WIP: Medieval city gate

[Mr_Burp]

Hi everybody,

this is my first post here, after lurking around here for some time now. I've grown up building stuff with my (for a kid) pretty big collection. But ever since I've past the age of 12, I spent more time with girls, computer games, drinking, basicly, not Lego. Nevertheless, I've never ever wanted to sell a single brick what so ever, and lately, I'm glad I didn't.

I've always been interested most in Castle, and I feel some of the prettiest creations are made in medieval style. I've been impressed by Castles, Cathedrals, small villages and what not, but for my first "real" creation, I'm gonna keep it somewhat more simple. Yet I'm gonna build something I've always wanted to build, and something that let's me experiment with building styles I've never tried before, but defenitely will be using in the future, when my financial state and building skills allows me to be more ambitious and go for big Castles; a Medieval city gate.

(Sorry for the not so good quality of the photo's, my sellphone sucks)

This is where the whole thing started. I tried some round building techniques and ended with a towertop. Added some minifigures for some fun.

I wanted to see if I was able to make a acceptable entrance. Was pretty happy with the result.

Towertop next to the gate, basicly gave me an idea what the whole thing would look like. At this point things started to get a little bit complicated. Here I've wanted to connect the tower to the gate, and have an idea how I would integrate the city wall into the tower.

And this is the result. Note that the grey bricks for the door and gate will be replaced with appropriate brown ones. This is temporary. The structure on the left is all improvised work, to see how connections would end up, how many bricks are needed,... The wall on the right is the start of a planned, structured other side of the gate. At this point I've also descited I wanted to raise the height of the gate by 2 bricks, because a mounted horse couldn't pass underneath.

This is were I'm at right now.

I know this is less pretty then were I was earlier. But this basicly is the foundation I'm gonna continue building on.

And a view of how things will look on the backside.

At this point, I've used most of my childhood grey bricks (unless I wanna tear apart intact models for let's say 10 bricks total), but my currect stucture does give me a pretty clear view of what I'm gonna have to order.

I'm planning of ordering some amount of dark grey bricks to make the grey walls less dull. Thinking like 2 or 3 dark grey bricks per row.

(I'm aware of "old" and "new" gray)

As for the rest of the scenery; I have like practicly no green bricks, they are not very common if you're using your childhood collection, so I'm leaving that for later. I haven't been brainless; The structure is 64x20 at this point so it will end up as either 64x48 or 64x64.

I'm open for comments, suggestions, tips, anything that could be helpfull.

PS: It might take a few weeks before I get the nessesairy bricks to continue building.

[Mutant Orc]

Nice! I really like that entrance, how you've inset the shields and also got the gradually shrinking arches...the effect looks great! It'll be interesting to see how this progresses over time.

[LegoPercyJ]

Looks great so far!

[Isundir]

Your pictures look fine to me, the Gate looks awesome, the sigils above the Gate are my favorite element too and don't worry about your resources from what I see in your last pic's you already have way more bricks then I do

[KristinnK]

I like the double towers flanking the main gate, very authentic.

[Bregir]

That's a great looking beginning for a gate - I shall be looking forward to following your progress! :)

And if you really want to build castle, consider joining Guilds of Historica- I promise it wont hurt (Unless of course you join Nocturnus... :P )

[knight_40k]

Looks fantastic so far, can't wait to see the finished product!

[Spud The Viking]

Cannot wait to see those towers complete. Only snag is that that gate is a little too narrow for a cart for my liking, only my opinion. Impressive build otherwise!

[TheLazyChicken]

Wow grey job so far! Interested to see how this goes!

[Mr_Burp]

Wow, thanks for all the great comments, I wasn't expecting that.

@ Spud The Viking: I'm aware of the small gate, in fact, I've already raised the level by 2 bricks (because a mounted horse / a cart couldn't pass underneath). But I'm talking about height. The width is narrow (8 bricks), but for all the real live examples I've observed (I'm from Belguim - Flanders, so I'm talking about the actual standing city gates I've observed with my own eyes; Mechelen, Brugge and Herentals), city gates were quite narrow. In fact, only one cart would have been able to pass at once. (Lego cart weels tend to go 6 wide in the premade wheels are used). I'm aiming for a somewhat autentic build, nothing overly big or "grand" like the gates of Mordor for example . In fact, when the two towers are complete it will be somewhat big and impressive already, although this can be considered an autentic aspect.

I've also got a new picture, although it isn't much:

On the right you see how the window is intended to be. I'm pretty sure I have like a dozen of black fences, but I only seem to be able fo find white and grey onces, spare for the one I've used on the right (the only colour I've sorted out so far is grey). I'm not sure if I'm gonna use white transparant or yellow (as in the picture) for the windows, I'm gonna compare soon enough. Opinions here are welcome (and appriciated).

And last, but defenitely not least: I've ordered enough bricks that should allow me to build the entire structure as high as the city wall is intented to be. I've ordered enough grey bricks, and a small amount of dark grey (like 10% of the total amount) for some variation in the walls, and some brown tiles, enough to finish the gates and doors the way I intend them to end up looking. And ofcource, a black fence, so I can stop looking (I've literally spend hours of looking without result).

I'm hoping the bricks arrive soon, so I can continue building. I'm gonna keep you guys up to date.

[blackdeathgr]

Brick on friend! I am curiously looking at your pictures to "steal" some of your nice technics, as i'm at the exact position you are; just got out of the dark ages and started building with existent bricks from my childhood. Point is i have to order more of those bricks too, because they tend to dwindle in numbers way faster than i can build :P

Anyway, eagerly waiting for the final result!

[BrickOn]

I can't wait to see how this develops, I wish I had enough grey bricks to build something like this.

Brick On.

[TitusV]

Really cool gate, and the towers will be very nice when finished!

But for the shields above the e trance, i recommend reading this

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=81471

[Mr_Burp]

Really cool gate, and the towers will be very nice when finished!

But for the shields above the e trance, i recommend reading this

http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=81471

Thank you, that is a very interesting technique of which I had no idea it existed (or something similar). I'm not gonna integrate it in my current build though (at least not at the entrace) but I'm defenitely gonna remember this for future builds. I kind of like the current dimentions it has and it doesn't bother me that the shields somethat pop out, in fact I like that as well in the current build. Nevertheless, suggestion appreciated.

The bricks I've ordered are shipped, and I'm expecting them to arrive this week. I'm not expecting any major progress untill after 2 September, as I've got some exams I've got to prepare for.

Edited August 24, 2015 by Mr_Burp

[songwm]

Love your work in progress photos. Keep it up!

[Horsecreek]

It looks very promising.

I would recommend you to build the gate some bricks higher so a knigt can ride through the gate with his lance and banner.

Keep up the good work.

[pogie]

It looks very promising.

I would recommend you to build the gate some bricks higher so a knigt can ride through the gate with his lance and banner.

Keep up the good work.

Yeah, nice work but too short.

[Mr_Burp]

Hooray! New bricks have arrived yesterday!

So, because I'm in the exam period I'm only able to build in the evening (gotta reward myself somehow after a hard day of work)

So I've changed the stone(?) doors into wooden ones, on both the gate and behind. Some teaser photos:

I'm gonna go more in depth tonight on some of your suggestions, have some more pictures, because I'm actually a bit further in building already that the photos suggest, as well as show you guys some of my source material. And I have some questions. As for now, I'm gonna start and study first

Edited August 26, 2015 by Mr_Burp

[Covenant84]

This looks fantastic so far! Really has the feel of a medieval gate :) Keep it up!

[Mr_Burp]

Hi guys,

so, as promised, I'm back with a bigger post this time. For starters, I'm gonna post the newest updates, because I'm expecting some of you guys not to read but simply look at the pictures.

The towers, under developement. Somewhat past half where I'm hoping to get at this photo.

Towers and city walls are at the height I estimated to get with the bricks I've ordered. As you can see, and which has been mentioned by myself as well as others; A horse, mounted and completed with heraldery like flags (or a lance) can't pass underneath the gate. Later more about this (and the size / scale in general).

Picture "standing from within the city". The guard is basicly to give an idea of how high the wall is (from the outer city side).

And here we have the next source of troubles. The tower itself reaches 3/4th above the door (the 2 stud brick should be at the right side above the door). I wanna integrate a door into the tower, so you have an acces point to the wall. Yet I wanna keep the round structure and complete 3/4th when I reach a height higher then the door. Any suggestions here?

Now that you guys have seen my progress, there are a few suggestions and comments (well, one at this point) I would like to adress. I know the gate isn't big enough for a mounted knight WITH heraldery, without (basicly, if not passing the helmets height), a mounted knight can pass underneath. If the scale 1/48 is applied, the gate is about 3,7m high. As for the wall, it should be about 4,5m. for the gate itself, it might be true that this is actually to low. But as I've mentionned in my first post, this is my first build that is this serious. I'm trying techniques and scales, mostly for upcomming builds. This build will, in the end, include techniques and mistakes I'm not intending to make again. The gate height being one of those. But at this point, it requires to much effort to adept the build. It's not a matter of adding bricks on the bottom, it's more a case of door height, build in bricks for turning parts,...

Another thing I've promised was some of my source material. My main source of inspiration is the "Brusselpoort" (freely translated: Brussels Gate) in the city of Mechelen. It's the only still standing city gate of the city. Some recent pictures:

And a historical painting

You can clearly see how the Brusselpoort has influenced the gate I'm building. Note that I'm not planning to try and build the Brusselpoort, it's just my main source of inspiration.

And last but not least, I've got a few question about Guilds of Historica. I would PM some people I'm sure that could answer my questions, but I can't PM yet (figure it's due to the low post count I have);

- In order to join a Guild (let's say Avalonia, since I like that one the most), all I have to so is make a sigfig and introduce myself? And I can introduce myself the way I like? I mean; I can make myself Earl of my own county without having achieved anything notable in the past?

Thanks! C&C always appreciated!

[Bregir]

I have been following this since posted, and now I simply have to join in and say this is looking very promising - I can't wait to see more!

The overall composition and scale of the build is great, and I follow your thoughts on the small gate - afterall, the gate is the weak spot for any fortification, so a smaller gate is a better gate, I suppose!

Are you going to add a sloped roof, or more traditional flat battlements on top? Without knowing it, my guess is the Brusselpoort originally didn't have the ornate roofs of today, but it sure looks cool.

Hi guys,

***SNIP***

And last but not least, I've got a few question about Guilds of Historica. I would PM some people I'm sure that could answer my questions, but I can't PM yet (figure it's due to the low post count I have);

- In order to join a Guild (let's say Avalonia, since I like that one the most), all I have to so is make a sigfig and introduce myself? And I can introduce myself the way I like? I mean; I can make myself Earl of my own county without having achieved anything notable in the past?

Thanks! C&C always appreciated!

About joining Avalonia, that is spot on. For Avalonia, you (typically) claim a suitable piece of land and proclaim yourself the lord (earl/mayor/duke/prince/whatever) of that county. And THEN you start achieving notable deeds

I will send you a PM for any further questions - maybe you can reply when I initiate it?

EDIT: I can't send you a PM just yet. But start commenting on other builds, and you will soon be able to PM ;)

Edited August 26, 2015 by Bregir

[Mr_Burp]

I have been following this since posted, and now I simply have to join in and say this is looking very promising - I can't wait to see more!

The overall composition and scale of the build is great, and I follow your thoughts on the small gate - afterall, the gate is the weak spot for any fortification, so a smaller gate is a better gate, I suppose!

Are you going to add a sloped roof, or more traditional flat battlements on top? Without knowing it, my guess is the Brusselpoort originally didn't have the ornate roofs of today, but it sure looks cool.

Thank you, compliments are always appreciated

Your guess is spot on. In the original structure, the towers of the Brusselpoort, as well as the rooms above the gate, were higher. They did have a similar rooftop though. Somewhere in the 17th century (I think 1615, but might be wrong here), the towers were lowered, mostly due to the more advanced siege equipment, which made high towers more fragile. The painting is made early 19th century, and most of the walls and gates were deconstructed half 19th century if I'm correct. The artist made such paintings of every city gate in fact (for those interested: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sremos/2639188682)

As for my own intentions with the towertop, I was thinking to go for traditional battlements. Although I'm tempted to try and go for the pointy towertops like those on the Brusselpoort, It seems really hard to achieve, were traditional battlements will be somewhat easy.

About joining Avalonia, that is spot on. For Avalonia, you (typically) claim a suitable piece of land and proclaim yourself the lord (earl/mayor/duke/prince/whatever) of that county. And THEN you start achieving notable deeds

I will send you a PM for any further questions - maybe you can reply when I initiate it?

EDIT: I can't send you a PM just yet. But start commenting on other builds, and you will soon be able to PM ;)

No worries, so far I have literally zero sandgreen parts, and no heraldery what so ever that leans towards Avalonia (here I stand disappointed with my awesome childhood collection of Royal Knights, having all those sets, and the Royal Knight’s Castle even twice ). So it won't be a thing for tomorrow, as minifigures can be somewhat expensive, and I really want to finish this build before starting to think about what's next. You will probably see me there introducing myself within the next couple of months. Thanks for answering this question, as there is so much information about Guilds of Historica, it can be really overwhelming at first.