Fonzy Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 My first MOC is finally finished. I tried to build a replica off Affleck castle (Scotland). Within it I tried to capture some of the castle magic like thick walls, stairs within the walls, rooms inside the walls and windows with seats in it. Some other pictures of the outside. outside 1 outside 2 The top floor from above. top floor Inside the castle (with the minifigs living in it). inside Window on the ground floor. Another window (on the 1st floor). windows 1st floor Two pictures how the castle would look like if the roof tiles would have been reused for the surrounding buildings. And over the years all wood has rotten away. ruin 1 ruin 2 All feedback is welcome, so I can improve my future MOC's Quote
Big Cam Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 That is an impressive piece, and I must say I love that window design. That is exactly how windows were made in castles, and you replicated it perfectly. Really nice work! Quote
MightySlickPancake Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 Hi, I would like to say welcome to eurobricks and what an impressive first post. The sheer size is very nice and i love the windows and stairs. I also like the mix but not over use of grey and bley. But in my opinion the best bit is the ruin function/ability it just makes it have that real look. I hope to see more from you Fonzy. Thanks, CB Quote
Etzel Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 A really great work, Fonzy! Way to introduce yourself to this forum! I really like the thick walls of this castle, it's nice to see someone who focus on the historical correct details like that. And all the nice windows and stairs you can make inside the walls are great bonuses. Overall I find this MOC really impressive but maybe a few things could improve it. I don't like the use of the white windows, they look too modern to me. And maybe the castle suffers a bit from what is called "big-grey-wall-syndrome", it could use some randomly inserted bricks and plates in different tones of grey to break up the somewhat dull wall. Although it work quite well as it is now too. Anyway, really good and I hope we will see more MOCs from you Quote
the Inventor Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 Great work, and a nice way to introduce yourself on Eurobricks, Fonzy. I really like the thick walls and the arrow slits , although I agree with Etzel the windows look to modern, and especially the white color I don't like. The big gray walls are maybe a bit too gray, try adding random bits of different colors of gray and tan, an other option would be to use texture bricks, such as: , or 2 of these with a 1x2 tile. But keep on building, I look forward to see more of you. the Inventor Quote
P_Squared Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 hey, nice work.. outside walls seem a bit blah, but i really like that it opens up to reveal a nice inside.. overall, i like it.. keep up the good work Quote
Admiral Ron Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 Very nice! i love its size and girth! I agree though that the windows need to be changed. great work on the arrow slits, and keep up the good work! Quote
XimenaPaulina Posted October 14, 2010 Posted October 14, 2010 Whoaw! That's one massive castle MOC, very impressive build especially for your first one Fonzy. I have no idea how the real reference castle looks like but I would assume you tried to capture the look of the real one, and hence the simplicity of the walls (which I like). The whole build somehow exudes a feeling of serenity for a castle. Welcome to EB BTW! Quote
blueandwhite Posted October 14, 2010 Posted October 14, 2010 Nice work there! I'm going to disagree with what others have said; I think the walls are fine. I appreciate that some folks have a serious aversion to large grey walls but I find that there are times where such walls can be very imposing. I don't think that mottling the surface of your castle is really necessary. Many folks attempt to mottle a MOC and if done incorrectly it ends up making it look less attractive. I would suggest adding a bit more detail to the interior. You might consider tiling the floors and adding some more furniture to the interior. Otherwise this is a pretty good looking castle. Quote
coupi Posted October 14, 2010 Posted October 14, 2010 That's amazing, could you measure how tall it is, I'm curious to know! Great use of the Harry Potter spiral staircase. Quote
Masked Builder Posted October 14, 2010 Posted October 14, 2010 That's gigantic! The fact that it splits apart is great! Quote
captain crossbricks Posted October 14, 2010 Posted October 14, 2010 That castle is huge! I Love the inside and how it splits apart! 5 stars! Quote
Fonzy Posted October 14, 2010 Author Posted October 14, 2010 First of all thanks for all your feedback / suggestions. About the "big-grey-wall-syndrome", it was even worse when I just started it. The 2 shades of light gray and the dark corner stones improved it a little, but maybe not enough. I suppose I don't have the experience (yet) to find the right balance between "not enough" and "overdone". Indeed the white windows look kind a modern. On the few pictures available of the real castle they also look white, but I never realized they could be of a later period than the medieval period in which I tried to place the castle. Something to keep in mind for future MOC's. For those of you who are interested in the real thing, see: http://www.monikie.org.uk/affcastl.htm Measurements are: - base plates add up to: 64 by 48 studs - castle base: 42 by 37 studs - height: 57 bricks (which is 55 cm or 22 inch) Quote
Bingo Little Posted October 14, 2010 Posted October 14, 2010 Although agreed on those windows, I think the walls look fine. As that's what the actual castle would look like, and with the thick walls and all you're going for realism, I don't think it's an issue. I love this, though, the interior and exterior, and I love the idea of having the baseplates open up with it. It's probably none too new, but I hadn't thought of it before and it makes everything rather easier for me in future. Some of the details I love on here are the corners of the roof, and the ivy climbing up the wall. Oh, and the windows, but everyone's already talked about that. Quote
Skafte Posted October 14, 2010 Posted October 14, 2010 Great castle! It's not the legendary Castle of Aaargh, is it? Quote
castlestrike666 Posted October 14, 2010 Posted October 14, 2010 About the "big-grey-wall-syndrome", it was even worse when I just started it. The 2 shades of light gray and the dark corner stones improved it a little, but maybe not enough. I suppose I don't have the experience (yet) to find the right balance between "not enough" and "overdone". Hi Fonzy Thanks to share your first, and massive, creation with us! But, as some people already stated, your castle suffers a bit the big gray wall syndrome Now, how can you fix this? First of all, you should do your very best to 'overdo' the overall look of a castle. If you check real-life existing castles, there are tons of arches, windows jumping in and out of the walls, different structures, different colours, rounded corners, ... . So you should do the same in Lego. Here's an example to prove my statement: Clicky! The second step is to check the internet and gather some ideas of colleague Lego builders (read: gather ideas, not steal ). A good way to improve your view on the castle theme is register on Flickr, classic-castle.com and of course follow the topics in the "Historic Themes" forum on Eurobricks. If you have questions or difficulties on how to do things, you may always ask them here. We will all gladly help you solve your problems, and get yourself improved But I should definitely congratulate you with your amazing first moc: very well done! Most of us weren't this skilled when we made our first creation Keep up the good work, and let these mocs come! Quote
Mrlegoninja Posted October 15, 2010 Posted October 15, 2010 That is one massive MOC! And the window is great! And I love how you made it minifigure scale! Great work! Oh, and welcome to Eurobricks! Hope you enjoy the site! Quote
kinght II Posted October 15, 2010 Posted October 15, 2010 Moc is very perfect. I like it that one Quote
blueandwhite Posted October 16, 2010 Posted October 16, 2010 Hi Fonzy First of all, you should do your very best to 'overdo' the overall look of a castle. If you check real-life existing castles, there are tons of arches, windows jumping in and out of the walls, different structures, different colours, rounded corners, ... . So you should do the same in Lego. In fairness to Fonzy, most real-life castles did not have tons of windows and arches in the walls. Those features were usually improvements added well after the end of the middle ages. Also, Fonzy mentioned in his original post that Affleck Castle is a real castle in Scotland. I think he actually did a pretty good job capturing the castle's appearance with his MOC. Quote
Captain Blackmoor Posted October 16, 2010 Posted October 16, 2010 It's size is impressive! Very well done for your first MOC! If you take a closer look you soon discover all kind of fine details, I'm really fond of details! I have never seen a window construction like that with these cheese slopes. Yet it is very, very realistic! The interior could do with some tiling, and perhaps a bit more spicing up, but it certainly looks good to me. Congratulations by having such a castle! Quote
Darth Hawken Posted October 18, 2010 Posted October 18, 2010 Impressive Moc. The window technique was genius. The white windows in the front don't look that medieval. You might want to have an arch or a thin, tall window instead. Quote
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