[MOC] LOTR Minas Tirith

[ShaydDeGrai]

The White City, City of Kings, Capital of Gondor

Continuing my series of Lord of the Rings micro-builds, I humbly offer my interpretation of Minas Tirith, the seven tiered city overlooking the Pelennor Fields and the banks of the the Anduin.

The model is 32 studs square and about the same length in height if you count the very tip of the tower. It's something of a mega-micro-build in that it's made from a very large number of very small parts for it's size

As this is relatively small model of an entire city, I tried to give it as much depth of detail as I could (unlike some of my other, more Architecture-like abstractions).

I was shooting for something with a distinctly recognizable shape that would catch your eye from across the room and reward those who bothered to take a closer look with tiny archways, causeways and spires that make the a city feel more organic and alive than any single structure within it.

This model has been taunting me for about ten years now (ever since I got a little Weta Workshop model with a boxed set of the movie. Creating seven tiers with concentric radii and just the right level of detail in a package that could still sit comfortably on a desk was a bit of a pain. One of my early attempts looked like a grey wedding cake with a cleaver sticking out of it. In the end though, I like how it finally came out. I hope you do too.

If you like the look of this and would like TLG to make a kit so you can have one for yourself, please check out my Cuusoo page, I'd appreciate any support you can render. Comment and questions are always welcome.

Thanks for stopping by.

[Angeli]

looks so much like the real thing ;)

[JackJonespaw]

Nice! This looks just like it! But...isn't a mega micro-build just regular sized?

[Niku]

Holy Guacamole, this looks fantastic, it resembles a lot Minas Tirith, just only it should have more white pieces instead of gray, but that is only for scoring 11 of 10.

Right now is 10/10.

[jFox]

I think I know the model you mentioned, the one from the boxed set of the movie. This is very much a good representation of that (and the city in general). Very detailed, I love it. From what I've seen of micro builds they look they could pose quite a challenge, and this is certainly no exception. Well done!

[just2good]

Excellent microbuild, 'ShaydDeGrai'!

You've really captured the essence of the White City very well. I say this with a lot of other MOCs, but you should definitely put this on Cuusoo! People would totally support this!

[purpleparadox]

Wow! That's really, really, awesome! Things like this are starting to get me more interested in micro-builds!

Excellent microbuild, 'ShaydDeGrai'!

You've really captured the essence of the White City very well. I say this with a lot of other MOCs, but you should definitely put this on Cuusoo! People would totally support this!

Umm...yeah, it's on there :

If you like the look of this and would like TLG to make a kit so you can have one for yourself, please check out my Cuusoo page, I'd appreciate any support you can render. Comment and questions are always welcome.

[ThePyroMaster]

Wow this is amazing! Instantly recognizable

[Nuju Metru]

Lookin' good! Instantly recognizable, and you've managed to pack so many architectural details and so much variety into the rings of the city. However, by contrast, the rock shelf jutting out seems really plain and flat - if that were more textured, and extended less far out at its tip, I think the whole model would seem more cohesive and completed. Overall, great work. I especially like the top.

[Legonardo]

awesome! great replica, instantly recognizable, keep it up!

=Legonardo=

[NiceMarmot]

Hope you don't mind, but I did a quick photo-editing on one of your images, as it just called out to me to put the movie background into it:

minas.tirith.ShaydDeGrai.microbuild by nice.marmot, on Flickr

It's not quite perfect, as the two images (yours, and the movie one) are taken from slightly different distances from the city, so the perspective is not quite right, but it's close.

Hope you like it, and feel free to use it.

Great MOC, btw! Would love to build this one myself!

EDIT: now with highlighting on the top of the city to try to match the movie shot's lighting.

Edited June 5, 2012 by NiceMarmot

[Legonardo]

>picture<

[soccerkid6]

Very impressive micro-scale, easily recognizable

I'm sure it was quite a frustrating build at times.

[ShaydDeGrai]

Hope you don't mind, but I did a quick photo-editing on one of your images, as it just called out to me to put the movie background into it:

Mind? Are you kidding? This is great. I may use it as wallpaper for my iPad.

Thanks for sharing.

[Ash]

This is great.

Some kind of licensed/fantasy Architecture line would be so awesome.

[bbailey979]

Wow that's incredible

[Vindicare]

This is brilliant! You should change the sub title to "Mega Awesome micro build". The details are great and despite it's scale, it looks accurate.

NiceMarmot-great editing. Thanks for the new background.

[harton]

I'm rellay think you have it! This is a real challeng to make it fit at this scale.

[Brinstar]

Brilliant work! I'm not usually a fan of the micro scale but in the context of recreating Minas Tirith, its probably the best way to attempt a Lego version. This looks absolutely fantastic, so easily recognisable and I can't begin to imagine how difficult it would be to gain this level of accuracy.

[Mutant Orc]

I've seen your Minas Morgul which led me to this- BRILLIANT- I was thinking, despite the fact Minas Morgul was brilliant, you should make another minas morgul to go with this as a bookend for your Tolkien collection...

[Lynx]

Really well done!

[Mikisajlo]

Nice mini-castle

[Jimosaurus]

Looks so much like the movie. This is spot on.

[Alfadas]

Great use of the old and new grey. I like it!

[Alcarin]

The only ''problem'' with your '?White'' City is that, well, its not white but light gray :P