[Alt-Build Contest] 75352 Emperor's Throne Room - Emperor's Throne Room (1300 A.D.)

[Mandalorianknight]

A long time ago, in a kingdom far, far away...

So for this one, I thought I'd do something different. It's the same idea in spirit- the emperor's throne room- but rather than an 18+, compact, sci-fi diorama, it's a spaced out playset set during medieval times.

Being a playset, it's got plenty of play features. Here, pulling the two pins on the top of the main castle wall cause two axes to swing down from the roof to attack intruders, something our Hero and Obsidian Knight must protect against. (This is also a better image of the castle wall, and you can see on the top the emperor's octagonal sigil for his Empire.

On the left side of the castle there's a small build for a gong, as well as a clip that can hold the mallet. Here the Obsidian Knight hits the gong to warn the imperials of the Hero's approach.

On the right, we have a small build with a sword in the stone that the Hero can pull out. (As a side note, covering the bottom of the quote tile and using the quote itself as an inscription is my favorite part of this build.)

Inside the castle, you can see the emperor's throne room. (I just realized I didn't take a picture of the inside of the castle- it's pretty bare, but it's got 6 studs of depth beyond the wall to place figures in, which is something I always like builds to have.) His throne sits on a bridge above a pool of water, and a side walkway leads to his scrying cauldron. The throne itself is a horrifying ring of bone and metal in a physical display of the emperor's power and the implied fate of those who would oppose him.

Here's another play feature- the magenta carpet in front of the emperor's throne conceals a trapdoor, that by pulling the black circle on the side, can be released to drop the Hero to his doom. 

And one more play feature- pulling up an arm on the top of the ring will cause the emperor's throne to topple backwards, sending the dark wizard himself tumbling into the waters below.

Finally, I used the leftover pieces to explore kind of a fun idea, namely that this isn't just a normal castle set, but a sort of visions/what if scenario for star wars, where by means of the portal shown (with a small black repair droid hovering above) the principle cast has been transported to a different place and different time. On the left is just a mini display plaque with the remaining printed tiles. 

I normally like to use every single piece of a build for an alt-build, as I feel figuring out what to do with remaining pieces is a big part of the challenge but for this one, to keep the medieval theme, I do in fact have leftover parts- just the train windows that go into the 1x2x3 window pieces used in the castle wall.

My goal for this one, unlike turning the Andor gunship into a racecar and garage, or mandalorain throne into a speeder, was to show how different the same basic concept can end up when you design for a different genre and age range, so let me know if you think it does a good job with that.

 

[Kaijumeister]

Very nicely done! The fantasy setting and play features are excellent. 

[Mandalorianknight]

On 1/29/2025 at 8:39 AM, Kaijumeister said:

Very nicely done! The fantasy setting and play features are excellent. 

Thank you!

My idea was that instead of changing the subject of the set, I'd change what type of set it is. A kids' playset, and a lot more spaced out. (Which is actually a bit of an issue at the moment as I haven't had time to rebuild the original set, so the rest the figs and mocs on the shelf it's on are all cramped and stacked on top of eachother)

[Kaijumeister]

It’s funny how much playsets for kids tend to actually be the most fun to build with play features that are well thought out. The way you’ve spaced out the build reminds me of the system-scaled DSII throne rooms we got in 2015 and 2020, especially with how each segment has its own unique look and features. Really good stuff! 

Edited February 1 by Kaijumeister