As promised earlier, here's the model that I turned in for the Bricklink Designer Program.

Fortress of Lakeside County

With this entry, I wanted to achieve several goals:

• Show that you can make nice castles with less than 1000 pieces that still forms a complete structure
• Use the color scheme from the awesome Royal Knight's Castle
• Create an addition to the two official castles that are available right now
• Use parts that inspire you to build your own castle
• Offer a lot of playability and functions
• Avoid confllicts of interest with the LEGO group when competiting with their own products

Before I go into detail, here is a picture of how it complements the LEGO castles.

As you can see, it is very unique and has a similar level of detail.
While the front of the model makes it appear larger, it gets very compact when you close it.

I developed this layout when designing an alternate build for set 7947. Of course, I was quite limited with the parts here. Still, I loved the way it changes its appearance when closing it.

Despite the low piece count, the fortress of lakeside county offers a rich interieur that still leaves room for play.
Here you can see one of its functions: you can access a hidden treasure by lifting the roof of the tower.
 

Furthermore, the prison cell has a break-out function and the drawbridge can be raised and lowered to control access.

As you can see in the next picture, the castle looks good from all angles when closed.

In order not to compete with LEGO's own products too much, I didn't add what are unique selling points of other castle sets.

• That's why i avoided big animals
• I created a new faction to make the minifigures distinct
• The color scheme is very different from the other recent castles
• It is much smaller than LEGO's flagship set

For the sake of completeness, here is the description that I added to it for the BDP.

Description

For decades, the people of Lakeside County had been loyal to the Lion Knights.

Now the count's daughters rule the fortress. Their good contacts with the Forest Guardians indicate that the crown should not rely on them anymore.

 

This model is a valuable addition to the existing LEGO castle world. A new faction has arrived and brings additional excitement to the story. The high-contrast but very classic color scheme and the crooked floor plan give this fortress its very own character.

 

When closed, the residence forms a complete fortress. Access is via a working drawbridge.

A dark dungeon can be found in the basement vault. Prisoners with the necessary knowledge can break out through a secret passage in the wall. Or they convince the rat to bring them the keys.

 

In addition to a treasury and armory, there is also a well in the basement that supplies the residents with water.

Stairs lead to the living area of the fortress. There is a table by a cozy fireplace with two stools and a tallow lamp.

 

The blue bird that lives in the castle can be observed from the romantic windows. At night or when danger is imminent, these windows are simply closed. Of course, a bed should not be missing here either.

 

To defend the gate and drawbridge, a wooden battlement can be manned, which has loopholes and machicolations.

Another treasure is hidden in the detachable top of the tower.

 

The raft that comes with it is reminiscent of the connection to the Forest Guardians, but can also be used to visit the Lion Knights.

 

This fortress is neither too small nor too big, but just right. You will have a lot of fun building it as it really is more than the sum of its pieces.

Here's the link to the entry: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-1/100/Fortress-of-Lakeside-County

 

Have you been hoping for a long time to get a black castle again? Preferably with proper Black Knights, of course!

Looks great. I prefer the 4,000 piece models, but this is cute.

It is absolutely gorgeous! Cannot thank you enough for sharing the instructions, although I cannot find the availability to buy parts/build the model in the next 10 years. :)

Thanks for the free instructions. I am going to add this to my build backlog as this looks so good given the pieces constraints.

What a fantastic model. I'm very appreciative that you were able to keep such restraints and still have it turn out so well.