Recommended Posts

DONG rang the enormous bronze bell suspended from the top of the newly erected bell tower complex in King's Harbour, Cocovia, sounding the passing of noon.

118hlop.jpg

2ql6a7k.jpg

DONG The Department of Time had just been completed, and the rich and robust ring reverberating from the lofty heights of the tapered tower marked the first time the bell had sounded since acoustic testing by the skilled craftsman who had built it far across the seas in the mother country of Corrington.

DONG The tremendous and melodious sound danced through the air, up and down the streets, through windows and doors and walls. It spilled across the surrounding countryside and sailed out over the harbour.

DONG Throughout King's Harbour men, women, and children briefly stopped what they were doing and instinctively turned toward the welcoming sound. Those who were outside naturally looked toward the bell tower that rose to tremendous heights over the streets of the settlement, hoping to glimpse the bell in action during its first moments of service.

DONG The Master Timekeeper smiled as the ground beneath his feet vibrated slightly with each ring of the bell. It was time. Time for King's Harbour to join that endless list of Corry establishments to live by precise measures of time.

DONG Military Governor J. Cooke had just sat down to an important meeting at the Government House, and announced with a smile to the others in attendance, "Gentlemen, that is the sound of progress."

DONG From his vantage point within the entry courtyard, Sir Dee breathed a sigh of relief, happy that his workers had completed the project trouble-free and under budget, and then smiled at the warm metallic tone lingering in the salty air.

DONG The teachers and students at the Royal Society School had anxiously awaited the completion of the tower for the purpose of keeping classes on precise schedule, and spontaneously cheered and clapped as the bell rang noon.

DONG In the Majestic Gardens, one of the gardeners began to ring the bell in the large central gazebo in unison with the bell tower, much to the delight of his fellow workers and the gardens visitors.

DONG Ten. DONG Eleven DONGGggg The twelfth and final ring hung in the air and then slowly faded away as the townsfolk turned back to their duties. And thus began the valuable services of the Department of Time.

More pics:

20s61jo.jpg

The Master Timekeeper and a few of his staff take time off for a photo op (but fret not, others are tending the time in their brief absence!):

14mvv4z.jpg

2s94six.jpg

2jtgro.jpg

z4byo.jpg

The Master Timekeeper and his lovely daughter, Belle:

11vmko2.jpg

s4ri29.jpg

esj2ti.jpg

2h2pov6.jpg

34oq8sw.jpg

2qssdo2.jpg

2v8l9c1.jpg

xqddy.jpg

zohl6x.jpg

dmzioj.jpg

2hqyz2a.jpg

4zxn4l.jpg

149d2rn.jpg

28ch8jc.jpg

13ygphh.jpg

27zupy.jpg

w9h0s5.jpg

Garden details:

33kaww4.jpg

Collection of components. One-fourth of each, plus the complete tower:

33vddzl.jpg

The four smaller bellhouses:

e8lpnp.jpg

Straight-on view of the main bell with its clapper, plus all of the smaller bells with their clappers. (It's an odd number due to the single small bell hanging in the very top of the tower, over the main bell):

2qiafco.jpg

The Master Timekeeper poses with his bell and daughter Belle: 

1z6521.jpg

Below are two versions of the main bell. The one on the left with the white curved plates is the bell used in this project; the one on the right made of solid pearl gold is the original design. The plates are necessary to provide something for the curved gold bricks to attach to - otherwise they will simply slide in and out, and fall off with the faintest touch. I wanted a solid color, but stability was more important. I suppose I could've glued it... Anyway, I believe the lip of the bell is a few too many plate layers thick but it's too late to change now!

23v19qx.jpg

Notes: This is based on @Bregir's Department of Time in Arlinsport, Tiberia. I really liked the concept and wanted to build something similar for King's Harbour. @Ayrlego also built a lovely Department of Time for Mooreton Bay, Alicentia.

Build size is 72x72, and for game purposes it will be licensed as a Large Artisan. The tower is about 66 cm tall.

As you can see, prefab hulls are good for more than just building ships!

Once again, you can never have too much gold. Just check my new title...

I had fun building this, and the tower is really quite stable despite its somewhat fragile appearance.

Of course the bell is my favorite part. I built it first, and everything else followed.

This was my first foray into "fleshies." I wanted to use the Belle minidoll (for the name, naturally, and also because I used some gold bits from her castle) and so the minifigs had to be fleshies too. But I had to really stretch the Timekeeper for him to look at all sensible when posed beside her!

Comments are welcome. Thanks for viewing.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This is a masterful bell tower. Very exquisite in looks and am impressed that you were able to make it stable. You pointed them out, but nice usage of ship hulls. I also like the inverted pieces for the water fountains. This is a great addition to King's Harbor and definitely pushes forth Corrington's superiority in science and order. :pir-classic: I guess I need to add a Department of Time to Elizabethville. 

I don't own any minidolls so I hadn't realized the size difference between the two. A full brick seems like a huge leap. Though I would probably have just given up trying to match them so great job on sticking with it. 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This is insane. This is golden. This is marvellous. This is so clearly your individual style. This is huge. This is creative.

This just makes my head go DONG!

Perfect.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The Department of Time returns! :pir-oh:

I didn't initially realize there were so many other bells! That's quite a lot.

The great bell is wonderful, as I mentioned in the sneak peek. The full build does not disappoint in the least! :thumbup:

You clearly have a golden touch! :pir-grin:

I also like your work incorporating the Friends doll. Well done!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So much gold! :pir-grin:  Very nice tower Captain, and I wish you Corries the joy of your clock-chasing lives now! :pir-laugh:  Interesting solution for making the minifigure and the minidoll compatible - works better than I would have anticipated!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

When I saw the first picture, I said to myself, nice tower. Then i scrolled down, it's only a part of the build, it's jaw dropping.

It's grandiose! I like the idea of hollowed-out tower, we can see all the details inside, the use of prefab hulls are brilliant too, they fit so well with the rest of the structure, if you have not mentioned them in the text, I'll never notice them. The same for the white plate on the main bell, it blends perfectly into the whole build with its gold and white colour scheme.

Impressive work, captain Dee!:thumbup:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Very nice build. I'm assuming it's a royal property?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
19 hours ago, SilentWolf said:

This is a masterful bell tower. Very exquisite in looks and am impressed that you were able to make it stable. You pointed them out, but nice usage of ship hulls. I also like the inverted pieces for the water fountains. This is a great addition to King's Harbor and definitely pushes forth Corrington's superiority in science and order. :pir-classic: I guess I need to add a Department of Time to Elizabethville. 

I don't own any minidolls so I hadn't realized the size difference between the two. A full brick seems like a huge leap. Though I would probably have just given up trying to match them so great job on sticking with it. 

 

Thanks. Regarding stability, it seems the most fragile part of the tower was the columns of grooved round gold bricks at the base of the legs, rather than the tiers of prefab arch/column pieces. The lower level is built upside down to allow the use of the ship hulls. Those fountains are a reduced version of a larger design I hope to use elsewhere. And I'd love to see your take on the DoT.

I have several minidolls but had never paired them with minifigs until now, and didn't realize they are so much taller. I was in the midst of taking photos and needed a quick solution, even if it isn't ideal. But I think it's tolerable.

19 hours ago, Professor Thaum said:

*huh*

Holy moly !!

It's just amazing !

Thanks. It's really pretty simple, but I suppose the colors make it look flashy.

I had intended to include a full interior, and had several items already built: a huge bed, a big oven, tables, pianos, etc. But the interior scale looked really bad to me, and I scrapped it altogether. I'm still toying with the idea of doing a few interior-only builds at a bigger scale to illustrate the concept more fully.

19 hours ago, Elostirion said:

This is insane. This is golden. This is marvellous. This is so clearly your individual style. This is huge. This is creative.

This just makes my head go DONG!

Perfect.

Thanks, though "perfect" may be a bit generous! I struggle with developing a distinct individual style, but I'm working on it.

You certainly have a really colorful, detailed style and don't lack for creativity either.

18 hours ago, Capt Wolf said:

The Department of Time returns! :pir-oh:

I didn't initially realize there were so many other bells! That's quite a lot.

The great bell is wonderful, as I mentioned in the sneak peek. The full build does not disappoint in the least! :thumbup:

You clearly have a golden touch! :pir-grin:

I also like your work incorporating the Friends doll. Well done!

Thank Bregir for the DoT. I'm pretty sure I never would've built a bell tower for BoBS without his cool idea.

I failed to mention the role of the smaller bells. Per Bregir's original description, each DoT has a big bell to sound each hour and smaller bell(s) to sound the quarter-hour. Each of the 4 small bellhouses atop the 4 wings of the building has 3 of these smaller bells, and each wing has the one bell hanging from the facade, plus the one at the very top of the tower, for a total of 17. I doubt they would (or could!) ring that many simultaneously but I insisted on full symmetry all the way around.

Belle, the Friends or Princess doll (whatever she is... ) does look more feminine to me than the lady minifigs, but again, the only reason I included her was her name! :grin:

I wish LEGO would just hurry up and produce more common parts in pearl gold! More! More! :pir-laugh:

18 hours ago, Kai NRG said:

So much gold! :pir-grin:  Very nice tower Captain, and I wish you Corries the joy of your clock-chasing lives now! :pir-laugh:  Interesting solution for making the minifigure and the minidoll compatible - works better than I would have anticipated!

You know, back then people could get the time from a bell tower if they couldn't afford a watch or clock. I don't know about you, but I currently get my time from a cell tower. :grin:

Again, the minifig modification was a spur-of-the-moment affair, but it looks decent. I really wanted to do full custom legs, but didn't want to interrupt photography to do it!

Everybody sing along: :caroler:

"Gold, glorious gold,

I'm anxious to try it.

Free doubloons-a-day,

My favorite diet.

Just picture a treasure chest

O'erflowing with gold!

Oh, gold, glorious gold, wonderful gold, marvelous gold!

Glo-ri-ous GOLDDDDD!!" :head_back:

14 hours ago, Bodi said:

When I saw the first picture, I said to myself, nice tower. Then i scrolled down, it's only a part of the build, it's jaw dropping.

It's grandiose! I like the idea of hollowed-out tower, we can see all the details inside, the use of prefab hulls are brilliant too, they fit so well with the rest of the structure, if you have not mentioned them in the text, I'll never notice them. The same for the white plate on the main bell, it blends perfectly into the whole build with its gold and white colour scheme.

Impressive work, captain Dee!:thumbup:

Thanks. I originally planned a more substantial, standalone tower but realized I didn't quite have the parts to do it, so I went with this idea instead. Compared to what I first visualized, this is better. I'm not sure such an Eiffel Tower-type look could've been done in those days, but I like the overall appearance.

13 hours ago, Mesabi said:

Very nice build. I'm assuming it's a royal property?

Thanks. I contemplated calling it "The Royal Dept. of Time" for story purposes but didn't. As a game property I think it covers 5184 studs (72x72) so it's a little more than half the minimum for a Royal-size property.

58 minutes ago, Kwatchi said:

Whoa!  That is one extravagant building.  Nicely done.

Thanks. I think white, black, and gold look good together... but only with a dash of red to finish it off! :grin:

Thanks everyone for the input. :thumbup:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
13 minutes ago, Captain Dee said:

You know, back then people could get the time from a bell tower if they couldn't afford a watch or clock. I don't know about you, but I currently get my time from a cell tower. :grin:

Nope, I'm one of those super-rare individuals that still wears a watch... :pir-grin:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Dang, that's a lot of gold and huge.  Your settlement must be rich.  Seems like a good place for a MRCA raid...  :pir-classic:

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A cultural build of EPIC proportions! I quite love the colors and the great bell design is awesome. One can worry though about the stability of the section with the arches :tongue: Still, I love it and find it to be a nice addition to our BoBS universe!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 6/22/2017 at 11:02 AM, Kai NRG said:

Nope, I'm one of those super-rare individuals that still wears a watch... :pir-grin:

Some watches beep. I wonder if any watches make a big bell sound? :grin:

On 6/22/2017 at 6:19 PM, dr_spock said:

Dang, that's a lot of gold and huge.  Your settlement must be rich.  Seems like a good place for a MRCA raid...  :pir-classic:

 

I envision the gold elements either being bronze (especially the bells) or perhaps a gold-colored paint, but not actually gold, which would be a bit excessive, even if it was just gold leaf.

It's certainly big, but I wouldn't call it huge. I wanted to make an architectural statement that didn't look like a place of worship, and a balanced look between the tower and building was important.

Bregir is rich. :grin: I don't know about the settlement! 

There hasn't been much raiding in the MCRA, has there? But I must warn you: King's Harbour is not exactly defenseless... :pir-skel:

On 6/23/2017 at 1:51 PM, blackdeathgr said:

A cultural build of EPIC proportions! I quite love the colors and the great bell design is awesome. One can worry though about the stability of the section with the arches :tongue: Still, I love it and find it to be a nice addition to our BoBS universe!

Thanks. I think the proportions and colors are both aesthetically pleasing. I'm sure a better bell can be built, but this is the best that I can do in the gold/bronze color. As previously stated, the design of the tower legs may not be entirely realistic for that time period, but I wanted to use those arch/column pieces and this is what I came up with. Overall it's very stable.

On 6/23/2017 at 4:26 PM, Captain Braunsfeld said:

Thank Zeus it is not overloaded with gold. I was not sure what to expect :pir-laugh:

Fine build!

 

Thanks. And to borrow a quote from Phred, the Departments of Time in Corrington and her colonies exist for the common good gold. :grin:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Tremendous! It often happens that one starts with a single build and slowly a giant structure grows around it, with many more great ideas and techniques.

The one thing that I would suggest is that the tower lacks any sort of strut between the four walls. I guess as a real building it would collaps under its own weight. But of course I'm no expert in Corlandish architecture. Perhaps a smart engineer found a solution I'm not capable to see at first sight.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A very unique and outstanding build. :thumbup: At this rate King's Harbour is destined to be the new capitol of Corrington.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Have been meaning to comment on this for a while - just wow!  Excellent architecture and colors, and your stock of gold pieces continues to impress! :grin: :laugh: :thumbup:  Awesome design of that large bell, and wonderful additions of the garden and fountains.  Great to see this awesome idea expanded on (very literally! :grin:) too!  Keep it up, mate, you never fail to astonish! 

On 6/21/2017 at 2:27 PM, Elostirion said:

This is insane. This is golden. This is marvellous. This is so clearly your individual style. This is huge. This is creative.

This just makes my head go DONG!

:laugh: :roflmao: :iamded_lol:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 6/25/2017 at 2:53 PM, Jacob Nion said:

Tremendous! It often happens that one starts with a single build and slowly a giant structure grows around it, with many more great ideas and techniques.

Thanks. My builds often start with a single component and then grow from there. It can be a fun process, though perhaps not the most efficient process!

On 6/25/2017 at 2:53 PM, Jacob Nion said:

The one thing that I would suggest is that the tower lacks any sort of strut between the four walls. I guess as a real building it would collapse under its own weight. But of course I'm no expert in Corlandish architecture. Perhaps a smart engineer found a solution I'm not capable to see at first sight.

I experimented with several different cross-brace designs, but I was running low on certain parts and couldn't quite finish it out that way. I wanted a more open appearance and this provided it, even if it isn't entirely realistic. As I said previously, I question whether or not this structure could have been built during that time period, but this is a fictitious world after all...

 

On 6/27/2017 at 10:42 AM, IstakaCiti said:

Spectacular, the closer I look the more I love it because of all the tiny details. 

Thanks. I suppose most of the small details consist of gold elements. And it's nice to get some input from outside the world of BoBS as well.

 

On 6/28/2017 at 7:48 AM, Mike S said:

A very unique and outstanding build. :thumbup: At this rate King's Harbour is destined to be the new capitol of Corrington.

Thanks. I can't claim credit for the concept, but my primary goal was a unique design. And time will tell regarding King's Harbour...

 

On 6/28/2017 at 2:24 PM, Garmadon said:

Have been meaning to comment on this for a while - just wow!  Excellent architecture and colors, and your stock of gold pieces continues to impress! :grin: :laugh: :thumbup:  Awesome design of that large bell, and wonderful additions of the garden and fountains.  Great to see this awesome idea expanded on (very literally! :grin:) too!  Keep it up, mate, you never fail to astonish! 

Thanks. I surprised myself with this project, which is always fun. I acquired a large number of the prefab arch-column pieces and wanted to use them for this, and of course pearl gold (bronze) seemed like a natural accent color. The garden and fountains were a late addition to fill out the ground area. The building is symmetric and orderly, and a garden with those same attributes seemed natural. And I'll try to keep up the building pace!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This is absolutely fantastic, Captain Dee. :pir-oh: The absolute epitome of the Department of Time! If this is how it looks in the colonies, how enormously huge it must be in Belson! (Especially considering the name! :pir-grin: ) The tower looks fabulous (although I would have suggested some cross-beams between the four sides), and that bell is just great. I think I like the white detailing. The four wings of the complex are looking great too - there is obviously a lot of administration connected to the keeping of time, it being a serious matter for civilised people! :pir-wink:

I think the description is very good too - and love how you reference other builds and characters in King's Harbour! It always helps tying our world together. Lastly, the gardens are looking great too - very orderly and Corlander-like. King's Harbour is well on its way to greatness, largely due to your great work! :pir-blush:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 7/6/2017 at 4:06 AM, Bregir said:

This is absolutely fantastic, Captain Dee. :pir-oh: The absolute epitome of the Department of Time! If this is how it looks in the colonies, how enormously huge it must be in Belson! (Especially considering the name! :pir-grin: ) The tower looks fabulous (although I would have suggested some cross-beams between the four sides), and that bell is just great. I think I like the white detailing. The four wings of the complex are looking great too - there is obviously a lot of administration connected to the keeping of time, it being a serious matter for civilised people! :pir-wink:

I think the description is very good too - and love how you reference other builds and characters in King's Harbour! It always helps tying our world together. Lastly, the gardens are looking great too - very orderly and Corlander-like. King's Harbour is well on its way to greatness, largely due to your great work! :pir-blush:

Hmm... I've fallen behind with my comments...

I wanted a certain settlement to have a large variation of your concept, and I think this is about as big as it would realistically be in a colonial setting. I envision the main facility in Belson as a Royal property of some sort, possibly connected to a university or something.

And I agree that connecting the stories helps bring the BoBS world together.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.