December 2023 – Mark Pospesel (Coding and Other Stuff)

Eldorado Fortress Bag 5

Eldorado Fortress Bag 5/10: We add a second story to the gatehouse with twin rifles aimed down at the ramp to protect the gate. Governor Broadside’s office is there (not shown) and a second cannon is mounted above the office. Governor Broadside looks jaunty with his fancy plumed hat and golden epaulets. This completes the gatehouse. Bag 6 will begin a separate structure.

LEGO build of set 10320 Eldorado Fortress in progress. A second story has been added to the gatehouse. It features a balcony with two rifles pointed down at the ramp leading to the gate, a small office with a cannon mounted above it, and a blue and white flag with crossed cannons. An officer stands on the balcony brandishing a cutlass.

Eldorado Fortress Bag 4

Eldorado Fortress Bag 4/10: We add the first floor of the gatehouse at the top of the ramp, some crenelated walls, a rotating cannon emplacement, and a palm tree. I like the dark red bits representing exposed brickwork (once again replicating printed details of the original set using LEGO parts).

LEGO build of set 10320 Eldorado Fortress in progress. The first floor of a gatehouse sits at the top of a ramp that leads up from the jetty. There's a palm tree on the right and a rowboat crewed by two pirates on the left.

Eldorado Fortress Bag 3

Eldorado Fortress Bag 3/10: We build the cobbled stone ramp from the jetty up to where the fortress will sit. In the original set the ramp and raised island were all just a single printed raised baseplate.

LEGO build in progress. A light and dark gray cobbled ramp leads from a black jetty. A bit of sand beach reaches into turquoise waters to the left.

Eldorado Fortress Bag 2

Eldorado Fortress Bag 2/10: We build the foundations and part of the jetty. I can see where one of the cannon emplacements will be.

LEGO build in progress. Turquoise waters, black jetty, darkand light gray craggy rocks, and some white brick foundations. A few green leaves peek out amongst the rocks.

Eldorado Fortress Bag 1

Eldorado Fortress Bag 1/10: A small cutter with fabric sails plus a rowboat crewed by two pirates. This is an upgrade over the two rowboats included in the original set.

LEGO sailing ship with one mast and three sails piloted by a single soldier. A brown rowboat crewed by two pirates, one rowing and the other holding a pair of cutlasses.

Eldorado Fortress

Christmas present. This will pair well with the Pirates of Barracuda Bay set from 2020. This is a modern remake of one of the original pirates sets from 1989.

Box of LEGO set 10320 Eldorado Fortress from 2023. The box art shows an island fortress manned by soldiers, a small cutter, and a rowboat with a pair of pirates.
Box art of LEGO set 6276 Eldorado Fortress from 1989. An island fortress manned by soldiers and two rowboats, one crewed by a pair of pirates.

LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar 2023 in Pictures

Our thirteenth year opening this LEGO advent calendar together and still fun. Shot for a second year with an iPhone 14 Pro Max.

LEGO minifigure of Omega from the Bad Batch stands in a tiny sled because the minifigures with the short legs can't even sit. — Day 1

Mini LEGO startship build made mostly out of gray parts. It supposedly is The Justifier, piloted by bounty hunter Cad Bane. It's kind of ugly. — Day 2

Mini LEGO build of the Mandalorian's N-1 Starfighter. It's mostly made of light gray parts and has a sleek shape. — Day 3

3 LEGO micro-builds, from left-to-right: a holiday-themed pit droid, a gray clone turbo tank, and a clone trooper mini figure with orange markings. — Days 4–6

Two LEGO micro-builds. A nondescript amalgamation of mostly gray bricks on the left and a battle droid minifigure holding a blaster on the right — Days 7–8

LEGO micro-build of a Star Wars Clone Wars era battle droid speeder. It's mostly brown and black and hovers above a small square of grass. — Day 9

LEGO micro-build of a weird tank with two big brown wagon wheels mounted at an angle. — Day 10

LEGO micro-build of a tank with a dark blue lower body and light gray upper. There are two small side cannons and one large central cannon. — Day 11

LEGO micro-build of a brown Star Wars GONK droid dressed as Rudolph with tan antlers and a red nose. — Day 12

LEGO micro-build of an Imperial shuttle in white. It has a large vertical upper fin and two wings that angle down. — Day 13

LEGO minifigure of Return of the Jedi era Princess Leia in her Endor moon forest camouflage outfit. She holds a small blaster in her right hand and a cookie in her left. — Day 14

LEGO micro-build of the ewok village with light tan pathways connecting three dark brown trunks. There's a ramp up from the ground. — Day 15

LEGO microbuild of the bunker on Endor that the rebels took over and blew up. It's just a collection of gray plates and slopes. — Day 16

LEGO micro-build mostly in light gray of an Imperial AT-ST, All-Terrain Scout Transport, a two-legged mechanical walker with guns. — Day 17

LEGO micro-build of an Imperial Speeder Bike mostly done in brown and dark gray. — Day 18

LEGO micro-build of the Imperial shield generator on the forest moon of Endor. It has a large gray radar dish pointing upwards that towers over three conifer trees that are represented by green cones. — Day 19

LEGO minifigure of Emperor Palpatine wearing an ugly red Christmas sweater with a Death Star under construction design on it. He holds a red coffee cup in his left hand and bolts of purple and blue energy fly from his right hand. — Day 20

LEGO micro-build of Emperor Palpatine's throne with black arms and high back and a gray seat. — Day 21

LEGO micro build of an Imperial Star Destroyer in light gray with dark gray highlights. It has the classic triangular wedge shape and raised bridge but is missing any engines. — Day 22

LEGO micro build of an Ewok hang glider made mostly out of brown and tan parts. The results are not good. — Day 23

Previous Years

2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012

The weather was so nice (rare sunny day in winter) that I had to take the standup paddle out for the first time in two months. Gorgeous day.

Lake view on a sunny winter’s day. Hills with some buildings edge the lake. The water looks dark blue and is ever so slightly choppy.

Today I jumped in the Ägerisee (lake Ägeri) as part of an annual Christmas Swim event organized by the local expat community. Water temperature was 5.8°C while air temperature was maybe 9°C and sunny. We went last year but just watched. This was my first year jumping in. I hadn’t been in the lake since the summer.

Day 24: Holiday Ewok

LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar Day 24: Holiday Ewok. A white ewok with an ugly sweater-style headdress. And he can fall with style using yesterday’s glider. Solid holiday-themed minifigure. Thumbs up. That’s a wrap for advent 2023!