[Book IV - Chapter 1 - Category A] Lepidopterology Island UPDATED

[T-86(swebrickLUG)]

*Final entry build in the last post*

So my immediate idea (when the challenge was posted) was to build a library-tower for the avalonian satellite campus. The idea is to use the required technique for a part of the library and incorporate the round part into a larger building structure/complex. 

I didn’t start in march as planned , story of my lego-life, instead I got to it when others started posting WIP’s the last days. From the bat I just went straight to the tracks, sticks and sorting out tiles! Im using a combination of different heights for the sticks. 

Didnt take long with this eminent technique to get progress fast. I fooled around with some ideas for the window structures for a while and now Im in tryouts for diff takes with visible glass or shutters for them.

Edited June 30 by T-86(swebrickLUG)

[Seagull King of Vaughan]

My compliments on the windows, they blend very nicely! The whole top of the tower is well done. It feels like an inversion of the batter used on the base for the example build.

[Grover]

Well done!  You went the extra mile and already added some windows!  They look great, and you've done a very good job placing both them and the corbling for the battlements in a way that adds detail without getting in the way of the build. The incorporation of the DBG tiles at points also helps disrupt the big grey wall syndrome. Obviously, ingot tiles, plates, etc. can also help with this. Various wall decor (torches etc.) or animals (birds at the top, etc.) also add a touch of realism.  With a newer build you wouldn't expect a lot of growth yet, but there could easily be some benches, chairs, tables, etc. that could decorate the base of the tower.

Looking forward to seeing the final product!

[T-86(swebrickLUG)]

On 5/2/2026 at 4:45 AM, Seagull King of Vaughan said:

My compliments on the windows, they blend very nicely! The whole top of the tower is well done. It feels like an inversion of the batter used on the base for the example build.

Thanks! Ive added some layers to widen the top of the tower as well, have to post a pic in the thread though!

On 5/3/2026 at 8:39 AM, Grover said:

Well done!  You went the extra mile and already added some windows!  They look great, and you've done a very good job placing both them and the corbling for the battlements in a way that adds detail without getting in the way of the build. The incorporation of the DBG tiles at points also helps disrupt the big grey wall syndrome. Obviously, ingot tiles, plates, etc. can also help with this. Various wall decor (torches etc.) or animals (birds at the top, etc.) also add a touch of realism.  With a newer build you wouldn't expect a lot of growth yet, but there could easily be some benches, chairs, tables, etc. that could decorate the base of the tower.

Looking forward to seeing the final product!

Thanks man! Yeah, some minor details will do the job of breaking up the wall structure. And, as you mention, Im gonna do some ground details.  I think I’ll put some banners or something like that instead of climbing foliage (which I normally love to do) since the campus is new. 

[T-86(swebrickLUG)]

Found some time last night, in a disastrously stressful period, to fiddle around with the tower. It fell over so had to partially re-do it, haha!

 

I also started some minor brainstorming-building for some walkways. Plan is to have a small courtyard, walkways and a secondary building!

Edited May 7 by T-86(swebrickLUG)

[Velnerius]

I'm a big fan of those arches! Might need to copy that design in the future :)

[T-86(swebrickLUG)]

14 hours ago, Velnerius said:

I'm a big fan of those arches! Might need to copy that design in the future :)

Copy as you please dude 😃Im fooling around with it, not decided how its gonna end up yet. Its an arch-technique many builders use and is pretty simple and not that parts-intensive either. Ive used in several exhibition-builds! Fun thing is its pretty diverse in how you can personalise it from the core parts, like for example what/if you add to the macaroni-pieces and so on!

Edited May 7 by T-86(swebrickLUG)

[Kai NRG]

Looking beautiful so far.  I love the details on the arches and right around where the tower changes diameter.

[T-86(swebrickLUG)]

So this is what I ended up with for the [Book IV - Chapter 1] Category A-challenge. After seeing the categories for the Summer Joust I also saw the possibility to do a classic doubledip of the build.

Lepidopterology Island

”The lingering feeling of joy by having witnessed the beautiful moment of a first spread of colourful wings in the sun, taking speed out in the air. ”

The University of Petrea, at Albion Campus, is new and under construction. Due to the vast and whimsical areas in Avalonia several satellite campuses are evolving. Connecting many locations in Avalonia to the main University of Petrea Campus. 

In one of the smaller of the mystic isles, close to the avalonian mainland, the crown decided for a part of the campus to be established. This was one of the mystic isles where aurelian studies could be performed due to the large colonies of varied butterflies and moths.

The lush foliage and landscape with many unidentified plants, large and small, created a perfect environment for the colonies and their four-staged lifecycle.

A fairly large round tower, based on the knowledge of the crowns engineering architect,  was completed in the centre of the island. This was part of a plan to gain access to the island, but to avoid for apprentices and lepidopterist lecturers to being forced to leave for each study session and return to the mainland.

The tower itself, new and with polished grey stone, stood in contrast to the lush ’wild’ greenery.

The joy and happiness shared in aurelian exploration in the islands fauna could not be emphasised enough. Happiness may not last forever, but following  the metamorphosis of a new specimen provides important knowledge and a feeling of contentment that can remain  long after.Photos below:

[Yoggington]

Is that a gigantic butterfly part that I've never seen? Or some macro photography trick!

[T-86(swebrickLUG)]

2 minutes ago, Yoggington said:

Is that a gigantic butterfly part that I've never seen? Or some macro photography trick!

Hahaha!! No tricks pulled my friend, its a figpiece, for a fairy or something I think! 

[Kai NRG]

This turned out lovely, the butterflies are a sweet touch to add some life and color.  I really like your tower too, as I said before, it's got the right amount of architectural detail to make it interesting but not chaotic.  Great take on the category!

[T-86(swebrickLUG)]

On 7/1/2026 at 7:30 PM, Kai NRG said:

This turned out lovely, the butterflies are a sweet touch to add some life and color.  I really like your tower too, as I said before, it's got the right amount of architectural detail to make it interesting but not chaotic.  Great take on the category!

Thanks a lot! Yeah since its suppose to be a newly built tower I felt I needed to keep it pretty clean! 

[Ben S]

It's very lively with the elves, flora, fauna and small details!  I love the tower; as others have pointed out, it looks great. Those arches from the WIP look great too 

[T-86(swebrickLUG)]

6 hours ago, Ben S said:

It's very lively with the elves, flora, fauna and small details!  I love the tower; as others have pointed out, it looks great. Those arches from the WIP look great too 

Thanks man! Appreciate you taking time to comment! 

[Grover]

Outstanding work!  Very nice use of the tower technique. It stands out well on the top of the island.  The build is very colorful, and your choice of the grey stone for the castle makes the bright butterfly colors stand out even more.  The tower at first glance seems a bit odd without crenellations, but when you read the story and realize it's a study tower and not a military one, it makes sense.  You also did a nice job smoothing over and hiding the back of the sticks.  That is not as simple as it might first appear.  I like how you filled in a few small holes with the 3 leaf stemmed plant pieces, and the vine and yellow flowered tree on the left. The foliage is dense and looks organic.  I like how your rockwork avoids the 'vertical line' syndrome of a thousand slopes all parallel to one another.  The rockwork is predominantly slopes, so you have a lot of right angles, but you made the angles small and avoided the parallel lines, making the scene more organic. The depth in the underlying water is also nice by the small rock and the boat.  

Overall, the photography is almost too bright, and I'm not sure that's from too much light. I struggle with this issue myself, which is how much post processing is ideal?  It doesn't seem like you have too much light, but then some of the colors are starting to wash out a bit, so it's a little hard to say.  The close up shots are better than the larger one. It makes me wonder if a different color background might help... this could be difficult since the grey blends with the tower and the rocks, and a light blue would blend with the water... it is challenging.  I love the use of the butterfly in the foreground for depth!

The tower itself is very nice. The top I mentioned above is great, and looking at the base you did a nice job hiding the intersection with the ground, both by photo angle, and other items like barrels, etc. In one of the few intersections you can see, it is nice and flat on a tile.  The windows look great, and I love their shape!  The corbeling at the top of the tower is very nice, and your use of various grey colors breaks up the big solid color tower effect.  I am interested to see how you connected that door too!  Great work, and congrats on the contest!

[T-86(swebrickLUG)]

6 hours ago, Grover said:

Outstanding work!  Very nice use of the tower technique. It stands out well on the top of the island.  The build is very colorful, and your choice of the grey stone for the castle makes the bright butterfly colors stand out even more.  The tower at first glance seems a bit odd without crenellations, but when you read the story and realize it's a study tower and not a military one, it makes sense.  You also did a nice job smoothing over and hiding the back of the sticks.  That is not as simple as it might first appear.  I like how you filled in a few small holes with the 3 leaf stemmed plant pieces, and the vine and yellow flowered tree on the left. The foliage is dense and looks organic.  I like how your rockwork avoids the 'vertical line' syndrome of a thousand slopes all parallel to one another.  The rockwork is predominantly slopes, so you have a lot of right angles, but you made the angles small and avoided the parallel lines, making the scene more organic. The depth in the underlying water is also nice by the small rock and the boat.  

Overall, the photography is almost too bright, and I'm not sure that's from too much light. I struggle with this issue myself, which is how much post processing is ideal?  It doesn't seem like you have too much light, but then some of the colors are starting to wash out a bit, so it's a little hard to say.  The close up shots are better than the larger one. It makes me wonder if a different color background might help... this could be difficult since the grey blends with the tower and the rocks, and a light blue would blend with the water... it is challenging.  I love the use of the butterfly in the foreground for depth!

The tower itself is very nice. The top I mentioned above is great, and looking at the base you did a nice job hiding the intersection with the ground, both by photo angle, and other items like barrels, etc. In one of the few intersections you can see, it is nice and flat on a tile.  The windows look great, and I love their shape!  The corbeling at the top of the tower is very nice, and your use of various grey colors breaks up the big solid color tower effect.  I am interested to see how you connected that door too!  Great work, and congrats on the contest!

Thanks Grover! As you mention, I struggled with the lighting when taking the photos. I always hate that part of the process 😂. Off course its also an aspect of lego-interest to keep improving/developing. In this case I took the photos on my backside porch in broad daylight. In one sense I wanted the lighting to be ’very’ bright to the concept of the build, but I guess you’re right on colours washing out a bit. 

Thanks for C&C and also for your and the rest of the judges time and effort in organising the challenge and for the guilds on a whole. Already looking forward to the next challenge! 

Edited July 16 by T-86(swebrickLUG)

[Garmadon]

Love the bold colors and the unexpected turns this challenge brought out!  Those giant butterflies are hilarious, as well as the purpose of a tower in Historica being to study them!   We've come a long way as the Guilds of Historica 

Very pretty tower, the larger circle at the top is great as well as those large windows, both of those seem to subtly hint at this tower's purpose being less warlike than most!

[T-86(swebrickLUG)]

On 7/17/2026 at 8:55 PM, Garmadon said:

Love the bold colors and the unexpected turns this challenge brought out!  Those giant butterflies are hilarious, as well as the purpose of a tower in Historica being to study them!   We've come a long way as the Guilds of Historica 

Very pretty tower, the larger circle at the top is great as well as those large windows, both of those seem to subtly hint at this tower's purpose being less warlike than most!

Thanks for the comment, nice to here you like the colours and tower. Yeah, I really didn’t see a butterfly-island-tower-build coming. But the challenge gave many opportunities!