Castle stairway/bridge...

mcrankinchuk · Post by **mcrankinchuk** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 6:56 pm

When I finally figured out what I wanted to build last week, I decided I wanted to build a castle with a large moat around it. I'm sure it will change as I construct it but this is the start. Keep in mind that this is my first try and building anything castle. Anything. So suggestions would be welcome, criticism would be welcome and above all, please be gentle. I'm a newbie.

Folder:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=116669

Pictures:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mcran ... ure_17.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mcran ... ure_18.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mcran ... ure_19.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mcran ... ure_20.jpg

My first concern is that it's too cluttered and busy. The halberds are just there for a sinister look. Same with the fire. As for the 1x4 dark gray arches, they'll be switched to light gray when my Bricklink orders arrive. Also, the "dropoff" on the end of the bridge is tiled so a drawbridge can connect without sticking. IMO, I did pretty well considering the piece selection I had.

The pictures were taken with a webcam. So they're small but have a decent quality compared to the larger res ones I took beforehand.

Thanks for reading.

Scnicker · Post by **Scnicker** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 6:58 pm

I saw that on Brickshelf and really liked it. I guess we'll be seeing the other half of the bridge soon?

mcrankinchuk · Post by **mcrankinchuk** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 8:45 pm

Scnicker wrote:I saw that on Brickshelf and really liked it. I guess we'll be seeing the other half of the bridge soon?

Yes. Like I said, it's going to get underway when my Bricklink orders go through. I've got four decent sized orders on the way. I'm still trying to determine how big the castle is going to be. When I moved in the summer, I lost two 32x32 baseplates. Luckily, I found them in the storage room in a box on the weekend. So I'm back up to the three 32x32 baseplates I have now. Plus four more I recently ordered.

Is this a good spot to bounce ideas around? I've been toying with the idea of going 3x2 with the large baseplates and adding a moat around the castle but I don't want to square the structure. I'd much rather try and angle the walls using 1x2 bricks or 1x3 bricks and 1x1 round studs. Of course, this will take me ages but I'm determined to figure it all out.

It's been a long day. I need to build something.

Scnicker · Post by **Scnicker** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 8:48 pm

Try to find curved blue plates(if they exist ) and use them. How does that sound

Post by **Bruce N H** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 9:01 pm

Hey,

I like the shape underneath the bridge, especially, where they sort of curve back in. The steps leading up to the bridge are also very nice. I wish the images were larger, though, because it's really hard to see any detail.

Bruce

mcrankinchuk · Post by **mcrankinchuk** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 9:35 pm

Bruce N H wrote:Hey,

I like the shape underneath the bridge, especially, where they sort of curve back in. The steps leading up to the bridge are also very nice. I wish the images were larger, though, because it's really hard to see any detail.

Bruce

I'll try and get some better lighting in the room a bit later. There are a few lamps I can grab in the other rooms. A digital camera would be much more useful but we haven't got one. So I've got to take the pictures with the webcam. Anyway, there isn't a lot of detail to miss. Not yet, at least.

Umgarla · Post by **Umgarla** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 12:42 am

One good advice when taking pictures: Use natural lighting not lamps and stuff. I saw an article about this some time ago, just can't remember where, sorry.

Post by **SavaTheAggie** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 12:54 am

Before I got my digital camera, I used a normal film camera and had the film developed to CD. It worked very well for a very long time, and though it was a little pricey, Wal-Mart has really driven the costs of picture CDs really low.

As for lighting, natural amient lighting is probably best, but what I use, since there are no windows to aid me otherwise, is a combination of lamps.

If you use a combination of incandescent (normal light bulbs) and flourescent lights, you can mimic natural lighting very well. In fact I own a special lamp sometimes called an 'Artist's lamp' that combines these two together.

And remember, the more light you have in the room, the more clear your pictures will become.

Hope that helps.

--Anthony

Mr. D · Post by **Mr. D** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 1:39 am

HowD and welcome!

You did a good job on the bridge; if you build the castle to the same scale, you'll have a pretty big creation and have done more than many of us could do because of brick quantity limitations. By the way, I really think it doesn't look to cluttered, but I could tell better if the pictures were a bit bigger.

Build on!

D-Man