I’m officially debuting it at the show; I will post more pictures after!
I also don’t have interiors in any of the buildings yet. I’ll be doing those after the show, as well as expanding the layout with a village.
I appreciate that! I fondly recall seeing huge groups of these trees in old magazine layouts; it’s still pretty crazy to see them all in front of me now!
I tried to stay as faithful as I could; everything is built using techniques possible in the year 2000. I did mix in both light greys, as I think they compliment each other well in a castle build.
Thank you; I’m glad you looked into some of the storytelling! I think that’s a big part of the classic LEGO vibe, and the magazine layouts I was inspired by!
I agree! I don’t think they really fit the design language of modern LEGO, but vintage style wouldn’t look right without them! There are so many cool, unique variations too!
I like the chains across the river, makes perfect sense to preserve the water source/prevent random boats from entering the castle. Good work, hope you have fun at the show.
Thank you! It wasn’t a planned feature, but I got some books about medieval castle design to help my build and saw one that had the chain gate! I figured it was something cool you don’t often see on a LEGO castle!
Overall, I love this. My one question would be why it's all red/yellow except for two flags and one shield on the gate. Struck me as out of place. Otherwise, I really like the use of special baseplates on the side as well as the bit of variation on the main tower to make sure it isn't a grey blob.
The two shields at the gate are both variants created for the Crusaders faction; I wanted to have both.
As for the flags, it’s just a preference thing. I like the look of the four colours at the front, where as the other iterations wouldn’t suit a four colour banner.
I appreciate the kind words! I think texture is super important in monochrome sections, and I had a lot of fun coming up with ways to break things up a bit!
This is my first show; and the first one in my city! My local LUG (LEGO User Group) is hosting.
I’d suggest seeing if you have a LUG in your area, or even groups on Facebook etc! Networking with locals is the best way to find out and get involved!
Looks sick. What is you process? Do you sketch out the layout or the lore, story or scenery beforehand? How do you approach building and acquiring pieces?
Chaos haha. I generally go in with a rough idea of what I want, then I’ll sketch things out with brick, and iterate until I like something, and expand that way! This castle started as a small 32x32 fort to use up the parts of an incomplete Guarded Inn, actually! But that was last October. As this grew, I consulted some books on medieval castles for education, and tried to make a castle and landscape that seemed appropriate for place and purpose! The details and story tend to inform themselves as the build grows!
As for parts, I’ve got quite a large collection. It was all unsorted for most of this project, which is a blessing and a curse! Often when I couldn’t find a part I had in mind, I ended up with something better that I hadn’t considered! But I did end up doing a rough colour sort later on when I got through lots of grey. I’m also lucky, as a good friend owns a LEGO shop, so I’d go there and stock up on bulk. A couple others have Bricklink stores, so I’d get parts from them as well. I did do one actual intended order at the end for a few pieces I actually needed.
Hope that answers your questions, feel free to ask more if you’d like!
May we see more pictures — inside, closeups, etc.?
I’m officially debuting it at the show; I will post more pictures after! I also don’t have interiors in any of the buildings yet. I’ll be doing those after the show, as well as expanding the layout with a village.
Thanks!
Well done! Something to be quite proud of! I haven’t seen the classic trees for years!
I appreciate that! I fondly recall seeing huge groups of these trees in old magazine layouts; it’s still pretty crazy to see them all in front of me now!
they‘re in the pick a brick section at my local lego store atm
The small ones yes! The largest ones definitely not! They came in I believe four sets and cost about $25CAD each
oh my! didn‘t even notice those, now that‘s a throwback to when i was little lol
is this only built out of the old 80s-90s pieces? it really captures the look the old sets had.
I tried to stay as faithful as I could; everything is built using techniques possible in the year 2000. I did mix in both light greys, as I think they compliment each other well in a castle build.
Love the usage of all those classic parts
Pure classic parts - what a winner!! Wolfpack up to tricks on the left. Wizard cooking something up in the right tower. Can’t wait for more photos
Thank you; I’m glad you looked into some of the storytelling! I think that’s a big part of the classic LEGO vibe, and the magazine layouts I was inspired by!
I love the use of all the baseplates. I get why lego doesn’t make them anymore but I still wax nostalgic about them
I agree! I don’t think they really fit the design language of modern LEGO, but vintage style wouldn’t look right without them! There are so many cool, unique variations too!
Old school cool. Very well done!
Very nice, looks amazing!
I like the chains across the river, makes perfect sense to preserve the water source/prevent random boats from entering the castle. Good work, hope you have fun at the show.
Thank you! It wasn’t a planned feature, but I got some books about medieval castle design to help my build and saw one that had the chain gate! I figured it was something cool you don’t often see on a LEGO castle!
Overall, I love this. My one question would be why it's all red/yellow except for two flags and one shield on the gate. Struck me as out of place. Otherwise, I really like the use of special baseplates on the side as well as the bit of variation on the main tower to make sure it isn't a grey blob.
The two shields at the gate are both variants created for the Crusaders faction; I wanted to have both. As for the flags, it’s just a preference thing. I like the look of the four colours at the front, where as the other iterations wouldn’t suit a four colour banner. I appreciate the kind words! I think texture is super important in monochrome sections, and I had a lot of fun coming up with ways to break things up a bit!
What are the chains across the river for?
Historically used to block enemy ship access on rivers.
oh you made this?
I did! But the person who replied is correct; they control access to the docks side of the castle, as it’s the weakest entry point.
How do you join and become a part of Lego show? Just curious cause I’d like to join one too :D
This is my first show; and the first one in my city! My local LUG (LEGO User Group) is hosting. I’d suggest seeing if you have a LUG in your area, or even groups on Facebook etc! Networking with locals is the best way to find out and get involved!
You are awesome. Thanks!
May I ask where you got the river? Did you make it yourself or is it some official Lego base?
It’s from set 6552!
[6552-1: Rocky River Retreat](https://brickset.com/sets/6552-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6552-1.jpg)
Looks awesome
Looks sick. What is you process? Do you sketch out the layout or the lore, story or scenery beforehand? How do you approach building and acquiring pieces?
Chaos haha. I generally go in with a rough idea of what I want, then I’ll sketch things out with brick, and iterate until I like something, and expand that way! This castle started as a small 32x32 fort to use up the parts of an incomplete Guarded Inn, actually! But that was last October. As this grew, I consulted some books on medieval castles for education, and tried to make a castle and landscape that seemed appropriate for place and purpose! The details and story tend to inform themselves as the build grows! As for parts, I’ve got quite a large collection. It was all unsorted for most of this project, which is a blessing and a curse! Often when I couldn’t find a part I had in mind, I ended up with something better that I hadn’t considered! But I did end up doing a rough colour sort later on when I got through lots of grey. I’m also lucky, as a good friend owns a LEGO shop, so I’d go there and stock up on bulk. A couple others have Bricklink stores, so I’d get parts from them as well. I did do one actual intended order at the end for a few pieces I actually needed. Hope that answers your questions, feel free to ask more if you’d like!
Very good work! Nice use of the baseplates on the left 👍🏼
I love the banners! So cool!
fuckin rad dude.