MOC: Dragon Lands Border Tower

[Peppermint_M]

Both tower and gateway are the main line of defence for Ddraigdirio from the Lion Kingdom. The solid tower is built from local rock and good strong hardwood arches over the gateway. Troll hewn blocks make for a strong wall.

In these times of peace, the gateway remains open with the guards simply keeping an eye on those crossing the border on their way to the city or nearer villages and hamlets.

Here we see Sir Gwynfor escorting Lord Vye the Dragon and Balder the Fourth Bat Lord from the neutral port town of Finch. Lord Vye has returned from his father’s funeral and the Coronation of his elder brother. He is eager to see his family in Casddraig, the capital city. Lord Balder returns from a visit to King Lucan in Regis, he brings good tidings and letters to King Lucan’s sister the Queen Lucretia.

Well, I tried again, this one is much better I think Although my parts selection somewhat necessitated the smaller tower I was quite lucky to find the iron gates fitted the gap in the gateway.

I listened to everyones tips!

[Skipper]

It's much better! I like the snot battlements as well as the tower, although I'm not sure how if I like the lower black part of it. It looks very dragon knight-ish now, and the backstory is interesting as well.

[Hoboman]

Oh Peppermint_M, I like this one much better. Very creative use of the brown combined with the grey. Nice job.

[lightningtiger]

Excellent 'Peppermint', it has that feel of the Roman wooden fortress meeting Norman stone castle towers.

Okay, I watch too much Time Team ! (oh, I better watch this mornings program again )

Though I will say one thing missing and it's not just yours but many other's such creations - trenches around forts and alike....you gotta stop your enemy somehow right ?

Brick On 'Peppermint' !

[TheLegoDr]

I like the wooden archway. It looks more solid at this size. I also like the backstory. It adds some depth to the set.

[Captain Blackmoor]

I like it!

The masonry looks cool but it's the wooden part that stands out for me.

Nice job and keep 'em coming!

[Hinckley]

Pep, this is a definite improvement! Really great work. I'm glad you took another shot at it. I like the two different sections. The idea of a stone castle enhanced with wood sections is very cool. May I make some suggestions for improvement? OK, I will. I would make a third go at it and try to add appropriate details. Greeble the castle, if you will. When I first started building I used other LEGO creations for inspiration. If you find something you like, I think it's OK to use it as inspiration. Even if you copy a technique, you will need to alter it to fit your creation and your collection. Cite the source, of course, but copying and making alterations to another builder's technique will help you develop your own style. I stopped using other LEGO MOCs as inspiration after a while and started using drawings, artwork or pictures of real buildings as inspiration. That way you're coming up with solutions to the design, without knowledge of how another builder would solve it. That's the best way to develop your own style, in my opinion. If you end up using a technique that someone's used before, it's an inadvertent copy and you still came up with it on your own. So, my advice would be to search sites like Flickr or deviantart for castles that you like and try to build some of the details that would fit this castle. See if you like if you come up with and then share it with us. I'm so happy to see you re-visit the design. There's certainly improvement and I can't wait to see more from you.

[Peppermint_M]

Well, I have the plans for a larger wider fort/keep/gateway. Some wall, maybe terrain.

[Peppermint_M]

Bought a load of parts on bricklink today! When they come I shall start again with the buildings, see how I get along with what I bought. I made a sort of rough pick of lots of parts to play with and see what I can do (I just hope I bought enough!).