the house. The horn and shield on the wall give this a very rustic-Viking feel which is perfect for Mitgardia! The little girl make snow, the father feeding the Chocobo Gysahl Greens, and the various chocobos in different stages of age are also amazing! One thing I would improve on is the roof. You were probably going for the ramshackle look, but I think it looks more incomplete than anything else. But overall this is a stunning build!

[Simon_S]

It's so cool to see more builds with Chobos involved. I'm looking forward to phase 3!

[Hobbythom]

Excellent build. The interior is very, very nice. One question: what is the part that attaches the pan to the brown rod?

[Lord Vladivus]

Awesome stuff! So many great details. Live the use of the nice cream part as a bucket of snowballs!

[Scaevola]

Nice job, mccoyed your snow-scaping has definitely improved, and the chobos are well done and contrast refreshingly from your other mocs. The house is also well executed; the shield is a nice touch. It's interesting that you've shown that your chobo is an important part of Mitgardian life as opposed to some (which is completely fine), who seem to simply use it as a mount for battle or transportation.

Edited August 5, 2014 by Scaevola

[MAB]

One question: what is the part that attaches the pan to the brown rod?

I imagine it is a clone / custom part similar to a double clip / double C ring like this...

http://www.minifigca...ome.php?cat=410

Edited August 5, 2014 by MAB

[-Horizon-]

Awesome the Chobo Ranch. I like the house and the little Chobos. Maybe work on the tree trunk? It looks a bit plain. Great Job all around though.

[Yzalirk]

Awesome MOC! I really like the house and the shield you added on it.

[mccoyed]

Wow! So many great details! I love the inside of the house. The horn and shield on the wall give this a very rustic-Viking feel which is perfect for Mitgardia! The little girl make snow, the father feeding the Chocobo Gysahl Greens, and the various chocobos in different stages of age are also amazing! One thing I would improve on is the roof. You were probably going for the ramshackle look, but I think it looks more incomplete than anything else. But overall this is a stunning build!

Thanks MKJoshA! About the roof: I'm actually really pleased with its shape as I captured what I had in mind pretty much exactly. I can see in the photos that the central piece is a bit off kilter which is unintentional. It's minor and hard to notice, but it may be what you mean? Can you elaborate, though? This is my first GoH house and I want to learn whatever I can for next time. This time I tried my own technique, and the result is considerably less elaborate than most of the late-medieval houses GoH builders seem to prefer.

It's so cool to see more builds with Chobos involved. I'm looking forward to phase 3!

Yeah! I don't know why I find them so inspiring but I keep having ideas.

Excellent build. The interior is very, very nice. One question: what is the part that attaches the pan to the brown rod?

Thanks. MAB is correct. I got the part from BrickArms. I only have a couple as they're hard to keep from losing.

Nice job, mccoyed your snow-scaping has definitely improved, and the chobos are well done and contrast refreshingly from your other mocs. The house is also well executed; the shield is a nice touch. It's interesting that you've shown that your chobo is an important part of Mitgardian life as opposed to some (which is completely fine), who seem to simply use it as a mount for battle or transportation.

Thanks, Scaevola. I definitely wanted to broaden the chobo out a bit since it's both a rare animal and highly prized. Part of the reason you don't see them kept as much as horses or cattle in Mitgardia is because they grow so large eventually that a modest ranch like Muninn can't keep them. Muninn may be more effectively thought of as a sort of wildlife refuge until the chobos are adults. Chobos go through life phases at roughly the same rate as humans, so it takes over a decade for a hatchling like the one shown here to reach the size of Kensley. Another 5+ years to reach the size of the one in my Mount Up! build. The tension between the warfare uses and the scene here will be the focus of Phase 3.

Awesome the Chobo Ranch. I like the house and the little Chobos. Maybe work on the tree trunk? It looks a bit plain. Great Job all around though.

Thanks! I am still experimenting with different tree styles every time. I agree with you about this kind of trunk but am not sure what I would change to keep the same shape. I think so far my favorite way to make trees is with the brown arches that TLG designed for that purpose.

Awesome MOC! I really like the house and the shield you added on it.

Thanks Behemoth! I love those Vikings shield-dishes but have a hard time finding uses for them. They're so large it's sorta hard to use them with minifigs effectively in a MOC. They work really well as decoration, though, especially to add color to a wooden (plainly built) structure like this house.

Edited August 5, 2014 by mccoyed

[Mike S]

Another great addition to your Chobo builds!

[Hammerhand]

Cool build! I like how you're continuing the story of the Chobos.

[mccoyed]

Another great addition to your Chobo builds!

Cool build! I like how you're continuing the story of the Chobos.

Thanks, fellows!

[mrcp6d]

Love the Chobos!

I like the house, it looks like a viking structure and fits in very well with the culture we've created for Mitgardia.

One detail that's bugging me is the lack of snow on the roof and the tree. There's a bunch on the ground, so there ought to some on the other stuff as well.

[mccoyed]

Love the Chobos!

I like the house, it looks like a viking structure and fits in very well with the culture we've created for Mitgardia.

One detail that's bugging me is the lack of snow on the roof and the tree. There's a bunch on the ground, so there ought to some on the other stuff as well.

Thanks! Yeah, I can see how that might seem strange. But there's a reason. My thinking there was that it's autumn and only the first snows have fallen. There's still enough heat and sun to get rid of some of it, but there are a few deeper drifts still hanging on until it REALLY gets into the snowy season. This happens a lot in Canada during the last months of autumn and again in spring. Some snow just stubbornly holds on long after or long before it's the right time. :D

[soccerkid6]

Sweet house and I love how you're developing the Chobos I'm impressed with how much you managed to fit inside the house and your snow keeps getting better

[mccoyed]

Sweet house and I love how you're developing the Chobos I'm impressed with how much you managed to fit inside the house and your snow keeps getting better

Thanks SK!

[Gunman]

Awesome moc with lots of great details everywhere... Best part for me in the hut's interior. You fit a lot of inderesting details inside!

[mccoyed]

Thanks Gunman.

[Kayne]

Great stuff here, I really love your chobo series!

[markus1984]

ahhhh - love it - CHOCOBOS!!!!!

Really nice ranche and how you made my favorite animal in FF is absolut great!

markus

[MKJoshA]

Thanks MKJoshA! About the roof: I'm actually really pleased with its shape as I captured what I had in mind pretty much exactly. I can see in the photos that the central piece is a bit off kilter which is unintentional. It's minor and hard to notice, but it may be what you mean? Can you elaborate, though? This is my first GoH house and I want to learn whatever I can for next time. This time I tried my own technique, and the result is considerably less elaborate than most of the late-medieval houses GoH builders seem to prefer.

To me it looks like the plates are just laid together. They don't look like they have any connection points. There is a way to do this so that it looks good. I've done it on many of my houses before. But your plates look off kilter. I'm sorry, I don't have any more specific way to explain it.

Thanks! Yeah, I can see how that might seem strange. But there's a reason. My thinking there was that it's autumn and only the first snows have fallen. There's still enough heat and sun to get rid of some of it, but there are a few deeper drifts still hanging on until it REALLY gets into the snowy season. This happens a lot in Canada during the last months of autumn and again in spring. Some snow just stubbornly holds on long after or long before it's the right time. :D

I've been using that same reasoning for my builds. It's certainly realistic as I see it all the time here in the States.

[mccoyed]

To me it looks like the plates are just laid together. They don't look like they have any connection points. There is a way to do this so that it looks good. I've done it on many of my houses before. But your plates look off kilter. I'm sorry, I don't have any more specific way to explain it.

I've been using that same reasoning for my builds. It's certainly realistic as I see it all the time here in the States.

Have a look at my flickr for this build, if you don't mind. It'll show how I connected it. It's not just laid together, but I agree that it kind of looks that way. Might be easier to make some concrete suggestions if you see more of how I did it.

[Bregir]

I am amazed how the mount up mini challenge spawned so many great creatures, but that it also gave you the idea for this series of builds is just great.

Can't wait to see the next instalment!

[mccoyed]

Hey Bregir! Your name is super similar to Muninn Ranch's stablemaster!

The next installment is finished and waiting to be photographed as it's 1/3 bigger than this one. I will probably retire the chobos for a while after that, but they'll likely resurface somewhere in my Mitgardia builds since the response has been so great.