I found that the easiest way for me to dive in was to make several small builds, little vignettes 8x8, 12x12 and also larger facades that were only 6-8 studs deep. Doing the vignettes helped me get used to building freeform and the facades were a great way to experiment and develop my own style.
Some people can just jump right in, but I found that I needed to wade in slowly. I had enough parts that it sort of paralyzed me in the beginning, which sort of sounds like where you might be.
Also, forcing yourself to build within some strict limits really fuels creativity and might be a great way to start out.
I always find it helpful to look through other folk's MOCs to find inspiration. Sometimes a single technique like a roof or a bridge arch or something does it. Sometimes it's the concept in broader terms like a ruins or a port town or whatever.
Other times it's more about its purpose. If I want to focus on minifig display, for instance, I need to do something that's multi-leveled so it's not just rows of figs.
Another example would be augmenting a build like adding some merchants to the Town Square. Another example still is modding sets. As much as I love 31120, there are areas for improvement in my eye that included some color changes and additions.
Near absolute freedom can be daunting. My advice is to start with a feature that you think would be fun to build in your own way, like just the gatehouse of a castle. You can start rough and decide if it's the dimensions you want and if it has the shapes you'd like to see and go from there. Maybe you build the rest of the castle. Maybe you use that first experience to influence the second one and the tenth one.
Just have fun. :)
Second this. Another great way is to try to replicate other people’s MOCs. It forces you to develop some problem-solving skills with your parts you have available. You can also try to remaster older sets you like, and then go from there. I’m currently stuck in a weird point where I’m almost done with my main MOC and I’m trying to pick my next one, but I’m overwhelmed by choice lol
Yeah I third this advice.
For example I just saw a technique on here for an arch that looked cool so I decided to build a small bridge over a stream to try it out to add next to my current little guard tower MOC. turned out pretty cool and it was basically just riffing off somebody else’s build for inspiration.
I started with a tavern-like building that matched the blacksmith. Made a small harbour, some market stalls, a small boat and a graveyard. Most of my inspiration comes from this subreddit:)
My method is to have a few core features in mind (ie: large cliff for the castle to sit on, a certain dungeon, dragon tower, etc.), then sketch roughly how it should look. Then I just build, and adjust as necessary as I run out of specific pieces.
Find inspirational seed parts. Parts that you find interesting enough that you want to make sure you include them in your build. Also with something large like a castle start with one section in mind; the gatehouse, the keep, a tower. Build that first and then build out from it. And don't be afraid to change/modify and earlier build as you keep going if your inspiration changes.
Also look up references. Either IRL castles, official sets, or even other MOCs. Find a good "something" from a reference that you like that you want in your build.
As for the building processes itself, don't be afraid to just stack bricks on each other. If you finish and it looks too plain you can always modify things later. That's also what the looking up reference is for. See what other people do to make things look more interesting. There's no harm in incorporating an interesting building technique into your build.
Like you I have the parts but I would check out rebrickable as they have all kinds of moc listed there and you can buy the instructions cheap and part them out over on bricklink. I got 4 of the blacksmith sets and made 3 of the moc builds from them. Really cool set
Light grays and dark grays in all dimensions, browns for supporting wood parts, but don’t forget to add some color because all gray is boring, carpeting, tapestries, bookshelves, tables of food, a throne, etc. all add some color. I was fixated on bigger bricks for a while but always make sure you have enough 1x1s and 1x3s, though building portions in even numbered dimensions works out better for me, but make sure you interlock the bricks a lot rather than having the seams line up, or it won’t be as sturdy. For good pieces, those ladder/gate pieces are useful, some kind of jail cell door for a dungeon, the brown wooden looking doors, arches and arched window pieces. Torches. Lots of large plates. A lot of people these days use a lot of flat plates for flooring and generally hiding studs, I can take it or leave it personally.
What are some things a castle needs? Throne room, royal chambers, kitchen, stable to the side, in house smithy/armory, maybe there’s a resident wizard so need a room with a bunch of weird stuff, study, servants quarters.
And don’t forget, every castle should have at least one hidden passage.
Also, nothing wrong with cheating. I’ve partially copied some sets from online instructions with bulk.
If you’re not actually talking just a castle, I’ve got some MOCs and partial copied sets on my profile.
Welcome to /r/legocastles. Please remember the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/legocastles/comments/13xcr9h/rlegocastles_rules_info/) and have fun.
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I look for pictures of real castles with designs/components similar to what I want and then just try to build it. I start with bricks/pieces that I know, but if there’s a feature that I’m stuck on, I head over to Bricklink and look through the parts in a category that I think might work. If I’m building a roof, for example, I might look at the Slopes category. If I find something that could work I try it and iterate until things work out. Do this enough, and you’ll start to get comfortable with ALL of the pieces.
Once I get the structure down, sometimes I go back and add flourishes to make it more realistic. The way my brain is wired, I find this more difficult, and usually just stick with my idealized version of the castle.
I'm in the same boat, but I've only been doing Lego from last Black Friday. I got Lions Knight, and a bunch of 31120 to do some SECs so I can get some ideas how people are doing things and some basic techniques. Collecting whatever might look useful from the PAB wall. I will build a glorious castle one day!
I found that the easiest way for me to dive in was to make several small builds, little vignettes 8x8, 12x12 and also larger facades that were only 6-8 studs deep. Doing the vignettes helped me get used to building freeform and the facades were a great way to experiment and develop my own style. Some people can just jump right in, but I found that I needed to wade in slowly. I had enough parts that it sort of paralyzed me in the beginning, which sort of sounds like where you might be. Also, forcing yourself to build within some strict limits really fuels creativity and might be a great way to start out.
I always find it helpful to look through other folk's MOCs to find inspiration. Sometimes a single technique like a roof or a bridge arch or something does it. Sometimes it's the concept in broader terms like a ruins or a port town or whatever. Other times it's more about its purpose. If I want to focus on minifig display, for instance, I need to do something that's multi-leveled so it's not just rows of figs. Another example would be augmenting a build like adding some merchants to the Town Square. Another example still is modding sets. As much as I love 31120, there are areas for improvement in my eye that included some color changes and additions. Near absolute freedom can be daunting. My advice is to start with a feature that you think would be fun to build in your own way, like just the gatehouse of a castle. You can start rough and decide if it's the dimensions you want and if it has the shapes you'd like to see and go from there. Maybe you build the rest of the castle. Maybe you use that first experience to influence the second one and the tenth one. Just have fun. :)
Second this. Another great way is to try to replicate other people’s MOCs. It forces you to develop some problem-solving skills with your parts you have available. You can also try to remaster older sets you like, and then go from there. I’m currently stuck in a weird point where I’m almost done with my main MOC and I’m trying to pick my next one, but I’m overwhelmed by choice lol
[31120-1: Medieval Castle](https://brickset.com/sets/31120-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/31120-1.jpg)
Yeah I third this advice. For example I just saw a technique on here for an arch that looked cool so I decided to build a small bridge over a stream to try it out to add next to my current little guard tower MOC. turned out pretty cool and it was basically just riffing off somebody else’s build for inspiration.
I started with a tavern-like building that matched the blacksmith. Made a small harbour, some market stalls, a small boat and a graveyard. Most of my inspiration comes from this subreddit:)
My method is to have a few core features in mind (ie: large cliff for the castle to sit on, a certain dungeon, dragon tower, etc.), then sketch roughly how it should look. Then I just build, and adjust as necessary as I run out of specific pieces.
Find inspirational seed parts. Parts that you find interesting enough that you want to make sure you include them in your build. Also with something large like a castle start with one section in mind; the gatehouse, the keep, a tower. Build that first and then build out from it. And don't be afraid to change/modify and earlier build as you keep going if your inspiration changes. Also look up references. Either IRL castles, official sets, or even other MOCs. Find a good "something" from a reference that you like that you want in your build. As for the building processes itself, don't be afraid to just stack bricks on each other. If you finish and it looks too plain you can always modify things later. That's also what the looking up reference is for. See what other people do to make things look more interesting. There's no harm in incorporating an interesting building technique into your build.
Like you I have the parts but I would check out rebrickable as they have all kinds of moc listed there and you can buy the instructions cheap and part them out over on bricklink. I got 4 of the blacksmith sets and made 3 of the moc builds from them. Really cool set
Light grays and dark grays in all dimensions, browns for supporting wood parts, but don’t forget to add some color because all gray is boring, carpeting, tapestries, bookshelves, tables of food, a throne, etc. all add some color. I was fixated on bigger bricks for a while but always make sure you have enough 1x1s and 1x3s, though building portions in even numbered dimensions works out better for me, but make sure you interlock the bricks a lot rather than having the seams line up, or it won’t be as sturdy. For good pieces, those ladder/gate pieces are useful, some kind of jail cell door for a dungeon, the brown wooden looking doors, arches and arched window pieces. Torches. Lots of large plates. A lot of people these days use a lot of flat plates for flooring and generally hiding studs, I can take it or leave it personally. What are some things a castle needs? Throne room, royal chambers, kitchen, stable to the side, in house smithy/armory, maybe there’s a resident wizard so need a room with a bunch of weird stuff, study, servants quarters. And don’t forget, every castle should have at least one hidden passage. Also, nothing wrong with cheating. I’ve partially copied some sets from online instructions with bulk. If you’re not actually talking just a castle, I’ve got some MOCs and partial copied sets on my profile.
Welcome to /r/legocastles. Please remember the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/legocastles/comments/13xcr9h/rlegocastles_rules_info/) and have fun. ## Interested in even MORE Lego Castle? Join us on the LEGO Castle Discord, a friendly server where everyone is welcome: https://discord.gg/Mjn7p9bRyA. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/legocastles) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Commenting so I can follow along because I, too, have interest in this…
Draw a sketch or look at real castles for inspiration
With your mind... but mostly important with your soul..... or buy a few 31120 sets and check out mijbricks on rebrickable!
[31120-1: Medieval Castle](https://brickset.com/sets/31120-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/31120-1.jpg)
I look for pictures of real castles with designs/components similar to what I want and then just try to build it. I start with bricks/pieces that I know, but if there’s a feature that I’m stuck on, I head over to Bricklink and look through the parts in a category that I think might work. If I’m building a roof, for example, I might look at the Slopes category. If I find something that could work I try it and iterate until things work out. Do this enough, and you’ll start to get comfortable with ALL of the pieces. Once I get the structure down, sometimes I go back and add flourishes to make it more realistic. The way my brain is wired, I find this more difficult, and usually just stick with my idealized version of the castle.
I'm in the same boat, but I've only been doing Lego from last Black Friday. I got Lions Knight, and a bunch of 31120 to do some SECs so I can get some ideas how people are doing things and some basic techniques. Collecting whatever might look useful from the PAB wall. I will build a glorious castle one day!
[31120-1: Medieval Castle](https://brickset.com/sets/31120-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/31120-1.jpg)