The Observer-Tree

[Ben Andrews]

Hello fellow humans!
Here is a build that i completed very early this year, after dedicating many, many hours to it over last year.
When I was a kid, I always wanted to build a large tree house out of LEGO but never had the parts or the disposable income..
Now, I have both of those things, I thought it was time to get it on the drawing boards.
I would have posted it heaps sooner, but these pics were taken for Bricks CULTURE magazine #6 and wanted to do the right thing by them and hold off until the next edition was out.
As I'm still getting used to uploading images and yet to tweek the RAW ones to a usable file size, this is all i have for you to check out here..
Though if you'd like to check out some of the finer details and the rear side, please jump over to my Flickr account here and have a squiz!
There is quite the philosophical story behind it all, but I'll leave that for the pages of BC.
Thanks to Cristian Brunelli for the great photographic shots, as my camera, if you could call it that, wouldn't stand up to the task in the state of my studio.
Oh yeah, just by the by, the chairlift, waterwheel and waterfalls all move thanks to the Power of a single XL PF Motor and a string of gearboxes..
And I'd be more than happy to prove it to you, if someone has some footage.. I was lucky enough to get these shots! haha!
Anywho, Enjoy.

[Slegengr]

That is an amazing introductory MOC, Ben Andrews!

There are so many details in this large diorama that I surely cannot take in and comment on them all!  The white-window tower is really interesting!  The dark red cheese-slope roof and tan tile walls of the structure make a very striking appearance!  The tree house is beautiful with the different foliage angles, balcony levels, building portions, spiral staircase, and the underground roots!

I will have to keep looking at the pictures to pick out even more details!  The final appearance is a wonderful credit to the number of hours you must have spent building this MOC!  

[carebear]

WOW!!!!!

So Great!!!!

Love this!!!!

Greetings

[Svendp]

Simply stunning

[The Player Nº1]

What a large MOC you have there. Joe many baseplates?

Congratulations, it's beautiful with so many details.

Keep MOCing. 

[kjm161]

Now that is a tree house! This is amazing with so many different sections that integrate perfectly as a whole. I love the ways (bridges and pulley system) the two sides join together across the river and waterfall. WOW!

[Ben Andrews]

On 02/12/2016 at 8:10 PM, Svendp said:

Simply stunning

Thanks heaps, Svendp!

On 02/12/2016 at 8:26 PM, The Player Nº1 said:

What a large MOC you have there. Joe many baseplates?

Congratulations, it's beautiful with so many details.

Keep MOCing. 

Thank you, Player, I really enjoy building at this scale, helps me to push the boundaries and grow ideas further.
It's 8 baseplates all up, four 32x32, three 48x48 and one 16x32. The three large across the back and the rest in front.
it was built in a modular format, even the vertical aspect of the tree was modular, breaking down into three pieces and the base.
had to get it outta my studio somehow! haha! :D
Thanks for the lovely compliments!

22 hours ago, kjm161 said:

Now that is a tree house! This is amazing with so many different sections that integrate perfectly as a whole. I love the ways (bridges and pulley system) the two sides join together across the river and waterfall. WOW!

Cheers KJM!

Originally when i displayed it at Brickvention, it had string feeding through the sections and arms on the bridge, to act like a suspension bridge.. though when these pics were snapped, it was too frustrating in the slim time frame we had to get it all strung back up.
I love the idea that every thing is connected and that we as conscious beings can have a part of that too.. Im also a massive fan of islands... hehehe!
 

On 02/12/2016 at 4:36 AM, Slegengr said:

That is an amazing introductory MOC, Ben Andrews!

There are so many details in this large diorama that I surely cannot take in and comment on them all!  The white-window tower is really interesting!  The dark red cheese-slope roof and tan tile walls of the structure make a very striking appearance!  The tree house is beautiful with the different foliage angles, balcony levels, building portions, spiral staircase, and the underground roots!

I will have to keep looking at the pictures to pick out even more details!  The final appearance is a wonderful credit to the number of hours you must have spent building this MOC!  

Thanks Slegengr!
The white tower is actually a greenhouse, with a Lavender/pink/tan tree on the inside, being observed by for beautiful maidens.. make you wonder which tree is the observer tree?
I've been a huge fan of the reddish brown/dk red/dk brown colour combo for quite some town and then when i started taking on this project, they screamed at me for use! mind you, i cant tell you how many pieces were used on the roof's alone...
I spent a lot of time in the many beautiful pars around my home observing different trees and how they hold weight, light and branch placement while in the design and build process.. mother nature has all the answers!
Thanks again!

On 02/12/2016 at 5:56 AM, carebear said:

WOW!!!!!

So Great!!!!

Love this!!!!

Greetings

Thanks Carebear!
your enthusiasm rocks my world!
Thank you again and greetings to you to!

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Amazing - very well done.

 

I am studying all the details on flickr.

 

[BrickCurve]

As I said on Flickr, a simply amazing MOC!  I look forward to your next project! 

[Ben Andrews]

On 04/12/2016 at 2:22 AM, Captain Braunsfeld said:

Amazing - very well done.

 

I am studying all the details on flickr.

 

Cheers Captain!

2 hours ago, BrickCurve said:

As I said on Flickr, a simply amazing MOC!  I look forward to your next project! 

Thanks BrickCurve!
I'm excited to show you once its ready!