Modified 7947 Prison Tower rescue

[Peewit]

Hi.

I've been silently watching and being inspired by all marvelous creations that people post here for quite some time so I thought it was time for me to share something on my own. It's not a MOC but rather a gentle modification of the new 7947. I quite often buy and build sets and then make small adjustments to them when I feel they lack in some detail. As many have pointed out here the 7947 looks great but have some oddities. I really like the front of the tower and from pictures when you mostly see the facade it looks stunning. Of course there is the odd stair and a balcony you can't access but appart from that it looks great. However when i built it I was dissapointed by the backside. Not only do the rooms lack furnishing but they are to small to put anything in. The tower is really just a facade. So when thinking about how I could do something about it I thought that a second 7947 just might have the pieces needed. I decided to see if I could improve the set using just pieces from another 7947. The goal was to have the set look as much as possible as the original set but without the things that disturbed me. So said and done, I returned to the shop and bought a second one. In the photos I've furnished one room with the stuff from the magician impulse set and I also used a single green cheese piece, but you get a lot of extra of these when you buy Kingdom sets...

So here is what I was able to make:

I also put stairs from the ground to the first platform but when I looked at the pieces I had left i got the idea that I might have enough to build a backside wall and turn the tower into an enclosed fortification. So I placed the stairs within that part instead. Here is how the fortification looks with the wall:

More and bigger pictures can be found at my flickr stream

Critisism, comments, and suggestions for improvements are welcome...

[Tycho McKorley]

This is a significant improvement over the original especially because it has a back wall. Nice work. Now, how about manning it with some minifigs so we can see it in all its glory?

[Lordofdragonss]

Great job! That's how this set should look!

[Artifex]

I like it. Looks great with the wizard's workshop and the back wall.

This is a significant improvement over the original especially because it has a back wall. Nice work. Now, how about manning it with some minifigs so we can see it in all its glory?

I second that.

[Sirens-of-Titan]

Hey, great way to kick off your Euro-bricks career my friend, this is truly a pleasure to look at.

You did wonders to this by simply mimicking the style of the set and adding a few key details. I'm impressed with how true to form your modifications to the design are, you can't really tell it's been modified, it just looks better and larger, like the part of the building that has been missing is back to where it should be. I too would love to see the tower fully manned, if it's not too much trouble please post a pic or two with the minifigs

Once again great job, and welcome to Eurobricks!

[KristofBD]

Great job! I share your feelings about the set - and about the gently moccing as well.

I too feel that the tower needs some modding. The back is indeed very disappointing in the original one. I did similar modifications to my version, but yours look slightly nicer I must admit . I especially like the brown pillars you inserted in the back wall.

Regarding the upper tower, I like the larger room you created. The only thing that could perhaps be improved is the top of the tower. It's still a bit spatious (there's too much room) and empty. But perhaps this problem can already be solved by inserting some minifigs...

Best,

K.

[Peewit]

Thankyou everybody for all the kind words. I know you are beeing kind to the new guy but I'll soak it in anyway . I must say I'm particulary pleased with the comment from Sirens-of-Titan below since this was exactly what I was trying to achieve:

You did wonders to this by simply mimicking the style of the set and adding a few key details. I'm impressed with how true to form your modifications to the design are, you can't really tell it's been modified, it just looks better and larger, like the part of the building that has been missing is back to where it should be.

And since you asked for it I put a few figs in there as well. As with the building itself I restricted myself to using the figs from the two 7947 sets and the magician from the impulse set. Actually I think the case is the same with the figs as with the building. You need two copies of the set in order to have a decent garrison.

If you look closely you can see that I've also adjusted the rope to the cell door a bit so it doesn't get in the way. That door was actually the hardest part to come up with a solution for. You can't have a cell without a door but the set had no doors and I found no good way to make a brick build one from the available pieces. So this is the solution I came up with. I can't say I'm a 100% satisfied but it works.

[ZO6]

This honestly does look great. I've been putting off collecting sets from the Kingdoms line because I'm not as satisfied with the designs as I'd like to be. I'm waiting for a sale before I pick up any of the sets, and after seeing your MOD it really makes me want to pick up multiples of the tower and perhaps of a couple of the other sets too. Your beefed up version fixes most of the flaws of the original set and gives the Dragon Knights a much more worthy hide-out.

Thanks for sharing!

[lightningtiger]

Excellent Dragon knights...well....castle, dam it's really COOL looking !

Great work and I'm a conformist! !

[Stiel]

I also had this idea, but you were faster. :) Even though I thought about building something more castle-like, I have to admit that your tower looks great!

As a side note: I think this set is the best in a resource sense from the Kingdoms line. Great selection of bricks for buildings, and the minifigures and equipment is also a plus.

[Brig. Brick]

wonderfull wall design, very dark and imposing

great improvement

Edited July 14, 2010 by Brig. Brick

[Shroffy123]

Wow it looks great! I had the same idea as you, and used a second 7947 set to enclose the structure. However, my additional tower (in the back right corner) is quite different then yours. Also, (however I think you did a much better job with the front section of the structure) I kept the integrity of the original structure by not modifying the front tower. I kept it the same, the tower and prison, and placed a second tower (not as high, as the front) in the back right corner to be the Green Wizards area.

I also had the same idea by having a stair case leading from the ground floor to the walls. Downstairs I have the throne room, treasure area, and armory.

Superb jobs, and I concur this is what this set SHOULD have been.

I wish I had a camera so I could post; but, sadly I don't. I look forward to seeing other members modifications to this really good set!

[Peewit]

I look forward to seeing other members modifications to this really good set!

I do to. I see from the comments that many of you have or have thought about moding this set. So if any of you have pictures of what you have done feel free to hijack this thread and post them. It would be nice to see the thread evolve into a general discussion about how to mod 7947 and not only about my suggestion.

Edited July 14, 2010 by Peewit

[Sirens-of-Titan]

Wow that looks great with the figs incorporated

Let's hope that the next wave of sets will have a dragons commander or a king that can be incorporated as the crowning jewel in this tower

[Fires-storm]

Well done mate, I think you just made me want to buy two or three of these as well! I can see possibly making an entire castle just out of these