LeeMcG

MOC: Christ Church Spitalfields

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Hi. I've just finished a MOC which I've been working on for a few months.

It's a smaller-than-minifig scale (not sure of the right way to describe the scale, it's much larger than normal microscale stuff) model of the church in London where I had my wedding reception last year.

It was built in the late 1700's and designed by Hawksmoor, a contemporary of Christopher Wren.

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Here's photo of the church in real life (not mine, thanks to the photographer)

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And here is it on Streetview:

A couple more views (There are more including WIP on my Flickr pages):

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Comments are appreciated. I have just over a week, and then I'm going to give it to my wife (she doesn't know what I've been working on), so I'd like to make it as good as possible. I'm particularly troubled with the spire, which goes from 4x4 studs and is 14 or so studs high. Plates don't seem to be made with enough of a sharp angle, so I've gone with the current design, which does have holes from certain views.

Thanks for looking.

Lee

Edited by Phred

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hope she doesn't read EB.com then :p

Very nice job, like the details, nice colors!!!

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This is beautiful and looks so much like the real thing. Your wife is a lucky girl!

The spire looks pretty good as it is. As an alternative, could you start it from a 6x6 base? Then you would be able to have two rows of the 75 degree roof tiles and may be able to do away with the 1x10 plates. You could then also use 1x2 plates with door rails to create a little overhang at the base of the spire.

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Very nice - I'm a big fan of the Wren-era architecture in London post-1666 and your church is immediately recognisable as one of those. I also think the spire is great, I wouldn't change a thing! A hole or two is always to be expected - the trick is to ignore those angles :)

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Thanks for all the comments.

I am pretty sure my wife doesn't frequent EB! So should be okay with the surprise. She's more likely to wander into my study and that is pretty unlikely.

I did try mocking up the spire a bit as Kristel suggested, but it just looked a bit too chunky. It's really thin and elegant in real life.

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You did a great job. The church looks very realistic and the spire is my favourite part. This is a beautiful anniversary gift and shows off the time and skill put into this. :thumbup:

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This is really excellent! -I think the spire is perfect; On the photos the gaps does not disturb, and I think the 1x10 plates gives a nice texture to it!

The scale is very interresting, could you give us a closer estimate? Looks like it could be around 1:72 ¿?

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That is a very good replica of the church! I am only missing the wedding couple. Make sure you get the dress right! :wink:

For the spire you might try four 12x3 wedge plates, either all left versions or right.

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@Hoexbroe - Of course there are always a mixture of scales in anything in Lego, the railings at the front and the plants at the side are much too large for any sensible scale (and the less said about the scale of the details the better).

But it's actually quite a bit bigger than you've judged. The main church is more like 1:144. Here is one of the photos I took, which shows some people sitting on the top steps - you can see how large the bottom of those pillars are.

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So that maybe answers why there is no bride and groom. People would be be about 4-5 plates high.

And thanks to Vincent. I actually have those plates (but only considered trying them as pairs) I'm going to give them a whirl using just one side.

Reason for Edit: Photo didn't need to be as large as it was. Inserted smaller version.

Edited by LeeMcG

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Sorry to reply so much to my own topic!

I've made a different spire as suggested by Vincent, and I thought I'd solicit opinions. These angles definitely show the existing spire at its worst!

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That's (obviously) the actual church, then the existing spire, and then the new one based on Vincent's idea. (If your screen is wide enough, they are all on one row for comparison.)

Which do you think is best? Any other adjustment ideas?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: added links to flickr pages.

Edited by LeeMcG

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I like the new version better. :wink:

I have two other suggestions you might try. First of all, you might try lowering the wedges by one or two plates. Thus reducing the space between the bottom of wedges and the ridge below.

The second suggestion is replacing the two 1x1 round bricks by a 2x2 cone.

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Thanks. I think I agree. The only downside is that there is a bit of a shape to the spire, where the corners stick out a bit at the bottom and you lose that - it becomes a plain pyramid.

But I think at this scale, I can't have that shape.

I've taken both your suggestions on board. It involved losing the bottom slopes entirely, and then a different arrangement to keep the wedge plates 'splayed'.

I don't have a white 2x2x2 cone, but I do have the pyramid version, which is good enough for now (I think the cone will be better because there's a little overhang with the pyramid) - I'll make the change after I've given it to my wife.

If you're interested I'll post a new picture when the light is better tomorrow morning.

Edited by LeeMcG

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I have to admit that the new version is better, that's the spirit. I really like the main entrance with the columns, your shot angle is also interesting! Well done.

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Just a little update. I'm pleased to say that this MOC is now on display in the Stratford (UK) Lego store. Thanks for all the help and guidance here. This is only my 2nd real MOC so I really appreciate the help. My 5 year old boys now think I'm famous!

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