MOC/LAYOUT: Mediterranean Islands with fortress

[Skystorm87]

[pid][/pid]199A

Hi! I've started a year ago to build this layout, trying to recreate the typical Mediterranean atmosphere of the pirate age.

I come from Sicily and there, during the 17/18th century, small villages had been built to enhance fishing activities, mainly to support bigger town usually built on the top of the hills. Medieval castles where used mainly as observation points. The defense where minimal and often pirates could take everything easily from the village.

Talking about Lego now, the island is composed by two MOCs: a fortress and a small port, the medieval market village and the London escape:

The basement have been made using sea stone. I know this can sound very wrong for some AFOLs, but currently I don't have enough money to buy so many small pieces to create a similar effect (which I like) .

The two ships are the Imperial Flagship and the Queen Anne's Revenge:

Some other pics here:

Other pics

I'm curious to listen your comments and suggestions to expand the layout.

:pir-sweet:

[Foremast Jack]

I rather like your MOC. I was a bit taken aback with the real stone in use at first. It strikes me as being somehow intrinsically wrong, but at the same time I can't deny that it really looks good. It seems almost like a real-life photo slowly blending into a Lego creation of that picture.

Ultimate verdict:

P.S. Get rid of those rocks!

[Captain Heineken]

Looks very nice. Great atmosphere. The only thing I do not so like is the usage of medieval guards/soldiers in a pirate MOC. Would the figures be more consistent it would be absolutely lovely.

[Frank Brick Wright]

I really like the stone! Besides getting a very nice effect, I don't think it is worth spending a great amount of money for covering a similar area with bricks… After all, Lego is supposed to have fun, and I can't see why other materials can't be used to build an environment. For me, saying the stone is wrong would be equivalent to forbid fabric to be used in ships' sails

Also, great buildings! Nice MOC!

[Skystorm87]

Thanks for the replies . Regarding the minifigures, I do agree that the medieval soldiers don't look very good, but now they are there to fill a bit the environment.

In the future I was planning to buy some small boats to populate the layout, some fishermen and a few soldiers. I don't know if it worth to add a lighthouse. I thing a good Idea may be create a small hill made (of course) of stones and put the lighthouse there, if I bay the whitecap bay set I also get two boats and two sirenes that are figures of the Greek mythology living somewhere in the sees of south Italy.

[Hive]

I love it! Great use of real stones. I think Whitecap Bay would be a very fitting addition to your layout, as you will get a great lighthouse as well as a couple of fishing boats with nets for your fisherman theme.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Very nice layout 'Skystorm87'! I like how you incorporated your buildings on top of a non-Lego medium, it's very realistic. Any chance you could post a couple pictures showing the size difference between the Queen Anne's Revenge and the IFS? I saw this layout earlier and it promptly made me go and order the IFS and I've pondered about the QAR later this year

[Skystorm87]

Very nice layout 'Skystorm87'! I like how you incorporated your buildings on top of a non-Lego medium, it's very realistic. Any chance you could post a couple pictures showing the size difference between the Queen Anne's Revenge and the IFS? I saw this layout earlier and it promptly made me go and order the IFS and I've pondered about the QAR later this year

Sure I'll take some pics asap!

[Skipper]

NIce layout, I'm not sold on the paper roof but other than that it's great, you captured the feeling very well and it reminds me a little of some ports in the Aubrey-Maturin series.

Awesome that you're going to keep expanding. Since it's a small port, for defence maybe you could just build a Martello Tower? The lighthouse sounds good too.

[Skystorm87]

NIce layout, I'm not sold on the paper roof but other than that it's great, you captured the feeling very well and it reminds me a little of some ports in the Aubrey-Maturin series.

Awesome that you're going to keep expanding. Since it's a small port, for defence maybe you could just build a Martello Tower? The lighthouse sounds good too.

Martello tower is also a good idea but I think something like the whitecap bay can really fit: it looks quite similar to the fortifications used in that age here in the mediterranean villages:

[Hiawatha]

I think the stone goes very well with the Legos.

[lego_legis_legere]

Nice ! I think using medieval sets is a good idea

[Skystorm87]

Some updates (now the Carribean Clipper joined the fleet)

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qnoDzflZiROObVWKEClZetMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KkVXQGTXYPhHZG_xmNYbsdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/q4wuSnTcB9P__gl8ZFM11NMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink

[Captain Settle]

Good use of rocks.

[Claus von Nassau]

nice layout, it looks very promissing.

a bit more of a challenge get rit of the rocks. look in the historic forum for inspiration builds of derfel and others

the rocks look good, if its posible to make in lego, then imo lego is better.

claus

[ManInATopHat]

Looks really quite nice! I personally like your use of the sea stones as a baseplate, yes, it may be considered "wrong", but it looks epical. Great work!