[ENTRY] Imperial Guard Tower

[Elephant Knight]

Travel back to 2009 for my next entry! It was a shame that the Imperial fort form that year was modular, but never had any additional sets to go with it, So I solved that problem with the Imperial Guard Tower!

I would have loved to show it connected to the actual set, but I was unable to build the set, mostly due to some important parts being used in the MOC...

It's not much of an interior, but it's still more than what the fort offered us.

Loot Island, where the island baseplates are from, didn't make use of the hole in the ground, so I had to add some buried treasure here, even if it is at the foot of the Imperial's Guard tower.

EKnight

Edited July 12, 2023 by Elephant Knight

[Horation]

The quintessential 2009 set-for better and for worse

Theme

There's a guard tower, with hidden treasure, a boat, cannons, pirates and a useful fortress build, with an island which contains a lot of spacce for play. Now one thing that annoys me is the cannon on a dock, maybe move that to the shore? Then again can't blame you, considering that one of my favourite sets is imperial sentry-a cannon on a boat.

Build

The build is plain and the foliage is repetitive (also why would plants be growing from inside a rock?), I'd say shake up the plants a little with some variety and more logical builds (using brown and what not) and I'll forgive the plain interior and exterior of the set, unfortunately both of which are symptomatic of that wave (and are hence intentional).

Overall, this set captures the feel of that 2009 wave-it's a solid concept, done decently, but nothing to make it stand out against the other pirate sets (or MOCs).

[iragm]

I have to say that I like this a lot more than any of the official 2009 sets.  Do I still hate the palm tree?  Yes.  But the raised baseplate, when doubled up, is actually OK looking, and you've made great use of the hole in it. 

 

Good play features, nice overall design that matches the design language of the original fort very nicely, good selection of minifigures that fits well with the theme.

 

I really don't see how you could have created a better pirates 2009 set.  The downside, of course, is that this is pirates 2009 and you're limited by the colors used, the goofy faces on the minifigures, the palm tree, and the overall simple design.  But of course, if you changed anything, it would no longer feel like the 2009 pirates.  I'd love to see what your talents could do with a more modern parts selection!

[MstrOfPppts]

Looks more like a 4+ set and totally not my favorite style. My biggest problem are the structure walls which by using a lot of panels are way too plain. Even LEGO would add some supports or slopes sticking out of the walls to break the monotony of the large straight panels. Although I used to be a fan of the raised baseplates I don't use them anymore. But this one in particular has an interesting look and adds some value to the set, compared to all the same slopes people are using inspired by the official Barracuda Bay set. As already mentioned some more details in the interior and some more diverse plants would greatly improve this entry.

[Elephant Knight]

On 7/12/2023 at 6:17 AM, Horation said:

The build is plain and the foliage is repetitive (also why would plants be growing from inside a rock?), I'd say shake up the plants a little with some variety and more logical builds (using brown and what not) and I'll forgive the plain interior and exterior of the set, unfortunately both of which are symptomatic of that wave (and are hence intentional).

Overall, this set captures the feel of that 2009 wave-it's a solid concept, done decently, but nothing to make it stand out against the other pirate sets (or MOCs).

Well, Both Loot Island and Cannon battle of that wave have plants growing straight out of the rocks, so it's perfectly within the set design. as for the repetitiveness of it, well, Lego themselves tends to do repetitive stuff like that

11 hours ago, iragm said:

I have to say that I like this a lot more than any of the official 2009 sets.  Do I still hate the palm tree?  Yes.  But the raised baseplate, when doubled up, is actually OK looking, and you've made great use of the hole in it. 

Good play features, nice overall design that matches the design language of the original fort very nicely, good selection of minifigures that fits well with the theme.

I really don't see how you could have created a better pirates 2009 set.  The downside, of course, is that this is pirates 2009 and you're limited by the colors used, the goofy faces on the minifigures, the palm tree, and the overall simple design.  But of course, if you changed anything, it would no longer feel like the 2009 pirates.  I'd love to see what your talents could do with a more modern parts selection!

I guess I nailed the 2009 design. I agree that that palm tree trunk is not very good, but, that's the palm tree used in that year, so it's what I did.

6 hours ago, MstrOfPppts said:

Looks more like a 4+ set and totally not my favorite style. My biggest problem are the structure walls which by using a lot of panels are way too plain. Even LEGO would add some supports or slopes sticking out of the walls to break the monotony of the large straight panels. Although I used to be a fan of the raised baseplates I don't use them anymore. But this one in particular has an interesting look and adds some value to the set, compared to all the same slopes people are using inspired by the official Barracuda Bay set. As already mentioned some more details in the interior and some more diverse plants would greatly improve this entry.

Yeah, looking at it again, the walls do seem very plain. I originally thought the stickers that were on the parts, the same ones from the soldiers fort, would help break it up, but yeah, it's quite flat and blank still.

EKnight

[thewatchman]

Wow this is pretty well done!

 It feels just like a 2009 set in all the best and worst of its glory!

pros:

the use of raised baseplates 

the style of building using those panel pieces

the gold chest just screams 2009

general colour choices

cons:

slightly unbalanced in terms of build distribution 

I actually think it would be incredibly hard to build in an earlier style, especially difficult to mimic a time in design when I’m pretty sure even TLG themselves had given up 🤣

great entry all up.

[Rogue Redcoat]

First, the moc looks pretty good. Here are some suggestions for your entry, first I love the base plate but perhaps you could add some water underneath. Second I personally would like brick-built walls with white and dark red. Finally, there is a bit too much overhang for the building on the land. This said the moc looks great with the new pirates and imperials. Anyway, Happy building :) 

[US_Army_Tom]

Hello! My name is Tom and I am a new member, humbly offering some feedback. First of all, I love this build, and could totally see my 8 year old self in 1994 playing with this for hours--well done!

I would offer, since its a guard tower where soldiers would spend days on end pulling guard shifts on and off, maybe a small fireplace detail could be incorporated? This would not only add a great detail, but it would give those sentries a means of cooking food, or even getting warm if a storm should blow in. Also, as a guard tower, some sort of signal method should be the main purpose of the top deck. If they spot the Black Seas Barracuda on the horizon, they need to signal back to the main fortress immediately. No radios, phones, or internet back then--signal fires were the fastest way to communicate, but flags could also work. You have a great torch on there--maybe make it more prominent and incorporate a few swallow-tail flags as signal flags?

Again--very humble advice--I love the build!

[Rogue Redcoat]

4 hours ago, US_Army_Tom said:

No radios, phones, or internet back then--signal fires were the fastest way to communicate, but flags could also work. You have a great torch on there--maybe make it more prominent and incorporate a few swallow-tail flags as signal flags?


They also used signal guns, maybe a small stud shooter could represent this in the build, and they also used flares/rockets.

[Mazin]

I like it, nice work. Tho i'm not sure if it could be released as a legit set, it's kinda unorthodox. I don't think Lego would use a baseplate that wat, moving a tower to complete edge of it, leaving the baseplate almost completely empty. Typicaly the tower would sit in the middle of it. BTW, do i see it corectly and pirates had to to get rid of the palm tree to reach the chest? :)

Interiors are quite empty too. Tho, i actually like that sitting area in the lower part, it has this charm of Lego's classic simplicity, it's the upper floor that bothers me, as there's nothing there. Not sure how it could be upgraded tho. We've seen some very decent sitting areas for officers and offices, map rooms, etc, in other entries, so maybe You could go the same way, surely there would be just enough space to put a little table there, and decent chair, a candle, a quill and a book to chronicle garrison's daily activities? Lower part could also be upgraded into a proper soldiers' mess, with good size dinner table to fit all of them, and food and drinks. Those would surely add some play value, as kids always like to feast with their pirates ;) 

And then this whole dinner set could be movable, to allow soldiers to eat outside during nice weather, to make a good use off all that empty space in the heart of the island, just on top of the hidden treasure. Then, should the looters take control of the island, they could just move that furniture back to the tower.

I'd say that Your second jetty could gain more life too, I like it's simplistic look, but i guess some viewers will point out the fact that it may be too undeveloped for modern sets. Tho, 'm not sure what it's supposed to be connected to, and so if any upgrades to it would interfer with that other set. It's just that right now it's one brown catwalk realy. So perhaps something could be added in to give it more play value? Perhaps a secret compartment hidden beneath? Or more barrels here and there, a gun rack, drying fish, a freshly cought octopus awaiting to be prepared for meal, etc.

And as much as i like that door, i'm not sure if it necesary in there. Ditching it would make more room and easier access to the inside of Your tower. Exterior of the tower then is probably the best thing in here, i realy like that battlement on top, and the use of two small flags instead of "obligatory" big one brings some freshness to this universe.   

 

 

 

[durazno33]

I agree with the comment from Mazin, having the tower off to one side looks odd especially since it needs an arch to support it underneath to be level. Maybe consider centering it more on the island.  Other than that, maybe adding an orange crab would give some extra color.