Pdaitabird

On a rocky islet in a lake stands the Duke of Gilchester's castle... I've always wanted to build a castle, but I never tried because I don't have nearly enough gray parts. But the itch to build one was still there - so I used red instead, one of the most abundant colors in my collection. I know I can't begin to approach the amazing building techniques of castle builders on this forum, so I decided to keep it in the style of '90s sets and emphasize playability. The roof of the great hall and the upper floors of the keep are removable. Being so small, the interior is necessarily simple. The first floor of the keep contains a table and chair, a fireplace, and a ladder to access the upper levels. The second floor has the duke's quarters - another fireplace, a bed and table with a lamp, and a chamber pot (with a window to dump it onto unwanted guests!) The great hall has the duke's throne. Big thanks to @soccerkid6 and @LittleJohn for the chair design! In the spirit of classic sets, pulling a pin drops lowly peasants who annoy the duke into the dungeon. Finally, here's another overview. If I modify this into a redcoat fort, the smaller island by the pier will house a few cannons. Thanks for looking! Soli Deo Gloria

That's beautiful! I love the timber framing on the house and the design of the base!

That's a really well-done build and a nice story too! The exposed trusses really sell the building as a ruin.

Hi all, this is my first attempt at a brig using the 6280 prefab hull parts. She still needs sails and perhaps a few swivel guns (she's only going to be a merchant vessel). It's heavily inspired by this MOC by @-DoNe-. @Captain Green Hair's rigging tutorial has also been a big help! It's very much a WIP at this point. I'd love to hear your suggestions for improvement before I get too far into it!

The first one I remember was Bi-Wing Baron. Unfortunately, as I was too young to build it myself, my parents had the bright idea to glue it together! Fortunately, it was only Elmer's and came off easily enough.

That's incredible! The streamlining looks really nice and I like the SNOT window technique.

This looks great, especially the details around the boiler piping and the SNOT techniques used in the tender. Nice work!

I don't know much about selecting stores, as I've only made a few small orders. But regarding the outrageously priced clip piece, some parts like clips and jumper plates have undergone design changes (while remaining functionally identical) so that the less common version costs much more. Have you checked to see if there is an older or newer version of the same part that is cheaper? Also, are you limiting yourself to new bricks, or are you open to used/any condition? I have only ever bought used, but I would imagine new would be much more expensive.

That's fantastic! The minifigure legs for windows are particularly nice.

I wouldn't care for a castle/pirates fusion per se. A more historically grounded way to incorporate maritime elements into a castle theme could be knights vs vikings - perhaps something in the style of G.A. Henty's The Dragon and the Raven. The book is set in the days of Alfred the Great when the Danes were raiding the British Isles. Adding such distinctly Medieval ships as longboats and Mediterranean-style galleys would visually distinguish such a theme from pirates.

Really nice cannon design! I'll definitely be stea - I mean, drawing inspiration from that technique!

Well, western civilization was nice while it lasted... Back on topic, I'd love it if a future castle theme would give us some medieval ships like a cog or a Venetian-style galley.

Wow, this is amazing!

Nice work! I especially like the tree technique and the weathering on the gatehouse!

This is really nice. I like the subdued color scheme and the sleek hull. Those stern windows are excellent too.

This is superb. All the little details really look good. Nice work!

Congratulations on a well-deserved win! I can't unsee this now!

Great job getting all the funky angles to work!

@Captain Dee Thanks for the input, that sounds pretty much like my issue. I tried your suggestion of closing and reopening, and it does seem to work.

For 10-coupled engines, I can't say as I've never built one. For an 0-8-0, the center of gravity (CoG) will determine whether to lead with a blind or flanged driver. You want the CoG to be between the flanged drivers as the outermost pair of blind drivers will hang off the rails on curves. This prevents tipping up if the engine is heavier at one end. Unfortunately I don't think there is a way to determine the weight distribution in LDD.

I don't know about the European species, but whitetail bucks shed their antlers in late winter and grow new ones over the summer...so an antlerless deer mold would be useful not only for does, but also bucks for half the year! I could see a lute as an accessory in a future CMF series...let's hope the smithy sells well enough to encourage more Medieval stuff in general!

I've recently noticed the site seems to freeze if I have a topic open for more than a few seconds without scrolling. It only happens on Eurobricks forum topics, not on other websites. I wonder if any of you have had the same issue or if it's just my phone's very out-of-date OS.

If that thing had been built anywhere else, I'd call it hopelessly overcomplicated. Given the reputation of Teutonic machinists for stubborn perfectionism, I bet it worked flawlessly. Thanks for sharing this!

Nice work. That transition between cylinders and smokebox looks really good.

Looks like a nice build so far! I like the trees and rockwork. (And look at you, flexing on us with two goats!)