Planning tips.

[Cracko Witcho]

Hi guys.

I want to build a large-scale castle without buying more pieces than I will need, or relatively few extra pieces, and I've deduced that proper planning is the best way to avoid overspending. Thing is, I'm not sure how to plan outside of using my head or drawing by hand, and neither comes with a piece count >_<

Tips?

[Bruce N H]

Great question. I've got three suggestions, hopefully one of them will work for you:

1. Build your castle virtually first using a program like ldraw or ldd. Then you can get a complete parts list.

2. Give your castle a modular design, with curtain walls and periodic towers. Build one tower and one section of curtain wall using your existing bricks, then take these apart and figure out how many bricks you used in each. Then simply multiply by the number of wall sections and towers you need. Of course you'll have to separately build a gate section and an inner keep.

3. Just don't plan on doing all of your purchasing at once. Buy some, then build with what you have. Then buy more and repeat. As you approach the end of your project you'll have a better feel for what you still need to complete it and you won't have made a massive purchase with lots of leftover bricks.

Bruce

[legokilt]

Bruce nailed it on the head. If you are willing and have the time, plan it out and buy what you need in stages. I have been building a large castle and village since last spring. I budget $20 for parts/ minifigs a month. I started on the inner keep (which is finally done) and have started slowly moving outward to the outer walls and the village. The one thing Bruce didn't mention is try to be creative with what parts you may have. I saw on CCCVII a farm that used a bionicle part for a plow. Very creative. Best of luck. I look forward to seeing your castle when it is done.

[Ye Olde Republic]

Yup, if you haven't tried Digital Designer, I strongly suggest giving it a try.

[Cracko Witcho]

Thanks for the tips, they are all useful. Just curious though, what's the most you guys have spent on a single MOC?

Also, about LDD, are there no Castle-specific parts? I'm trying to find things like arches and tall slopes, but I'm not having any luck.

[Blueandwhite]

Thanks for the tips, they are all useful. Just curious though, what's the most you guys have spent on a single MOC?

Also, about LDD, are there no Castle-specific parts? I'm trying to find things like arches and tall slopes, but I'm not having any luck.

I couldn't begin to tell you how much I've spent on my current disaster (castle). I can tell you this though; expect the unexpected when building large. You will inevitably run out of something and need to make an order, or you will have to compromise.

[legokilt]

[quote="Blueandwhite"][quote="Cracko Witcho"]Thanks for the tips, they are all useful. Just curious though, what's the most you guys have spent on a single MOC?

I would have to say I have spent about $350 on my current castle, but it has all of the King's Castle Siege, Troll Tower Assault, Medieval Marketplace and about 4 other sets. It is also almost 6 feet by 3 feet. Other than this MOC I would have to say $100 is the most I have spent on a MOC. Plan for an amount and don't be surprised if you spend 25% more. Remeber, it is only as complete as you think it is, no matter how small or large it is.


The most important thing is to make sure you enjoy making it and like many of us, playing with it. Good Luck.

[Cracko Witcho]

I never played... even as a little kid, it was all about the conception and build. Watching other kids eye my sets with the intent of playing in their eyes filled me with fear

[Bruce N H]

The one thing Bruce didn't mention is try to be creative with what parts you may have.

Good point. It reminds me of a little MOC I made once as a personal challenge. We tend to use lots and lots of basic gray bricks in castle MOCs, and sometimes we start to run out. But I noticed I had lots of modified gray bricks that I could scatter in to stretch my building. So I challenged myself to build something with no basic bricks or plates. Here is the result:

But when you open it up, you can see that it's all non-standard bricks:

I discuss it in this thread, but since my old website is dead, the links in my post no longer work (follow the links above instead).

Bruce

[mystuffiscool]

It does often work out if you do look at what you've got, and go from there, which often down-scales your MOC, but allowing for you to concentrate on detail that would be lost in a larger creation. A lot of my ideas begin with an amazing engineering feat in my head, and end up being a whole lot smaller than I intended due to part restriction.
Right now for example, a forest diorama, lush with greenery, trees,amazing building techniques, hulking mammoth's of nature's creation, towering above the forest floor, and tall, sharp rocks, upon which are perched whole temples, connected by long wooden walkways,along which monks stroll...
This, of course, would end up being larger than a SHIP by castle standards, so I'll probably end up building one tree, with just a couple platforms and walkways. Just an example of how you can build great without building big.
Oh yeah Bruce, compromisation is good too!

Ah well,

[footsteps]

Here is the result:

But when you open it up, you can see that it's all non-standard bricks:

I have to laugh! This week I was thinking of your wall, for the very same reason that I mentioned in your original thread.

[Cracko Witcho]

So I challenged myself to build something with no basic bricks or plates. Here is the result:

But when you open it up, you can see that it's all non-standard bricks:

The interior nearly made me sick.

I love it.

[Funnyham]

Thanks for the help Bruce, I can see now that a MOC will be more expensive than I thought! (Might have to finally sell all my Studios horror )

[legokilt]

Bruce,
at a try myself.
I love that wall. It looks great. I'll have to give such a that a try myself. Thanks for the inspiration.

[Cracko Witcho]

OCD kicked in, been thinking about LEGO all the time lately. I even had a dream where I witnessed an elaborate LEGO castle build itself while I watched, layer-by-layer, landscape scenery included. The image dissolved within seconds of waking though

But I've come up with a few more questions for you guys.

1. I see the opportunity to fully explore interior detail as a benefit of building on a large scale. The question to you is, if you intend to build detailed interiors, do you build from the inside-out? Do you work out a site plan first, or do you start with an isometric exterior image of what you would like your castle to look like on completion?

2. In your experience, has it been easier to let standard plate size dictate the interior dimensions of your castle's components? For example, if you've constructed a tower in the past with several floors, has it been easier to stick with, for instance, two 6 x 12 plates for floor space than it has with odd dimensions? Have you ever felt the use of standard LEGO geometry has taken away from the look of your MOCs?