[Freebuild] Home - Rocca Velneria

[Velnerius]

From the battlements of Rocca Velneria, Federico and his wife, Elisa, looked out over his ancestral homeland. Thanks to his father, and his father before him, life was good for the citizens of Rocca Velneria. The wealth flowing from the vineyards and agricultural lands of the fertile valley, as well as the ever-growing, bustling river port, had allowed the Velnerio family to construct a towering stronghold, overlooking the surroundings. From here, Federico planned on more. Much more.

Spoiler

I finally feel like presenting my build! It's been in the works for almost 2 years, and I hope to expand upon it in the future, including a town, countryside, bridge, and a port! Please let me know what you think!

Edited May 26 by Velnerius

[Yoggington]

My only complaint is that there's not enough pictures! Fantastic all round.

I'd love some close-ups of the flying buttresses in particular, as well as the domed roofs.

Edited May 5 by Yoggington

[zoth33]

Fantastic build!  I like the dark blue roofs and the rockwork looks great.  The vegetation gives just enough pop of color.  As said above I do wish there were more pics to fully see everything and appreciate the build more.  

[The Stad]

Outstanding! Now the real question: is that your Great Hall build nestled in there at the top, and are there any other interiors hidden away on the back?

[Velnerius]

20 hours ago, Yoggington said:

My only complaint is that there's not enough pictures! Fantastic all round.

I'd love some close-ups of the flying buttresses in particular, as well as the domed roofs.

Thank you so much! I might put up some more pictures in a few days!
 

12 hours ago, zoth33 said:

Fantastic build!  I like the dark blue roofs and the rockwork looks great.  The vegetation gives just enough pop of color.  As said above I do wish there were more pics to fully see everything and appreciate the build more.  

Thank you! I'm quite happy with the contrast between the green and the grey! I'll try to upload more pics soon!
 

6 hours ago, The Stad said:

Outstanding! Now the real question: is that your Great Hall build nestled in there at the top, and are there any other interiors hidden away on the back?

You have a sharp eye, my friend! The whole thing has an interior, but I'm still in doubt if I'll share it all already, or if I should wait to use it piece by piece whenever I might use it for the story!

[Garmadon]

It's so big!  Really imposing while still fitting on a relatively medium size base, love those flying butresses and the tree in the center!

[T-86(swebrickLUG)]

Big BUT still filled with sweet details. Kudos on a job well done! Appears photo is from an exhibition, I hope it was well received!

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

On 5/5/2026 at 12:59 PM, Yoggington said:

My only complaint is that there's not enough pictures!

I share the opinion, this castle is fabulous  but being able to observe it in its entirety from afar doesn't do enough justice to the magnificent work that it's!

[Velnerius]

13 hours ago, Garmadon said:

It's so big!  Really imposing while still fitting on a relatively medium size base, love those flying butresses and the tree in the center!

Thank you! I was quite proud of how both the butresses and the tree came out!

13 hours ago, T-86(swebrickLUG) said:

Big BUT still filled with sweet details. Kudos on a job well done! Appears photo is from an exhibition, I hope it was well received!

Thank you so much! It was really amazing to get all the positive reactions; it was my first exhibition of this kind!

11 hours ago, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

I share the opinion, this castle is fabulous  but being able to observe it in its entirety from afar doesn't do enough justice to the magnificent work that it's!

Thank you! I will upload some more photos soon!

[GeoBrick]

Very grand & imposing. A tribute to RL medieval  construction techniques. Its inhabitants surely need a good physique to deal with the steepness of their home.

I'm impressed with the landscaping and rockwork too. A good balance of colors, and shading of the cliffs with the inclusion of old dark gray.

Did you start with a plate layer of light bluish gray on the foot of the cliffs? Or is it the reflection of the trans-blue tiles on the water that gives this 'softer' effect on the waterline? And the bows of the flying buttresses, did you insert it at an angle to the 'chapel' walls and supports?

[mokka]

That is sooo beautiful !

The apse of the chapel and the towers with their domed roofs are magnificent.
I really like the seamless transition between the rocks and the castle walls.

The architecture reminds me of the Red Keep from the Game of Thrones series.
Except for the grey colour, of course (-:

Edited May 8 by mokka

[shroffy12345]

Stunning! 

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

On 5/7/2026 at 9:36 AM, Velnerius said:

Thank you! I will upload some more photos soon!

This seems promising! 

[Velnerius]

16 hours ago, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

This seems promising! 

On 5/5/2026 at 8:22 PM, zoth33 said:

Fantastic build!  I like the dark blue roofs and the rockwork looks great.  The vegetation gives just enough pop of color.  As said above I do wish there were more pics to fully see everything and appreciate the build more.  

On 5/5/2026 at 12:59 PM, Yoggington said:

My only complaint is that there's not enough pictures! Fantastic all round.

I'd love some close-ups of the flying buttresses in particular, as well as the domed roofs.

For now, not many other photos yet, but at least I've got a decent one of the interior on the other side!

 

On 5/7/2026 at 12:48 PM, GeoBrick said:

Very grand & imposing. A tribute to RL medieval  construction techniques. Its inhabitants surely need a good physique to deal with the steepness of their home.

I'm impressed with the landscaping and rockwork too. A good balance of colors, and shading of the cliffs with the inclusion of old dark gray.

Did you start with a plate layer of light bluish gray on the foot of the cliffs? Or is it the reflection of the trans-blue tiles on the water that gives this 'softer' effect on the waterline? And the bows of the flying buttresses, did you insert it at an angle to the 'chapel' walls and supports?

Thank you so much! And you're right, the inhabitants of Rocca Velneria definitely get their workout!

As for the 'softer effect' you mentioned, I actually only noticed it now myself! It must simply be the reflection from the trans-blue tiles. The bows of the flying buttresses are indeed inserted at an angle. I'll include a close-up picture once I get around to taking some more close-up pics!

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

It was worth persevering, the interiors are unimaginable...

The armory is definitely my favorite room, followed by the dining room (the minstrel is the icing on the cake)

The staircases and dungeons are impressive too!

[Hemar Seldim]

This is simply stunning, I love all the angles and levels you have going on!

I must ask, how long did this take you to build?

[Seagull King of Vaughan]

A most impressive build indeed! Lovely to see more of this great castle after the Book IV Prelude Challenge. I hope it will appear in more tales.

[Pirate_King_1982]

This is a truely beautiful MOC. I would love to build a castle as nice as this one day. Kudos on a job well done.

[Grover]

I am a little annoyed. I had a very nice reply typed up a couple of weeks ago, then the internet went down here and I lost it after a computer restart.  I have been busy in the meantime, but let's try again!

This is an awesome castle. It reminds me of combination of the Mountain Fortress (910029) and the Lion Knight's Castle.  You do an outstanding job here of providing a lot of detail in a limited footprint by building up, but also incorporating the cliffside into the castle.  I also like the amount of detail you have on the walls. They are not bland or boring, but they are also not overly busy.  Your use of your previous great hall build in this castle at the top is fantastic!  I love the spiral staircase and the fact it is open and playable from the back. That level of detail is superb. It's too large to be a viable set for Lego to sell, but it certainly otherwise could be in terms of detail, connections, and scale.  The arch over the entryway is fantastic, and I love how the stairs to the gate is not only bare (to eliminate cover from enemies) but also turns 90 degrees, which is very realistic. Many of the old castles had barbicans that did the same thing to avoid a straight charge to batter down a door. Moving siege equipment on a corner like that would be very difficult.  Retaining some of these defensive features are fantastic.  The overall shape of the build, with the highest point at one end, causes the eye to descend to the other small tower roof on the opposite side, scanning over the whole build with those awesome flying buttresses, then back down to the left again with the next lower roofline and finally to the gate and back down the stairs. You naturally move the eye across the whole piece. Very well done.  The vines also break up some of the monotony of the grey without being overdone.  This whole thing is really awesome. Thank you for sharing, and keep up the good work!  Also, don't forget to put it in HSS if you're building Rocca Velneria!

[Velnerius]

On 5/11/2026 at 7:19 PM, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

It was worth persevering, the interiors are unimaginable...

The armory is definitely my favorite room, followed by the dining room (the minstrel is the icing on the cake)

The staircases and dungeons are impressive too!

Thank you very much! I think the armory is my favorite as well, and it was actually the first room of the whole castle that I built! I think close-ups of the various rooms might feature in future challenges here :)

On 5/12/2026 at 9:20 AM, Hemar Seldim said:

This is simply stunning, I love all the angles and levels you have going on!

I must ask, how long did this take you to build?

Thank you! The whole thing took me almost 2 years to build. I'm a slow builder, breaking down and rebuilding things often, and have little free time...

On 5/15/2026 at 5:25 AM, Seagull King of Vaughan said:

A most impressive build indeed! Lovely to see more of this great castle after the Book IV Prelude Challenge. I hope it will appear in more tales.

Thank you so much! I'm sure it will reappear often, as I have plans for Federico!

On 5/18/2026 at 1:31 PM, Pirate_King_1982 said:

This is a truely beautiful MOC. I would love to build a castle as nice as this one day. Kudos on a job well done.

Thank you!

4 hours ago, Grover said:

I am a little annoyed. I had a very nice reply typed up a couple of weeks ago, then the internet went down here and I lost it after a computer restart.  I have been busy in the meantime, but let's try again!

This is an awesome castle. It reminds me of combination of the Mountain Fortress (910029) and the Lion Knight's Castle.  You do an outstanding job here of providing a lot of detail in a limited footprint by building up, but also incorporating the cliffside into the castle.  I also like the amount of detail you have on the walls. They are not bland or boring, but they are also not overly busy.  Your use of your previous great hall build in this castle at the top is fantastic!  I love the spiral staircase and the fact it is open and playable from the back. That level of detail is superb. It's too large to be a viable set for Lego to sell, but it certainly otherwise could be in terms of detail, connections, and scale.  The arch over the entryway is fantastic, and I love how the stairs to the gate is not only bare (to eliminate cover from enemies) but also turns 90 degrees, which is very realistic. Many of the old castles had barbicans that did the same thing to avoid a straight charge to batter down a door. Moving siege equipment on a corner like that would be very difficult.  Retaining some of these defensive features are fantastic.  The overall shape of the build, with the highest point at one end, causes the eye to descend to the other small tower roof on the opposite side, scanning over the whole build with those awesome flying buttresses, then back down to the left again with the next lower roofline and finally to the gate and back down the stairs. You naturally move the eye across the whole piece. Very well done.  The vines also break up some of the monotony of the grey without being overdone.  This whole thing is really awesome. Thank you for sharing, and keep up the good work!  Also, don't forget to put it in HSS if you're building Rocca Velneria!

Hi Grover, I really appreciate your reply (in fact, I was looking forward to getting it!). It makes me very happy to read your comments, and I will definitely be adding Rocca Velneria to HSS. I'll also add ' ree build' to the title and add it there!