Great rockwork, and the two tones of grey work great. The rounded corners of the fort are also unique, and look hard to achieve. One critique would be that the crane appears like it is about to fall - perhaps building up a counterweight would remedy this?

Ah, it's hard to find anything to critique in these entries. I wish I was half as talented and creative as this!

Erm... let's see... how about it would look better if there was some visible damage to the fortress? We see some invading soldiers, but what if a wall or tower got struck by a cannonball during the assault and now has a large gash in it with debris and rubble and fire? Sell the peril and urgency of escape.

What a cool build! It's a proper upgrade or remaster of old Pirates set. Reminding me of Eldorado Fortress, looking much better that official reedition set we got last(?) year.

Rockwork is decent and I really like the change of color, it adds a lot to the build. Same with small dark red parts of the wall, they look very natural.

The one thing I would change is the pathway to the fort - instead of lbg I would rather use dark tan.

Also - the cran is missing counterweight. ;)

Something I would change if this was my build: remove the loading ramp on the right side. It seems unnecessary, detracts from the well-constructed dock, and overhangs the edge. I have nothing against overhangs, but here, when even the water has such a clean cross-section, it seems that the other elements should too.

I can see where you are coming from, it's indeed kind of distracting.

But I'd much rather see some retiling than the removal of a part of the build.

On 8/4/2024 at 5:09 AM, YellowFrog said:

Great rockwork, and the two tones of grey work great. The rounded corners of the fort are also unique, and look hard to achieve. One critique would be that the crane appears like it is about to fall - perhaps building up a counterweight would remedy this?

Thank you so much! Those rounded corners are actually quite simple, they just weaken the buildings overall stability a bit. I really like the counter weight idea, that definitely would have added a more realistic feel to the crane.

On 8/4/2024 at 2:47 PM, Autumn said:

Ah, it's hard to find anything to critique in these entries. I wish I was half as talented and creative as this!

Erm... let's see... how about it would look better if there was some visible damage to the fortress? We see some invading soldiers, but what if a wall or tower got struck by a cannonball during the assault and now has a large gash in it with debris and rubble and fire? Sell the peril and urgency of escape.

I so greatly appreciate it! I actually did consider creating some structural damage once I came up with the idea of a battle scene. The only issue was it was rather late in the build process and I couldn't bring myself to start ripping apart buildings that I liked so much. However, I must say it would certainly have added so much to the feel of a chaotic raid.

15 hours ago, BardDandelion said:

What a cool build! It's a proper upgrade or remaster of old Pirates set. Reminding me of Eldorado Fortress, looking much better that official reedition set we got last(?) year.

Rockwork is decent and I really like the change of color, it adds a lot to the build. Same with small dark red parts of the wall, they look very natural.

The one thing I would change is the pathway to the fort - instead of lbg I would rather use dark tan.

Also - the cran is missing counterweight. ;)

Thank you! I am very glad it is reminiscent of those old Classic Sets I really wanted to recreate the Imperial Trading Post in a very updated and realistic style without looking too different from the original set. I would normally, had this been a standard moc, most likely have gone with a more natural pathway as opposed to simply using LBG, however I was very determined to stay faithful to the original set and its gray baseplate and I had already changed too many things.

14 hours ago, YellowFrog said:

Something I would change if this was my build: remove the loading ramp on the right side. It seems unnecessary, detracts from the well-constructed dock, and overhangs the edge. I have nothing against overhangs, but here, when even the water has such a clean cross-section, it seems that the other elements should too.

I must say that it is certainly one of my least favorite elements of the MOC. I had originally planned on omitting it completely, particularly due to the fact that I did not recreate the second half of the Imperial Trading Post, the Dock/Seawall area. I decided to include it just to keep as many elements from the original set included in this recreation.

 

Well, then either remove it or expand the MOC to include the rest of the trading post (kidding).

In all seriousness, I have to agree with @Autumn  here, add some fire here and there to make it seem more chaotic (or use my prior suggestion for ice cream pieces).

Those minifigure heads with chinstraps... Are they from pirate sets, or are those pilfered from beefeater CMFs or something like that? I can't say that I've seen them before.

Edited August 6, 2024Aug 6 by YellowFrog

@A_Goodman Oh, yeah, that makes sense, keeping the base in dbg/lbg gets it closer to that legendary set.

If you need some inspiration for the crane @Kozikyo86, fellow Eurobricks member made one. I believe there is even an instruction for it.

Can't find them right now but I'm almost 100% sure that some really good looking cranes were made by @Toltomeja in some of his builds.

9 hours ago, A_Goodman said:

I so greatly appreciate it! I actually did consider creating some structural damage once I came up with the idea of a battle scene. The only issue was it was rather late in the build process and I couldn't bring myself to start ripping apart buildings that I liked so much. However, I must say it would certainly have added so much to the feel of a chaotic raid.

I get it. I'm the same when I spend time and effort on something and then think of a potentially better idea but am reluctant to undo some of my work. Sometimes it is worth it though if you feel confident enough.

On 8/3/2024 at 2:40 AM, A_Goodman said:

I am also happy to hear you liked the roof that was an absolute pain to get right.

Lol!

17 hours ago, YellowFrog said:

Those minifigure heads with chinstraps... Are they from pirate sets, or are those pilfered from beefeater CMFs or something like that? I can't say that I've seen them before.

You are spot on, I took them from the CMF Royal Guard figure. 

17 hours ago, BardDandelion said:

If you need some inspiration for the crane @Kozikyo86, fellow Eurobricks member made one. I believe there is even an instruction for it.

Thank you for sharing those with me, I had really struggled coming up with a design I was happy with and that one particularly looks super good, I definitely would have gone that route had I seen it before starting this build.

16 hours ago, Autumn said:

Sometimes it is worth it though if you feel confident enough.

Now that I have had some time since I finished it I do kind of wish I had gone back and done it.

What a nice MOC! I am especially fascinated of the ramp. Is there a chance to get the instruction of this MOC?

@A_Goodman No problem, always here to help. ;)

Making a wall is easy, making rocks is a bit harder and finally making something that should work (literally) may get really tricky. I find it helpful to find not only photos or drawings of mechanism I want to recreate with LEGO but also animations or clips showing them in movement. I remember that it was extremely helpful when I was building my "Smialy" mech from Iron Harvest/Scythe universe.

This applies to all kind of vehicles, machines etc. that in real life are designed in very utilitarian way and every part of them should have some purpose.

On 8/6/2024 at 6:54 PM, BardDandelion said:

If you need some inspiration for the crane @Kozikyo86, fellow Eurobricks member made one. I believe there is even an instruction for it.

Also, the crane from the new Eldorado Fortress isn't bad either. Perhaps a similar design, but transferred into brown, could be the solution you are looking for?

I don't know did I not mention the most obvious example of LEGO crane lately. :D

For sure sets could be a good source of inspiration. It's good to start from design provided by LEGO and improve it. ;)

Lots of work and talent in this big construction. I like the building and its rounded corners which are a good idea. Also the left hand-over with its pretty roof, the port, and the numerous figs. But I regret that the share of rock is so important, since it monopolizes almost 60% of the visual. A steeper path would have helped a larger enclosure where the interior would have been better seen. Also the boat and the port would have been better highlighted. Which does not remove the quality of the work, but the balance between building, rock and sea is too much to the advantage of the rock. Otherwise it's obviously an excellent starter. Bravo.

 I had no clue lego made an iguana. I really love that little boat with the rolled up sail.

I think this has to be the winner as it looks incredible in every possible way. The colors work perfectly, the techniques are fantastic and all the minifigures tell a great story. You can clearly see how much time the builder imvested on this moc and that needs to be rewarded!

On 8/6/2024 at 11:07 PM, MrMcGraw said:

What a nice MOC! I am especially fascinated of the ramp. Is there a chance to get the instruction of this MOC?

Thank you so much! and im not sure if I will ever make instructions but I do plan on doing a deep dive review video of the MOC, which will definitely show quite a lot of how it all came together.

On 8/7/2024 at 6:53 AM, YellowFrog said:

Also, the crane from the new Eldorado Fortress isn't bad either. Perhaps a similar design, but transferred into brown, could be the solution you are looking for?

I cant believe I didn't think of that myself, I took a pretty good look at that remake to see how LEGO went about updating the baseplate, its actually where I got the idea for the ramp as opposed to overlayed wedge plates like I was planning originally. It would've been great to get some inspiration for the crane from there.

12 hours ago, Kwear said:

Lots of work and talent in this big construction. I like the building and its rounded corners which are a good idea. Also the left hand-over with its pretty roof, the port, and the numerous figs. But I regret that the share of rock is so important, since it monopolizes almost 60% of the visual. A steeper path would have helped a larger enclosure where the interior would have been better seen. Also the boat and the port would have been better highlighted. Which does not remove the quality of the work, but the balance between building, rock and sea is too much to the advantage of the rock. Otherwise it's obviously an excellent starter. Bravo.

I so greatly appreciate it! and I must say the rock work not only dominates the visual, it dominated the build time. It took forever to get through. I really wanted to represent the original set as much as possible but I will admit I might've built up the rock work a bit too much. I really wanted to raise the Trading Post as much as possible from the water but looking at it it does overshadow the Boat and Dock quite a bit more than I would have liked. 

6 hours ago, bingowaldorf said:

 I had no clue lego made an iguana. I really love that little boat with the rolled up sail.

Oh yeah that Chameleon looks so great for the jungle environments, it came with the CMF Johnny Thunder remake figure. Also I am very happy you like that rolled up sail, it was a last minute addition after numerous failed attempts at building a brick built unfurled one.

3 hours ago, Christophh said:

I think this has to be the winner as it looks incredible in every possible way. The colors work perfectly, the techniques are fantastic and all the minifigures tell a great story. You can clearly see how much time the builder imvested on this moc and that needs to be rewarded!

That is so very kind of you to say, It truly took a lot of time and effort, and I am very happy with the finished product. Getting to enter and awesome contest like this is always fun but getting to truly go all out, especially with a pirate themed MOC is even better.

6 hours ago, A_Goodman said:

Thank you so much! and im not sure if I will ever make instructions but I do plan on doing a deep dive review video of the MOC, which will definitely show quite a lot of how it all came together.

I cant believe I didn't think of that myself, I took a pretty good look at that remake to see how LEGO went about updating the baseplate, its actually where I got the idea for the ramp as opposed to overlayed wedge plates like I was planning originally. It would've been great to get some inspiration for the crane from there.

I so greatly appreciate it! and I must say the rock work not only dominates the visual, it dominated the build time. It took forever to get through. I really wanted to represent the original set as much as possible but I will admit I might've built up the rock work a bit too much. I really wanted to raise the Trading Post as much as possible from the water but looking at it it does overshadow the Boat and Dock quite a bit more than I would have liked. 

Oh yeah that Chameleon looks so great for the jungle environments, it came with the CMF Johnny Thunder remake figure. Also I am very happy you like that rolled up sail, it was a last minute addition after numerous failed attempts at building a brick built unfurled one.

That is so very kind of you to say, It truly took a lot of time and effort, and I am very happy with the finished product. Getting to enter and awesome contest like this is always fun but getting to truly go all out, especially with a pirate themed MOC is even better.

Yeah, I absolutely agree, personally, I am a bit more into castle but pirates is a great theme aswell, especially the islanders and I'm thinking about building my own moc and if so, I will definitely be inspired by yours!

There are many great details here but what stands out the most too me is the originality of the layout and composition. It's not "just" a revamped Eldorado Fortress or Imperial trading post. It boasts plenty of unique attributes that all together makes for a splendid MOC. 

Excellent MOC!

I would add maybe 1 or 2 more palm trees in the mix.

On 8/15/2024 at 6:10 AM, CAESARBLACK said:

I would add maybe 1 or 2 more palm trees in the mix.

On the contrary, I think it is fine as it is. The area is meant to be being colonised and conquered, so palm trees would've been cut down and it wouldn't be too overgrown with that number of soldiers there.