Building elf structures

[deskp]

Ive been trying to build some relven structures recently and I've notice other people around the forum doing the same.

I thought it might be usefull/interesting to have a topic where people could share ideas and pictures.

I like building somewhat lego set-like.

Lothlorien structure, I find building tree trunks a bit tricky so for now imagine theres more to the tree for now.

Rivendell building.

Edited December 30, 2012 by deskp

[rpmac91]

Wow, your Lothlorien tree looks so much better than mine.

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=5717931

If you come up with a good way to build a tree trunk, do share, because I can't seem to get the detail I want.

[deskp]

Wow, your Lothlorien tree looks so much better than mine.

http://www.brickshel...y.cgi?i=5717931

If you come up with a good way to build a tree trunk, do share, because I can't seem to get the detail I want.

The image is not yet public, could you post a direct link to the image file itself?

[rpmac91]

That should work I think. I hope it's not too big.

[Fives]

The Mallorn trees of Lorien should be white or grey with yellow leaves.

[rpmac91]

Now that I see them again, I agree. I think that the brick yellow (tan on BL) color works best for the trees. If they were white, there would be no distinction between the tree and the building, and if the were LBG, I think they would look too much like rocks (at least at the roots.) I will post an updated color scheme once I have it done.

[Mahtion]

Wow looks like I've awakened a new desire for Elven MOCs! Great to see some enthusiasm and would love to see a lot more. Deskp your Lothlorien looks great, love the colors which capture the blue tones of Lothlorien in the twilight. The hanging lanterns are a great touch and the mirror and the gateway add some detail. What color did you use for the Mallorn trees?

Also your Rivendell is coming together, the more modular Lego builds the more we can keep expanding until we have scenes which meet our expectations from the movies. I have a feeling once Rivendell gets released some of us will definitely tackle the monumental task of recreating a great representation of the hidden valley.

Rpmac1, the design looks very close to the miniatures used in the actual Fellowship movie but the colors need some work. Also some hanging lanterns would look great. Your concept looks like a huge build. I'm starting to prefer mimicking Lego's use of using the least amount of pieces to capture the scene. It's a minimalist approach but it's growing on me. I would still love to see more of your renders. I may have to play with LDD again soon as well.

[deskp]

Some updates, the crown of the tree should obviously improve, and the build on the rest of it certainly isn't optimal. I'm keeping the colors for now, easier to work with.

@Mahition: The tree color I used is medium nougat.

Edited December 31, 2012 by deskp

[Mr_Malfoy]

Great Rivendell and Lothlorien MOCs here!

I think I'll try adding onto the Council of Elrond set once it's released.

[Fantu]

Great builds going on here. I still trying to figure out how to build an Elven city but I had not much sucess. The only Elven structure that I have and I love is a slightly modification of the 7573 Battle of Alamut.

[deskp]

Made the tree a little smoother, and tried some color variation. As is right now it's 308 pieces (including figs). The leaves/flowers on the ground I added after I saw rpmac91's build.

Edited December 31, 2012 by deskp

[Jargo]

I think tan tree with a mixture of green, yellow and orange foliage would be most accurate. Given the colour limitations. The olive green looks a little drab so I'd use green. Regular green not bright green. In the movie it's autumnal colours. The falling of leaves symbolic of the Elves dwindling time among men. So while there are lots of green leaves there's also the warmer colours. With the colour in the foliage it wouldn't matter so much about the bleached out look of the tree itself.

[rpmac91]

Update: I made it a bit smaller with only 2 trees. Base is pretty much the same (only I got rid of some stuff). The trees I completely rebuilt, and stairs will be much more stable i think.

Still don't have lanterns, I'm not exactly sure where to put them. Right now it's at 1191 bricks. Thoughts?

[Mahtion]

Looks much better and more accurate. Great job and I hope you or somebody else makes a MOC out of this concept rendering.

[rpmac91]

I plan on bricklinking the pieces, and then building it. (Although some of the colors for the leaves don't exist, so I'll have to paint them or something.

[Mahtion]

Don't forget the lanterns and it will be perfect. How many pieces are needed?

I think you have too many pillars, the flets shouldn't resemble a birdcage. The pillars on the stairs are good but need some arches like in the film. Try to incorporate the technique used by deskp, hanging pillars and more open.

For reference:

http://jmibullfrog.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/lothlorien1.jpg

http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/9500000/Lothl-rien-lothlorien-9548731-1143-518.jpg

http://www.blackbirdmedia.org/miniatures/images/terrain/lothlorien/1_full.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~cindysnow69/Lorien_1_by_SnowLass63.jpg

Edited January 2, 2013 by Mahtion

[deskp]

Much improved! I would suggest you increase the size of the top of the tree.

[dpb1298]

Great Rivendale building. You should make more, or start on an Mirkwood or Grey Havens Structure.

[rpmac91]

Changed the roofs a bit (more like deskp's) and thinned out the pillars. The lanterns might be a little bit difficult to see, They are a clear blue and are on the pillars going up, and there are a few hanging from the leaves near the main building. Also added a couple branches on the big tree.

[LEGO Family]

Ahhhhh ..... This is wonderful.. Now i know what my next project will be. Definately some elven builds. Just as soon as we have finished our Classic Space diorama ... These posts has given me some great ideas, and i bet watching The Hobbit tomorrow will add to those. I will post in here whenever i get to scale something out. This will be my first time building middle age. Gonna be fun. Thanks for the inspiration so far :)

Edited January 3, 2013 by LEGO Family

[Mahtion]

Getting there rpmac91! The clear round bricks look good as lanterns.

I have some ideas for more elven structures.

Vehicle mudguards look good to add some depth and elvish lines to the facade of a building or a window.

http://www.bricklink.com/search.asp?colorID=1&itemID=51818

Or these with flared wings:

http://www.bricklink.com/search.asp?colorID=2&itemID=8783

[dpb1298]

Any updates

[deskp]

Any updates

Nothing new and fancy, but I changed all the color to colors that accually excist in real lego bricks.

Edited January 7, 2013 by deskp

[LEGO Family]

Nothing new and fancy, but I changed all the color to colors that accually excist in real lego bricks.

Ive almost finished the base of how we are gonna make the tree. But still not to the extend where im gonna publish first WIP ... And we havent even gotten to a final layout of how the elfen buildings should look like though we have been putting loads of small LEGO together to figure out texture. Right after our next Classic Space installment, this will be first priority .... Right now we are just thinking of it inbetween making table scraps :P

[fred67]

This is an awesome thread; very inspirational.

I was going to ask about legitimate colors until I got near the end... what is the availability of different leaf colors like? Looks like Dark Red and White are the only non-green colors, and they are really rare and expensive on Bricklink (by comparison). I know autumn colors were a suggestion on Cuusoo (which I supported), but things like that - new bricks and different colors - don't seem to get a lot of support.

I've also got a whole k-box of 1x2 brown palisade bricks I was hoping to use for trees.... any thoughts?

Edited January 7, 2013 by fred67