[LEGO Ideas] Wolfpack Castle

[BrickHammer]

Hey guys BrickHammer here,

after my Forestmen MOC "Forestmen Outpost" was received with much kindness, I decided to also share my "Wolfpack Castle" with you guys. I was always a bit sad that the Wolfpack never had a proper castle set so I decided to design and build my own "Wolfpack Caslte" and submit it to LEGO Ideas.

he "Wolfpack Castle" is located on a small coastal island, surrounded by the sea and is only connected to the main land by a small stone bridge. The island is almost fully covered by barren rock and has almost no vegetation. On top of the rocks there is the main castle, which consists of three sections:

1. the lower gate, which is the castle's first line of defence and secures the pathway that leads up to the upper castle section
2. the main gate, which secures the upper courtyard and displays the Wolfpack's iconic coat of arms
3. the castle's keep, which contains the armoury and serves as the final line of defence in case of an attack.

Below the main castle, there is a big cave which opens up to the sea and contains a small pier. The cave and the pier are connected to the castle's keep by a ladder and a small hatch which leads to the upper courtyard. This way, small boats can be used to supply the castle with food during a siege or as a way to escape in the unlikely scenario that the keep is taken by enemy forces.

I would really appreciate your feedback (and your support)! If you have any question about the MOC, the design choices or the building process, feel free to ask!

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/f23da1e5-312c-4f19-ab89-d0f253d2e6bf

 

Edited April 12, 2021 by BrickHammer

[zoth33]

I like the build and that you can take the different levels off.  Rock work looks good with the vertical long pieces.  The great helm in black would be nice.  

[jtooker]

Wow!  You really captured the feel of the wolfpack tower.  This is a very nice castle without being too big.  I like the details you included without overdoing it. A well balanced MOC all around!

[valon]

16 hours ago, zoth33 said:

I like the build and that you can take the different levels off.  Rock work looks good with the vertical long pieces.  The great helm in black would be nice.  

[zoth33]

5 hours ago, valon said:

Is that official Lego?

[Ardelon]

The 2013 Castle theme had the great helm in black.

[WoutE]

Although I'm not the biggest fan of the modern style of Lego building, I really like this MOC. It neatly ties the traditional Wolfpack color scheme and that indeed iconic coat of arms with newer building techniques. It's also very inspirational to build something similar, although I probably couldn't resist throwing in a BURP and LURP for old times' sake 

[Aanchir]

Beautiful! I love how it feels so authentic to sets like the Wolfpack Tower without trying to be a 1:1 recreation/redesign of that set.

I have to admit, I found it a little surprising that you do not appear to have included a dungeon, since it would be a great fit for the gloomy aesthetic, particularly on the dark, watery, and cavernous lower level. Then again, I suppose from what we've seen in sets, the Wolfpack tends to focus more on robbery and smuggling than on hostage-taking — even the in the original Wolfpack Tower set, the haunted jail cell at the top of the tower is perhaps best interpreted not as holding cell for captured adversaries, but rather as a brig where members of the pack itself can serve a brief sentence if they step out of line or endanger their packmates.

I love the wooden support beams under the eaves and parapets, which help the castle structure itself feel a little less monochrome than if it were built from the same black and grey stone all the way up to the roof line. And the seagulls honestly do a lot to help set the scene! I honestly am not sure how this will fare in review (might depend on what other sets LEGO has in the pipeline at that time), but in any case, it's a great MOC that I'm happy to support!

[Celloguy]

Absolutely superb! You have my vote :)

[BrickHammer]

On 4/13/2021 at 5:09 AM, zoth33 said:

I like the build and that you can take the different levels off.  Rock work looks good with the vertical long pieces.  The great helm in black would be nice.  

Thank you! I am glad you like it! Yes I am a big fan of the helmet as well!

On 4/14/2021 at 10:45 AM, WoutE said:

Although I'm not the biggest fan of the modern style of Lego building, I really like this MOC. It neatly ties the traditional Wolfpack color scheme and that indeed iconic coat of arms with newer building techniques. It's also very inspirational to build something similar, although I probably couldn't resist throwing in a BURP and LURP for old times' sake 

Thank you! I tried to find the sweat spot between modern and classic building techniques. Great to hear that it looks out like I was able to find the right balance. I actually thought about including a BURP as a joke as well but then decided to go for the snot rockwork!

On 4/14/2021 at 11:55 PM, Aanchir said:

Beautiful! I love how it feels so authentic to sets like the Wolfpack Tower without trying to be a 1:1 recreation/redesign of that set.

I have to admit, I found it a little surprising that you do not appear to have included a dungeon, since it would be a great fit for the gloomy aesthetic, particularly on the dark, watery, and cavernous lower level. Then again, I suppose from what we've seen in sets, the Wolfpack tends to focus more on robbery and smuggling than on hostage-taking — even the in the original Wolfpack Tower set, the haunted jail cell at the top of the tower is perhaps best interpreted not as holding cell for captured adversaries, but rather as a brig where members of the pack itself can serve a brief sentence if they step out of line or endanger their packmates.

I love the wooden support beams under the eaves and parapets, which help the castle structure itself feel a little less monochrome than if it were built from the same black and grey stone all the way up to the roof line. And the seagulls honestly do a lot to help set the scene! I honestly am not sure how this will fare in review (might depend on what other sets LEGO has in the pipeline at that time), but in any case, it's a great MOC that I'm happy to support!

Yes that was one of my main goals. Especially because I designed this project for LEGO Ideas and the platform is so often simply used for more or less well done remakes. I tried to capture the spirit of the Wolfpack and imagined what the Wolfpack Tower could have looked like if it was created today.

About the dungeon: I agree 100%. I tried different layouts of the basement because (as you said) a dungeon would have been a rather obvious choice. I tried to include both a dungeon and a dock but this left me with just a tiny pier which looked a bit shabby. So in the end I went with the dock layout because I thought the smuggling aspect would be a better fit anyway. You could also argue that the tower would be a great place for a holding cell if there really needs to be one.

And yes I added the "wood" parts to make the build a bit more colourful even though it does not really make any sense for the stone bridge (as someone has already pointed out in a comment on LEGO Ideas). Sometimes logic just has to make room for creativity and aesthetics.

Thank you for your support!

[BrickHammer]

On 4/15/2021 at 11:21 AM, Celloguy said:

Absolutely superb! You have my vote :)

Thank you for your support!

[maxxev]

Looks great and I supported it straight away but please get part designer and sort out the orientation of that banner ! :)

[BrickHammer]

11 hours ago, maxxev said:

Looks great and I supported it straight away but please get part designer and sort out the orientation of that banner ! :)

Thank you for your support! Yes, that's a good point. I actually thought about doing that but then decided against it. I have created custom flags for my "King's Castle" and my "Forestmen Hideout" but I thought that the makeshift look of the flags would really go well with the Wolfpack identity. So I wanted it to look like someone just took a normal flag and put it on the tower.