Carbohydrates Posted November 5, 2020 (edited) A little over 10 years ago, I posted a MOC here that I had built: a Western Saloon and Hotel. It has sat proudly on my display shelf all this time. This year, I got the urge to rebuild and update it. Now, instead of just being a fixed, open-backed building, it has a removable roof and second floor as well as removable back walls. A lot of details were updated, the weight of the "HOTEL" font was fixed, and a custom base was added: You can see the whole album here, but I'll highlight a couple specific things here: Back in the day, I used to display my saloon alongside the classic LEGO Western sets Sheriff's Lockup and Gold City Junction, but the scale and level of detail didn't really work, so I decided to build a couple more buildings to accompany it. So next up is a bank! Much like the saloon above, this one has modular construction: the roof lifts off and the back wall slides out. Because the interior has a dividing wall, it can still be difficult to reach inside to pose minifigs, so I also made the whole interior removable. This also has a killer feature: robbers can use TNT to blow up part of the back wall to reach the safe, just like the classic Western sets. This time, rather than sliding dynamite into the building by hand to trigger the mechanism, this one is activated by pressing the plunger on the TNT detonator! Oh yeah, and the safe itself has a simple locking mechanism so that the door cannot open until the bars are turned. Here's the link to the whole album, and here's a few more pics: And finally, one more building to round it all out. I chose to make a trading post, and I wanted to make it very different from the other buildings: more vertical, cooler colors, and more of a "lived-in" or "worn, but not run down" feel. So again you've got modular construction (the floors come apart, the roof comes off, the back walls slide out) plus some unique features. The barn door on the first floor is a functional sliding door that opens to a storage room. The windmill can rotate 360 degrees and its vane can pivot 90 degrees to act as a brake. Also, when its turbine spins, it actuates the water pump at the base! Here's the album link for this one, and here's a few more details: Let me know what you think! Some of my friends are cyber-bullying me into submitting the Bank onto LEGO IDEAS, so I'm taking some extra time to fine tune its play features and story elements to get it all polished up, but maybe expect to see that in a week or so. Edited November 5, 2020 by Carbohydrates Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JintaiZ Posted November 5, 2020 Wow, amazing build! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carbohydrates Posted November 5, 2020 49 minutes ago, JintaiZ said: Wow, amazing build! Thanks so much! Also, I forgot that I took a photo of everything together, too: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jtooker Posted November 7, 2020 All the MOCs are terrific! I love the techniques and details you've put into every part. The windmill is my favorite. The furniture is great too. Thank you for taking such nice pictures creating such a detailed post. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lasse Posted November 8, 2020 Wow, that looks great! I like the many details: The windmill, the furniture, the dollar sign on the bank and the minifigs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boindil Lego Posted November 20, 2020 Great builds! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BaalTheBuilder Posted November 23, 2020 I cannot think of proper superlatives! These are some of the most well-designed, playability/display-balanced Mocs I’ve seen. Great job! I’m learning so much just looking at these images. Thank you for sharing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlackGloveBricks Posted January 1, 2021 Some real fine attention to detail. Love so many of the minibuilds included with these buildings. Wild West is another theme that deserves a return! Well done! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zarcania Posted January 2, 2021 The furniture is crazy! The piano!!! My favorite minifig is the one standing against the bank is very funny. Absolutely Nice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Calanon Posted January 2, 2021 It's a small detail, but that slightly messy bed is absolutely perfect. Lots of really great detail here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
koalayummies Posted January 3, 2021 This is super fantastic! Without question one of the best American Frontier/Old West MOCs. The styling of the 'Hotel' sign and creativity with the bank's, the brick build details like mounted buck head and well water hand pump, SNOT'd wood pieces for the walls, very excellent work. That functioning wind pump is awesome as well. Again one of the best and also very wide ranging and complete-feeling western MOCs. Great work! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wellesley Posted January 3, 2021 The stove and the water pump are absolutely fabulous! But overall great builds and lively scenes! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord James Posted January 4, 2021 This is a phenomenal scene! Is an old-timey locomotive next? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sarophas Posted January 6, 2021 Exceptional! Such creative and lovely builds, truly the wild west in a nutshell Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Reader Posted January 8, 2021 They are incredible! I like the table with the accounting book of the bank - such an ice detail. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fletcher Floyd Posted January 17, 2021 This is awesome! Great job on all of them. I‘d buy ‘em for sure if they were regular sets! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LegoCyt Posted January 17, 2021 That is incredible! I would buy them all even if they sold each furniture item separately. Great work! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlackGloveBricks Posted February 26, 2021 I would buy these immediately! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheLegoDr Posted February 26, 2021 Well done. Somehow I am just now coming across this! Very inspiring builds. It wasn't too long ago I was thinking of doing some sort of western inspired layout since you don't see them too often. This fits the bill! I love the details throughout. The removable rear and moving pieces is very clever. I don't think I'll incorporate that in mine, but I'm glad to see how it worked. The windmill is awesome. The building shaping is great. And I really like the irregular base. That is something I struggle with. Even in this situation where you have multiple builds on irregular bases and put them near each other, it still feels like a layout compared to (in my mind) everything needs to be plated/tiled to make it cohesive. This proves me wrong! Well done. I will look back at this for inspiration. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carbohydrates Posted March 1, 2021 Such kind words! Thanks, everyone. Yes, I'm a big fan of mini furniture builds and such. I cram them into everything I make, and sometimes, entire scenes come from one tiny model. For me, a large MOC is often just an excuse to show off a bunch of smaller ones! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SerenityInFire Posted March 1, 2021 It's pretty cool that some of your larger build ideas come from smaller builds. My favorite of your furniture builds is the grandfather clock. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DaleDVM Posted March 3, 2021 Absolutely love this. So many perfect details on the furniture! The buildings are fantastic with a perfect level of detail and messy bits. So many MOCs are over detailed to the point of blurriness these days. You hit the mark perfectly! And that windmill... I am blown away! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
