(Very) Unfinished MOC - Imperial Capitol Fort

[Sting]

This is an unfinished Imperial Fort I was working on back in September/October 2005. The cost of finishing it, time shortages and a major design flaw I realized late in its contruction made me give it up. I took the pictures because I liked part of how it was turning out, but I realized there were too many things I didn't like about it to continue. It would be easier for me just to restart. One day when I was cleaning my room, i knocked it off of the small bass amp it was on top of... and that made it finalized - it would have to be taken apart. This was taken before I had gotten to the max of it (which made me realize the design flaw), so it is not as 'done' as it was before it broke... but it was pretty close to the same stage.

So here it is in its unfinished unglorious glory... Sting's Imperial Capitol Fort (I made up the name just now...lol)

Front View.

You can see how I was trying to build this set wit a lack of yellow and white pieces. I had alot more black pieces than I did yellow and white, so i was filling them in until I ordered white/yellow pieces of the proper type. The tall structure you see built on the left was to be an administration/office area. There were 2 large rooms. This building is heavily influenced by the Castle Gate House in THIS picture. It didn't turn out looking much like it, but I really loved the use of the lattice windows in it. Thats why there are so (maybe too) many of those in the structure. I loved the effect of them.

Side View One.

This is the left side of the Fort's HQ. From here you can see the awkwardly high roof of one of the buildings( a result of my lack of building talent... one of the main reasons I ditched the project in the end). I tend to look for results fast with lego instead of thinking about things. I know of 100 ways I could have made this work, but I was rushing because I wanted to see my fort in its glory. The large window like structure could open up to allow easy access to the archives. You can also see a small glimpse into the entrance and one of a few black castle wall pieces that would later be replaced by white ones.

Just a Close up of the Main Building. You can see all the lattice fences and awkward unfinishedness of the set. lol

Just a look from behind. the top room was to be the Governor/Admirals Office/Quarters. I originally wanted it back open like most lego sets are, but later decided I wanted a removable roof... this of course caused a bit of problems with my design (which was pretty terrible) and was another reason for me ditching the project. The very top of this structure was to have a little room with a slanted red roof that would hold a treasure, or if I had enough pieces, the admirals bed. You can also see the grand entrance that was being guarded. (I have ALOT more Soldiers... but I was just using a few to get heights properly)

Lower Right Angle. From here we see what was to become the 2nd large structure on the Fort. the front arches back into the brown ones was going to be a storage area, with a small courtyard and cannon emplacement on top. The whole part up to the brown arches was to be ALA Pirate Ideas 1992 (see where the 2 cannons are?) but obviously didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it. Once again. Black was going to be replaced with yellow or white and in the case of floor, light grey. From where the brown Arch was was going to be the entrance (well, for people in the base) to a very large Barracks that would have been a bit taller than the Main Building. It was going to have 2 or 3 floors, with beds a mess hall, and an armory. (Not a good idea... having your soldiers sleep below gunpowder... but oh well LOL)

Right side view into the courtyard. If the barracks was built, this view wouldnt have been possible, but through the qualities of lazyness... the barracks never was! So here we go. There was going to be a central courtyard in the Fort, where I was going to make a large flagpole, have some cannons, and basically an area where the troops gather in the morning... you know... the usual "I put too much thought into what this LEGO courtyard was to be used for" stuff. If you look to the far right of the picture, you'll see an empty plate. There was supposed to be a small structure here to house some cannons, but it never got done. The turret in the far corner of the courtyard was going to have another cannon. In total the fort was going to have probably 4 or 5 rotating cannons... and 4 non-rotating ones.

I think this idea had potential but I wanted too much too fast and the design suffered heavily, making changing things almost impossible (as it would mean dismantling the entire set and having me forget exactly how things went...). Although it seems fun now to do this (after all, thats whats lego is about!) back than I wanted to get my huge fort up.

I hope this little 'tour' through an unfinished MOC was slightly interesting and made you feel better about your own (better) MOC's LOL. I thought I should do my part and add something to the Historical & Adventure forums, even if it as unfinished project!

[Mister Phes]

Mr Sting there is absolutely nothing wrong with this MOC! The fact that you mention that its unfinished gives you a tone of leeway to cover for whatever its flaws are. I don't know about everyone else but I'm pleased that you've shared this with us despite the fact you never finished it. It gives us an insight into your creative and thought design processes plus we get to see a MOC in the pipeline.

Now before I go into address specific aspects of this MOC I must ask do you intend to revisit it and complete it, or do some more work on it in the near future?

[Sting]

Mr Sting there is absolutely nothing wrong with this MOC! The fact that you mention that its unfinished gives you a tone of leeway to cover for whatever its flaws are. I don't know about everyone else but I'm pleased that you've shared this with us despite the fact you never finished it. It gives us an insight into your creative and thought design processes plus we get to see a MOC in the pipeline.

Now before I go into address specific aspects of this MOC I must ask do you intend to revisit it and complete it, or do some more work on it in the near future?

Thanks Phes!

I am not 100% sure. I definately want to build something like this, with the same influences... but I do not think it will be alot like this. It will have the same idea, possibly the same 'types' of structures (2 large buildings and few smaller ones), but they may be rearranged and look very different. I definately would want to make the design better by using less pieces, as I notice using too many pieces sometimes looks sloppy and takes away alot.

[John475]

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Edited November 18, 2017 by John475

[Sting]

Thanks tole_11.

Unfortunately I will not be revisiting this. if I do it will be a little smaller. But talking about it makes me want to redo it and actually finish it this time!

[John475]

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Edited November 18, 2017 by John475

[Mister Phes]

Unfortunately I will not be revisiting this. if I do it will be a little smaller. But talking about it makes me want to redo it and actually finish it this time!

Mr Sting we are here to provide you with the motivation to continue your Pirate LEGO MOCing career. With us around you'll know someone is viewing and admiring your work. Even though you've decided to abandon this particular MOC it would have still provided a value building experience in which your MOCing skills will improve. So your next MOC will be ever better which is why I really need to start making more MOCs, bigger, better designed MOCs that is. But alas, I just don't have the time at the moment, so its upto you to continue the Pirate LEGO MOCing legacy for now!

[John475]

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Edited November 18, 2017 by John475

[WesternOutlaw]

Nice start of a good MOC Sting - it could be an Eldorado Tower. Are those red brick sections stickers? I never had any of these sets and am unfamiliar with the pieces. They look good. You should complete (and if you ran out of pieces, try making it smaller. This happened to me a few times.

I nominate Sting for a rank in the Stockade Phes (if you read this).

[Sting]

Nice start of a good MOC Sting - it could be an Eldorado Tower. Are those red brick sections stickers? I never had any of these sets and am unfamiliar with the pieces. They look good. You should complete (and if you ran out of pieces, try making it smaller. This happened to me a few times.

I nominate Sting for a rank in the Stockade Phes (if you read this).

Thanks Brickster. I should have themed it more around Eldorado Fortess when I think about it... because that would be a cool concept. And It would make me be able to make it a bit smaller. The red brick sections are actually PRINTED pieces much like the "rock section" castle pieces. They were with a few pirate sets like 6277 Imperial Trading Post, 6265 Sabre Island and the aforementioned 6276 Eldorado Fortress. I think thats it.

I will complete it soon... but I have started a new MOC... it is going to be an Imperial Fort in the NORTH... so something that we would find along the St.Lawrence River in Canada or along the Eastern Coast... somewhere where its cold... I dont think I've seen anyone do a Northern Imperial Fort... so I am working on this one.

A Rank! In the Stockade! I am honoured. You guys know I'm a huge pirate fan. My favourite theme.

[Aredhel]

Your MOC looks really great. Hope you find the time to finish it and show it to us all ;-)

[Mister Phes]

I nominate Sting for a rank in the Stockade Phes (if you read this).

How nobel of you Brickster, but Mr String can't be nominated yet because he hasn't registered! More details about The Stockade can be found in this thread.

[Sir Dillon]

Hey Sting. You've got the beginings of a great MOC.

I agree with you on liking the use of lattice windows, but I think you might of gone a little overboard. The two white ones towards the top look good, and the two smaller yellow ones look nice, but the yellow one in the middle, that's sticking out a little, IMO, looks out of place, and just sort of clutters up the middle.

I think the same about the top two windows on the left side; the idea is nice, but I think the windows are too close together, and looks a little messy. if you would move them apart a little, it would probably look better.

The colors look nice, but if possible, I would try to stay away from using black.

Overall, I think it's a nice creation, but with a little work, I think you could make it better. :-)

[Sting]

Hey Sting. You've got the beginings of a great MOC.

I agree with you on liking the use of lattice windows, but I think you might of gone a little overboard. The two white ones towards the top look good, and the two smaller yellow ones look nice, but the yellow one in the middle, that's sticking out a little, IMO, looks out of place, and just sort of clutters up the middle.

I think the same about the top two windows on the left side; the idea is nice, but I think the windows are too close together, and looks a little messy. if you would move them apart a little, it would probably look better.

The colors look nice, but if possible, I would try to stay away from using black.

Overall, I think it's a nice creation, but with a little work, I think you could make it better. :-)

Thanks Sir Dillon.

I agree whole heartedly with the Lattice Windows. I definately got to use less, or place them better. Colours were also an issue (I think if I kept them all one color on this particular building it would blend in better and just look like nice lattice).

The black is ugly, I only used it so I could build. I ordered white castle walls but by the time I saved up and ordered some, the creation fell off of its Bass Amp home and onto the floor. I only used the black as substitution pieces because I couldn't wait to start building up. Thats the same with alot of the grey pieces (minus the floors/roofs) which are supposed to be grey).

[Mister Phes]

I completely forgot about this thread! Now we don't have the distractions of those other historic themes we can revist some of these MOC threads and examine them more thoroughly.

I'm wondering if Mr Sting is still lurking around these parts? And if he is, could he give us any updates on this MOC?

[Captain Ironhook]

sting you have begun to created a fine moc and i look forward to seeing it become completed. but what i dont understand is the name imperial capitol fort. what does this capitol refer to? is this fort to be found in a capitol city?

[Mister Phes]

Dictionary.com defines "capitol" as: A building or complex of buildings in which a state legislature meets.

I don't think Mr Sting is implying this building is within a capitol city, but rather a place where important people meet. However, this does usually occur in a capitol city, although in the Caribbean this may not be the case.

[Norrington]

so sting, has your order come and can you give us an update?

[Sting]

Aye it did. Long ago, but my obsessive compulsive disorder for neatness in my room, as well as the overall lack of room I had at the point, made me abandon the beast. I will be posting my Cruiser very soon (it was easier to build and I had the entire house to myself for a week so I was able to bunk down and build more).

And Phes is correct. This building was the main building within a colonoy, that was going to have dicussion halls and important offices for Admirals, Governors, ect to meet.

I wish I had finished it, but alas, no time, no room, and most importantly, no money.