Black Samurai Fortress MOC

[WesternOutlaw]

I had never built a Ninja/Samurai MOC before, but had always wanted to give it a try. Doesn't seem too hard if you look at some of the existing Ninja fortresses.

The attached image is what I call the Black Samurai Fortress, my first Ninja MOC. I'll add some pictures of the detailed rooms/bachside later.

[Starwars4J]

The first thing I need to do is to proclaim my LOVE for that entrance! *wub* It's just so...perfect.

As for the rest, I think the green was an odd choice that doesn't really go with black too well, and the roof seems a bit rounded to me. I can't wait to see the inside though!

[WesternOutlaw]

The Black Samurai's army leaving the fortress:

A close-up of the troops and door:

Good shot of the roof:

I considered the less angled roof tops, but I only have them in red. Maybe I'll try just to see.

And here's a shot of the side at an angle before I take you inside:

Images of the inside coming later today...

[Jipay]

*wub*

[Khorne]

I looks very much like the Dragon Fortress from the Adventurerers line, which is a good thing *y* . I can't wait for the interior pics. I'd love to see more Ninja Mocs from you ;-) .

[natelite]

that's not quite how a japanese castle looks like. :-/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:OsakaCastleM0783.jpg

[Brick Miner]

I think the green was an odd choice that doesn't really go with black too well

i agree... and also think the sand-green looks funny with the green baseplate.

i really liked the white body colored ninja castles from LEGO... really bold and polished look.

also brickster, why does the castle stand so far forward on the baseplate ??? is there something behind the fortress that we can't see from the frontal photo ??? if not, then i would suggest moving it back, and adding some landscaping details in front !!!

- BrickMiner

[WesternOutlaw]

To respond to some of the comments above, and I do appreciate the constructive critisism:

My choice of the light green was due to my piece quantity of this color. I actually like the color combination though (at least the green and black).

I would agree with those of you who said it's not that Asian or like a Japanese castle. The more and more I look at it, it has some Asian architecture, but really has more a Gothic look. It must be nearing October and I'm gearing up to the Haunted House look. But then again, all buildings are influenced by the architect who designs them. This is a look I like (but maybe I'm better at building mystery mansions).

In regard to the placement of the MOC on the baseplate: this was not my first build but rather my second. On the first, I did have it set back with some landscaping and bridge. I planned to add some army equipment, horses, and troops in the back of my current version, so set this toward the front. I'll post some pictures of the first MOC down the road.

Well, let's show the inside:

The treasure room (2nd floor). Looks like some of those black ninjas have been dipping into that chest 8-|

The sword room (2nd floor)

The tower (3rd floor)

First Floor. The Black Samurai meets with the Emperor to discuss an alliance between the Black and Red armies:

The green stairs and the two men shaking hands. Shaking hands?

A shot of the whole backside:

Another view of the back at an angle:

That about does it for this MOC (give or take a few more images of what you've seen).

I'm going back to the drawing board and planning to make a "more Japanese castle". Will share when complete. And KhoRne, thanks for the nice comment. My next one will be better.

[Starwars4J]

I not only love the floor design (tile on the first, and the wooden on the second), but the stairs for some reason really make this MOC for me. Fantastic! *y*

[xwingyoda]

I simply love it *wub*

I love that colour combination of sand green and black !! And even though some might say that its not japanese enough, I think that it would fit the theme just perfectly ;-)

And the interior is as beautifull as the exterior with great details and soil pattern ;-)

Regarding criticisms, I have two minor ones: the lime stairs (I would have gone with sand green) and the sword room (I am not a fan of that katana holder - shape and color; I would have opted as something similar to the one in the batcave).

Once again, great MOC and do show us more ;-)

Now I have to edit the castle Index to add Ninja tks to you :-P ;-)

*yoda*

[WesternOutlaw]

Now I have to edit the castle Index to add Ninja tks to you :-P ;-)

*yoda*

Thanks for the positive comments. I'll do another soon.

It's about time we get Ninja on the board! Yes! :-D

[Hobbes]

It's about time we get Ninja on the board! Yes! :-D

I hate "Hawk"... :-X

:-P

As for your MOC: I like the color scheme. The sand green fits perfectly with the black, I think. OK, the green baseplate makes an odd contrast, but I just see it as a plate to put this thing on.

I have a few sand greens at home and plan to build some houses for my town. Dark grey or black would have been my contrast color choice. Good to see that black works ;-)

The doors are just great. Couldn't be done any better.

The interior is something most people forget. When I saw tiled floors for the first time I thought "Yuk, what's this guy doing/thinking..." But the more I see it used the more I like it. It gives you a lot of possibilities to design the interior. Sometimes a good "tiling" can make up for missing interior. Guess it's time to stock up on my tile storage...

The lime green stairs was a weird choice, but the wooden planks make up for it. It was a daring "move", though ;-)

Anything else I'd be glad I could come up with on my own. I guess I have to borrow a few ideas for my stuff (should I ever start)... ;-)

*y*

[WesternOutlaw]

I have a few sand greens at home and plan to build some houses for my town. Dark grey or black would have been my contrast color choice. Good to see that black works ;-)

White is also a good contrast color to the sand green. I've seen both colors used together and the combination gives a building a very "historic-building" look.

In regard to the steps, I know that the lime green is an odd choice of colors, but I wanted something that would give the interior a different look (sort of stand out). I was between lime green and orange). They're just standard 2x2 bricks so I could have used just about any color.

I had never tried tiling the inside of a building and actually have to give credit to BloodyJay for the concept/inspiration. I know it's been done before, but BloodyJay did this in his MOC of Crowley Mansion for the mystery and it looked very good. I just wish I had more colors in bulk (so far just white and brown).

Overall, I don't think it came out too bad. It's something different I had not tried before. I'll have others, perhaps better.

[Hobbes]

In regard to the steps, I know that the lime green is an odd choice of colors, but I wanted something that would give the interior a different look (sort of stand out). I was between lime green and orange). They're just standard 2x2 bricks so I could have used just about any color.

Lime certainly does give it a different look. And I think it was the better choice than orange ;-)

[WesternOutlaw]

Well, I destroyed the MOC yesterday evening. Planning on trying something different.

[Norro]

Nice work! I like the sand green/black combo (though a non-green baseplate would help a lot) and the all round construction is also very nice. The interior is functional and simple and I like the contrasting colours used as well as the stair design.

Thanks for sharing and God Bless,

Nathan

[WesternOutlaw]

Thanks. In regard to the baseplate, I could have just as well used tan, dark brown, or grey. Just chose the green because it was large and I had space to build it any size.

[dillthepill]

If computers could whistle, they would for this. *y* *y*

Nice little fortress with cool doors. You should make more.

[WesternOutlaw]

Thanks. See also the Red Samurai Fortress and the Palace of the Three Gems.

[Capn Kirk 911]

I like the door *wub* , but you should add a few minifigs! ;-)

[WesternOutlaw]

I like the door *wub* , but you should add a few minifigs! ;-)

Take a look at some of the other images. The first one doesn't show the black samurai army.

[Bonaparte]

BEAUTIFUL!

These colors are great for this kind of building.

And those samurai minifigs look so good *wub*

Sad to hear that you have destroyed it already...

[Sir Dillon]

Strange, I thought I had replied to this. :-/

Anyway... This is a very nice creation, Brickster. I really like the color combinations, they work really well together. The structure itself is well done, and is easily recognizable as Japanese. The interior is also cool, I like how smooth everything is, and I like the way the stairs are done. (I actually did something similar with my Black Owl Tavern)

The things I don't really like though, are:

The black 1x2 slopes on the ends of the roof. I know the effect you're going for, but I don't like the way they look. I could just be a personal taste, though.

The lime green on the stairs. I don't really like those, mostly because it's the only thing in that color in the whole building, and seems to clash.

I also think it would look better if you would have used a smaller baseplate, so that there wasn't all that extra room behind the building, that or maybe move the whole structure to the back of the base plate, and extend the path.

Overall, I like this, and hope to some day make some sort of Samurai creation like this myself. :-)

[exo attack]

This is very cool. My favourite part is the treasure room. It looks very "pagoda"ish and nice colour scheme as well. Overall, this is incredibly good.

[WesternOutlaw]

Thanks for your feedback guys. I'd probably rate this around average myself. I wasn't too impressed with the final structure. It doesn't fit in with existing Ninja sets and this is something I always like to do (make MOCs fit in with existing themes). I agree with you SD on the use of the small slopes at the ends of the roofs. I tried various techniques to capture the Asian look but couldn't seem to get it. This was one of the better methods but I wasn't real crazy about myself.

The baseplate for me was just something to build on. I've got other colors and sizes, so that was no biggie. I did; however, like the lime stairs. I was really trying for something different that would stand out. I tried orange too, but liked the lime green. It may look strange to some, but they could have been any color including the light green.

In any case, thanks for your comments.

Here's a few of my other Ninja MOCs that I think are much better than this one:

Osaka Inspired Castle

Palace of the Three Gems