Detailed guide to building a medieval village

[Derfel Cadarn]

Hello there.

This thread will be for just the guide only. No comments here please, if you have any questions and comments please post them in the other existing thread.

To start off, i am going to briefly cover my technique for building houses in its simplest form. The more advanced additions and techniques will be covered as I build them through out the guide. So here is a little idea of how we will be tackling houses during the guide.

Here we can see a basic wall of 1x1 round plates.

Note that the primary colour is light grey then dark grey followed by odd spots of brown then black. You can also add some sand green if you have them as it gives a nice 'moss' effect. Tan also works well added in.

As you can see, there are lots of small gaps and its not very stable. So we have to build a second wall with plain bricks behind the rounds like so.

This also comes in handy when making an interior as you have another wall on the inside to add detail with out certain clips and bricks being visible from the outside.

Once we have this, we can add the planking on top which holds the two walls together making them very strong and sturdy.

But, a plane wall of 1x1 rounds can be a bit much, so we have to add in some tile brick work to break things up a bit. This is done with headlight bricks and 1x1 bricks with stud.

Also, we can add some plants if need be, the basic ones are the 3 leafed 1x1 round part and the classic tree/leaf part. Both can be used to great effect which we will cover later.

Next we start on the next level. Notice that I use a double layer of brown plate as the base for the timber section. It looks more prominent then a single and looks more like the tile width, which we will build the rest with.

We do the corner of the wordwork with 4 black 1x1 bricks with stud(not the headlight piece). Between each brick we place 2 1x1 plates. You should end up with 2 bricks pointing one way and two pointing the other. This will allow us to clip on a height of 2 1x4 tiles to get the corner effect like so.

Now i am going to switch to dark brown, as that is the colour I will be mostly using, although you can use reddish brown if it is more availible to you.

Here you can see some of the problems encounted with dark brown. As there is a limited amount of plates in this colour we have to make the best of what there is. The easiest and most widely availible is the 2x6 plate. The Troll Battle Wheel set was a great source for these. As you can see in the picture below, at some stages we will have to have the plates sticking inside. This isn't a problem with this section as you can build a floor anyway, but can be tricky in other areas. Of course, if you don't need an interior and just want a village that looks good then it doesn't matter anyway.

I have used white instead of tan here, as I think it works well with dark brown and makes a nice change from all the tan house around. Also note that the height of the 2 tiles is equal to 6 bricks and 2 plates. This is very handy, as instead of using 2 plates we can add a headlight brick on its back which will be used to attach the horizontal tiles as seen in the picture below.

Next we come to adding a window. First we need to use the height of one 1x2 tile. These are connected using a combination of a headlight brick on its back with a 1x1 with stud, on the top, like in the picture below.

Next we can place the window section top. This is made up of a 2x6 plate with a row of tiles and a 1x6 plate. The window then sits on the 1x6 plate and on either side we use a combination of 1x1 rounds and plate rounds with a clip on the top and bottom. On these clips we attach the pole/stick pieces which will hold the wooden shutters. Reddish brown is the most common colour of the pole/stick piece and works best along with black, but you can use what ever colour you wish. I like to add 2 plates/with handle or rail just above the window piece. All can be seen in the picture below.

Next we use some 1x1 bricks with stud on side again. Placing these on top of the window and attaching tiles horizontally will bring you exactly level with the top of the vertical corner tiles like so.

Now we have something like this. As you can see, unfortuantly 1x1 tiles in dark brown arn't yet availible, so I have just added a couple of rounds next to the window where the horizontal tiles would usually go. You can use any thing for this, a tooth plate looks good as well. This wont matter on bigger buildings of course, as we can make it wide enough to fit a 1x2 or 1x4 tile in.

Now we come to the shutters. This is a very simple detail but really adds to the look.

Its simply a case of getting 2 1x4 tiles and using 2 corner plates and 2 clip plates on the back to hold it together, as seen in the picture below.

You can then use any colour of your choice, but I find that earth tones like sand green, dark brown, brown, dark tan etc work best. You can also use them in combination with different colour window as well, like the examples below.

Green and dark green

Blue and sky blue

Next we start a roof.

Note that i am not overhanging the roof bricks, as the step effect it produces can look very blocky. Instead we use a different technique. Using 2 clips with the new hinge plates attached we can create a nicer gable effect like in the 2 following pictures.

As you can see, i have added a jumper plate on the top roof section with a headlight brick that allows you to attach some rounds and a black tooth plate. This results in the finished effect seen below.

You can also add a different colour to the gable to match other parts of the house. for example, if you have dark green doors and shutters, you could add a few dark green plates to the gable to subtly tone it all in.

Well, thats the basic house building technique we will use through out this guide. If you would like to view any of the pictures in a bigger size, then here is the link to the set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/45244184@N04/sets/72157627719756491/

Now we can begin with the main guide. I will post the first section asap!

[Derfel Cadarn]

Right then, time to get properly started. In this part, we are going to cover a section of the base, the stream/river and some landscaping.

When it comes to laying out your base, a lot of people like to plan and lay the whole base out and build it all first. I don't do it this way. The reason is, that I always find you never really know how much space you are going to need when building something like this. Its far easy to build the base as you go along, that way, if you need that extra 16 stud width or depth, you can easily add it without having to take apart what you have already done.

So to start, I will lay some base plates down and start from the front right corner and build out. As you can see in the picture below, we build up the edges of the base with black bricks. You can use any colour but black looks best. the sides are built to a height of 2 bricks and one plate. This allows a bit of depth to lay the river through and will give a stronger structure.

As you can see I am using roof pieces to give the edges of the base a nicer look, and then I top them off with tiles. Dark brown looks best, but a lot will be used, so black is the best bet as they are cheaper to get hold of and come in 1x8 sizes.

In the picture below you can see some basic foundations on which you can lay a Lego base plate.

Because the black bricks are a height of 2 and 1 plate, when we lay the base plate on the foundations it will lay flush level with the top of the black bricks like the next picture shows.

Using large green base plates like these are helpful for covering large areas of green where normal green plates would take an age to do. Plus it will also save a lot of plates. So that is an example of how we will create most of our base/foundation. But for now, we shall start the all important stream/river.

This should always be built first, and then the village builds up around it. All towns and villages were built around or near water, and its the same with Lego.

So to start, we build a rough guide of where the stream will run. For this, we lay one level of bricks and then put plates on top, as we don't want it to be as high as the black base. It doesn't matter what colour you use, and the same goes for all the foundations. Its a good chance to use all those multicoloured bricks that you never usually use. If you want to make foundations even easier, a tip is to use Duplo. Big bulky Duplo bricks are compatible with normal Lego and are handy for bulking out your landscape quicker.

Here you can see the foundations for the stream.

Once we have done this, we can start laying down some water.

Now, there are lots of ways to make water, everyone has their own preference. Tiles work well, as does snot techniques, but they have a tendency to look very lifeless. I was always a fan of using different shades of blue tiles for water. It works well for calm mill ponds and slow rivers. But for if you want a bit more active look, then studs is the way to go.

For this stream, I am going to use tiles and studs for a better effect.

First, we lay out our stream with blue tiles for the middle and medium blue for the edges.

Note I have built up the edges of the stream with plates, so it is the same level as the tiles. I have also added a row of clear bricks which are used to seperate where the stream steps up a level.

Then on top of the tiles I lay some 8x8 trans medium blue plates. This is an effect I used back on a Boat House moc I made, but I have never tried it for a whole stream before. The effect of the tiles can be seen through the plates.

Then once again we add some more plates round the outside of the stream to bring the everything level with the trans medium blue plates.

Now we can start laying out the banks of the stream. To do this, we can use a mixture of old brown, dark brown, reddish brown and dark green like so.

On top of that layer, we then add another layer of dark green and normal green.

Then finally we add a 3rd layer of normal green with a few small brown plates here and there.

Then we can start repeating the process on the other side.

Now, we have a bit of space to use a base plate, so we build the foundations like earlier and lay the base plate on top.

Now we can continue with the stream by building up the level behind the row of clear bricks.

Then like before, we lay the tiles out.

Then build up the outside to the same level as the tiles and lay the 8x8 plates on top. These will rest on the top of the clear bricks as well.

We now need to complete the step in the stream, so first we lay one row of clear plates up against the step and then use some grey slopes to make some rocks in the middle.

Then we add a few more rocks either side of the stream and add some clear 1x1 rounds to get the effect of the flow through the rocks.

Now we can carry on with some more of the stream, using the same techniques as before.

We can now also start laying some foliage. To start, we lay out some dark green spiky appendages, which are used to imitate weeds etc.

On top of those, we then lay dark green tree pieces which will also hold the spiky parts in place. The tree pieces should overlap the stream in places for a more natural look.

Then we add some lighter green tree pieces and a selection of other plant pieces. Don't worry about attaching the tree pieces firmly down, as they look better if they are sticking up in places. The same goes for the other plant pieces. You can wedge some in at different angles for a nicer effect.

Repeat all of these processes for the other side and you will then be looking at something like this.

You can see from this angle that you get a nice natural curve and look to the stream.

Also note, I have added in a few wild flowers made with 1x1 round plates.

Well, that is a small section of the stream, and will give you an idea of how it will all be built. Most of it will be built using the processes above, but there will also be a few parts like waterfalls, over hanging trees and high banks which I will cover latter in the guide. You don't have to build a stream using the 8x8 trans plates, it will work just as good with normal blue plates or just tiles and snot. Its up to you. Just remember to try and use darker colour's near the edge of the stream as these would be damp and muddy. The look we are going for is an overgrown natural look.

Plant pieces are a must for this type of build, if used well, they can really bring a whole area to life and act as the finishing touch before the mini-figs are applied. I found the best way to get large amounts of plant pieces is from a PAB wall at a Lego store. Most of the pieces they have in a PAB wall are usually pieces we never want to use, but they do stock a variety of plant pieces(well my nearest store does anyway). If you fill a large cup packed full of the small plant pieces, you will get a lot more for your money then if you were to order them from Bricklink. I have managed to cram thousands of the 3 pronged grass piece into a large cup, and even the larger tree pieces and be stacked and compacted to fit as many in as possible. Unfortunatly they have not got round to stocking the dark green tree pieces yet, but i've seen every other plant piece available, so its worth looking into.

The next step is where things will really start coming to life, as we will tackle our first building, the Water Mill, as well as a small water fall and bridge.

Will post asap

Thanks for reading

DC

Edited October 10, 2011 by Derfel Cardarn

[Derfel Cadarn]

Ok then, time to continue on. The next part consists of three main features: A bridge, a Water Mill and a Waterfall. Each part is tied into the other as you will see.

Firstly, we continue on from where we left, building more of the stream. Note that I have now made a flat edge with the water on the right side, and laid a few 1x1 rounds as a marker of where the wall of the Water Mill will go.

Before I start the Mill, we need to make a small bridge. Now when it comes to making large bridges, 1x1's are good, as there's a lot of room for different techniques on a large bridge. Unfortunatly, trying to make a small bridge out of 1x1 flat rounds is not easy, as you can't float them in mid air to make a curved shape. So, some normal plates are going to be of use here as well.

First we make the shape of the bridge using normal 6 wide dark grey plates.

Then we build a 3 plate high wall of 1x1 round plates, then add some dark grey tiles and wedges to top it off.

Then we use the 1X1 rounds underneath the grey plates and stack them to make a curved shape like in the next picture.

Note I have also added 2 1x1 bricks with stud at either end of bridge. This is to attach some foliage.

Then we repeat all that on the otherside, then we can add some tiles on the bridge and it should look something like this.

Now we place the bridge in position.

Then we can start building up the landscape to the bridge, using the same techniques as before. After which, we can add a bit of foliage.

Now, we will leave the bridge for a moment and concentrate on the foundations of the mill. In this picture you will see I have started laying down a few grey bricks as a marker of where the mill will be.

I have also started to build the side wall of the mill which connects to the bridge.

Next I have started to build up the front of the mill and added some plates which will make the porch of the Mill.

Then we start building the stairs down step by step.

Once the steps are done, we can build the rest of the porch wall and then build up the landscape with green plates till we get something that looks like this.

Note that I have raised some 1x1 tiles above the rest and twisted them at an angle. This gives quite a nice effect and tops the porch wall of nicely.

In this view, you can see a dark grey plate that marks where we will start the wall of 1x1 round plates. This means that we will need to build up the landscape to that level, but that will come latter.

Now, we can see from another angle that I have now marked out the full foundation of the mill, and I have also carried on with the outer wall by the steam. On the other side of the stream I have built a small section of wall. Between these sections of wall is where our water wheel will sit.

So now we need to find out at what height the water wheel will sit on the wall, and to do that, we need a water wheel!

There are 3 main types of water mill designs. Under shot, Over shot and Breast shot. Under shot is where the water wheel sits partly submerged in the stream and is powered by the stream's flow. Over shot is where the water is channeled to drop on top of the water wheel, and Breast shot is where the water drops in half way on the wheel. The most common you will see in pictures is the Over shot design, under shot was more common in medieval times however, so this is the method we will use.

Every time I build a Mill, I try a different design of water wheel. I wanted one that looks like it has large paddles which is what were needed for the job. I figured hinge pieces were the best way to go, and after trying out all the different hinge pieces I found the 1x2 brick hinge to be best. Here is a picture of all the parts of the water wheel.

You can see I have used a 2x4 plate with a dark brown tile and a 1x2 brick hinge for the paddle design, then kept stacking them on top of each other to make a chain that can then bend to a circle. The water mill parts from MMV set are used to make the structure and I have used black 1x1 rounds with a pole piece through the middle to make a double headed pieces to attach the two wheel frames together. The following pictures show how it is put together.

As you can see, I have not wrapped the paddles all the way round the whole wheel. This is so it gives the appearence that the bottom is submerged in water.

Now we can attach the wheel in place by threading the technic axel through a 1x2 brick with a hole or any other way that suits you. When it comes to putting the hinged paddle design round the water wheel frame, its simply a case of bending and messing with all the hinges till you get a round shape, it is pretty stable and will stay in position.

Then, as before, we can build up the landscape and add some foliage. The small bridge is now fully landscaped into place.

Now we can turn our attention back to the rest of the Mill. As you can see, I have now replaced the back wall of the mill with some rock pieces(BURPS). This is because the mill will be built into a hill, as we want to get the effect that the old mill is part of the landscape.

This also means we will have a nice hill as a back drop to the village, but more on that later.

Next we can lay some plates down inside the mill for the floor.

I have also started to build up the Mill wall's.

Because the Mill is built out from the hill, this allows us to have a waterfall where the stream flows off the top of the hill. As you can see, I have marked out where the waterfall will drop with trans clear plates. I have also added some rock pieces and slopes to mark where the rocks will join to the mill and the land. This is just the template, as the water fall needs to be properly built up.

So for now, we have this.

Next up we will see a big difference. The next part involves finishing the mill and waterfall, then building up the hill. Thats when things will really start taking shape.

I have nearly finished that section, so won't be long till the next post.

Thanks for reading

DC

Edited October 11, 2011 by Derfel Cardarn

[Derfel Cadarn]

Now its time to do the waterfall.

Waterfalls can be tricky as its easy to get the wrong look, but a good waterfall no mater how big or small can make a great addition to a landscape. Luckily a simple solution can be reached using mostly 1x2 and 1x1 clear plates.

Firstly I use an 8x8 trans medium blue plate as used for the river, and cover it with a layer of 1x2 clear plates. Then I start another layer from the bottom going up in different lengths topped off with a clear 1x1 wedge piece.

Once that is done, we need to fit it in place. There are 2 methods of doing this depending on what bricks you have. I have mocked up a close up of the two different ways below.

In this first picture you can see I have conected the waterfall piece using a 1x1 with stud. Notice there is a gap between the vertical waterfall and the horizontal clear plates at the bottom. If you are lucky enough to have Clear 1x2 tiles, you can use them here to fill that gap and so connect the waterfall in this method.

If like me, you have never thought of buying 1x2 clear tiles, then we have to do it another way.

In this picture I have the same set up, but have used a 1x1 headlight piece instead of the 1x1 brick with stud. Because the headlight brick has a indent of half a plate, if we connect a 1x1 plate onto the indent we then get an overhang of half a plate. This means that the vertical waterfall piece will now sit up against the clear plates on the ground. You will still have a few little gaps inbetween the studs, but it doesn't notice. You will also have half a plates width gap between the waterfall piece and the wall behind, but again, it wont be scene.

Now we can put it in place.

I have used clear headlight pieces to connect it, rather then the black ones in the picture above. I have also placed 1x2x5 trans blue bricks behind the waterfall to give it a deeper colour.

Now we can build up some of the rocks on either side of the waterfall. To do this, all we do is use different sized dark grey slope pieces and stack them randomly till you get an effect you are happy with. Its really a case of trying different slopes in different places till you achieve a gradual slope and you are happy with it.

Its also handy to have some dark grey wedge pieces, as you can add those on to where ever you feel needs it to help with the effect.

Then we need to level off a small area at the top so we can build a small section of stream.

We then lay a small section of stream, using the same method as before, and then add some more dark grey slopes to finish the top of the rock work around the waterfall.

To finish it off, we then add some more 1x2 clear plates and use these to connect the waterfall to the stream. A few clear and trans light blue 1x1 flat rounds have also been added to help give the effect of bubbles and foam.

The waterfall should now look something like this.

We can then add some foliage around the bottom to complete the look. The top however, has much more work to be done on it yet, but that will come later.

When it comes to building larger mocs like this, I prefer to not have a plan. Yes, I do start out with a vague image in my head, but I prefer to just build and see how it developes. Having reached this point, I can now see that we will have a hill all across the back of the moc, with a cottage above the mill on the right and a windmill at the top of the hill on the left. Then at the bottom of the hill to the left of the mill we will have the main village with its houses and traders. Maybe a pond as well.

Once the hill is all built up behind the mill we can look at placing some trees, then finish of the whole right side of this moc before moving on to the left.

But first, we can now get that Mill finished!

Next post coming soon!

Thanks for reading.

DC

[Derfel Cadarn]

Hello there!

Right, its time to get this mill finished!

I'm basing the design on one of my previous mills that I built which is one of my personal favourite mocs. I was really happy with the design, so I thought I would use parts of it here.

To start off, we need to get the main large doors made. These are quite simple and consist of a 2x8 plate and a 1x8 plate joined together to make a 3x8. On top of that we add some brown tiles and a brown jumper plate to attach a door handle on. On the other side, we strengthen the doors with some 2x3 plates and add to 1x1 clip plates, as seen in the picture below.

Then, we need to build a pillar the same height as the doors using a combination of 1x1 bricks and 1x1 clip plates. We attach two pole/stick pieces to these. This will enable us to clip the doors onto them.

You can now see the doors clipped in and put into place.

Next we need to make the frame of the door. We will do this in dark brown, and make the vertical supports first. This is done the same way as the woodwork in the house at the begining of this thread. A simple task of using four 1x1 bricks with stud, with two 1x1 plates between each one. We can then connect two dark brown tiles to this as seen in the picture below.

Then place in position either side of the doors.

We then need to build 2 pillars of 1x1 round plates with a headlight brick at the top of each one. These need to be the same height and level as the doors and dark brown tiles.

Then we add the horizontal top part of the door frame. For this we use two 2x6 dark brown plates with tiles on top. We can then also add the 2 lanterns which clip into the headlight bricks on either side.

Then its a case of building up the outer wall of 1x1 round plates and remembering to add some tiles here and there to break them up. It should now look something like this.

Now is the time to start adding some interior if that is what you want. You could also use Power Functions to make the wheel turn, but that's up to you. I have just added a very basic interior as its not going to really be seen.

Next we turn our attention to the right side of the building. As you can see I have built up the landscape to the building add have started adding a small storage shed on the side.

Now you can see the shed complete. This was built in the same way as I have said earlier with a wall of normal bricks built behind the 1x1 rounds. The door is built the same way as I showed you earlier, but instead of connecting it with clips, it is attached to some 1x1 bricks with stud, which are holding it up from behind. The roof is attached using 1x2 plate hinges, with half the plate built into the wall, and the other half attached to the roof. This allows us to create a slope with the roof.

In the next shot, you can see that I have started to build up some more rocks on the side of the building like I did with the waterfall. Again, these are simply done with different slope pieces stacked to get the right effect. Also note that I am building up the black wall of the base to match the landscape so we still get a nice neat effect when we view the moc from any angle.

Now you can see I have built up the wall of 1x1 rounds to the needed height and added some headlight bricks spread out across the top. These are used to connect the roof supports. You will also see I have added some foliage. I have used dark green tree pieces here because I plan to build a large tree which means this side of the building will be shaded. Therefore the only plants that would grow would be shade loving plants, so dark green ivy is what we get.

Now we turn our attention to the front. As you can see, I have started to build with some white bricks going up in a diagonal pattern with the 1x1 rounds. I can then attach a tile onto the white brick with the stud, and this will split the two colours and give a nice effect. We then have to do this for each corner of the building at the front and back.

Then we add a whole row of headlight bricks on their backs and attach tiles to the outer studs. This will allow the tiles to sit at the right level above the 1x1 rounds.

Once that is done at the front and back of the building, its time to finish off the upper part of the interior. Again, I have just done the very basics, consisting of a tiled floor, a table and some barrels. I have also added in some arch pieces which will help support the roof.

I have also added the windows and fixed the upright tiles in place using the 1x1 brick with stud. All this is explained and covered in the begining of the thread under the basic house building technique.

Next we have a picture of the left side of the building with the water wheel. I have built this up the same way as I did on the right side. This time I have used more foliage for climbing plants. The plants that are beneath the water wheel are dark green, as these would be constantly wet from the splashes of the wheel. This means its more likely to be moss, weed, and alge, so dark green is best to use. Then above the water wheel we use a lighter green, as these are growing from the rocks and up onto the building.

Now, in this next picture, you will see that I have added most of the roof and completed the white section with the window. The roof parts are very simple to do and don't need explaining. The only thing to take note is to not overlap the roof bricks over the window side of the building, as we will be attaching the gable ends which you can see taking shape at the top of the roof. Again, the way to make the roof is all covered earlier in the guide.

Next, I'm going to show you a very simple and effective way of making small trees. We will be covering larger trees later in the guide, but smaller trees or young trees can be made simply with brown flex tube. All you need to do is get a few pieces of flex tube and use a Lego elastic band to tie them together at the bottom. You can use as many flex pieces as you want, but 2 or 3 work best for small trees.

Then we start added some tree pieces to the flex tube. You should be able to clip some of the tube between the leaves of the tree pieces to strengthen the flex tube pieces more.

Once you have put on enough tree pieces and your happy with the shape, you can then insert the bottom of the flex tube into a normal brown 1x1 round. This will now allow you to stand the tree anywhere. If the tree is larger and more top heavy, you may need to insert it into a 2x2 brown round for more stability.

Then all we need to do now, is put the tree in its desired place and then add some plant pieces around the base to hide the elastic band. As you can see in this picture, I have placed the small tree in amongst the creepers overhanging the water fall.

Now we have a view of the front of the finished mill. You can now see the effect of the tiles that were connected diagonally between the 1x1 rounds and the white bricks. It gives a nice look to the building, making it look simple but elegant. I have used dark brown 1x12 plates on the gables to give a nice all round dark brown effect on the top half of the building. I have also added a chimney, which is easily done by leaving a gap when stacking the roof bricks and then filling it in with 1x1 round bricks after.

You will also notice the custom sacks I made by the main doors. This were just tea-dyed cotton, wrapped around a mini-fig head and then tied at the top with brown string. Easily done and looks effective.

Here is a shot of the right side of the building with a better view of the custom sacks. Note that I havn't placed the roof supports on this side yet, they are just 1x1 normal rounds slotted into the headlight bricks under the roof overhang. You will also notice I have begun building up the hill behind the building, but this will be finished in the next section.

From this shot you can see we are now starting to achieve an overgrown look. The idea is that the mill should look well established, as if it is growing out of the hill. But, we still need to do more work building up the hill to give more of that effect.

This shot shows a nice view of the creepers growing up from the rocks and onto the building. It is important that the waterfall has lots of plants overhanging it so it gives the appearence that the water is appearing from nowhere. So there is still work to be done here, but its starting to come to life bit by bit now.

Finally a shot looking down the waterfall to the small bridge.

So, the next step will be to complete the rest of the hill and backdrop behind the mill, and try to make it all blend in with plant life. This whole side of the moc will be the more natural overgrown side, as the other side will consist of the main village and will therefore be full of buildings and muddy trackways.

A lot of people will look at this guide and think 'I havn't got enough bricks to build something like this'. Well that's not the point, as you can build some very detailed smaller mocs on a 48x48 base plate using this guide. If you look at a lot of my recent mocs, particularly my CCC entries, you will see they were all smaller builds constructed on a 48x48 base plate. Yet they weren't any less detailed then this one. So don't be put off just because this is going to be a large build. Im only making it large so I can cover lots more parts on different buildings and landscapes. To be honest, I stopped building large mocs a while ago, as at the moment I have much more prefered building smaller, its quicker, you can get more mocs built and it doesn't take an age to take them all apart. Having said that, I forgot how much I enjoyed building on a large scale, and I'm now going to really push this moc to see just how detailed and natural it can be. Its early days and there's still quite a bit to be done. But I said I'd make a Medieval Village and that's exactly what I'm gonna do

As usual, the next post will be up asap.

Thanks for reading

DC

Edited October 13, 2011 by Derfel Cardarn

[Hinckley]

Aha. I see the problem. The Brothers Brick has posted a link to this topic and the traffic is high, thus the higher probability for someone posting in it. It is locked for now. Derfel Cardarn, you will find you are able to unlock it and re-lock it for editing. Thanks!

[Derfel Cadarn]

In the next part we will be building up the remaining landscape behind the mill and I will be adding some trees. So before I start the next part, I'm just going to show a few tree designs that I will be using.

Firstly, in the picture below you will see the 3 leaved Lego plant piece. As you know it comes connected inside a triangle plastic mold that we push out and throw away right? Wrong! Always keep the leftover triangle mold, as this can be cut then straightened out and used for vines and foliage. Its a great useful piece that can be used to wrap around tree trunks and up cliffs and castle buildings.

When people build trees the basic way is to use plates for branches and add the tree pieces on. This works fine, but if your using this technique it can be handy to add some black ariel/lever pieces like in the picture below.

Then you can make some large bunches of tree pieces and then insert them on to the ariel/lever piece through one of the holes. This allows you to angle the tree pieces for different shapes like in the picture below.

This next technique is my personal favourite. This has so many possibilities for tree shapes. It is built using the 1x2 brick hinge which connect at each end. The fact that each 1x2 brick can be bent to a different angle really allows for lots of variation when conecting tree pieces on to them. These pictures below give an example.

These are quick thrown together examples, but with a little time and effort you will be able to create the perfect tree from this method. Also I will add that using this method you can create a perfect example of that Holy grail of trees The Weeping Willow.

Finally, the last tree method I use is from technic parts. This method is used for making spindly looking trees that don't have as many leaves. This is done by clipping lots of technic parts together with 1x2 technic axel's. You use these to make an interesting shape, then clip the tree pieces in the holes using the technic half-pin.

I'm not sure exactly what these particular technic parts are called, but hopefully you will recognize them from the picture.

Well, that's the basic tree designs I will be using. As for height, its really a case of how tall you want them to be. I usually go for a height just taller than the houses or the same size. Tree trunks are really a case of building up bricks, there's not a perfect brick for getting a proper tree trunk effect but the log effect 1x2 brick looks good. Colour is again down to you, brown and black are the best, mainly because there are a lot of elements available in those colours. Dark brown would be perfect, but we are let down by the small amount of elements available in that colour.

Next we will be using these tree designs to create a Witches' Grove behind the mill.

Thanks for reading.

DC

[Derfel Cadarn]

Now we need to start finishing this section.

To start with , we are going to carry on building up the area behind the mill. Firstly we will make a small muddy track way from the side of the mill up to the top of the raised area. This area will be for a woodcutter and a small witch grove.

We build up the hill using brown plates, making the effect of a muddy trackway worn into the hill.

We build the pathway up to the top and form a small clearing. This is where the woodcutter will be busy chopping wood. Note that I have started building some more rocks behind the clearing. This will form a small area shaded by trees which will be the witches grove.

Now I have started to lay the foundations of the tree trunk. This is simply done using a variety of slope pieces to make the effect.

Now the tree is in place, and I have added a few creepers going up the trunk. As you can see, once a few more trees are in place and the rocks and foliage are built up, the witch grove will have a nice secluded effect. Perfect for the practice of witchcraft, every medieval village has gotta have its own resident witch right? Perhaps Mary Jane will make an appearence here!

We we leave that area for now, as it can't be completed till the other side is built up. So we will now finish the area in front of the mill.

The first job will be to use dark gray tiles to make some worn stone pathways. The mill is a working area, so the pathways should look worn and broken from the constant back and forth of goods. To do this we simply place the tiles in random mismatched positions forming a basic route to the various entrances of the mill from the bridge.

Then around the tiles we place some green plates and the odd brown 1x1 plate for use as spots of mud.

Once that is done, we can place another tree by the river. Note that I have placed dark green tree pieces and very few plants around the trunk. This is because nothing much will grow in this area as its always in the shade. I have also added a patch of sand green plates to the right of the tree, as this will be part of a cow field and so we need to show flattened patches where the cows have been laying.

Now we can start placing some posts around the area to mark the border of the field. I find the best way to fill the edges of these mocs is to fence them off and use the area as the start of a field.

Then we use some black string and tie a knot at the middle of the first post and then wrap around each post all the way to the final post. You can get black thread at most places. I use one that allows you to take off layers of thread making it as thin or thick as you want.

Next we go round again with a second row of thread. This time we clamp the thread between the top of the telescope pieces and a 1x1 round plate.

Once this is done, it will give a nice effect and tone in well with the rest of the scene.

Next we need to make a water trough for the cows. This is done by using two 1x4 bricks with studs on the sides. Put them together and place some blue tiles on top like in the picture below.

Then we connect some brown 1x2 tiles to the studs on each side. You can do this using any colour of brown, dark brown is ideal for this.

Then we have to lean some more 1x2 tiles up at each end of the trough and then put a Lego rubber band over the top to hold those ones in place. This is best done on a flat hard surface where the tiles will stand in place while you put the elastic band over the top. The finished look has a nice effect as the tiles will hang over the corners which gives it a nice look. You can use this trough for many things, it doesn't always have to be water. You could put some tan tiles in for straw effect etc.

We can now place the trough in position and add a cow! As you can see, we are now starting to get a nice natural medieval countryside look.

Next is a shot of the other side of the mill. You can see that the hill needs to be built up and to do this we need to start extending the land outwards now. The stream needs to be finished and the weeping willow needs to be built and placed hanging over the stream.

I will cover this part in the next post. Once this area is complete we can finally get down to building the main village.

Thanks for reading.

DC

Edited October 16, 2011 by Derfel Cardarn

[Derfel Cadarn]

Time to complete the stream and hill, then we can start laying down the land for the main village.

To start, we need to lay down the final part of the stream. This is done the same way as before, using rocks and clear plates on top of the blue plates to make some more small water falls. You will also need to start laying some plates and rocks at the side of the river.

Then we need to build up some more of the rocky cliff. As you can see, I use the BURP pieces as a frame to build the sloping rocks over.

Next I have started to add the green plates. This is done by simply laying plates at different random heights, but to keep things from looking to blocky, I try to make sure that the plates are always only 1 plate higher or lower than each other. Note that I have also added some patches of sand green for variety. I have used sand green bricks for this as they are easier to get hold of. These are used the same way as plates, but remember to lay them at a lower level then you lay the plates so they end up being the same height.

Then we add some foliage the same way as before.

Next we need to finish off the corner. This is again done by laying plates and adding some rock formations. The rocks are very important, because we have built a rocky cliff, we also have to build various over small rock formations here and there, to show that the whole area is rocky. Otherwise it would look a bit odd if there was just a random rocky cliff with no other rocks in the area. Note how I have also continued to build up the black base to give a nice simple border round the moc.

Then, on the other side of the stream, we can build a weeping willow type tree which will look good overhanging the stream and also enclose this back area a bit more, to give it a more natural over grown look. The willow is built using the same tree method that I showed earlier with the hinge bricks. Its just a case of folding the hinge bricks in a downward arch and attaching lots of tree pieces to them to give the weeping willow effect.

Then i've just added a couple of witches sacrificing a frog in the corner

Now we need to finally finish the hill, so first we need to give ourselves some more land to build on. This is done the same as before, by laying out supports and then placing a green base plate on top.

Again, on top of the green base plate I lay a few plates and sand green bricks here and there. The main thing you have to remember is to cover the edges of the base plate with green plates so you don't see the distinct line of the edge of the base plate.

Then we continue this process down to the other end of the moc.

Note how I have added in different patches of green in other shades. This breaks up the standard green.

Now we need to start coming down again with another row of base plates, but for now, I will just lay enough so I have space to finish the hill.

Next, we lay out some BURPS as a guide and frame to build the cliff up on. Note that I have left a gap to build up some grass and a path.

Next I have placed some large green bricks to start forming a basic frame of a slope of grass.

Now I have started to add some plates and build more of the rock work. There are many ways of building rocks, I have chosen to use slope pieces as these are very common, easy to work with and come in most Lego sets.

I have now started to add some brown plates to form a path. Once these are in place we can build the rocks up around them on either side.

Now we can carry on building the rocks to finish of the cliff.

Once we have built up the rocks to the chosen height, we can then lay down some green plates to finish of the hill. The green plates should be mixed around the rocks at the edges of the cliff to give a more natural effect, rather then a plain border of gray with green in the middle.

Finally we can add some plants and foliage around the edges making a nice area where villages can go and relax under the weeping willow.

We now have the start of a nice natural area which will make a great background to the village.

The reason I have ended the hill there, is so I can add a road coming into the village from the back. I can then build up another hill on the other side of the road which is where the windmill will be. This will give a nice raised backdrop for the village.

Next we will start laying some more land and work on some more buildings.

Thanks for reading.

DC

[Derfel Cadarn]

Right, the next part of the landscape is going to be built around a house, so first we need to build the house. For this we are going to use some of the techniques I covered earlier, but we are going to take it up a step and make it a bit more detailed and tricky. This house is going to be more of an intermediate build, not to difficult, but not easy. We need to be able to place this house at an angle, so the house will be built separately from the moc. I am not going to be building any interior to this house, as I won't be needing every house to have an interior, but feel free to add your own if you wish.

To start, we first lay some dark bley plates to make the base.

Then we build up a low wall of 1x1 round plates to the height of a 1x2 tile, which we will add in between the rounds. This technique should be familiar as I have covered how to do this part already. On top of the rounds I have layed some dark brown plates for the base of the woodwork and also added some stairs.

Next, we lay dark brown tiles on top of the plates so they are in between the vertical 1x2 tiles below.

Then we can build some upright woodwork. We do this using headlight bricks on their side with a 1x1 brick in between each headlight brick. We can then attach a dark brown tile to the studs showing. This can be seen in the picture below.

In this picture you can see that I have added stacks of light gray bricks which are positioned behind the dark brown tiles and are stacked at a height of 7 bricks.

Next I have added some dark brown half arch pieces which sit on top of the woodwork. These will only be used at the front however.

Then we can add the rest of the light gray bricks. These go behind every tile that on the plates. As you can see in this picture, some of the stacks are only 2 bricks high, this is where the windows will go.

Now we need to build lots more wood work sections, this time they have also got 1x1 clip pieces as well. See the pictures below for how to make them.

Now we place them all around the house in between the gray bricks.

Then we add the window ledges on each of the lower stacks of Gray.

In this next picture you can see I have put the windows in place, with some 1x2 plates/with handle on top of the window piece and some white bricks.

Now we need to make a door. For this, we simply get a 4x8 plate, then place tiles on it, leaving gaps to place the handle and hinges.

Now add the handle and hinges. I have used black tooth plates for hinges, but there is lots of different parts that also give a good effect.

Now we need to build an attachment on the back of the door so it will stand in place. To do this we add two 1x4 bricks at the top and bottom of the door. Then we lay 4 headlight bricks on their side and stack some 1x4 bricks on top with a 1x4 brick with studs on the side at the very top.

This can now attach to the door and allows the door to be placed flush up against the arch of the doorway.

Now comes the tricky part. We are going to cover those gray bricks with upright standing tiles, and they are not going to be standing flat, they are going to be standing at their side. Now, stacking tiles like this will only work as long as it is done within an even number of bricks, 2, 4, 6 etc. Otherwise they won't fit exactly.

Then we clip on some dark brown tiles in front of the white tiles to hold them in place. As you can imagine, this works best if you use all 1x8 size tiles for the wall. Here however, I have added in bits of brown as well, but the tiles are surprisingly snug and they don't actually fall out easily. Obviously if you tipped the house on its side the small tiles would fall out, but the bigger ones are held in place.

Now we do this same technique all around the house to finish up with something like this.

Next, we then lay more dark brown plates at the top and build a whole layer of bricks with studs facing out from the side. We can connect the rest of the dark brown tiles to these to complete the horizontal woo work.

Then I have added some tooth plates to fill in the remaining gaps between the wood work. The tooth plates also over lap the white tiles which adds extra hold to stop them falling out.

You can then cover the whole top in dark brown plates.

In the next picture, you can see I have started building a small wooden framed window box. This is done using the wood effect 1x2 bricks.

Then I have added some dark brown plates which are attached to 1x4 bricks with studs on the side. These should allow the plates to sit level above the tooth plates like in the picture below.

I have now added 1x4 dark brown slopes which line up with the wood work and will provide the supports for the overhanging roof pieces.

Then in between the slopes I have added some white tiles and jumper plates with 1x1 clip plates to add a bit of decoration.

Now we can start laying the roof. For the first row I am using 3x3 roof pieces as they over hang enough to cover the supports.

In the next pictures you will see I have built up the roof and also made a siding effect using headlight bricks and white 1x1 wedges. This is the most easiest way of doing this effect and not very challenging. It also doesn't look as good as the other way using tiles, but I will cover that way later on in the guide.

I have now topped off the window box with some 3x3 corner roof pieces.

I have now started to build another wooden window box on the side of the house in the roof. This is built the same way as the other one and is very simple.

In this picture you can see I am building up the roof and I've added in arches as supports for the roof. It is very important to add supports for the roof as it will easily cave-in if you don't. Also note that I have left a 3x3 gap in the roof for the chimney.

Here is another shot showing the supports inside the roof, and I have also started building up the back wall using headlight bricks and white wedges.

Now we need to add the gable sections which will attach to the clips sticking out from the top of the roof as seen in the picture below.

Here are the two gable sections. When you build these you have to measure them against the roof so you can build the right size for whatever size roof you have.

Now you can fit them in place like so.

Do this for every part of the roof and it should look like this.

Now we place a row of 1x2 plates with handle along the top of the roof facing out on either side. On top of this we will place jumper plates spread out with tiles in between.

Along the jumper plates we can place a central row of plates with tiles on top, then at each end we can build up an interesting effect using curved slope pieces with 1x1 rounds underneath.

Finally we can add the chimney in the space left in the roof. The chimney is built using 1x1 round plates with some tiles attached to headlight bricks.

Now we have the finished building, all that's left to do is attach some pole pieces to the various clips in the wood work.

Next we will be looking in at how to attach the house at an angle on the landscape overhanging a swampy ditch.

Thanks for reading!

DC

[Derfel Cadarn]

Now we have to place the house on the landscape, but rather than just plonk it anywhere, we are going to place it at an angle overlooking a small pond.

First we need to build the pond. The SNOT technique works well for this as its still water. I have used dark green as it gives a nice murky pond water effect. As you can see in the picture below, I have built a shape out of dark green bricks and then surrounded it in where I can with black bricks. This will keep it locked into place. You may also notice some half technic pins sticking up in the pond, these are merely to attach some plant pieces to.

Next, I have started to add a combination of brown plates and dark gray slopes. This is done the same way as before.

Once the rocks and mud have been built up, then we will need to connect the house. First you will need to lay the house roughly in position where you want it. Once you are happy with the angle of the house, you will then need to attach a jumper plate to one of the corners. Then you will need to mark the area of the house with tiles. As you can see in the picture below, I have used dark gray tiles around the rocks and green tiles for the rest.

Now we can place the house on the tiles where it will sit at an angle. Remember to use jumper plates on a few of the corners where you can. This will hold the house in position.

Now, at the far end of the pond I have added a small wooden platform which acts as a sort of bridge where the path passes over the end of the pond. This is simply done using headligt bricks on their side and clipping 1x2 tiles across. Then adding plates and tiles running across the top.

In this picture you can see the finished platform/bridge. I have only pressed down one end of each tile on the bridge. This gives an old warped effect. The trick is to build up the rocks and landscape around the platform so it looks like it really is built into the land.

Now the pond is finished. You can then add foliage where you want to. I have added quite a few bulrushes as they are commonly found in ponds. These are made using brown and tan 1x1 round plates. Building the green landscape should be pretty simple now as I have covered it a few times already earlier in the guide. So in these pictures you can see I have built up the green land around the pond.

Next, we are going to build a small outhouse/storage area next to the house. We start off by laying some dark gray plates as the foundation.

Next we add some tiles for the path and start building some of the walls using 1x1 round plates.

Keep building up the walls to a height of about 5 plates. You can add a few 1x1 brown plates for mud and some tan plates for straw. I have also added a box, a bucket and some 1x4 brown pole pieces clipped to the sides which make good places for the villagers to tie their horses to.

Now we need to make some supports for a small roof. To do this I have used 4 1x1 round cone pieces. In these I have put a 1x4 pole piece. To give the roof a slight slope, I haven't inserted the two poles at the back all the way in. They stick up higher than the front two.

Now we need to make the roof. This is very simple, just a 6x8 plate with tiles attached on top. I have only attached the tiles lightly, so they give an uneven and old warped effect.

Place the roof on top of the pole pieces. The poles should inline with the gaps underneath the roof. It wont be attached, but it will lock into place and only fall off if you turn the whole moc upside down!

In these pictures you can see the completed storage building. I have also added some more string fencing around. This is done the same way as I covered before.

From these pictures it is clear that something needs to be placed at the back behind the mill. Something to give some depth and background. So I have decided to add a tower which will serve as a watch tower. I will cover that in the next section.

Stay tuned!

DC

[Derfel Cadarn]

Next we are going to add a tower behind the mill. I will not show you how to build the stone part of the tower as I have already covered the techniques used to do it. The stone part is built the same way as the mill, with 1x1 round plates built up with a second wall of normal bricks behind them. So, I will explain the window technique. To start with, we will need a 2x6 dark gray plate with one row of tiles and one row of plates on top like so.

Then we add two 1x4 half fence pieces. These wedge into the studs of the plate as shown in the picture below.

We then connect some headlight bricks to the fence pieces with the top studs sicking outwards, 3 on each side.

Now we add some more headlight bricks with a 1x1 brick stacked between them.

We can then add some tiles which clip on to the headlight bricks. You can do them in gray to match the windows or you can use any other colour you want. Here I have used to shades of green.

Then you add another 2x6 plate on top add add whatever details you wish. I have used some cheese wedges and another half fence piece.

Here you can see the whole stone tower section with the windows in place. Like I said earlier, the tower itself is built using the same techniques as shown in the contruction of the water mill.

As you can see in the next picture, I have used some brown tiles for the floor and added a ladder in the center. I have built up posts using dark brown tiles and 1x1 bricks with studs on either side to attach them.

Next, we place white bricks between the posts, wit the top layer made up of 1x1 bricks with stud facing out.

In the next picture you will see I have added dark green tooth plates to the white bricks and then place a layer of dark brown tiles over the top. I have also added some dark brown telescope pieces around the ladder in the middle and topped them off with tiles. In each corner I have built up some pillars which will support the roof.

We then add a flat roof using dark brown plates topped off with some black plates.

We now need to build the roof. We start off by laying out a triangle shape using wing plates.

Then on the back we need to add some hinge bricks which will allow it to be attached to the tower.

Then some tiles and grill tiles have been added to the front for extra effect. You will need to make four of these!

Once you have made all four, you can then attach them to he roof. They will all fit flush to each other and there will be a 2x2 space left in the middle. In this space you will need to build up a pillar of 2x2 bricks to the top. At the top of the pillar you will need to place a 2x2 round plate/with handle all the way round.

We then need to make 4 lengths of black 1x1 round stacks with a clip at the end, like in the picture below.

These can then be clipped to the handle piece at the top and run down each corner like so.

Now we have the finished tower! I have added a flag and some foliage around the tower.

The tower can now be placed at the back behind the mill. It is attached the same way as the house earlier on in the guide, using tiles and jumper plates.

The next step will be to build some more different houses and shops for the village, as well as more landscape, puddles, well, and gallows.

Thanks for reading

DC

[Derfel Cadarn]

Hi there

I have covered the techniques for building these houses earlier in the guide, so I will not show a step by step for the remaining houses as they can all be built in the same way.

For this Blacksmith, you can see that it is merely a standard cottage with an outside chimney and overhanging roof on the side to create the Blacksmith's workplace.

As you can see, the sloping roof is just some large plates attached to some 1x2 hinge plates that are built into the wall of the building. The chimney is all built with the 1x1 round plate technique and I have added a few 'flame' pieces in the chimney for effect.

In these pictures, you can see the start of a shop.

As you can see, it is all built the same way as the other houses, the only difference being the stands and display shelves of the shop. These are just some plates with tiles on and the shelves are built using log effect bricks with jumper plates used to attach the potions and cups. The toothplates are attached to a long plate which is connected to a 1x1 brick with a stud. The toothplates are used to create the effect of colored pelmets.

In the next picture you can see the completed house. Once the actual 'shop' section is built in place, the rest is pretty much a case of building an ordinary house around it.

One thing to note here is that I have used the CM Series 4 Musketeer legs as eaves. Mini-fig legs make great eaves due to thier shape, plus there are lots of colors and interesting designs of mini-fig legs that add a great effect. I chose the Musketeer legs for this reason, as they have a brown triangle print on them that gives a nice subtle effect.

Next we have to place the house roughly in posistion on the moc.

Then once you are happy with the placement of the house, attach a jumper plate to a corner of the house which acts as an anchor point. Then its a case of finding the right placement of a jumper plate at the opposite corner of the house, so that the house can connect to both. You don't have to use jumper plates to set houses at an angle though. You can also attach a 2x2 turntable plate underneath the center of your house which allows it to turn to any angle you want it. Either way you chose, you must fill in the rest of the area underneath the house with tiles so its all sitting level.

In this next picture, I have placed the tiles underneath the rest of the house, but have also started to place them in front of the house as well.

I use dark gray tiles arround the front of the house as they form part of the street/paths. The rest of the house is sitting on brown and green tiles which tone in with the rest of the landscape.

Next I have started to fill in around the dark gray tiles with brown plates. We have to imagine that originally the whole center of the village was once all stone streets, but over time and busy use, the stones have broken and have been overgrown and churned up with mud.

Now we need to build the village Well, which we use to make a center feature. Round structures can be trick to make with 1x1 round plates, but this way works very well. This is built by using 8 1x2 dark gray hinge plates, four at the top and for at the bottom. In between we place some walls of 1x1 round plates. Make sure that the hinges at the bottom are attached to overlap the way that the top hinges are attached. All shown in the picture below.

Next, once you are happy with the placement of your Well, you can attach a 1x2 plate at the bottom of one of the hinges for it to sit on and hold it in place, then fill the rest of the area with tiles like in the picture below.

Note how I have again loosly broken the tiles up as they go further outwards. As you can see in the next picture, I have added more brown plates in and around the tiles, leaving a few tiles dotted about to show where parts of the main path used to be.

Now we need to fill in those gaps that are left between the walls of 1x1 rounds. This is where all those old broken parts of Lego come in. After many years of collecting Lego and buying bulk lots on Ebay, its not uncommon to end up with broken Lego pieces over the years, particularly weapons. In this case, I have a bag of spears, axes, lances and other pieces that are all broken. Rather than throw them away, you can get a pair of clippers and cut them to an exact size. This is what I have done here. As you can see in this next picture, I have placed the broken parts in the gaps, then placed a thin Lego black rubber band around the whole Well which holds them all in place. The rubber band tones in well and the the broken parts really round off the structure and give it a pleasing round look. I have then added some dark gray tiles on top and also two jumper plates oppisite each other.

Next I have placed two 1x1 round cones on the jumper plates and then placed two brown 'turning levers'(not sure what the piece is called) into the top of each one. I have also added a few dark trans blue tiles in the bottom of the Well.

Finally, I have used some brown string to tie a bucket onto a 1x6 brown pole which slots in between both levers for the finished effect.

In the next picture you can see the whole effect of the tiles and brown plates which show how the streetslpaths have been broken and covered by mud over time. You can also add other colors like dark tan, tan and sand green for other effects such as hay and moss. Its entirely up to you. I have also added a few sections of stone wall to give some rough outline of the main entrance to the village.

In this next picture you can see how the use of the different buildings can help to give some depth to your village. The tower in particular helps to give a sense of depth as it is standing high up in the back ground. Its always a good idea to view you village from different close up angles to see how everything looks and to see if there are any areas that feel they are 'missing' something. An odd empty area in the backgound can often be easily cured with a nice big tree on a mound or another house if you have enough space.

Now we can build another rocky area at the back. We can place another house on top of this, as it helps to have background buildings slighty higher then the front buildings to give a better overall effect.

Like before, we use slope pieces to roughly mark out the rocky area. Then keep building them up and place green and brown plates here and there to give more variation and texture.

Once this is done, we can then lay some tiles in place which is where the building will sit. Note the two jumper plates which are used to connect two of the corners of the building so it can sit at an angle.

Then we can place the building in place.

Now we can use brown plates to create the rest of the muddy trackways and add green plates built up at various levels around the trackways. When laying plates for landscaping it is always vital that you never create any sections that look oddly square. We need to try to make things look as natural as we can.

Once that is done, we can then add some foliage for that overgrown counrtyside look and also add a few small fences. These are built with string and telescope pieces as shown earlier in the guide. Note that I have also built up the black border/base of the moc.

From this next picture you will see an overview of the village. Note the placements of the houses. When building a village it is always best to place the houses in a way that gives a god front display. In this case, the corner with the shop and Well is the lowest point and the moc builds up in height from behind, giving a great view from the front which shows some depth.

So then we have our completed village. You can then use various photo programs such as Photoshop to add backgounds and enhance your final display. Here are a few examples.

Special thanks to 'I Scream Clone' for putting these togther.

Now, that might be the end of the village, but there is a lot which I left out and havn't covered yet.

When I started this guide, I had planned to build a village twice this size with a lot more variation in the buildings, plus many other small details. I realised that it would be far easier if I covered these things in seperate chapters without worrying about fitting them into the village.

So now that the village is complete, I can now go more in-depth with other aspects of medieval building.

The guide will now basically be a 'Guide For Medieval Building' in general. There are lots of stuff to cover and I will now be able to show some more step by step sections of various large buildings!

So stay tuned and check for updates, as I hope to update this guide when ever I can with a new section on building medieval scenes and buildings.

For the next chapter I will give a brief over view on 'creating your own style' and how I developed my moc building, from my very first moc, to this latest one.

Thanks for reading

DC

[Derfel Cadarn]

It has been a while since I updated this guide, so now I am going to add some infomation on how to build a round tower. It is quite parts intensive, but the finished look is very pleasing.

The main parts you will need for this are 1x2 hinge plates, 1x1 bricks modified/with stud, 1x1 round plates or 1x1 rounds and 1x2 tiles. Those are the main parts that take up the bulk of this technique.

Building a Round Tower:

First we start off with some hinge plates, a double row for strength. Its best if you make sure the diameter is an even number of studs. This tower has a diameter of 16 studs, but for the bottom plate I have overlapped the hinges so I can attach some wedge pieces. I have used 2x2 plates under the rest of the hinges so I can have wedges all the way round which will hide the hinges.

Next we can lay down a foundation of plates for the middle. Then add a 2x2 turntable piece which will allow you to add another 2x16 plate at any angle to strengthen the tower. This technique can be used to add strength to the tower when ever you feel it needs it.

Connect another 2x16 plate across the tower. This will now give a strong sturdy base.

Now I have used 1x2 plates with a rail to bring everything level with the 2x16 plate. Note that I have also added 3 tiles, this is where the door frame will sit.

Here I have added a pre-built door and frame. This is built on a 6x6 plate and I have covered this in my previous guide. Now that this is in place, work can begin on the walls.

Now we come to building the walls. Its a simple case of alternating between a 1x1 brick with a stud on the side and round plates. You don't have to use round plates, a 1x1 round will do just as well. I must stress the fact that you really shouldn't build any higher than 8 studs without strengthening it. I build to a height of 8 studs, then place some 2x16 plates as before. As you can imagine, this technique is quite parts intensive, you will need quite a few of those 1x1 bricks with studs on the side.

Now we add the next layer of hinge plates. Obviously you would build this all the way round, im just building a small section here.

The middle needs building up as well, using regular bricks, but first we need to lay another 2x2 turntable piece so a plate can be layed on top at the correct angle.

Now you can add plates to get a firm base. Fill in as much as you can inside the tower. Then its just a case of building up with normal bricks.

As I have said, when ever you reach a height of 8 studs you should then add another plate across the tower for strength.

To hide every row of hinge plates and strengthening plates, we can use these 1x2 plates with a 2x2 overhang. This will hide the hinges and allow you to add some more detail to them.

Then its just a case of adding the tiles and and any other parts you wish. At this point, you will now have one section. It is best to build a whole round section like this and add the tiles, then do it all over again on top till another section is complete etc. Then its a case of how ever high you want to go. For windows, the best ones to use are the ones I have used on my Skyrim moc, the 1x2x3 gray ones, but you may find other good alternatives. Thats basically it, you can go as wide as you want, just remember its easier if the diameter is an even number.

Here is an example of a small tower built with the technique. This has a diameter of 12 studs and thats about as small as you should go with it. If you go any smaller you start to lose the smooth roundness. At the top I have added a row of headlight bricks with some brown rounds attached, then I have built another circle of hinge plates just large enough to fit around the stone. This then rests on the brown rounds and you can use some 1x1 bricks with a stud on the side to add brown tiles and give a nice wood effect.

Well thats everything you need to know to build a round tower, I hope it will be useful to some of you.

I will update again soon with some more useful techniques.

Thanks for viewing

DC