Marrakesh Marketplace

[MagPiesRUs]

I ran out of pieces for the main building halfway through, so I'm not entirely happy with bits of it. I may have to make a bricklink order or two to spruce it up a bit. Anyway, here we are...

A couple grabs heads over to the fish stall for some, well, fish.

A store owner advertises some of his goods. Apparently, swords and rugs go hand in hand.

Two older town members have a game of chess as a Moorish soldier and Spanish merchant pass by. Behind them, a familiar-looking trader sells off some goods. No witch hats or broomsticks this time...

A fresh batch of goods arrives in the city...

... Which is already being unpacked...

Above, a wealthy man enjoys his life of luxury.

A minaret from a nearby mosque proudly stands above the bustling marketplace.

A Moroccan bird surveys the scene from atop a building.

Enjoy! Feedback is much appreciated.

[WhiteFang]

Great MOC. It really illustrate the buzzling marketplace in the middle eastern lands. At first glance, I thought it was supposed to match with Prince of Persia. Are you intending to combine with the official sets? I supposed the Ambush in Cairo and the upcoming PoP market place can add some nice touch in it.

Oh, and I see Mustafa down there, I supposed this might be his homeland.

[Big Cam]

Brilliant.

Totally reminds me of Assasins Creed.

I love the green cloth piece over the market stand and your custom minifig head toppers.

The color scheme is perfect for the theme you went for. This is what the Prince of Persia sets should look like.

[WesternOutlaw]

This is fantastic! Very nice balance of colors, combined with outstanding details. The main building looks perfect in my opinion. I love the use of the dark tan plates that really add detail. The domed piece (is that from the Orient Expedition balloon set?) combined with the castle-like buttress (for lack of a better name), looks excellent. -Fine details used inside as well.

Do you plan to make any more buildings to create a village by chance? Overall, very nice. I think this deserves a front-page!

[Rick]

Amazing creation TinyPiesRUs! I really like the vibrant scene and all the architectural details on the main building ('How Bazaar' ). And you've really managed to create some minifigs suitable for the themes out of stuff from other themes.

[Captain Green Hair]

Fantastic work!

I've been to Turkish markets and this resembles the atmosphere just perfectly!

[LegoLink]

Incredible MOC,TinyPiesRUs! I like the headdresses on the figs. The whole thing is very detailed., although I feel as somethings missing. Maybe more animals? I also see an ewok behind the red roofed shop,whats with that? All in all, its a very well built MOC.

LegoLink

[Emperor Claudius Rome]

Wow, this is one amazing MoC! I hope to see more from you. But one question is, why did you give the soldier the dwarf helmet?

[badboytje88]

Wow this is great! There are so many great details in this moc! I love the use of the starwars and spacepolice headgear! It works great in this theme.

[Milan]

Yeah, like Cam said, it really looks like Assassins Creed!

I like sandy look.

Well done!

[Svelte]

it really looks like Assassins Creed!

Why does everything have to look like a videogame?

TinyPies, this is absolutely stunning - one of my favourite MOCs in a long time! The level of architectural detail and the subtly blended colour choices are amazing. I'm always a sucker for dark tan! The use of droid arms on the call to prayer tower is brilliant. All your figs are great and the layout of the market is wonderfully done - I especially like the spread capes Really nice work and like TheBrickster I'd love to see expansions. It has that wonderful balance of design and detail but is still recognisably LEGO, like the best creations.

Thanks for sharing!

[lgorlando]

Great Job! I'm really inspired! You took great care in the details of the people with their hats and all (my favorite)

[Commodore Hornbricker]

Great MOC. A very underutilized architectural style that really turned out beautifully. You have it displayed very nicely with lots of wonderful details.

[Princess Muttonchops]

Great MOC TinyPiesRUs! You've really captured the classic, Middle-Eastern look, which is just so hot right now (no pun intended). I love the huge variety of characters you've created here, all contributing to the rich tapestry of a bustling market place. :thumbup:

[Torham]

Great MOC indeed. I especially like the main building with its nice set of colors. I hope you can complete it soon and show us more of it.

[CommanderFox]

An Excellent MOC TinyPiesRUs.

This fits in very nicely with the new Prince of Persia sets.

I really like the side of the building, the minifig legs on the top are a very nice touch.

The tower (sorry don't know what else to call it) is Great! Very nicely built.

Great Job and Im looking forward to an update if you get more bricks off BL.

CommanderFox

[Sandy]

I totally love this, and once I get my hands on those Prince of Persia sets, I'll attempt to build an middle-eastern city scene myself. I already have the Scorpion Palace from the Orient Expedition theme, which also gives loads of pieces suitable for a Persian city.

[lightningtiger]

'TinyPiesRUs' great MOC !

I think we are going to start seeing quite a few middle eastern style MOC appearing thanks to Indi and PoP.

Love all the little details, like the rug seller and the other merchants, the buildings are very stunning and true to the real ones you would find back in those lands back then.

Keep up the great work !

[Milan]

Why does everything have to look like a videogame?

It doesn't, I just like that game, and I like this MOC, and I find these two very similar...I think it is a good thing for a MOC.

[Jony Skywalker]

Wow, a real nice market place. You added so much details, e.g. the legs at the roof!

If Lego would sell this, I´d buy it!

[Admiral Croissant]

Wonderfoul! You have really captured the 'arabic spirit' in this MOC. It has a lot of nice details and techniques.

People can learn a lot from this (at least, I can )

Didn't they want to release camels in 2010? that would also be a nice touch to this MOC. But it's very good already

[Cakeman]

Fantastic MOC, it has really inspired me to do something similar with my tan and white bricks. Also, the fez (what's the plural? fezes? ) actually looks good when you use it, I thought it didn't look as good in the Indy set. I guess it's all about the setting.

I'd really like to see a little more... substantial minaret. Slightly bigger? You could use white corner-wall-bricks as tower base, if you understand what I mean (i know the description is weak). But overall, great and inspiring MOC! Thanks for sharing the pics.

[I Scream Clone]

This is an amazing MOC TPRU, I must have missed it during Christmas. The colour scheme and figures are perfect and the creation is instantly recognisable. Great work, lots of nice techniques and parts used. Great stuff, and I look forward to more if you order from BL.

Cheers

[MagPiesRUs]

Thanks for all of the kind words everyone.

Great MOC. It really illustrate the buzzling marketplace in the middle eastern lands. At first glance, I thought it was supposed to match with Prince of Persia. Are you intending to combine with the official sets? I supposed the Ambush in Cairo and the upcoming PoP market place can add some nice touch in it.

Thanks. This wasn't made specifically because of the Prince of Persia sets, I hadn't seen the pics when I started building this. Building a Muslim town has alway been something I've wanted to do.

I'd love to integrate it with the PoP sets, but I'm afraid I don't have much self-control when it comes to keeping MOCs together. I probably will have broken it up for parts by the time the sets come out.

Do you plan to make any more buildings to create a village by chance? Overall, very nice. I think this deserves a front-page!

Thank you very much. I'll definitely think about it. I'm working on another project right now though, but I'd love to expand the MOC into a city in the future.

I also see an ewok behind the red roofed shop,whats with that?

Yes, those are supposed to be animal hides of some sort. Thanks.

But one question is, why did you give the soldier the dwarf helmet?

I was going for something like this (This is the best picture I can find):

The Saracen Army outside Paris

Also, I felt a bronze helmet would fit in with the colour scheme and atmosphere a lot better than a silver/grey helmet.

I totally love this, and once I get my hands on those Prince of Persia sets, I'll attempt to build an middle-eastern city scene myself. I already have the Scorpion Palace from the Orient Expedition theme, which also gives loads of pieces suitable for a Persian city.

Thanks. I'd love to get Scorpion Palace some day, it's one of the few Orient Expedition sets I still haven't got around to buying. I really want that onion dome and carpet piece.

Fantastic MOC, it has really inspired me to do something similar with my tan and white bricks. Also, the fez (what's the plural? fezes? ) actually looks good when you use it, I thought it didn't look as good in the Indy set. I guess it's all about the setting.

I'd really like to see a little more... substantial minaret. Slightly bigger? You could use white corner-wall-bricks as tower base, if you understand what I mean (i know the description is weak). But overall, great and inspiring MOC! Thanks for sharing the pics.

Thank you. Yes, I agree the minaret is very out of scale, even though it's one of my favorite parts of the scene. Maybe just imagine it's in the distance or something.

Again, thanks for all of your feedback.

Edited December 29, 2009 by TinyPiesRUs

[NeoKross]

Beautiful. I love the use of the fabric for the stall top and the combo of the scarf and dwarf(?) Helmet. My only suggestion would be go for a thicker base next time, just because it looks like such a stand alone display I think something with a little more substance would make it stand out alot more. Awesome job though, the feel is just right.