7 improvements for the new creator castle

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Hi there,

the new creator castle was fun to build and I am very happy that we finally have a castle set again.

There are, however, a few aspects that can be vastly improved by actually very simple steps (not requiring too many special bricks). Then it will look like this:

 

So, here are my 7 improvements for the new castle:

Number one:

Finish the roof. It will only take 5 dark blue plates.

Number two:

Increase the height of the walls. They should actually protect a knight from enemy arrows, etc. So you need to add at least one layer of bricks.

Number 3:

Improve the arrow loops (hopefully that is the right term). And add one for each tower. You will need dark grey 1x1 bricks with a stud on the side.

Number 4:

Improve the battlements on the towers.

Number 5:

Increase the height of the tower walls. Once again, these walls are meant to protect, they are not built for ornamental purposes.

Number 6:

Complete the tiles on the wooden tower. I actually cannot understand why we are just given those corner elements.

Number 7:

Improve the tree. Here I have added some leaf-elements that make the tree look a little bit more alive...

So, these are my seven suggestions for improvement - what do you have? Let me know in the comments.

And something needs to be done around that shield with the coat of arms above the drawbridge. Has anyone found a simple solution already?

Have a nice weekend!

 

Edited July 2, 2022 by Captain Braunsfeld
Flickr references removed

[eldiano]

I bought these too just for the door I think it would make the Castle stand out a bit, I don’t have the set so i was estimating the door height but looking at the manual I like how the door build is completely an independent wall and sad to say there was no 1x6 arch in yellow LOL, But I will follow your suggestions also!!!

[caiman0637]

Good improvements! I'll probably use these. 

[TeriXeri]

I was already planning to expand/modify the Castle, this seems easy enough with parts from just the Blacksmith (as it's too big for this Castle scale and I will re-use it's parts)

[Captain Braunsfeld]

9 hours ago, eldiano said:

 sad to say there was no 1x6 arch in yellow 

 

Yepp, sometimes we run into these limitations.

And I just checked with the model: If you want to go for the other type of door, you will have to make more changes, as that door needs more than the currently available width of 4 studs. It will not close properly because of the wall section.

But that should not stop you! 

8 hours ago, caiman0637 said:

Good improvements! I'll probably use these. 

Thanks

8 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

I was already planning to expand/modify the Castle, this seems easy enough with parts from just the Blacksmith (as it's too big for this Castle scale and I will re-use it's parts)

The Blacksmith is fine but somehow larger than the whole castle 

[eldiano]

11 hours ago, Captain Braunsfeld said:

Yepp, sometimes we run into these limitations.

And I just checked with the model: If you want to go for the other type of door, you will have to make more changes, as that door needs more than the currently available width of 4 studs. It will not close properly because of the wall section.

But that should not stop you! 

Thanks

The Blacksmith is fine but somehow larger than the whole castle 

😢would you think think switching the door to opening from the inside work? I overlooked the 4x4 studs not being too wide 😢

[jtooker]

Great improvements!

[Captain Braunsfeld]

13 hours ago, eldiano said:

😢would you think think switching the door to opening from the inside work? I overlooked the 4x4 studs not being too wide 😢

On the inside it would collide with the fireplace... 

9 hours ago, jtooker said:

Great improvements!

Thank you.

And I forgot to mention improvement #8: A ladder to get up to the watchtower. 

(you can see where it is attached on the picture for improvement #6)

[Wurger49]

On 6/6/2021 at 6:07 AM, Captain Braunsfeld said:

 

So, these are my seven suggestions for improvement - what do you have? Let me know in the comments.

And something needs to be done around that shield with the coat of arms above the drawbridge. Has anyone found a simple solution already?

Have a nice weekend!

 

Hi Captain, I managed to fix the loose coat of arms, I swapped the two round bricks with two palisade bricks, topped them up with a pyramid tile, they lock in the crest securely and no more movements.

Photos and description of my MOD in the link below. 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2021 by Wurger49

[TeriXeri]

Another easy mod if you have set 31105: Townhouse Toy Store parts, would be to replace the tower roof with the higher corner slopes for a more pointy look.

The set has 4 of each of those 

31118: Surfer Beach House also has a decent amount of darkblue slopes, and yellow/brown parts to fit within the color scheme of extra housing.

Edited June 9, 2021 by TeriXeri

[Feuer Zug]

Thanks for the modification tips. They do improve the overall look and feel of the castle.

[eldiano]

Hehe I've been called out here for been too symmetrical on my builds, would you think changing the moat green bricks on the left side of the tower to regular grey bricks, would be an improvement or just plain boring and keep it as is?  

[Wurger49]

6 hours ago, eldiano said:

Hehe I've been called out here for been too symmetrical on my builds, would you think changing the moat green bricks on the left side of the tower to regular grey bricks, would be an improvement or just plain boring and keep it as is?  

I would say leave them, as LEGO used the green bricks as they are meant to be rocks next to the moat or river, with moss and vegetation.

[Captain Braunsfeld]

On 6/9/2021 at 5:31 AM, Wurger49 said:

Hi Captain, I managed to fix the loose coat of arms, I swapped the two round bricks with two palisade bricks, topped them up with a pyramid tile, they lock in the crest securely and no more movements.

Photos and description of my MOD in the link below. 

Great solution to that problem. Thanks.

On 6/9/2021 at 12:39 PM, TeriXeri said:

Another easy mod if you have set 31105: Townhouse Toy Store parts, would be to replace the tower roof with the higher corner slopes for a more pointy look.

The set has 4 of each of those 

31118: Surfer Beach House also has a decent amount of darkblue slopes, and yellow/brown parts to fit within the color scheme of extra housing.

Good idea too. I need to check what I have.  Usually I do not have a lot of dark blue roof bricks/slopes.

On 6/10/2021 at 2:34 PM, Feuer Zug said:

Thanks for the modification tips. They do improve the overall look and feel of the castle.

Thanks. I agree 

On 6/10/2021 at 7:22 PM, eldiano said:

Hehe I've been called out here for been too symmetrical on my builds, would you think changing the moat green bricks on the left side of the tower to regular grey bricks, would be an improvement or just plain boring and keep it as is?  

I think I'd side with Wurger49 here and keep everything as it is.

I found that green refreshing. 

Symmetry is another topic, however, but as the remainder of the two front towers is symmetric, it does not harm the overall view to have those different approaches with green slopes.

 

[AmperZand]

There’s an article on Brickset with some other changes - or improvements, depending on your point of view.

[TeriXeri]

5 hours ago, AmperZand said:

There’s an article on Brickset with some other changes - or improvements, depending on your point of view.

I think both versions work well, the Makeover is more in the style of what I see for LOTR sets or Harry Potter pieces (Tan Walls) and many MOCs on here, the original yellow walls would fit well with older more colorful castle factions and 3in1/Nexo parts/figs.

Overall, I think a lot of color option for tudor/wood framing of walls are possible, like light yellow or white walls, with dark brown/black or even darkred wood beams , could even make the roofs orange/black/darkbrown etc. There are a lot of variations in the real world as well.

 

The Blue banners on the makeover do look better for a Falcon fortress.

This stickered part from Nexo  70315: Clay's Rumble Blade might not even look bad as banners either.

Edited June 18, 2021 by TeriXeri

[Captain Braunsfeld]

5 hours ago, AmperZand said:

There’s an article on Brickset with some other changes - or improvements, depending on your point of view.

Thanks for the info. The article is definitely right in one point: more minifigs are necessary!

28 minutes ago, TeriXeri said:

The Blue banners on the makeover do look better for a Falcon fortress.

This stickered part from Nexo  70315: Clay's Rumble Blade might not even look bad as banners either.

I agree - the blue banners are a good modification.

(but I won't go for stickers) 

[TeriXeri]

16 minutes ago, Captain Braunsfeld said:

(but I won't go for stickers) 

Of course understandable, I was mainly suggesting it for people who happen to have that set built or have the parts from it.

There also was a darkblue colored Falcon pentagonal shield tile in the random Nexo Powers Series 1 but it's transparent blue around the edges.

Edited June 18, 2021 by TeriXeri

[Aanchir]

Nice changes! I love that the end result maintains the spirit of the original set and a lot of its aesthetic strengths, while introducing some modest practical improvements like slightly taller battlements.

I was less fond of Zander’s modifications on Brickset, since while the blue banners are nice, changing the yellow infill between the timbers to tan weakens the visual contrast a lot, in my opinion.

Edited June 18, 2021 by Aanchir

[eldiano]

On 6/18/2021 at 9:27 AM, Captain Braunsfeld said:

Thanks for the info. The article is definitely right in one point: more minifigs are necessary!

I agree - the blue banners are a good modification.

(but I won't go for stickers) 

So since I have to wait August 1st for the release in North America, I don't have the chance to test or modify the throne room in person but when you managed to point out the flaws with the door replacement I made a studio version of the throne room and replicated both scenarios of the door not opening and closing because it's small. 

I pondered on extending an extra row but it would look off, so I managed to find a simple solution that somewhat works I think, I came up with moving the carpet/throne/fireplace to the right by one stud and removing an open clip from the fireplace to make the door swing open from the opposite side, i finally read up on 7946 and saw how they did it on that set and I think it works, but it's not functional, i mean it opens but still I wasn't expecting a massive improvement.  I can put back the pearl open clip 1x1 when it's closed, but I myself wanted to see what was possible.  You are right about your improvements, building the roof left me underwhelmed without the blue 2x2 tiles and the tower and everything else haha, now i'm placing an order now since I still have to wait a bit for arrival.  

Simulated the hinge function and it's as far as I got and i'm satisfied I think haha

To be honest the only mod I liked from the brickset article was the king!  I do have a couple of extra crowns laying around with gold swords and that looks beautiful!! 

[Wurger49]

4 hours ago, eldiano said:

So since I have to wait August 1st for the release in North America, I don't have the chance to test or modify the throne room in person but when you managed to point out the flaws with the door replacement I made a studio version of the throne room and replicated both scenarios of the door not opening and closing because it's small. 

I pondered on extending an extra row but it would look off, so I managed to find a simple solution that somewhat works I think, I came up with moving the carpet/throne/fireplace to the right by one stud and removing an open clip from the fireplace to make the door swing open from the opposite side, i finally read up on 7946 and saw how they did it on that set and I think it works, but it's not functional, i mean it opens but still I wasn't expecting a massive improvement.  I can put back the pearl open clip 1x1 when it's closed, but I myself wanted to see what was possible.  You are right about your improvements, building the roof left me underwhelmed without the blue 2x2 tiles and the tower and everything else haha, now i'm placing an order now since I still have to wait a bit for arrival.  

Simulated the hinge function and it's as far as I got and i'm satisfied I think haha

To be honest the only mod I liked from the brickset article was the king!  I do have a couple of extra crowns laying around with gold swords and that looks beautiful!! 

That archway door looks so much better than the bland rectangle door!

[eldiano]

1 hour ago, Wurger49 said:

That archway door looks so much better than the bland rectangle door!

That bland rectangle door was the only thing it was off to me about this set!!!

I had this alternative and another brown arch but i like the yellow one better!

Edited June 21, 2021 by eldiano

[jus1973]

Is it not possible to hang the door on the outside, and have it swinging outwards too.  Not quite as clean, but more in keeping.

Having built this IRL now, I appreciate that some parts usage is down to the need to be 3 in 1 i think.  The tree is a prime example, as a better tree can be made with other brick choices.  

I would have preferred it if TLG ditched the Dragon/Wyvern and put those bricks into a higher tower, or central courtyard instead.  That’s something I’m loooking to do in my MOD, along with adding a couple of generic wall sections, which hopefully could be added to make the castle deeper, or possibly L shaped if i can get it to work right.  An armoury is needed inside on one of these walls, and I’m thinking about what to put on the other.

[Captain Braunsfeld]

On 6/22/2021 at 12:49 AM, eldiano said:

That bland rectangle door was the only thing it was off to me about this set!!!

I had this alternative and another brown arch but i like the yellow one better!

 

Seems like you found your solution!

7 minutes ago, jus1973 said:

Is it not possible to hang the door on the outside, and have it swinging outwards too.  Not quite as clean, but more in keeping.

Having built this IRL now, I appreciate that some parts usage is down to the need to be 3 in 1 i think.  The tree is a prime example, as a better tree can be made with other brick choices.  

I would have preferred it if TLG ditched the Dragon/Wyvern and put those bricks into a higher tower, or central courtyard instead.  That’s something I’m loooking to do in my MOD, along with adding a couple of generic wall sections, which hopefully could be added to make the castle deeper, or possibly L shaped if i can get it to work right.  An armoury is needed inside on one of these walls, and I’m thinking about what to put on the other.

I am looking forward to your MOD.