de Gothia Posted November 22, 2011 Posted November 22, 2011 MikeyB: A really good start you got there! I like the tower top with the wooden pieces and the arches! I like the railing up to the tower! I think you have done a good job hiding the fact that the path is higher than the sorrounding. Great job!
Brickdoctor Posted November 22, 2011 Posted November 22, 2011 Nicely done, ZCerberus. Looks solid. Sounds like you're facing the same problem I am with the counterweight. Building the arm with bricks seems to be just too heavy. I might try some stacked plates next time, though I think in order to make a strong design with those, I might end up with a bigger arm. There's always official LEGO weights, but I don't want to buy those, so I might make a hollow counterweight that I can fill with pennies. Then it's just a matter of finding how many I can put in without breaking the frame.
ZCerberus Posted November 22, 2011 Posted November 22, 2011 Sounds like you're facing the same problem I am with the counterweight. Building the arm with bricks seems to be just too heavy. I might try some stacked plates next time, though I think in order to make a strong design with those, I might end up with a bigger arm. There's always official LEGO weights, but I don't want to buy those, so I might make a hollow counterweight that I can fill with pennies. Then it's just a matter of finding how many I can put in without breaking the frame. Great minds must think alike. I don't think stacked plates for the arm would give me the effect I am looking for, though stacked plates or long technic bricks with pins through the middle would be stronger. I like the boat mast as the firing arm on my design though, so the easiest and best looking option for the counterweight arm is bricks with this set up. As for the counterweight... the one I have on there now is actually made of plates as opposed to bricks to make it heavier. I considered using a LEGO boat weight, but the ones I have are 2 x 6 x 2 and are classic red in color. That means the boat weight is simply too big and the wrong color to use here. I think I could make the frame taller and wider and make a hollow counterweight with weights inside if I reinforce the arm... I do wonder if my trebuchet is a little short... making it bigger would require everything to be bigger though and really, do I even need the thing to fire? The counter weight does what I need it to do for purpose of this MOC, it does lift the arm when the rope is slacked, as cool as that would be to actually fire, I would rather it look awesome more than anything else at this point... I have the exact same issue with the ballistas I have made. They would actually fire with a little work, but it would detract from the look I was going for. Photos of the ballistas will be up some time soon.
Brickdoctor Posted November 22, 2011 Posted November 22, 2011 I know what you mean. I considered adding weights to make my first trebuchet fire, but I decided that I really liked the thin, skeletal look that I got with the long beams attached with weak illegal connections. Now, I just want to make one that fires so I can say that I can make one that fires.
ZCerberus Posted November 22, 2011 Posted November 22, 2011 I know what you mean. I considered adding weights to make my first trebuchet fire, but I decided that I really liked the thin, skeletal look that I got with the long beams attached with weak illegal connections. Now, I just want to make one that fires so I can say that I can make one that fires. Yeah... I really liked your design. It didn't look too "thick" and had some great details around the counterweight arm. As for firing though, you DO know as soon as you make one that fires, you are going to need to make one that fires further than the next guy... I think if I wanted this one to fire, I would scrap the "hampster wheels", make the firing arms out of technic bricks and make it much taller.
Brickdoctor Posted November 22, 2011 Posted November 22, 2011 Same here. I'm probably going to make one at least ten studs taller, so that the beams will still appear thin even after I thicken and strengthen them.
MikeyB Posted November 22, 2011 Posted November 22, 2011 I think this is very good for a first MOC. The top of the tower kind of gives me a Lord of the Rings vibe (it reminds me of the Isengard or Mordor tower). It looks like you also did a nice job with the rocks and dirt path here. I think the path and railing that lead up to the tower could use some more attention as could the trees. The trees seem kinda dead since there is so little foilage on them and the trunk on the big tree doesn't look right with the perfectly round bricks. Our leader, Derfel Cadarn, made a guide on the history forums here that shows several tree techniques that you may be able to employ to enhance them. Overall I think you have caught the right spirit of our guild, with a little more seasoning you will have it down! thanks for the feed back! I was inspited by LOTR for the tower but wanted to give it more of an Avalonia(nish?) feel by using light grey and wood. I was thinking of using white but I think it would have been too much going on color wise. Hope it works. I did modify the tops of the slopes by adding grey cheese slopes so the top isn't flat. I also have a BL order in to modify the window to change the grey arch to brown and modifying the path up to the tower. To be honest I rushed the path and the trees. I was lucky enough to get a couple PaB cups with the tree elements so I can do more. MikeyB: A really good start you got there! I like the tower top with the wooden pieces and the arches!I like the railing up to the tower! I think you have done a good job hiding the fact that the path is higher than the sorrounding. Great job! thanks as well. Maybe its the camera angle but the path isnt higher than the surroundings. It does step down to the road area. maybe it will be clearer with the modification I have planned (or better camera angles!)
ZCerberus Posted November 22, 2011 Posted November 22, 2011 To be honest I rushed the path and the trees. I was lucky enough to get a couple PaB cups with the tree elements so I can do more. I wish my PAB had tree stuff more often. There is only one LEGO store in Minnesota, so I can't get there all the time and when I do get there, they often seem to have three or four bins full of the same 2 x 4 brick of a boring color.
de Gothia Posted November 22, 2011 Posted November 22, 2011 I wish my PAB had tree stuff more often. There is only one LEGO store in Minnesota, so I can't get there all the time and when I do get there, they often seem to have three or four bins full of the same 2 x 4 brick of a boring color. You should be glad you live in countries that have lego stores and pab walls!
MikeyB Posted November 22, 2011 Posted November 22, 2011 The closest store to me is more than 3 hours away so when I do go, the wife understands that Im going to load up. My biggest problem right now is lack of organization of nearly 35 years of lego accumilation. That and space. It tends to make things a bit more difficult to find when I have to sort through tubs to find a 1x1 tile.... One day I will get it all sorted. maybe by then I can convince the wife to give me a room just for Lego....
Brickdoctor Posted November 22, 2011 Posted November 22, 2011 I'm usually happy if a PaB wall has anything other than basic bricks. I hit the jackpot one time when one of the basic bricks stocked was light bley 1x3s, but other than that, it's all light blues and oranges and other bright colors that I never use. Though recently, I've been seeing grass/flower stem elements appear very often, which is great for medieval/fantasy MOCs.
Derfel Cadarn Posted November 22, 2011 Author Posted November 22, 2011 Greetings to all new guildsmen, we are always glad to have new recruits! Thats a great start for a tower MikeyB! you have deffinitely captured the Avalonian look. There are many great builders here who will always be glad to give advice on mocs, so don;t be afraid to ask. Im very impressed with the siege weapons im seeing. Excellent work Z, I can ust see a load of these lined up behind the army. I can understand the problems you and Brickdocter are having with the counter weight. I think I would go with the hollow option and put a weight in there. The best way would probably be to use a Fishing weight. They are cheap and come in many convienient sizes and they will be more than heavy enough. I must confess that PAB walls are how I built up most of my foliage. For the last two years, my local Lego store has had a constant supply of 4 different types of foliage pieces. So naturally I regularly fill up large cups full of them as it works out so much cheaper. I agree about there always being basic blocks in bright colours, but we seem to be lucky here, as we currently have brown, green, black and light bley tiles, plus there is usually always an odd batch of an interesting part, when they got in black headlight bricks I think I must have wiped them all out of that piece. I usually check once a month to see if there is anything new and interesting. We are doing well as a guild and have many great builds for our land already. Hopefully we will soon have a detailed map. Yes, the other guilds are starting to put out some good stuff, but it is still early days guildsmen, we have hardly got started yet! There will be many challenges and many twists and turns. Plenty of chances for you all to build some amazing mocs, win titles and prizes and much more. Guildsmen, I salute you!
Artanis I Posted November 22, 2011 Posted November 22, 2011 (edited) Now, I just want to make one that fires so I can say that I can make one that fires. I know exactly what you mean, I built a huge catapult that looked cool and had a great independent action, but because of bad engineering design didn't fire very far so I now want to built a crap looking "flick-fire-ish" one that fires a good distance... I can understand the problems you and Brickdocter are having with the counter weight. I think I would go with the hollow option and put a weight in there. The best way would probably be to use a Fishing weight. They are cheap and come in many convienient sizes and they will be more than heavy enough. I used a ball-bearing in my catapult (same thing) to add to the counterweight. It satisfactorily increased the speed of the action edit: and your trebs look great Edited November 22, 2011 by Artanis I
Brickdoctor Posted November 22, 2011 Posted November 22, 2011 I used a ball-bearing in my catapult (same thing) to add to the counterweight. It satisfactorily increased the speed of the action For a moment there, I thought you meant you used ball bearings in the joints of your catapult. The purist in me still wants to find a LEGO-only solution, but I think I'm going to start on a fishing weight-weighted trebuchet as soon as I finish my watchtower.
Artanis I Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 The purist in me still wants to find a LEGO-only solution You can use grey to symbolise concrete or steel etc vs brown to symbolise wood - but all Lego weighs the same. A 1x2 plate of "moss" weighs the same as a 1x2 plate of "solid gold". Put a weight in there, you goose.
Brickdoctor Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 You can use grey to symbolise concrete or steel etc vs brown to symbolise wood - but all Lego weighs the same. A 1x2 plate of "moss" weighs the same as a 1x2 plate of "solid gold". Put a weight in there, you goose. I was going to try filling the counterweight with the metal links from keychains.
Artanis I Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 I was going to try filling the counterweight with the metal links from keychains. if you must
ZCerberus Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 Made a few changes to the treb. Thing definitely would fire if it had a sling now! Dimes as a counter weight... made it 1 stud wider so counterweight could swing more easily and 2 bricks taller and 4 studs longer. Also added a pin release and strengthened the arm for the counterweight. You can see the updates when I post the finished product soon. It is Thanksgiving here in the US this week, so I will be out of town for most of the rest of the week... hopefully she will be raining terror on our enemies next week!
Captain BeerBeard Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 The Avalonian Forestmen have captured a spy. He will soon be joining his brothers. Check my topic in the forums for more pics and the interior of the Forestmen's hideout.
mattman Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 My big MOC is coming along nicely :) Think 2 baseplates, densely forested with a forestmen treehouse. Most of the landscape/trees is done, just got to work on the structure now mostly. No pics until it's done this time :P
de Gothia Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 My army is here my Liege! Now we await your orders! de Gothias Army by de Gothia, on Flickr And my light cavalry, perfect for quickly and deathly strikes! Light cavalry by de Gothia, on Flickr Our next move is to show you my champion!
Captain Blackmoor Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 A fantastic army de Gothia! Now who dares to mess with Avalonia? Captain Beerbeard, your creation is truely stunning as well! Meanwhile, I have completed my watchtower.
de Gothia Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 A fantastic army de Gothia! Now who dares to mess with Avalonia? Captain Beerbeard, your creation is truely stunning as well! Meanwhile, I have completed my watchtower. Thanks! And your tower is a beauty! Avalonia keeps growing in power!
Waterbrick Down Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 (edited) The Avalonian Forestmen have captured a spy. He will soon be joining his brothers... Lord Artorious Rex, I really must file a complaint with the mistreatment of my one of my men. This is clearly a case of racial profiling, here in Kaliphlin all races are treated equally and should an orc wish to attain a full time position working in a credible escort service, then he may do so. My men are often escorting caravans to your noble country and once in a while, one does go off to see the sights of your land and/or visit his relations (which I am aware dwell not far from yourself peaceably), and while he will be disciplined and his pay reduced for leaving the company without giving notice, I believe the chains and shackles are too much. If the issue is not resolved, I will take the matter up with my lord Dextrus Flagg who I am sure will see to it that the King hears of it. Thank you for your time, -Captain Hardiel of the Southern Kaliphlin Guild. On another note, great build Captain BeerBeard, I always love the creations with a bunch of foliage all over and the mushroom shields Edited November 23, 2011 by Waterbrick Down
ZCerberus Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 Good looking army de Gothia! They sure do appear mighty! Good looking forest BeerBeard, very Avaolian! So I took some pictures of a ballista I made. The photos weren't great and I didn't have time to edit them. I will retake them with better lighting later. But until then, a little video of the bad boy in action! I also did manage to get a few snaps of the updates on the treb. I made it one stud wider so the counterweight could swing freely. I also made it two bricks or so taller so the counter weight would swing over the axel that pulls the rope to lower the firing arm. The counterweight is a little bigger and has dimes in the interior to make it hevier. I then modified it to have a firing pin like the ballista. Pull the pin and this thing would work if I devised a working sling!
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