[MOC] King's Reinforced Mountain Fortress

[Lodeman]

Hi all,

After my previous Castle creation - Medieval River Outpost - I decided to have a go at creating a larger scale set.
This time the setting is that of an old castle with reinforced battlements, set in a lovely mountainous scene.

The castle can fold open from the sides to create a more imposing wall, as well as to allow easy access to the inside.
The inside contains stables, a well and room for storage of various goods and weapons. The inside is set amidst elevated mountainous terrain.

In terms of defensive capabilities, the castle has reinforced wooden battlements built ontop of the stone walls. Allowing archers to safely rain down arrow fire onto enemies.
A catapult built onto the forward battlement provides additional firepower.

In terms of LEGO castle lore, I could imagine the Black Falcons having retreated into isolation to rebuild their forces, after LEGO stopped producing sets for them.
This fortress provides the ideal setting for a Black Falcon reboot!

Any and all feedback appreciated! I plan to build this once I get all the needed parts :-)
And eventually after some proper evaluation, I'll have another go at making a LEGO Ideas topic.

The staircase can be rotated upwards to allow easier access below the structure.

 

Thanks for checking out the project!

[zoth33]

Very cool idea.  I like the Aesthetic of the whole fortress.  The roofs are well done and interesting looking.  Nice little fortress.  

[pantelis]

I really like this creation.. All this nostalgic scene with the black falcons and the castle is super for me.. 

[Darnok]

Lovely build, lots of good ideas incorporated. If this was an official Lego set I would most likely buy it. Well done!

[Aine]

Very nice build, and a great lore!
The unfolded castle is nice and has a lots of space for playing, but the very first image is the very best: the castle is so compact, robust and imposing!
I really like the design!

[x105Black]

This is a nice design and execution.  It looks good, and the number of panels and other such pieces is not immediately apparent.  I love how it feels like an official set.

Good work!

[Lodeman]

Thanks for all the feedback thus far.
Do you think there is enough play features on the inside?

I'm thinking it would be nice if there was a way to open up the front of the battlement that contains the catapult.
And perhaps a hidden passage in the elevated area at the tall tower. But that would provide some additional design challenge :-)

[Aine]

Unfolded, the castle offers enough space for battle. Folded? Still enough space for fencing and/or assasination attempt.
When I was a small boy, I had only the 6061 and 6103 sets. When I was in a mood for a battle, I opened the "castle", ran the tower against the walls and had helluva battle. When I played a small "drama", I closed the castle and sneaked through it with rogues. :-)

[Robin_IV]

Really beautiful castle!

It shows that a moc has not to be always a big one. It reminds me of the old classic castel lego sets.

[Farseer Petriel]

Great castle! It really feels like an old LEGO set. I would like to play with it, as in my childhood (I didn't have any Castle sets but enjoyed building lots of castles from different pieces).

[Lodeman]

As new LEGO parts slowly arrive, construction of the fortress has begun.
I'm tweaking the original design ever so slightly as I go, to make the build more sturdy where it's needed.

Must say, it feels good to see this slowly come to life!

The local Queen is already inspecting the wine supply *hickup*

 

[willsbuilds]

Love the towers.

[Kalais]

Cute castle. Oldschool feeling. Love it!

[LegoSims20]

That's awesome. I used to have lots of those knights. 

[lego tripper]

Man I always love these old school builds. Well done!

[Lodeman]

Hi guys,

I've updated the design further to add more play features and make it more visually appealing.
A prison cell has been incorporated into the interior corner, adding purpose to this area and providing support for a wider defensive platform ontop.
Additionally some tudor-styled wall panels have been used to create a small roofed-structure over the staircase. Mainly just to make this side much more visually appealing, as I felt it was a bit simplistic previously.

I've also made progress with building it out of my own blocks. But haven't yet incorporated the new design updates into it. I'll be sure to post pics of that soon!
As always, thanks for all your comments and feedback :-)

[Aine]

I really like the update. It made the castle more sturdy, more visually appealing, and it made the design much more reasonable for the daily use.

Very good job!

[WhiteFang]

Very nice rendition which I am looking forward to see your actual built. To see this a combined inspiration of Classic Castle namely from the Black Falcon Fortress is indeed a great homage. Keep up the good work. 

[sander1992]

A new and yet a classic feel. 

Great work.

[Lodeman]

Once again thanks for all the feedback thus far.

I've had another streak of creativity, and decided to make the mountain under the tall tower more interesting by adding in a "hidden" cave.
Inside there is a bit of room for a small/medium sized stash of treasure...

Just another tidbit to add playability to the build

I think design-wise that mostly wraps this build up. The castle itself is built already (in real bricks!), but not with all the design updates of my 3D file.
I'll be sure to upload some pics this weekend of what I have!

 

Edited September 6, 2018 by Lodeman

[Aine]

Nice addition! I really like the idea and the result!

[alex2302]

I didn't touch LEGO for 30 years but this thread and your ideas somehow inspired me. I needed to build that castle so I used your picture to re-create that visually-stunning castle of yours. It was my project for the past 2 weeks and I like to share the results with you

 

I am not able to get any image code to work, drives me nuts. Not using fickr. If you like to see all pictures: https://imgur.com/a/Xn5CTMt

 

Edited October 28, 2018 by alex2302
adding pictures

[Lodeman]

Hi Alex, it's really cool to see your take on this castle. It was very fun to go through all your pictures!
You've introduced some subtle variations into my design that I really like, such as the secret entrance to the prison, the dual-crossbow and the interesting visual updates to the main gate.

In fact you made me realise I never showed any pictures of my own completed build...
So I took the time today to take some pictures of my own.

You'll notice that I've replaced the black falcons with the green dragon faction, mainly because I wanted a bit more of a modern look.
Also I had some fun adding some extra "interior" sections into the unfolded castle.

Note: unfortunately I haven't gotten around to implementing the "hidden cave" yet.
Note2: Alex, to get your images to show here, I right-click on the image in imgur and open the image in a new tab. In the new tab, just copy the hyperlink and drop it into the editor here. It will automatically embed the picture.

 

And here's some pictures of the expansions I've added onto it for fun.

[alex2302]

I feel a bit like stealing your idea but I just needed to have it after I first saw your pictures, brought me back to LEGO.

I cannot believe you did really buy the 2449 in dark brown, that is like 5 Euro for 1 piece :-) Had to replace it with black because I did not even find a shop supplying more than 2-3

There are only a few subtle changes as you pointed out, the entrance needed an update because there were way too many 1x1 bricks in the frame.

I felt like there is the need for a secret entrance but I did not want to replace the  BURPs in the mountain area (to save bricks) so I doctored around in the prison part and it worked out well.

While building it I noticed the tower need some updates as well because they are way too fragile especially because of the 10 studs format and the 4x2 roofbricks that are not able to hold it perfectly in shape. I did not take on that yet but I probably will in the upcoming days ;-)

Thank you for your inspiration!

EDIT: I tried to find a different window solution that your pick on the dark bluish gray windows but I didnt make it, felt like this is the most difficult part to replace with a old gray solution :(

 

Edited October 28, 2018 by alex2302

[Lodeman]

I was lucky with those 2449 dark brown pieces, was able to bag about 20 of them at 1 euro a piece. Still expensive of course, but the things you do for your hobby projects right?
Which tower do you mean needed updates? I too came across quite a few instabilities as I was building, and also fixed them as I went along. I've since updated my 3D project file to reflect this, but didn't bother updating screenshots here :-)

Yes indeed, the downside of the pieces I'm using is that they aren't all available between the old and new grey variants. I mostly don't notice the difference too much so I don't mind.
But it would be nice if LEGO would still make the older wall pieces, but in the new greys.

Happy to see I've inspired you to recreate this castle yourself! Feel free to share any alterations you make.