blueandwhite Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 I'm sad to say that it's been almost six years since I posted my last major MOC, Brickmoor on the Eurobricks forums. With that out of the way, I present to you my latest (and often delayed) MOC; Maccusswell (pronounced Maxwell) Castle. Maccusswell Castle is loosely based on Caerlaverock Castle in Scotland which was owned and lived in by the Maxwell family until Protestant factions destroyed her in 1640. She remains one of the most beautiful castle ruins in the world. My castle borrows her fascinating triangular exterior however the interior rooms do not correspond to the original floor plan. Maccusswell Castle is my largest MOC to date resting on a base that is 160x192 studs in dimension. The castle breaks into 7 modules (exluding landscape) allowing full access to the interior. There are over 20 interior rooms complete with their own furnishings. At times the build was frustrating but I am pleased with the results. More photos may be found on my Brickshelf (when moderated) or Flickr accounts. Quote
Follows Closely Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 Nice. It is not easy to build an impressive castle that has an interior, well done. Quote
blueandwhite Posted August 4, 2011 Author Posted August 4, 2011 Did I see this at Brickfete? I think so. It was on the second floor next to Si-MOCs. Quote
Toadtorrent Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 This is awesome...saw it at Brickfete...fantastic. It's HUGE!! Great job, vision, dedication and transportation skills to bring it to AH! Quote
HumanPackMule Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 Very cool. I like the scene where the dead guy is being fished up. Quote
LuxorV Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 Indeed this is a major MOC, as you call it. I love all the details you put in it; it really shows the care you invested in this project I cannot comment on all the interiors you made, but the jesters' scene is just great! Would it be possible to see a bird-eye of the whole complex (I checked Flickr but could not find one), or would it be too tricky, given its size? Quote
turambar Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 This is a MOC that I always like to see, so many details, fisherman, spider on the string, Jesters, ... you must be proud on this one. Quote
maydayartist Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 Wow. Perfect build! The first thing come to my mind was, hey that can be the original version of caerlaverock castle without reading your description. And yes it is. A friend and I have visited the ruin september 2010 and this is really a beauty. Your rebuild is awesome. The drawings of the castle from 1635 are very similar to this. I have taken a lot of photos of the castle and three of them show the old and the real situation. I hope the pictures can help show your heavy work on this. Quote
blueandwhite Posted August 4, 2011 Author Posted August 4, 2011 Wow. Perfect build! The first thing come to my mind was, hey that can be the original version of caerlaverock castle without reading your description. And yes it is. A friend and I have visited the ruin september 2010 and this is really a beauty. Your rebuild is awesome. The drawings of the castle from 1635 are very similar to this. I have taken a lot of photos of the castle and three of them show the old and the real situation. I hope the pictures can help show your heavy work on this. Strangely enough, I was there in August 2010 and I took some photos of the same sign. It's one of the most picturesque ruins I've had the opportunity to visit. Unlike many larger sites with ruins, there aren't too many tourists poking around disturbing the scenery. Quote
Big Cam Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 I'm at a loss. I've seen some amazing MOC's over my 2 years here, but this may be one of the grandest and most impressive. I am just stunned at how many rooms there are and that you have a fun little scene for each one that could easily pass as it's own MOC. I'll be honest, the outside is impressive, but after see all the inside detail, it just makes me wonder, how the hell did he do that? I'd love to see this in person so I can look further into each room and see it all. My favorite part although many, are the interesting ways you use LEGO to portray water, there were 3 that I really liked, and 2 that I had never seen before. This is one of my favorite MOC's to date, and I'm not just saying that. You must be really proud of this! Quote
Capn Frank Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 Ok Mr. B&W, First of all great MOC. This thing is just plain AWESOME! My only comment is for you to have way more than three pictures in your first post. I think there is just too much detail and awesomeness in this MOC to only have three pictures. Quote
Brickdoctor Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 Excellent work, blueandwhite. The overall shape is well done, especially recreating the triangular portions of the castle. Modularity is always a nice touch, and there's the interior, which just has too many lovely details to list. Plus the whole thing sits on an outstanding bit of landscape. Quote
TheLegoDr Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 This castle is ridiculous! I love it. Great interiors, which are always needed. And great detailing in general. I really like the overall shape of the building, plus the building techniques used since I am new to this MOCing concept. Keep up the good work! Quote
blueandwhite Posted August 5, 2011 Author Posted August 5, 2011 This is one of my favorite MOC's to date, and I'm not just saying that. You must be really proud of this! Thanks for the compliments! Needless to say, I won't be dismantling her anytime soon. The goal is to eventually build a village, a tournament and a large church to round out the scene. Ok Mr. B&W, First of all great MOC. This thing is just plain AWESOME! My only comment is for you to have way more than three pictures in your first post. I think there is just too much detail and awesomeness in this MOC to only have three pictures. Fortunately for you, I have actually included 4 photos, not three in the opening post . In all seriousness, I had hoped that the Brickshelf gallery would have been moderated a tad more quickly. I'm sure that any interested AFOLs will take the time to click the links. Excellent work, blueandwhite. The overall shape is well done, especially recreating the triangular portions of the castle. Modularity is always a nice touch, and there's the interior, which just has too many lovely details to list. Plus the whole thing sits on an outstanding bit of landscape. Modularity has been a major goal of mine ever since I built my first castle. With Maccusswell Castle I essentially achieved most of the things I wanted to do with Brickmoor. I'm actually looking forward to working on some different projects including a postmill and a church (medieval of course). I'll probably add some small touches to Maccusswell as I work on other parts of the display. This castle is ridiculous! I love it. Great interiors, which are always needed. And great detailing in general. I really like the overall shape of the building, plus the building techniques used since I am new to this MOCing concept. Keep up the good work! In fairness, the shape is not my own as it was inspired by the actual Caerlaverock castle in Scotland. Dr. Carney also did a beautiful rendition of this castle over a decade ago which to this day remains one of my favourite MOCs. Thank you again for the compliments. This castle took a lot of time to complete so they are greatly appreciated. Quote
Ecclesiastes Posted August 6, 2011 Posted August 6, 2011 As a big castle fan this is gonna be one of my favorites! Quote
Gabe Posted August 7, 2011 Posted August 7, 2011 Wow, what an amazing creation... so much to look at! I love the interesting shapes you have achieved, and of course the modularity is brilliant. As a fan of the whimsical, i particularly enjoyed yr hall of fools. Some of yr water effects really stood out for me as well, especially the wizards hat and the flag. Quote
I Scream Clone Posted August 8, 2011 Posted August 8, 2011 Wow, what an amazing build. I love the curved nature of the walls and of course the great hall looks befitting of a large celebration for the king nightly! Well done on the mottling on the walls and the scenery looks lovely. Quote
The Undo Posted August 8, 2011 Posted August 8, 2011 A marvelous build. All of the architectural details are beautiful, both on the outside, as well on the inside. So much going on in the castle is very cool. And a great job on the landscaping. Quote
blueandwhite Posted August 9, 2011 Author Posted August 9, 2011 Wow, what an amazing creation... so much to look at! I love the interesting shapes you have achieved, and of course the modularity is brilliant. As a fan of the whimsical, i particularly enjoyed yr hall of fools. Some of yr water effects really stood out for me as well, especially the wizards hat and the flag. This room was something of an accident. I ended up with a lot more interior space than I initially expected allowing me to make a second great hall. When I was first designing the room, the floor was studless and the ceiling and walls were as they are now (covered in studs) so I started sticking random jesters on the wall. I liked how they filled out the space so I decided that having a bunch of gravity-defying jesters was a way to make this smaller hall stand out from the larger hall that now rests at the back of the castle. Wow, what an amazing build. I love the curved nature of the walls and of course the great hall looks befitting of a large celebration for the king nightly! Well done on the mottling on the walls and the scenery looks lovely. Maccusswell was built with this room in mind. I was largely inspired by some of the great interiors I'd seen done by other castle builders like Jojo and . Interior spaces seem to be something that a lot of Castle builders ignore, however they can look quite impressive when given a bit of effort. Maccusswell was designed to open up around the great hall which actually splits into four parts. A marvelous build. All of the architectural details are beautiful, both on the outside, as well on the inside. So much going on in the castle is very cool. And a great job on the landscaping. Thanks. Landscaping has always been a nightmare for me. I find that I run out of bricks very quickly when I'm landscaping. You may notice the rock patches near the moat. These were simply the result of running out of green bricks and plates. I'm going to need to build up my collection a bit before moving on to future MOCs. Quote
Si-MOCs Posted August 9, 2011 Posted August 9, 2011 Absolute beauty! I had the pleasure/honor of guarding the castle (so to speak) at brickfete. I only wished I knew more about it (you couldn't provide that little blurb to me ?) so that I could tell everyone exactly what the castle was - it wasn't later after public day did I learn more of the details. I can certainly say that this was (along with the landscape scenes) where a lot of people (more so adults) stood and just marveled at the size and detail of it all, especially when you started actually removing the panels to show all the inside. The sheer brilliance of the modularity is stunning to see. I just want to grab some pop corn and watch as you put it all together - it's a bit like watching ballet - except not boring. [it was also one of my top 2 favorite things at brickfete, shhhh don't tell the spacers] Quote
LegoLink Posted August 9, 2011 Posted August 9, 2011 Spectacular job! I'm loving the physics defying jesters. The interiors are stunning as well. My only question is are the what appears to be sand green and red 1 x 2's actually LEGO? Just wondering, might just be the lighting Quote
teabox Posted August 9, 2011 Posted August 9, 2011 Great castle. Awesome in size and number of cool scenes. Also it's nice to see a castle that isn't rectangular Quote
de Gothia Posted August 9, 2011 Posted August 9, 2011 I great build indeed! I like the tudor houses. Gives the castle a cosy, medieval touch! de Gothia Quote
blueandwhite Posted August 9, 2011 Author Posted August 9, 2011 Absolute beauty! I can certainly say that this was (along with the landscape scenes) where a lot of people (more so adults) stood and just marveled at the size and detail of it all, especially when you started actually removing the panels to show all the inside. [it was also one of my top 2 favorite things at brickfete, shhhh don't tell the spacers] Oops . Yeah, I guess it would have been a bit easier to explain the details if I had provided them to you first. Also, you've got to give Space its due; that display was really something else. Spectacular job! I'm loving the physics defying jesters. The interiors are stunning as well. My only question is are the what appears to be sand green and red 1 x 2's actually LEGO? Just wondering, might just be the lighting Actually, sand green is still available. Sand green 1x2 bricks aren't terribly hard to come by but they aren't common. Sand red was discontinued a number of years back so sand red 1x2 bricks are very pricey. I purchased a number of service packs with the sand red bricks in 2001 at $6.00 per 100 1x2 bricks. Today on Bricklink, a single sand red 1x2 brick will usually set you back about a dollar. I have 500 of them so at today's prices I wouldn't have used them. Great castle. Awesome in size and number of cool scenes. Also it's nice to see a castle that isn't rectangular This is one of the things about Caerlaverock castle that appeals to me. When I was planning my castle I had also considered modeling it after Bodiam Castle in England, but that castle is rectangular and IMO, not nearly as interesting. I great build indeed! I like the tudor houses. Gives the castle a cosy, medieval touch! I also like the feel of the tudor sructures. I actually borrowed this from my previous castle Brickmoor as it was one of that castle's stronger features. I felt that the tudor buildings added a bit of variety to a structure that was otherwise predominantly grey. I toyed with using tan or yellow for the tudoring, but I found that it was too distracting so I went with white and black which are relatively neutral. Thanks again for the comments. They've been really positive and greatly appreciated. Quote
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