Blacksmith Cottage Factory MOC

[Visorak-kal]

Hello!

I have only recently taken up building my own creations in a serious, modular manner. I have built small structures before, including a Roman town, but never any actual buildings. My collection of spare parts was inadequate to take up the project of a blacksmith cottage, so I built it up on Factory first to determine what pieces I might need and to see how it would look.

I have noticed that Eurobricks has a lot of great LEGO builders, so I wanted to present my cottage to you to see what you think about it and if you have any critique or suggestions. Also, I'm not a computer whiz so I just used the Factory screenshot tool, saved the screens, and then uploaded them to my Brickshelf.

Here's the whole cottage front:

Link

And the side:

Link

The back:

Link

A nice view of the sloping roof; I used a technique seen on the Harry Potter Shrieking Shack. The roof cannot flip open or closed, but its connection area is connected by studless flat bricks so that the loft/roof can be removed to reveal an interior.

Link

The front interior by the door--just a table.

Link

Here I removed the roof--you can see the pieces lying around--so that you can see the fireplace and anvil. For the fireplace and anvil, I got inspiration from the Castle Dwarf Mine which my brother owns. You can also see a small loft.

Link

Last look, in case you are interested:

Link

And the gallery (it is not public yet):

Gallery

So, there it is. I hope the pictures are visible and not too big--if either, you can click the link I included which deeplinks (I think) to the pictures directly. I incorporated a bunch of different techniques, including the moss etc, and I used the two different color varieties of grey to achieve the look that the blacksmith build this home himself. So, what do you all think?

VK

[WesternOutlaw]

Nice job VK. I'd love to see this actually built. I like the mix of grey bricks as well as the roof.

My only suggestion for improvment is to extend the fireplace through the second floor. Nice job though.

[Tohst]

Nice little cottage. I do like how the roof goes on and how the slope gives room for the sleeping area up top.

As the blacksmith gets more successful, maybe he can build a house and have his apprentance sleep up there. Its got to be warm even in winter with the forge below.

The only thing I would add, and I know this is harder virtually than when building with real bricks, is all the accessories I'd expect in a blacksmith shop, inside and out. A rack of tools, maybe a wagon wheel, a nice juicy mouse. You get the idea.

-Tohst

[Visorak-kal]

Thanks for the comments so far, guys.

Nice job VK. I'd love to see this actually built. I like the mix of grey bricks as well as the roof.

My only suggestion for improvment is to extend the fireplace through the second floor. Nice job though. default_thumbup.gif

I have been looking through my collection to see if I can build it too, because I think it would look better in person and would work well since I've already got the official Castle Harbor, Castle Siege, and Dwarf Mine for the layout. Unfortunately, it'll probably be lacking if I build it since I don't have a great collection, and I've gone none of those great white windows.

And yes, I noticed the fireplace a while ago, and I am working on a way to extending it through--for the time being you can see how I am using a chimney at the top--my hitch is how to get the fireplace through without having it plow through the bed.

As the blacksmith gets more successful, maybe he can build a house and have his apprentance sleep up there. Its got to be warm even in winter with the forge below.

The only thing I would add, and I know this is harder virtually than when building with real bricks, is all the accessories I'd expect in a blacksmith shop, inside and out. A rack of tools, maybe a wagon wheel, a nice juicy mouse. You get the idea.

It sure must be warm--my original idea was to have two stories, but in the end I went for a simple cottage layout with loft.

As for the accessories, there actually is a hammer, shovel, and broom in the house attached to the walls using hooks and the other ends of the bricks used to hold the moss outside. I just can't seem to get a good screenshot of them--the ladder leading to the loft blocks the view. I tried to build a hammer as seen in Dwarf Mine but the factory wouldn't let me put the peg in the right way, so I just left the parts disconnected. Wagon wheel is a good idea, plus I actually have one in my real collection that I can use when I get a chance to build this thing for real.

VK

[Asuka]

A very nice work, I especially like that interesting shape of that building, pretty original, and the color scheme looks also very neat!

[Adam]

Good work. Two things, however:

What is that thing in front of the hut, a mailbox?

Where does the rest of the fireplace end up? It starts on the first florr, but then vanishes so a table can be put there.

[fenrir]

It's a blacksmit, so I think it's a hammer. ( correct me if i'm wrong)

Very good job, especialy when you look at the limitation by using a computer programm.

very Nice!

Edited June 11, 2008 by fenrir

[keetong]

I'm with fenrir on this one, it realy does look like a warhammer. It resembles the one you get with the castle dwarf mine set.

Whats the slopes on the roof for?

[I Scream Clone]

I like it so far! Very Rustic looking

I like the roof design too

[Visorak-kal]

Good work. Two things, however:

What is that thing in front of the hut, a mailbox?

Where does the rest of the fireplace end up? It starts on the first floor, but then vanishes so a table can be put there.

I wanted to include a hammer like the one included in the Castle Dwarf Mine, but for some reason the program would not let me attach the top head of the hammer to the stick that enables the blacksmith to hold it. So I just left the top part of the hammer in without adding the bottom.

As for the fireplace, that is something I am working on. As is, I haven't been able to find a place for the fireplace while also including a bed. The fireplace is there on the bottom floor, and reappears at the chimney on top, but in the middle I am looking for place to put the fireplace chute while keeping the bed on the loft.

Whats the slopes on the roof for?

It is just some detail and effect for style. I got the idea from the Skeleton Ship Attack, the harbor part with the sloped roof.

Very good job, especialy when you look at the limitation by using a computer programm.

Yeah, the biggest limitation was putting the moss/greens on the side of the house. Normally, the connection brick can face outwards, you put a small 1x1 dot and voila, the greens attach. But for some reason in the designer the greens can only attach in one direction, so I had to put the connection bricks facing inwards, leaving some areas in the house where the furnace/fireplace wouldn't fit.

I like it so far! Very Rustic looking default_thumbup.gif

I like the roof design too

Thanks! I was hoping for a rustic look, which is why I used two different colors of bricks, to give the impression that the blacksmith built this himself and did not have the advantage of having all his rocks be the same type. It is also why I used the sloping roof instead of a more impressive roof.

VK

[Zarkan]

Ah, so you're a castle fan too, Visorak!

Nice cottage. It's pretty simple, but it still has a very nice design. I love that the whole building is slanted - gives it a very unique feel.

[Tom_castlefan]

Nice job VK. I'd love to see this actually built. I like the mix of grey bricks as well as the roof.

My only suggestion for improvment is to extend the fireplace through the second floor. Nice job though.

I completely agree with this. Would like to see more from you.

[cartoondude]

Nice. I like the roof.