[MOC] Maz Kanata's Castle on Takodana

[dimnico]

Hi there guys, this is my first post and I am sharing with you my first ever MOC! I would love to know your thoughts as well as any tips, advice or guidelines to help me with future builds.

The courtyard is a two set build of the official 'Battle on Takodana' set and can actually slide out from the front as its own piece.

The forest to the side of the castle (representing where Kylo Ren confronts Rey for the first time) is also its own piece and can slide out if you want to use it as a separate element.

The main tower lifts off as does the entire roof section on the left hand side revealing more tables, patrons and the performance area for the band.

The turret on the right side is hinged and hidden inside is a bluetooth speaker that plays 'Jabba Flow' when its turned on.

I have included the room where Rey finds Luke's lightsaber. To access the room there is a vertical sliding door and the roof piece lifts off too.

To populate the Castle I have mixed and matched a few of my favourite characters from the Star Wars universe, some of which are not exactly movie accurate but fun anyway, such as Hera and Sabine from 'Rebels' recruiting new members to join their crew. Greedo in the back hoping to capture another bounty and lando enjoying a drink with Figrin D'an.

As for the new characters I have custom made the Crimson Corsair and GA97 (although thats really just 21B with a new paint job!)

Bazine Netal...

And Maz's band (including the fender guitar Sudswater Dillifay Glon is playing)

Finally I added some more plants and water as a bit of detailing.

Overall I have tried to include as many elements from the film as possible whilst keeping some fun elements within the MOC. I have also used a mix of bricks and colours as I was trying to give the impression that the castle is very old and has been patched up over hundreds of years...hope that comes across and it doesnt just look messy?!

Like I say this was my first ever MOC however now I have well and truly got the building bug it wont be the last! Hope you enjoy!

[Raskolnikov]

This is wonderful -- after I saw the rather disappointing size of the original set, I was hoping that someone might make something like this. I think you've captured all the recognizable features of the location really well!

Edit: Also, can you go into a little more detail on the bluetooth speaker? How's that work? Is it easy to turn on? It'd be nice if all you had to do was press a button and it'd play the song.

Edited August 1, 2016 by Raskolnikov

[dimnico]

Thanks for the feedback!

[TheBeeze]

This is great. If you're planning to keep it together, building the landscape around it would be phenomenal.

Great Job!

[dimnico]

As it's my first ever moc I don't think I can bear to take it down haha! Landscaping might have to be the option!

[Kim-Kwang-Seok]

Great moc! It's sized down, but still displays the most important factors for me. & I love the creativity of the "guests"

However, the build is way to beautiful for the "wood & trees" part. Though that is difficult to build , it would be epic with a proper landscape + a little glimpse of the lake.

Since I lack the colorful parts I always use blankets, paper etc. for a better background to support the main build.

[Joemmo]

Fantastic build, great work:)

It would be great if you could add this chap too..

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/HURID-327

[Bbafett]

Great job on this MOC. I loved the band and all the characters in there. Nice touch adding the room where Rey finds the lightsaber. Very well done!

[Gouniaf]

Wow, that is a great MOC ! I haven't seen any diorama of that scene before, that's original. It's also nice to stay close to the Lego design. I'm not a fan of the custom minfigures, but as there are not a lot og TFA minifigures yet, I can admit you used some.

[xboxtravis7992]

This is great! This is how I wish the real set was like!

[dimnico]

This is wonderful -- after I saw the rather disappointing size of the original set, I was hoping that someone might make something like this. I think you've captured all the recognizable features of the location really well!

Edit: Also, can you go into a little more detail on the bluetooth speaker? How's that work? Is it easy to turn on? It'd be nice if all you had to do was press a button and it'd play the song.

Hey there, the bluetooth speaker is just a portable speaker I got from amazon for about £10. It fits snugly into the turret and when you open it up the button it just on the top of the speaker. I havent quite worked out how to get it so as soon as you press the button to turn it on a song will start playing so for the moment I am just syncing it to my phone and playing Jabba Flow off my phone and through the speaker.

However I am going to look into making it work better so that all you do is press the button and the song starts playing. Also I am tempted to make a button out of lego on the roof of the turret so instead of opening it up to turn the speaker on you can simply just press the lego button...but Im not sure how to do that yet!

Fantastic build, great work:)

It would be great if you could add this chap too..

http://starwars.wiki.../wiki/HURID-327

I am just waiting for the parts I ordered in the post and then this guy is my next project!

Edited August 2, 2016 by dimnico

[Brent and Halfdan]

So many details and elements from the movie and I like the various colours in the building itself. Great MOC!

[strider117]

Awesome first moc!! This is really the first Takodana moc I've seen that isn't just 2 of the set or something like that. Also awesome crimson corsair.

[dimnico]

Thanks for the great feedback guys! I really appreciate your kind words...cant wait to do another MOC now!

[Nevada101]

It would be cool if you could have put some hinge elements in there so that the whole thing could open up!

[Kit Bricksto]

Your first MOC? Wow, that's very impressive!

I really like that it still has the style of the original set but your own style is visible, too. :)

While I am personally not really a fan of using custom painted figures for MOCs I don't think they're a bad thing and yours are certainly very nicely made. It sure came in handy having two Maz Kanata figures here ;)

I think it's really important to never forget that there are no rules to building Lego. Never let anyone tell you that something is impossible, you can always try. Even if you fail you will have learnt something.

The only thing that bugs me a bit is that the interior seems a bit cluttered. Yes, Maz's Castle is very dark and full of stuff and people but it often helps a model to give it some clear structural elements and clean surfaces. It might just be the photos that make it harder to see what the overall layout is.

Still, your model is definitly a great start and you can always keep modifying it if you like. The most important thing after all is having fun!

Edited August 12, 2016 by Kit Bricksto

[LegoMedGuy]

This is a really impressive build. Nice work on it.

[dimnico]

It would be cool if you could have put some hinge elements in there so that the whole thing could open up!

Hey Nevada101, thats a great idea! The front courtyard piece can be removed to give you access to the main room and the side has a hinge on it too but I like the idea of the whole castle being hinged too!