New Black Falcon's Castle MOC

[ezehogan]

Back at the end of 2005 I constructed the Black Falcon's Keep which was a reinterpretation of the famous Black Falcon's Fortress. The original thread can be found here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5632

In 2007 I decided to increase the size of the fortress while I was beefing up my brick count to make a larger castle. Unfortunately I have been very busy and after completion I never got around to uploading photos of the castle or posting it here. Last night I finally uploaded the photos to Brickshelf and am ready to show off the expansion.



The folder with all photos is located here: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=374926

I made several alterations to the "original" building, and I think the addition gives this model a great feel. It looks as if the original keep was outgrown and several modifications have been made to accomodate the current caretakers. The "lived in" feel and expansion really make this pop out a lot more than it did when it was simply a keep. The expansion was also a great chance to see how much grey I actually have while fixing some of the issues I did not like with the original keep.

Overall, building the keep and then converting it to a full scale castle was a great learning experience for me. I have a larger collection now, and a lot more know how. Although my structure does not have the "big grey wall syndrome", I feel I could now make it far more ornate and am looking forward to trying some new things in my next project. In the meantime, I will enjoy this for a few more weeks before I rip it down and start a completely new project from scratch (one which I hope to make from start to finish, without any "additions").

[Reejoc]

Good architecture. If you have the time it would be easily improved with some more detail in the courtyards, on the battlements and in the rooms

[BrianofBrick06]

Nice black falcon MOC you've created here. I am always a fan of the falcons represented by a good looking fortress/castle, and there is no exception to my adoration in your MOC. I really like how the water outside the castle is streamed into the courtyard. Also, I think your MOC is well designed to hold off any invasion, which might threaten its existence. Although, while there are plenty of things I love about your MOC, I am going to have to be picky about one thing. From the photos I saw, it does not seem as if there is any way for your soldiers to climb up and down some of the battlements/towers. It is obviously up to you as the creator, but it is just a minor pet peeve of mine, and I think the improvement would make your MOC solid. Once again, great creation...

[ezehogan]

My original design had entry ways up to the tower tops as seen here: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=1369773

When I increased the size of the towers in front and made some alterations to the door and drawbridge system it ruined the existing staircase design I had in place so I reluctantly scrapped it. With two of the towers already lacking such detail I simply got lazy with the rest. Although there are points of entry to the towers themselves, the top battlements are indeed lacking that detail. Just one of the issues of expanding an already built MOC.

Just one of several details I hope to incorporate in a future MOC already in the planning stages.

[smcginnis]

Very nice, ezehogan. I really like this, the yellow and grey give it a wonderful nostalgic feel.

~smcginnis