Eurolock

Helm's Deep expansion [MOC]

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008 by Eurolock, on Flickr

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009 by Eurolock, on Flickr

I posted a few pics of this before the great crash of 2012.

Thought I would post it again in a thread of its own to get some feedback (this is my first attempt at castle).

What I was trying to do was expand the official set so that it was a much more complete representation of Helms deep (comparable to the Weta polystone environment). The aim was to keep the general scale (as defined by the front gate) and design aesthetic. I also wanted all the major areas seen in the movie to be represented (interior of the keep, back stairs, glittering caves etc)

This rear shot shows the interior of the keep and the caves beneath

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001 by Eurolock, on Flickr

The caves are connected by a passageway to the front area of the fortress as depicted in the movie

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003 by Eurolock, on Flickr

This shot shows Eomer on the back stairs. The stairs actually work as a sort of 'ball-track' play feature as a boulder can be rolled through the back gate and will follow the winding path of the stairs knocking down any uruk hai in its path. This is a nod to an event in the book where a great boulder is cast down upon the uruk-hai as they attempt to take the rear gate.

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002 by Eurolock, on Flickr

This shot shows Eomer on the walkway that connects the inner and outer walls. I changed the original model here so that the walkway enters the inner door through a doorway as shown during Aragorn's retreat to the keep. You can also make out the entrance to the passageway through to the caves.

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005 by Eurolock, on Flickr

Aerial shot. I had a lot of trouble with the spiral ramp that leads up from the front gate to the area in front of the keep.

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011 by Eurolock, on Flickr

Gamling in the caves. The whole set-up is modular and a section of the caves can be removed for separate play. The lack of roof was necessary for access.

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016 by Eurolock, on Flickr

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015 by Eurolock, on Flickr

The battle in full swing....If only I had as many Uruks as Deathleech...

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Helm's deep by Eurolock, on Flickr

Errm...don't know how I managed to post the same new thread twice. Sorry.

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This extension looks excellent and adds a lot of detail. I like the the rugged and rocky look of the caves. :sweet:

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When I first saw this MOC I knew instantly it would be one of my all time favorites. After seeing more pictures I can only say that has been confirmed. I never even realized before that you had so many tunnels underneath for the caves...

I know there have been a lot of Helm's Deep MOCs, and most of them look fantastic, but what sets yours apart is how effortlessly it looks like it totally fits with the current Helm's Deep set Lego released. Rather than totally rebuilding the walls and front castle like so many others, you just tweaked it here and there and added a lot on. It looks like the official Lego version if they would of made it a (much) larger set.

I hope to sooner or later try my hand at my own Helm's Deep MOC, and when I do I will probably use yours as inspiration!

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One of teh best mods EVER!

Epic work, keep it up!

~Legonardo

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Excellent Moc! I agree with other comments that this MOC perfectly blends in with the original set. Love all the spiral stairs and ramps, I think you did a very good job there. Well done!

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Wow. That's really good, I don't really like the new LOTR stuff, I much perfered when it was just castle but this is definitely an exception!

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this is excellent - really well done. Great detailing for the caves, but love the rock slope behind the fortifications. keep up the great work !

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Wonderful work! The rockwork looks very much like the movie and the interior caves/rooms are stunning :thumbup:

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Simply awesome. This is more or less exactly what I've dreamed of building someday, if only I had the necessary resources and building skills. I like how this looks like an extension of the official set and retains the style and scale but takes the grandeur and trueness to film to completely new levels.

Maybe you could add some length to the Deeping-stream? In the official set it looks a bit pathetic, like a murky pool instead of a running stream.

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Like I said before the crash, you've done an excellent job expanding on the set. It looks much more like the model they shot.

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Thanks for all the very generous comments guys.

Fantastic MOC! I love it. :wub_drool: The size and detail is great...how much time and money did it cost? I want one. :laugh:

I've deliberately avoided working out how much it cost to build. I got a second helm's deep (cheap) and used about 90% of that doubling the height of the tower, extending the causeway, raising the rock base etc. I also used about 8 pick-a-brick cups of Lbg and dbg bricks. But inevitably multiple bricklink orders were required for loads of arches, plates and especially dbg slope bricks. Overall it was probably about $400-500.

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Wow. This is a awesome adaption of the original set. That looks totally ... wow! Great work.

What you could add would be the field and campsite behind the left wall and of course more rock walls around it. But that's just a idea.

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Wow I have not built anything that other people have built, but if you posted directions to this i would build this!

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Very good work :thumbup: :thumbup:

Really similar to the original scene from the film :wink: :wink:

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Very impressive! I love the rock wall and the caves underneath. Seems very fitting for what I would expect of Helm's Deep. The official model isn't too bad, but this makes it all the better.

I will be getting mine this Christmas, so I doubt I will have time to modify it to compete with this, so good job! But if I ever decide to, I will look to this thread for inspiration.

Keep up the good work!

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Wow this is fantastic! :wub_drool:

If this was a real set I would instantly buy it, no matter what the cost (not TOO much offcourse :wink: ).

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Now we just need this as an addon set, I'd buy the caves seperate to helms deep happily.

Great work sir

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