Fimbůlvatr Keep

[The Maestro]

High up in the Mitgardian peaks a small village thrives on the freezing environment. To protect themselves from raiders they built a small castle to keep (pun intended but still not funny :P) watch. The castles position makes it a hard place to take and easy to defend. No siege could last in this frigid environment.  This weather does not bother the inhabitants of the village as cold is all they will ever know. So life carried on in the isolated village of Fimbůlvatr, that is until the drow missionary came. Not soon after did the Nocturnus resistance have a new enemy to fear...

  

CCC XIV - Ice castle (or a castle built in the snow)

It's here at last, after a build time that took way to long and three photo shoots I am finally ready to post one of my best creations yet. The round tower was loads of fun to achieve and the rock work was incredibly difficult to get right. The landscape itself probably took up half the build time. The Tudor work was challenging but it came out alright imo. For some reason I have been putting off building this and I now have a large collection of spaceships in my room  I didn't edit it because when I did it looked rather awkward so i thought it better to just leave it as it is. Also my first entry for the CCC with more on the way. I know this will be up against massive and amazing entries (cough cough SK) but I had the idea and knew I had to build it. Hope you enjoy :D

Sorry for lack of commenting, its becoming a habit 

Edited December 4, 2016 by The Maestro

[Gunman]

Really awesome build mate... the angled rock there is a great touch too! 

[Lord Vladivus]

That's really cool!

[en_zoo]

very nice angles, architecture and stonework!

[de Gothia]

At first I was so impressed of the tower and the wooden wall which I really love. Then I saw the cliff ! Wow! That is great! That balancing act is superb!

[Blufiji]

How stable is it, sitting on ominously on that cliff there haha. Great job on this, my only critique would be the snow pattern on the roof, as there seems to be way to much snow from what it can hold by the looks of it. The best part of this however, is the stone tower leading up the wooden section.

[TitusV]

Allt he angles on the tower are really impressing, but I have to concede that IMHO, the pallisade and gate make up the best part of this build. They just look so good  

[BrickCurve]

Great job!  I am particularly impressed by the fact that you managed with the weight of using such a detailed tower technique, rock work and snow that you managed to get it to stay together!

[Ben Andrews]

Gosh.. I'm a lil' perplexed by it all really! the placement, balance and curved definition is beautiful.
Well done indeed!!

[Henjin_Quilones]

This looks great, Maestro! The techniques used on the tower remind me of older things I have seen posted by LD, a high compliment indeed. It is almost a splice of LD and DC's styles, and works remarkably well. You are coming into your own with the style of building, though, and all of the SNOT that goes into getting it to fit in there is impressive. I do wonder about the cliff's actual integrity, and whether the rocks could truly hold up a tower of that sort, and whether a tower of that sort could stand up without a deep foundation, and all of that, but I suspect that they are rather unimportant considerations compared to the whimsical, semi-magical setting of it all. I would love some detail shots, as it is hard to see everything that is going on from the overview pictures. 

[Kai NRG]

The shape of the base here is really unique and looks good, though I have a nagging feeling that your pictures aren't presenting it from the best angles.  Also the little black tree sticks out oddly and is maybe a bit of an eyesore.  But don't be discouraged, because if I'm saying those things it's because this is a really good MOC and so the detracting points stand out in sharper contrast.  You did a great job with the stonework, particularly on the round tower!  And the palisade looks good as well!  

[Slegengr]

That is a nice tower, Maestro!  I agree with Henjin that this reminds me of Legonardo Davidy's and Derfel Cadarn's styles, which is indeed a compliment!

The snow and projecting rock are great!  The stonework and half-timber on the tower are nicely done.  I also like the gate and palisade.  Snow with studs or snow without... I am still undecided which looks better, though I do think the snow studs are probably fitting over this rough rock terrain.

A few more angles of view on this build would be nice for truly appreciating the details.  Have you tried a view from minifigure perspective looking down the path and through the gate at the tower?

[Legofin2012]

I see what you meant when you said about the stone and wood walls on my build  But really apart from building wood and stone they're quite different. This build is fantastic! The tower looks great, but the landscape steals the show, the unusual cliff/mountain side is incredible, very nice snow and rock work. The tree on the edge is a nice touch too, great build! 

[soccerkid6]

You have improved awfully quickly Top-notch build! The landscape and layout of the build are quite unique and look great here. Lovely tower and palisade too 
My only complaint is with the story, Mitgardians have a long history of being Drow haters

[The Maestro]

On 12/4/2016 at 11:35 PM, Gunman said:

Really awesome build mate... the angled rock there is a great touch too! 

Thanks, the rocks were really hard to achieve so i'm glad you liked them. 

On 12/5/2016 at 1:31 AM, Lord Vladivus said:

That's really cool!

Thanks!

On 12/5/2016 at 5:14 AM, de Gothia said:

At first I was so impressed of the tower and the wooden wall which I really love. Then I saw the cliff ! Wow! That is great! That balancing act is superb!

Yeah, at one point half the base was in the air because it was so right side heavy  thankfully it didn't fall over.

On 12/5/2016 at 3:13 AM, en_zoo said:

very nice angles, architecture and stonework!

Thanks man.

On 12/5/2016 at 7:24 AM, Blufiji said:

How stable is it, sitting on ominously on that cliff there haha. Great job on this, my only critique would be the snow pattern on the roof, as there seems to be way to much snow from what it can hold by the looks of it. The best part of this however, is the stone tower leading up the wooden section.

Thanks for the advice, and this thing would smash in the slightest breeze 

On 12/5/2016 at 7:40 AM, TitusV said:

Allt he angles on the tower are really impressing, but I have to concede that IMHO, the pallisade and gate make up the best part of this build. They just look so good  

Thanks Titus, even though they took me only 10 min i'm glad you liked them 

On 12/5/2016 at 10:42 PM, BrickCurve said:

Great job!  I am particularly impressed by the fact that you managed with the weight of using such a detailed tower technique, rock work and snow that you managed to get it to stay together!

Well, it wasn't easy, and i'd say it was a bit of a fluke I managed to pull it off 

On 12/6/2016 at 1:09 AM, Ben Andrews said:

Gosh.. I'm a lil' perplexed by it all really! the placement, balance and curved definition is beautiful.
Well done indeed!!

Wow, thanks mate, I was a little perplexed too when I first stood back and looked at my work. But once you understand all the techniques its relatively simple.

On 12/6/2016 at 4:50 AM, Henjin_Quilones said:

This looks great, Maestro! The techniques used on the tower remind me of older things I have seen posted by LD, a high compliment indeed. It is almost a splice of LD and DC's styles, and works remarkably well. You are coming into your own with the style of building, though, and all of the SNOT that goes into getting it to fit in there is impressive. I do wonder about the cliff's actual integrity, and whether the rocks could truly hold up a tower of that sort, and whether a tower of that sort could stand up without a deep foundation, and all of that, but I suspect that they are rather unimportant considerations compared to the whimsical, semi-magical setting of it all. I would love some detail shots, as it is hard to see everything that is going on from the overview pictures. 

I will try add some detail shots but I didn't really plan on them so they will be a bit rough. And i'm sure there must be a little magic involved, the Tudor area is about the same size as the tower after all 

On 12/6/2016 at 2:24 PM, Kai NRG said:

The shape of the base here is really unique and looks good, though I have a nagging feeling that your pictures aren't presenting it from the best angles.  Also the little black tree sticks out oddly and is maybe a bit of an eyesore.  But don't be discouraged, because if I'm saying those things it's because this is a really good MOC and so the detracting points stand out in sharper contrast.  You did a great job with the stonework, particularly on the round tower!  And the palisade looks good as well!  

My photography skills do need improving and that tree was there for another idea which i abandoned. I guess I just forgot to remove it. I am definitely not discouraged by good advice. if anything it pushes me along more than any compliment     

On 12/7/2016 at 3:40 AM, Slegengr said:

That is a nice tower, Maestro!  I agree with Henjin that this reminds me of Legonardo Davidy's and Derfel Cadarn's styles, which is indeed a compliment!

The snow and projecting rock are great!  The stonework and half-timber on the tower are nicely done.  I also like the gate and palisade.  Snow with studs or snow without... I am still undecided which looks better, though I do think the snow studs are probably fitting over this rough rock terrain.

A few more angles of view on this build would be nice for truly appreciating the details.  Have you tried a view from minifigure perspective looking down the path and through the gate at the tower?

Thanks man, I think I have a couple shots and I will try get them up.

On 12/8/2016 at 1:32 AM, Legofin2012 said:

I see what you meant when you said about the stone and wood walls on my build  But really apart from building wood and stone they're quite different. This build is fantastic! The tower looks great, but the landscape steals the show, the unusual cliff/mountain side is incredible, very nice snow and rock work. The tree on the edge is a nice touch too, great build! 

When I first had this idea it wasn't the tower, it was the landscape. Everything else was a afterthought 

On 12/8/2016 at 1:41 PM, soccerkid6 said:

You have improved awfully quickly Top-notch build! The landscape and layout of the build are quite unique and look great here. Lovely tower and palisade too 
My only complaint is with the story, Mitgardians have a long history of being Drow haters

Thanks SK, that's big coming from you. Even the most iron hearted Mitgardians can be temped by that cursed drow gold  (not that im siding with them, that is).  

[Legonardo]

Haha more rickety angled buildings by those pesky new zealanders 
seriously mate well done, you're hitting it out of the park with this one! Flick me a message about photography some time, I'll share some tips.

your next challenge is manage to make something angled like you've done that you can fly up to wellington in a suitcase 

[Graham Gidman]

Absolutely terrific work, man! You'd think the tower would be the highlight, but I can't decide between it or the landscape. 

[The Maestro]

On 12/10/2016 at 9:53 PM, Legonardo said:

Haha more rickety angled buildings by those pesky new zealanders 
seriously mate well done, you're hitting it out of the park with this one! Flick me a message about photography some time, I'll share some tips.

your next challenge is manage to make something angled like you've done that you can fly up to wellington in a suitcase 

Yeah, We New Zealanders can never seem to build straight 

Thanks so much, really means a lot having an inspiration like you like this , after all half the techniques here are yours...

I would love to come up north to one of the shows up their but i'm afraid im restricted to chch and maybe next year Dunedin 

On 12/11/2016 at 6:28 PM, Graham Gidman said:

Absolutely terrific work, man! You'd think the tower would be the highlight, but I can't decide between it or the landscape. 

Thanks man, I hadn't seen loads of people try that techniques for a tower so I thought that would really steal the show too, but once when I started on the landscape I saw the potential of it and I started putting loads of effort into it, so even im not sure which part is my favorite 

[TheLordOfBricks]

Awesome job! The whole thing is great! The rockwork, although fairly simple SNOT, has a very nice look... The stonework, though for the tower is probably my favorite part... My one problem, would have to be that the house on top is a little too big/too straight... Otherwise, the whole thing is great! And also, the tree looks nice too! :D Keep it up!

[Mpyromaxos]

Awesome built!! Loved the turret and the snowed high ground underneath it! 
Is it studdy??

[Jacob Nion]

The walls are excellent. But what stands out is the rockwork on the underside. Really innovative base.