[MOD] Grand Castle Upgrade Modifications From Two 31120 Medieval Castle Sets, No Extra Pieces Required

[Wurger49]

This topic has a lot of photos inside, to make it easier for everyone to see the updated version of my MOD, I have been editing this first post to show the latest version, 24 July 2021.

From two sets of 31120 Medieval Castle; I built a Grand Castle, a trebuchet, and a four-legged dragon, no extra pieces required. It has been featured on Blocks Magazine Issue 83. 

Your feedback is welcome or share your MOD ideas please!

A photo review is on Brickset, its format is easier to read compare to the forum posts. https://brickset.com/reviews/60120

YouTube photo video: 

Version 1 Design Notes please read towards the bottom of this post. 

Version 2 Design Notes 

Version 3 Design Notes 

Version 4 Design Notes 

Version 5 Design Notes 

Four-legged Dragon Design Notes 

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5 by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5 by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5 by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5 by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5 by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5 by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5 by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5 by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5 by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5 by R Y, on Flickr

Here is a summary of the modifications up to version 5.

I started building both sets simultaneously bag by bag over a few nights. I find this is the most efficient way to build two of the same sets, learning the building techniques and sorting out the pieces by building them into the castle.

I wanted to build up four towers on the castle, incorporated the pavilion roof of model B into the great tower next to the yellow wooden keep. The keep is built up using two flipped window and chimney yellow wattle and daub buildings, shortened to fit inside the rampart. I added a second 1x8 reddish brown brick as a beam to the floor, rearranged them both so they are spaced equally from edges, moved the grey bricks to fit accordingly. With the watermill and dark azure plates only on 2 sides of the castle, my castle is sitting on the bend of a river, so I placed yellow wattle and daub structures with windows facing that way to have a waterfront view. I studied the towers on the gatehouse, which is composed of two sections each on the ramparts, I can use three sections for the great tower and one section to raise the corner tower by one level. The great tower became five storeys tall, I added two dragon gargoyles at the lower floor above the watermill to balance out the heavier top design. 

The crenels on all the battlements are raised by one brick high, the slope tiles on the merlons are flipped so they face outwards. Merlons on battlements should be as tall as soldiers to shield them from projectiles. I put the weathervane on top of the great tower, plenty of flags already on the other three towers. 

The location of the old staircase is awkward with my modification, I decided to move it to the corner tower section. This allowed me to complete the flooring on the keep, add in a tapestry table, plus the well on the ground floor. 

I had the stone battlements on the great tower for the first three versions of my MOD, then I finally realised it does not need to be there, as the alchemy study is enclosed and has no use for the machicolations. It was an easy fix; I swapped the stone battlements with the yellow wattle and daub boards. I added a brick high of yellow and brown bargeboard to the watch tower roof to add a splash of colour to the otherwise entirely grey corner.

Moving to the front of the gatehouse, I tiled up the entire footbridge and build up the outside moat bank with olive green round half plates and some other pieces for support. A protruding portcullis was made by a clipped-on horizontal barred door. I find the coat of arms above the gate fiddly; it moves around with slightest amount of motion. I swapped the two round bricks with two palisade bricks, topped them up with a pyramid tile, they lock in the crest securely and no more movements. The treasure chests have been moved to the gatehouse. I used two 22385 2x3 light bluish grey pentagonal tiles to replace the 2x2 dark bluish grey tiles above the gate. Those two dark bluish grey tiles went to the pavilion roof of the great tower, I didn’t like how the pentagonal tiles stuck out of the roof.

The apple tree moved into the wall by one stud, has five 6x5 leaves, two green apples with four arches acting as branches, using a twig to connect two 6x5 leaves that are offset on top of each other. I changed all pink studs to yellow studs on the ground, so apple tree has pink flowers, and the ground has yellow daisies.

I raised the ramparts to the same height on the second level of the four towers. I started on the section next to the five-storey great tower. I built a second set of clip and bar to secure the wall connections. I tried different arrangements of 1x3 and 1x4 arches, but only the 1x3 arches allow for the even spaced machicolations on battlements with no overhang onto the next section, I wanted to keep the castle in three sections for ease of move and storage. All hinge connections are removed from the model, so the plates are secure on both floors. 

The river is now connected on the two sections, as side walls can’t open up after I removed the hinges. I took out two round corners and one 2x4 plate, replaced them with one 4x12 plate, added some waves, an olive green slope and medium azure 2x2 round. The river is also lengthened by two bricks with a new green mossy rock tower base and buttresses. 

A phoenix shrine is built using round corner bricks. I used the 4x8 dark tan plates with 6x6 plates, so the footprint of the space is the same as a tower. Before I started, I changed the base of the corner tower section to the 8x16 tan plate, so there is enough depth for the columns. For the connection of the round bay window corners to the square battements, I tried a few variations, I decided on the sloped version using 3665 2x1 inverted slopes; I used one 3676 2x2 inverted double convex slope for the connection of dark tan plates.

There are ten furnished spaces inside the keep tower and the corner tower sections: most of the designs are taken from the original LEGO model and modified. 
-    Double beer barrel dispenser 
-    Kitchen with bench and fire stove
-    Fruit stall
-    Well with a bucket
-    Blacksmith workshop
-    Phoenix shrine 
-    Dining room with a tapestry table
-    Throne room
-    Lookout room with a monocular 
-    Alchemy study 

I still had enough pieces to make the trebuchet, though had to use some different pieces. Lastly, I modified the LEGO dragon to a four-legged dragon, built up the torso so the ball joints for the wings and front legs are three plates apart, new shorter and slimmer front leg, a longer tail and wingspan with a new connection for the wrist claw. 

ORIGINAL POST ON 9TH JUNE

Following last year’s 31109 Pirate Ship, I was very excited to find out LEGO is bringing back the Castle theme via the Creator 3-in-1 set 31120, it’s not as expensive as the Creator Expert sets and it’s within my budget to purchase two sets to do my MOD.

I purchased two sets on 1^st June from Hobbyco, the best hobby store in Sydney, I started building both sets simultaneously bag by bag over the next week. I find this is the most efficient way to build two of the same sets, learning the building techniques and sorting out the pieces by building them into the castle. This time I decided to use only the pieces from the two sets, no extras from my spare LEGO for this MOD.

My original intention is to combine Model B, The Watch Tower into the enclosed castle, as there is no tower on the yellow wattle and daub manor house corner, I wanted to add it there. I reversed the location of the chimney and windows as the blacksmith with the watermill remained on the corner. I connected the same building to create a two-storey house/keep and removed the doors and window covers, shortened the roof, to allow it to fit inside the length of the original rampart. With the watermill and dark azure plates only on 2 sides of the castle, I think the castle is sitting on the side of a river, so I placed yellow wattle and daub structures with windows facing that way to have a waterfront view.

With the physical model in front of me, I realised that I cannot simply add the original LEGO Model B on top as its base section is too big. I studied the towers on the gatehouse, which is composed of two sections each on the ramparts, I can use three sections for the great tower and one section to raise the watch tower by one level. I progressed pretty quickly with the pre-built sections, making sure the arrow loops and red/white banners are arranged in the same manner as the gatehouse. Please be aware that the two battlement arrangements are opposite of each other, only two sides have machicolations and I used the wrong battlement on the great tower, I only realised that after looking at photos that the machicolations are facing the keep’s roof, not the outside wall, I had to fix that and retook the photos again. I removed the prison cell windows so I can have the black window pieces on the keep and give the gold pieces to the great tower windows. I moved the archery target range to the pop out cell wall. The crenels on the towers are raised by one brick high, both the crenels and merlons on the ramparts are raised by one bricks high each, the slope tiles on the merlons are flipped so they face outwards. Merlons on battlements should be as tall as soldiers to shield them from projectiles.  I put the weathervane on top of the great tower, plenty of flags already on the other three towers.

Moving to the front of the gatehouse, I find the coat of arms above the gate fiddly, it moves around with slightest amount of motion. I swapped the two round bricks with two palisade bricks, topped them up with a pyramid tile, they lock in the crest securely and no more movements. The well is now secured to the back of the gatehouse by swapping out the brick yellow 2x2 plate with a 2x8 plate, located next to the food stall.

I was still able to build the trebuchet, just have to use some different coloured pieces. I didn’t build any animals from the set initially as I was rushing to finish the castle, I can build two dragons from the pieces but I didn’t like how it has one claw per wing and no front legs. I built the fronts legs like the hind legs, expanded the wingspan and lengthen the tail by one section. I also added some more 1x1 roof tiles as fins on the back of the dragon.

The Disney Castle 71040 dwarfs the Medieval Castle 31120 side by side, the Disney Castle is still my favourite LEGO set!

They are what I have done for the MOD up to today, hope to see other’s MODs and feedbacks. Please share with us on comments.

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD of Two Sets, No extra pieces required by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD of Two Sets, No extra pieces required by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD of Two Sets, No extra pieces required by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD of Two Sets, No extra pieces required by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD of Two Sets, No extra pieces required by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD of Two Sets, No extra pieces required by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD of Two Sets, No extra pieces required by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD of Two Sets, No extra pieces required by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD of Two Sets, No extra pieces required by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD of Two Sets, No extra pieces required by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD of Two Sets, No extra pieces required by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD of Two Sets, No extra pieces required by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD of Two Sets, No extra pieces required by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD of Two Sets, No extra pieces required by R Y, on Flickr

 

 

Edited September 25, 2021 by Wurger49

[eldiano]

It’s an amazing mod to be honest, love how the watchtower over looks the castle, no enemy would dare sneak upon the castle!  I have a question about the empty door frame, if you flip towards the stairs would it help balance it at all or is it missing another plate of lego?  Love how the throne room has an armor standing by just in case a the frightening knights dare attack it!!

[Jack Sassy]

This set brings back Lego Castle spirit and I love it!

 

An amazing MOD, really am speechless about it, it looks so good. 

 

 

[Wurger49]

2 hours ago, eldiano said:

It’s an amazing mod to be honest, love how the watchtower over looks the castle, no enemy would dare sneak upon the castle!  I have a question about the empty door frame, if you flip towards the stairs would it help balance it at all or is it missing another plate of lego?  Love how the throne room has an armor standing by just in case a the frightening knights dare attack it!!

Thank you for the feedback! It was the easiest way to support the 2nd level and not very noticeable when the castle is enclosed. The frame is overhanging the stairway by 2 studs. It's not ideal, but I haven't figured out a better solution yet. 

45 minutes ago, Jack Sassy said:

This set brings back Lego Castle spirit and I love it!

 

An amazing MOD, really am speechless about it, it looks so good. 

 

 

Thank you!

[Merlo]

I like how bulky this looks, especially the new left side :)

[TeriXeri]

Great way to add the large tower while keeping the shape of the original, I'm a big fan of Warcraft designs and always imagine those larger enclosed towers as a Mage/Wizard study area.

I like how this has extra little rooms and still good access to them, while also keeping a great look.

The higher walls give off even more of an impression of a raised baseplate, especially on the green slope corner.

 

 

Edited June 9, 2021 by TeriXeri

[caiman0637]

This is excellent!

[Wurger49]

12 hours ago, Merlo said:

I like how bulky this looks, especially the new left side :)

Thank you, I was happy that I was able to pull off the two-storey keep, facing the river. The bright yellow colour really adds to the model.

10 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

Great way to add the large tower while keeping the shape of the original, I'm a big fan of Warcraft designs and always imagine those larger enclosed towers as a Mage/Wizard study area.

I like how this has extra little rooms and still good access to them, while also keeping a great look.

The higher walls give off even more of an impression of a raised baseplate, especially on the green slope corner.

 

 

For the higher walls, are you referring to the battlements/crenellation? The original LEGO ramparts and battlements are quite low. 

2 hours ago, caiman0637 said:

This is excellent!

Thank you!

[jimmynick]

This set lends itself so well to mods and expansions, and you've done a fabulous job here. It's got the classic castle vibe I would have loved to have had as a kid — much more substantial than the old King Leo's Castle.

Great build and thanks for sharing!

[jtooker]

Great job extending the castle!  It is very impressive even if it is dwarfed by the Disney castle (which is still twice as much as your mod)

[TeriXeri]

11 hours ago, Wurger49 said:

For the higher walls, are you referring to the battlements/crenellation? The original LEGO ramparts and battlements are quite low. 

Yes, the battlements, and the higher towers + living space, especially the green corner makes it look like a brick-built version of a Raised baseplate.

 

Edited June 10, 2021 by TeriXeri

[Wurger49]

14 hours ago, jimmynick said:

This set lends itself so well to mods and expansions, and you've done a fabulous job here. It's got the classic castle vibe I would have loved to have had as a kid — much more substantial than the old King Leo's Castle.

Great build and thanks for sharing!

Thank you, I didn't get to have any LEGO as a kid growing up, but I am big fan of military history. As an adult, LEGO brings another level of fun and mind thinking. 

12 hours ago, jtooker said:

Great job extending the castle!  It is very impressive even if it is dwarfed by the Disney castle (which is still twice as much as your mod)

Yeah, fair enough, haha, MOD are more interesting than doing the standard build too. 

[BaalTheBuilder]

I didn’t know if I wanted 1, and you just sold me on one day getting 2

[Wurger49]

40 minutes ago, BaalTheBuilder said:

I didn’t know if I wanted 1, and you just sold me on one day getting 2

Haha, cheers, two is all you need, I see some people buying 3 sets to build all 3 LEGO designs, IMHO, connecting those 3 designs look messy...

And always wait for a sale on Creator 3-in-1s!

[Wurger49]

On 6/9/2021 at 3:16 PM, eldiano said:

It’s an amazing mod to be honest, love how the watchtower over looks the castle, no enemy would dare sneak upon the castle!  I have a question about the empty door frame, if you flip towards the stairs would it help balance it at all or is it missing another plate of lego?  Love how the throne room has an armor standing by just in case a the frightening knights dare attack it!!

Hi eldiano, that empty door frame is still bugging me, it was a rush job and I am working on moving pieces around and building that part up properly, stay tuned!

[eldiano]

4 hours ago, Wurger49 said:

Hi eldiano, that empty door frame is still bugging me, it was a rush job and I am working on moving pieces around and building that part up properly, stay tuned!

😳😳 nothing a few bricks can fix 🤣🤣🤣 that’s the fun part!!!

[Wurger49]

On 6/13/2021 at 3:45 AM, eldiano said:

😳😳 nothing a few bricks can fix 🤣🤣🤣 that’s the fun part!!!

Definitely, I made a self-imposed rule of using pieces from the 31120. 

[RichardGoring]

This is awesome!

[Wurger49]

LEGO MODs are an ongoing process for me, with more time on my hands, I look to improve the model where I can. With feedback from fellow AFOLs, the empty door frame on the keep next to the staircase is an eyesore, it was a rush job as the it’s a piece that can hold up the upper level. I decided to fill up the frame with the 1x1 yellow bricks and round plates, and 1x1 brown plates; to find just enough 1x1 yellow bricks, I had to gut out the counterweight of the trebuchet for its bright yellow bricks and replaced them with dark stone grey ones. I even had to remove two bright yellow bricks on top of the windows, replaced them with two reddish brown ones, this actually turned out well as it created a nice diagonal pattern following the slope of the roof. I was short of two 1x1 reddish brown plates, so I had to use two 1x1 round plates on the two inside columns as they are hidden from view. Finally, I had to sacrifice the trebuchet again by removing the 1x10 back plate so I can connect the arch columns. I quite enjoy this improvisation when working within the limitation of the official LEGO 31120 pieces. I moved the staircase inside by one stud to allow for the wooden beam and column, it was easier than I thought, just had to change out some bricks one the wall and move the nougat brick holder to the edge of the plate it is sitting on.

As I was adding to the wooden keep, I nearly knocked down the great tower, I realised that it was missing a stone column on the ground level! The original LEGO model only had a wooden column as there was a small house on top, I didn’t think to reinforce the inside corner leading to a wobbly tower, all fixed after two 1x1x3 bricks.

I still managed to have a working trebuchet even after taking away a lot of the original pieces, the hole plate is moved higher one, so the chain does not dangle as much while in resting position. The arm is longer due to the pieces I had to work with, the longer arm had the unexpected benefit of balancing the counterweight, the original LEGO counterweight is slanted as it’s only connected on one side by a single peg. As I am in the mode of improvements, I reinforced the front legs of the dragon with a 1x1 green flower and 1x2 sand yellow plate each, the original single stud connection is weak, the front legs keep on falling off with play.

That was the first step of the to improve on the keep section, however, the location of the staircase is still creating an awkward space where a door would not make sense. Now I know it’s quite easy to move the staircase I decided to move it completely to the watch tower section. This allowed me to complete the flooring on the keep, add in a dining table and an inward-opening door, plus an extra treasure chest. The nougat brick holder now sits on an inverted roof tile.

I changed the base plates of the watch tower to one 6x6 and 2x2 brick yellow plates, moved the stairway there locked in by two 2x4 sand yellow plates. I connected the staircase one stud from the edge of the section so it sits centerline of the castle. I finished this section with an armory crate of twelve 1x1 round bricks sitting on two 2x2 reduced plates.

Looking forward for comments and feedback please.

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr 

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr\

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

 

On 6/14/2021 at 8:18 AM, RichardGoring said:

This is awesome!

Thank you, just made some change interior changes.

Edited July 10, 2021 by Wurger49

[RichardGoring]

I'm definitely going to be heavily inspired by this when it comes out in the US. Feels like it would fit much better with the Ideas Blacksmith.

[Wurger49]

4 minutes ago, RichardGoring said:

I'm definitely going to be heavily inspired by this when it comes out in the US. Feels like it would fit much better with the Ideas Blacksmith.

Cheers, let me know if you have any questions when you build your one, unfortunately, the Ideas Blacksmith is no a bigger scale to the castle

[eldiano]

4 hours ago, Wurger49 said:

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

LEGO MODs are an ongoing process for me, with more time on my hands, I look to improve the model where I can. With feedback from fellow AFOLs, the empty door frame on the keep next to the staircase is an eyesore, it was a rush job as the it’s a piece that can hold up the upper level. I decided to fill up the frame with the 1x1 yellow bricks and round plates, and 1x1 brown plates; to find just enough 1x1 yellow bricks, I had to gut out the counterweight of the trebuchet for its bright yellow bricks and replaced them with dark stone grey ones. I even had to remove two bright yellow bricks on top of the windows, replaced them with two reddish brown ones, this actually turned out well as it created a nice diagonal pattern following the slope of the roof. I was short of two 1x1 reddish brown plates, so I had to use two 1x1 round plates on the two inside columns as they are hidden from view. Finally, I had to sacrifice the trebuchet again by removing the 1x10 back plate so I can connect the arch columns. I quite enjoy this improvisation when working within the limitation of the official LEGO 31120 pieces. I moved the staircase inside by one stud to allow for the wooden beam and column, it was easier than I thought, just had to change out some bricks one the wall and move the nougat brick holder to the edge of the plate it is sitting on.

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

As I was adding to the wooden keep, I nearly knocked down the great tower, I realised that it was missing a stone column on the ground level! The original LEGO model only had a wooden column as there was a small house on top, I didn’t think to reinforce the inside corner leading to a wobbly tower, all fixed after two 1x1x3 bricks.

I still managed to have a working trebuchet even after taking away a lot of the original pieces, the hole plate is moved higher one, so the chain does not dangle as much while in resting position. The arm is longer due to the pieces I had to work with, the longer arm had the unexpected benefit of balancing the counterweight, the original LEGO counterweight is slanted as it’s only connected on one side by a single peg. As I am in the mode of improvements, I reinforced the front legs of the dragon with a 1x1 green flower and 1x2 sand yellow plate each, the original single stud connection is weak, the front legs keep on falling off with play.

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

That was the first step of the to improve on the keep section, however, the location of the staircase is still creating an awkward space where a door would not make sense. Now I know it’s quite easy to move the staircase I decided to move it completely to the watch tower section. This allowed me to complete the flooring on the keep, add in a dining table and an inward-opening door, plus an extra treasure chest. The nougat brick holder now sits on an inverted roof tile.

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

I changed the base plates of the watch tower to one 6x6 and 2x2 brick yellow plates, moved the stairway there locked in by two 2x4 sand yellow plates. I connected the staircase one stud from the edge of the section so it sits centerline of the castle. I finished this section with an armory crate of twelve 1x1 round bricks sitting on two 2x2 reduced plates.

Looking forward for comments and feedback please. 

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr\

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

31120 MOD Changes by R Y, on Flickr

 

Thank you, just made some change interior changes.

This is so beautiful, those changes put this mod OVER the top!!! the changes and bricks is day and night with the previous version, it’s better than the original lego build, August cannot come soon enough!!!! Congratulations 😭

[Wurger49]

2 hours ago, eldiano said:

This is so beautiful, those changes put this mod OVER the top!!! the changes and bricks is day and night with the previous version, it’s better than the original lego build, August cannot come soon enough!!!! Congratulations 😭

Thank you, all of the designs are based on the original LEGO builds, I had to arrange and connect it cleanly and in the same design language of the rest of the castle. 

[Wurger49]

After building my Grand Castle MOD by deconstructing the second Medieval Castle, I was left with the rocky green base from the gatehouse, a staircase and a bottom of a battlement, plus some wall sections and what seems like a lot of spare pieces at the time. Instead taking those apart and sorting them out, I thought why not build something instead.

From building four towers, and studying the instructions of B Model, I decided to use that experience and knowledge to build an Imperial watchtower, overlooking an waterway or the sea.

MOC Imperial Watchtower 31120 by R Y, on Flickr

I used the 8x16 brick yellow plate as the base, the dark azure plates surround it to create the coast and two olive green half circle plates for grass lands. I know that each level will be six bricks. I have three 4x8 dark tan plates to build as the cliff top, a 2x4 dark tan plate will be the base of the staircase also connecting the 4x8 half round olive green plate to the 8x16 tan plate. Using this knowledge I can gauge how far to build the cliff base from the edge of the plate, ten studs long, I still don’t know if I have enough pieces, I used inverted slopes where possible, placing the flat face on the outside. The two reddish brown 1x5x4 arch pieces are sitting on a combination 1x4 light bluish gray arches and 1x4 2 studs plates, and 1x6 dark blue tiles completes the steps.

MOC Imperial Watchtower 31120 by R Y, on Flickr

The tower is built like the original LEGO model, 6x6 studs side by side. I had six dark bluish grey panels left, they made up the walls with other bricks bordered by 1x1 round bricks. A black door frame was removed from the yellow wooden keep to make the entrance. I also have four 1x2x2 castle windows left as I removed them from my Grand Castle MOD, I needed black lattice diamond pane for the yellow keep. I was still short on dark bluish gray bricks so I needed to have more opening. I designed a bow window recess to free up a wall of dark bluish gray bricks, using reddish brown round corner windows and light bluish gray round corner macaronis, sitting on two inverted slopes, a dark blue slope and corner slopes for the roof. I really like the bow window recess as it provides a 180 degree view out to the sea. I managed to build up a two floor tower, again using inverted slopes to make up the numbers.

I used the beautiful gargoyle design from LEGO model B, two are facing out to the sea, acting not only as elongated water sprouts directing water into the sea, they protect the tower from evil spirits. I introduced a bit of colour using the SNOT yellow wattle and daub panels sitting on two inverted brackets, I put one blue and one white 1x1 tooth plate to act as coat of arms on the yellow door sign. This made the tower ground floor one stud taller than the six bricks height of others. I didn’t initially use the dark tan 6x6 plates as the tower is enclosed, but realised they are required to provide structural rigidity to the body of the tower.

MOC Imperial Watchtower 31120 by R Y, on Flickr

MOC Imperial Watchtower 31120 by R Y, on Flickr

That was my first watchtower attempt after many rebuilds, moving the light and dark bluish gray pieces around so at least the opposite walls on each level has the same colour and brick patterns.

MOC Imperial Watchtower 31120 by R Y, on Flickr

The next day, my mate was asking me about the Grand Castle MOD that I posted here, are the walls of the yellow wattle and daub building facing the great tower blocked off with bricks, or was it open access? I said it was open access on the first floor, closed on the second floor; then it dawned on me I can remove the two panels on the second floor, and possibly build up a third level.

However, I still don’t have enough gray pieces. I know I have sacrificed the trebuchet design many times already, what is one more time… well, I had to take it apart completely this time. The counterweight provided the gray pieces, the frame provided five reddish brown tiles to swap out the dark blue ones on the staircase, two reddish brown 1x4 bricks were swapped into the roof of the keep for two dark bluish gray ones to go into the Imperial watchtower, four 1x1x5 solid studs and one 6x6 plate became the core of the roof. Two reddish brown arches went to the ground floor wooden columns to match the arches from first and second floor inside the yellow keep. Two 1x12 bricks are used on the cliff top to free up more grey bricks.

Keep Tower by R Y, on Flickr

As the tower got higher, I had to increase the height of the corner buttresses to balance it; they went from two bricks high, to three, and finally four, 2x2 corner bricks are used as I do not have enough 2x2 bricks.  I moved the tower one stud inside the cliff, due to the round corner window piece broke up the line of light bluish gray edge, which is visually displeasing and break in weight transfer. Moving the whole tower in by one stud allows me to continue the edge from top down to bottom, with the brown window frame siting on the outside of the 1x1 round bricks, they are linked by two 1x2 round plates. One extra stud of space allowed me to create a nicer dark blue roof with a plate of yellow underneath. I had to take another black door frame from the yellow keep, on the second floor facing the tower, to support the back buttresses. I tend to hold the tower on the buttresses; as the bow window recess, built with 2x2 round corner bricks, is no longer in between the 2x2 bricks, the force of my finger grip would push in the buttresses and nearly collapsed the whole towel; the door frame solved this issue, a simple but very effective fix. The big 1x4x3 window with two pearl gold pane are used to provide the big opening on the third floor, I was literally on the last usable small gray pieces when it was built, the stepped pattern of dark and light bluish gray bricks is for looks and also due to the lack of bricks.

MOC Imperial Watchtower 31120 by R Y, on Flickr

Imperial Watchtower by R Y, on Flickr

I wanted a pavilion roof originally, but do not have any 3x3 corner pieces left, so made to do with a dark blue gable roof. I was also short of a 1x2 yellow brick for the gable ends, so had to take one from the keep roof, replaced it with a yellow technic holed brick, hidden away from view. Dark blue 3x2 slopes stacked on top of each other with a 2x4 brick inside for support completed the roof with one flag on each gable.

So here it is, after many rebuilds, my Imperial Watchtower made from the spare pieces of my Grand Castle MOD of 2 x 31120 Medieval Castle. Please share your thoughts on comments!

MOC Imperial Watchtower 31120 by R Y, on Flickr

MOC Imperial Watchtower 31120 by R Y, on Flickr

MOC Imperial Watchtower 31120 by R Y, on Flickr

MOC Imperial Watchtower 31120 by R Y, on Flickr

MOC Imperial Watchtower 31120 by R Y, on Flickr

Edited June 20, 2021 by Wurger49

[Wurger49]

My first modification of the dragon turns out to be a wyvern, what I thought to be front legs on the wings are just clawed wrists of their wings, dragons have four legs that are independent from its wings. Three plates are the distance required so the wings and front legs on ball joints do not interfere with each other, I used a green 2x4 plate plus two dark tan 1x2 plates to build up the torso that has eight ball joint plates. I made the front legs shorter and slimmer by removing the large 1x3x2 arch and using the just the smaller green slope, with two flower plates as support. I changed how the single claw is attached on the wing wrist by using black brackets, the dark green open clip tile sticks out too much. The expanded wingspan and longer tail balanced out this four-legged fire-breathing dragon. I love this brick-built dragon, the same ball jointed torso design idea can be applied to many other animals.

Four-legged Dragon by R Y, on Flickr

Four-legged Dragon by R Y, on Flickr

Four-legged Dragon by R Y, on Flickr

Four-legged Dragon by R Y, on Flickr

Four-legged Dragon by R Y, on Flickr

Edited June 20, 2021 by Wurger49