My Castle Portion of the Supertrain show in Calgary

wlister · Post by **wlister** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 5:41 pm

Hi All,

As promised, I have several castle MOCs to show for my involvement in the Supertrain show here in Calgary. My castle display was one of the more popular areas of our award winning display.

My display included 15 Assorted Tudor styles homes/shops, an island temple with a lighthouse watchtower, a small horde of figs about 1/15 of my fig collection. And quite a few fun details. Currently most of the houses are not detailed, but all have been built so that I can add detailing. Once I detail the individual houses and landscapes, I will post a follow-up to show how the layout has changed.

The Center Piece to my display was my 96 x 96 light grey castle. The outer wall is suitably imposing at 21 studs high, the tallest tower was about 75 studs high. I also used an idea "borrowed" from another show, I have a balck tentacled beastie at the base of the tallest tower. It is not my original idea, but the kiddies loved it.

The castle is entirely brick built with the exception of the lookout tower and used about 20,000 bricks, slopes etc... I have not yet added all the details I will to it, but we have 3 more shows this year, so I will have suitable motivation to do it.

My Main gallery link is here:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=113124

LegoRoy's Gallery images of my castle stuff :
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/LegoR ... astle1.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/LegoR ... _will3.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/LegoR ... _will2.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/LegoR ... llage1.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/LegoR ... llage2.jpg

The only castle structure not built by me was a carry over from last year's show. This black castle was built by LegoRoy, our resident technic master. And evidently a better photographer than me, I have linked to some of his pictures. The castle features 3 pop-up ghosts, 2 fighting soldiers, two patrolling soldiers, some flickering red LED lights and a working gatehouse. All of these features were automated with the magic of motors, touch sensors, light sensors, technic chains and RCX and all the little technical stuff I know little about.

Here is his castle:

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/LegoR ... astle1.jpg

Edited because my links have changed. I was tired of having a gallery that didn't display properly.

Will

erikut · Post by **erikut** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 6:51 pm

cool thats awesome. i whis i could build tudor style. agood igea for the next how to article

Erik

Jacob C. · Post by **Jacob C.** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 3:00 am

The Center Piece to my display was my 96 x 96 light grey castle.

Excellent!
I love those nice big light grey castles!!
I like the tudor style gatehouse on the castle too!
All of the tudor style homes/shops are very good. The plots of farmland also blend in well.
From what I can tell in the pics, I think your castle/town stole the show!

Post by **Bruce N H** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:56 pm

Wowie! Outstanding display all around! I especially like the way you did the castle walls, using arches etc to avoid the BGW syndrome. The timber frame part above the gate is also very nice. I like the way you used that raised baseplate from the new coast guard base to do the island with the small dark gray castle and the asian-looking structure.

Away from the castle portion of the display, the whole dang SALUG display is amazing. I especially like the Disneyland portion. I'll post something about the Pirates of the Caribbean over on Piratebricks.

Bruce

wlister · Post by **wlister** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 12:41 am

Thanks Bruce,

I was really happy with the way the gatehouse turned out. I would have liked to use more arches along the longer parts of the walls, but my brick supply failed me. I hate one of those raised island baseplates and my first thought was what can I do with this. I had originally planned a large ruin on the island, but I thought the temple and little tower worked better with the bricks I had left. The little asian-styled temple only took about 45 minutes to build andI was surprised at how well it turned out.

Disneyland was a marvel that is for sure, the train ran throughout the layout and there was quite a bit of automation. We hope to do a disgital video of the Disney portion at our next show.

Hi Jacob,

Thank you for the compliments. My castle section had Dsineyland and an automated marble factory to contend with, but it was definitly one of the major focal points of the layout.

Hi Erik,

Sorry I had to rush off while I was in the Dominican Republic. The tudor style is fairly simple once you have the hang of building with it. It is rather parts intensive though.

Thanks for the compliments guys!

Will

Mr. D · Post by **Mr. D** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 1:51 am

Great job, Will!

You did a great job on the castle; it looks quite stately. You really made the arches and pillers break up the wall well, and I like the inverted slopes underneath all the windows.

I do wonder how the train fits with a wonderful castle layout, though.

By the way, don't mind about the black castle's technical aspects; it's great but you're castle is wonderful, and much statelier (is that a word?).

D-Man

bannear · Post by **bannear** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 4:21 am

Excellent Display Will
I like the way your whole display fit together. your castle is something to really be proud of. I like all the interesting design elements - most already mentioned. I will use some of these some day when I build to this scale. I really like the Gatehouse. I can hardly wait until you get more of your details complete - (seems pretty good already to me) It will be great to see pictures of the progress.
Congrats to all of you for your well deserved win.
Cheers
SirBert.

Troy T. Moore · Post by **Troy T. Moore** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 10:33 am

*whistle* That's quite a spread!

My favourite house is the blue roofed one right in front of the castle. The colour scheme is nice, with the blue window frames and the dk bley(?) lower floor.

I also like the inclusion of farmland. After all even the kings table is served from the field.

The battle scene.... Are the fellows with the islander torsos and dk grey batlord helm meant to represent uruk hai? That is the definite feel I get from them.

If your are taking requests...I would like a closer pic or two(from a couple different angles) of the wattle and daub section that is your gatehouse.

Congrats to you and your comrades on the win.

wlister · Post by **wlister** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 3:32 pm

Hey Troy,

No Dark Bley in any of my constructions. No bley at all in my whole collection. I have more farmland planned as well as more daily life details like carts and all the other touches that seem to be missing. Right now the scene looks a little too empty. I was pretty rushed to get this done on time for the show.

I can take some closer pics of the gatehouse once I unbox the lot. The gatehouse roof opens as wel as the sloped section of the wattle and daub. Room enough inside for boiling oil.

The Islanders are just a little barbarian horde. The army pics once I have the layout set in my basement will be a little more impressive. This army was just a small space filler since I didn't get my docks and warehouses finished.

Bannear, yes, the layout did turn out nicely. The rest of the castle grey up around the gatehouse. This was my first attempt at a brick built castle and I was really happy with the results. I would have preferred a more organic less square look for the castle, but I needed a castle I could transport in sections.

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Will

Blueandwhite · Post by **Blueandwhite** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 4:01 pm

I was wondering, how developed is the Castle interior? Overall, its a nice castle you've got there. Its deceptively large, and it has a nice feel to it. This has to be one of the nicer castles we've seen this year. Oh, I love the whole Disneyland theme! The idea of making an amusement park is quite appealing.

You've definitely got a good LUG out in Alberta!! I wish there was something this good arround here. You guys rock!!

Later.

wlister · Post by **wlister** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 11:39 pm

The tops of all the towers have been built removable so I can detail interiors as I have the time. There is a blacksmith with two forges and a semi-detailed stable as well as a barracks. Those are the buildings within the walls.

There is also a chaple and a great hall begging to be detailed. The dockhouse, gatehouse and other towers will also be detailed at some point.

Once I have built a way for the floor lift from the back two sections, there is a hidden entrance/exit by the docks. There is also a treasury, and a few other hidden rooms built into the castle foundations.

I would have loved to build a castle that could have been fully detailed, but needing an easily transportable castle was more important with the amount of shows we will be doing this year. I will take pictures as I flesh out more of the detailing.

Will

The Blue Knight · Post by **The Blue Knight** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 8:00 am

Good to hear from you Will. I see you've been busy. This is a very immpressive display. I love your castle! I was drawn to the walls as Bruce NH has pointed out. I like the way you did the crenallations as well with slopes and reverses, and the buttresses too. I like your village, the tudor village idea is very well done. I like the inclusion of water into MOCs as well, and they go very well in villages like yours. Did you use transparent parts for the pond? Your minifigs add a lot of life. Well done my friend.

The rest of the display is great. I can remember wandering the New Orleans area of Disneyland, nicely detailed.

Dragon Master · Post by **Dragon Master** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 2:41 pm

Sorry for not commenting earlier.

Will,

I must say that this is the best creation of yours that you have made thus far. I love the nonsymmetrical look of it. Like Bruce pointed out, good use avoiding the BGW syndrome. I might suggest adding some arches to support those battlements, rather than the POOP buttresses supporting them alone. I don't think adding machicolations would hurt it either.

My favorite part of the castle would have to be the gatehouse. The size and shape of it is very nice. And the timber frame seems very appropriate.

I am a little confused about the numerous 2x2 columns with peaked roofs jutting out from various parts of the castle. Do they serve a practical purpose? Chimneys perhaps? I would really suggest getting rid of them; they make it look a bit like King Leo’s castle. The only other thing I don't like about this castle is the tall watchtower in the back. I really think it is unnecessary. I can see that it does have a function, but I really think it detracts from the monolithic solidarity of the structure, but to each his own I guess.

Your timber village is surprisingly believable. Usually at these types of gatherings, the villages just look silly. I like how all the house line up, and aren't random and chaotic (as they probably would be in a real village, however I don't think every house in the village would be aligned at different angles for no apparent geographic reason, but again, that’s just me). I like how you avoided strange colored Tudor houses, and stuck with mostly traditional colors. The variety of roof shapes is also very pleasing.

If you plan to add to this however, I would suggest adding other kinds of houses and shops. Make some stone and wooden houses. Make one story Tudor, or all Tudor houses. Also throw in some stands and tents to sell things. I think the village could get better by getting busier, and a messier.

I think that those smaller castle buildings (built on the raised base plates) are nice, but I don't think they fit with the display. The black castle is nice too (mad props to the technic wiz) but I don't think it really goes with the display. If you were going for a fantasy display this stuff is great, but if your going for a realistic castle, why not loose that other fortress, and maybe add a tournament area or something. But I understand time and space limits at these train shows could be a problem.

All in all this is a truly amazing project. Something of this size and quality is usually accomplished only by multiple builders and multiple collections of bricks. It is amazing that you have the skill (and the bricks

) to do a project like this.

I that any improvements you make on this layout will work out great. I am looking forward to the next two shows.

Have Fun,

Dragon Master

P.S. http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=1120375

^ King William is going down!

wlister · Post by **wlister** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 8:22 pm

Hey DM,

The black castle is currently being dismembered. The builder really wants the parts for another project. We will be adding a pop-up ghost and two fighting soldiers to my castle to keep the crowds happy. You are right, it did not fit with the display, but it did make the kids happy.

As for the island buildings, variety was the call for the day. I wanted to showcase a few different designs. The dark grey tower will remain in the display a little taller perhaps, but the temple will become part of another section of my own display at home.

The tall watchtower at the back of the castle was also an addition for the show. I plan on making a smaller tower out of bricks. The columns with the black peaks are a part of the design, I like tiny towers with flags on them.

It is a personal preference and one that will remain, people expect some majesty when they look at a big castle and flags and pendants bring that feeling out well. I have some flags etc... on the way from Fry_Slayer that will help greatly to add to the pagentry of the castle. Machicolations and additional arches to support the battlements would have been great, but I seem to have run out of 1 x 2 bricks.

The village is being reworked, now that the black castle is no more, I will have more space and a few more building options when I next present it. My plan is a bit more farmland, an open air market and some smaller huts. As most of my "stone" went into building the castle, I will probably have to stick with wattle and daub. I didn't have a great deal of time to plan the village, so basically I built as many houses as I had time for. The pond does use trans blue bricks, I was happy with how it turned out, but I can't wait to add more foliage and use a more distressed looking damsel.

Glad you noticed your old sig on the walls, yhe DM was about to surrender his sword when the picture was taken.

Thanks for the compliments and the suggestions.

Hey Blue Knight,

Yes, I was very busy, I basically build 16-20 hours a day for 4 days to finish everything. All my previous castles had been completed in one day and I really underestimated how long it would take to build. Taking a 16 day holiday just before the show also added to my time constraints a bit. Thanks for the praise!

Will