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Named for nearby Fort Legoredo, the town of Glencoe was first settled in 1869 by the people following the Wichita, Xenia, Yazoo & Zephyrus Rail-Road through the Colorado on towards it's junction with the Union Pacific to create a branch off of the First Transcontinental Railroad. Usually these towns die off once the construction teams move on, but this town didn't because of one crucial fact: Valuable veins of silver were discovered by the Construction crews in a attempt to tunnel through the side of Raindance Ridge. This new wealth happened to be right up the tracks (about a mile or two) from the City. The town (and fort) continue to have a booming industry in the 21st century, with tourists flocking to the Wild West town, movies being shot on-site, and more recently, the reopening of the silver mines because of advances in mining techniques. (seen above is the town in the 1950-70's TV / Movie boom) The railroad still stops at Fort Legoredo depot (shown above) and the town of Glencoe, with a Native American reservation and the preserved Army Fort nearby. US 1880's LEGOREDO MODULAR TRAIN DEPOT I originally got this basic model from a page on Bricksafe by user @sed6 as seen here. I revised the freight door to be movable, changed the roof color to dark red from black, building color to sand green from tan, plus I added a "cast iron" heating stove and it's chimney flue to the model for late-1800's period look. I have named the Fort Legoredo passenger depot after the famous set number 6761. (Fort Legoredo)  The model features the separate entry doors to the station premises for cargo and people on the both the street and track sides. There is also plenty of outside seating on both the left and right sides, yet they are still under the roof awning to be protected from rain. (three seats per side) Inside we have the freight area (on the left) and the passenger area (on the right) with a connecting door between the two. The passenger section also has the heating stove which currently is keeping the coffee hot. (or is it boiling the water for tea?) This part of the station also has three inside seats for weary passengers and a cash register for ticket dispensing. The station is modular, and comes apart in four sections: - Left platform end - Right platform end - Station roof - Station building 1870's LEGOREDO CITY This bank was partially inspired by set 10255 (Assembly Square). The rear of the bank also has a modified safe from set 10217. (Diagon Alley) along with two bank teller's windows and a desk. This barber shop was inspired by set 6765. (Gold City Junction). The barber shop features two chairs taken from set 10246, (Detective's Office) along with a sink and cash register. This general store is supposed to be modeled after the one in set 6765 (Gold City Junction), but with updated parts and expanded collection of items for sale. Inside, we have a cash register and a not-yet-finished interior. Hank Haystack from the LEGO Movie owns and operates this store. This saloon was inspired by the bank in set 79109. (Colby City Showdown) It features a typical saloon swing-open door, a cash register, and several spots to sit down and order a drink and is owned by Doc Brown from Back to the Future. (Hey, he can't drink it, doesn't mean he can't sell it!) Being on a corner, much of the building is left to the imagination as I wanted to avoid lift away floors to keep with the vintage 1990's Western feel. This sheriff's office was taken almost wholly from set 79109. (Colby city Showdown) The rooftop cannon has been removed, and a sticker-based sign from set 7954 (Woody's Roundup) has been placed up there instead. The floor of the building has also been redone, and most of the odd colored part removed. The rear of the building features the sheriff's office and his armory, plus the jail cell with it's exploding front wall. This blacksmith's store was heavily inspired by 2011 Ninjago set 2508. (Blacksmith Shop) I revised the colors scheme, removed the rotating rear wall, and added a holder for the sign. The roof still folds open like the original set. The post office was mostly taken from set 40305 (LEGO brand store), which has been reworked into a post office. There is a hanging sign out front in the shape of an envelope, and the sign on the top of the building clearly defines the building's purpose. (though the inside is empty at this point!) This spooky boneyard was made from sets 70420 (Graveyard Mystery), and set 75965 (The Rise of Voldemort) put together, end to end. I disabled the Voldemort "rising from the grave" function, although I did keep some caskets open-able as a feature because grave robbers were a thing back then! I also threw in a Doctor Who weeping angel to guard the place as it it seemed fitting (I am having this as a bit on a bit of a science-fiction / slight steampunk bent after all anyway, right?) US 1880's TRAIN MODELS - PASSENGER This train is meant to be built from sets 7597 (Western train Chase from Toy Story 3), 71044, (Disney Train and Station) and set 10014. (Caboose from the My Own Train series, albeit a bit bigger width-wise!) I also used the 1955 Disneyland RR passenger car instructions from @TJJohn12, as seen on Flickr here. I just recolored them and simplified them for this model. The coal-burning straight stack-styled locomotive is a mish-mash of two steam locomotives, (both 4-4-0 type) from the Toy Story set and Disney train model. I just stretched out the Disney model, added a blind driving wheel to either side (making it into a 4-6-0), and repainted it into a Toy-ish color scheme. Oh, and I built a brand new tender from the rails up, which will use 1970's red 12v-era wheels. (I hate the new Powered Up wheels without the metal axle, so this was my only choice!) The locomotive is missing these printed parts, which are colored wrong on the model for visibility. They are as follows: - the green 1 x 4 printed number "1" bricks, two on the loco and two on the tender. - a single printed red 2 x 2 brick with "1" print for the headlamp. - one 2 x 2 printed round tile for the firebox door in the cab. This baggage / coach car is styled after TJJohn12's free instructions. I did change the color scheme a bit, with black windows. black roof, and red doors, instead of red doors, reddish-brown roof, and red windows. Two of these are also going to be built, and were designed with TJJohn12's instructions. (with some subtle design changes by me for ease of ordering and a slightly simpler design) Now, I know passenger train's are not supposed to have cabooses, but this one does as I couldn't figure out a good red light arrangement for the rear-facing passenger car. Thus, this 10014-styled caboose was created in 8-wide. The yellow 2 x 4 tile on the both sides of the car are actually supposed to be this printed red part of the same size. US 1880's TRAIN MODELS - FREIGHT This freight-hauling locomotive is meant to be built from sets 7597 (Western train Chase from Toy Story 3), 71044, (Disney Train and Station) and set 10014. (Caboose from the My Own Train series, albeit a bit bigger width-wise!) I also used set 10013 (Open Freight Wagon, also from My Own Train) as a guide for the pipe-carrying car, plus model 15 (Tanker) from set 10183, Hobby Trains for the tanker car. This loco shares the same tender as my other Western 8-wdie loco from this time period. The engine itself, however, is an enlarged version of 7597, in yellow and blue. It's also meant to have inside pistons as it's an early-to-mid 1860's locomotive. (thus the lack of visible pistons!) The locomotive is missing these printed parts. They are as follows: The four yellow 1 x 6 bricks are supposed to be printed with this number 2. while the headlamp is supposed to have two of these printed yellow 1 x 1 tiles. The firebox door requires this print. Inspired by a @wildchicken13 model from Bricklink, back from before Lego bought them out. This boxcar is not inspired by any specific car in particular, and was done freehand without looking at other 8 wide boxcars. The four doors slide open. Model 15 (Tanker) from set 10183, Hobby Trains was the inspiration for the tanker car. It should feature this print on the 2x2 round white tiles. This model was built from instructions seen at the Old Workhorse's Lego Ideas page as seen here. (I am not affiliated with the creator of that page, I just used their free instructions, visible further down in the updates section, to build the traction engine seen above.) The model has been attached to an 8-wide flat car for transportation across the county. This 10014-styled caboose was created in 8-wide for my passenger train, but has been redone in yellow for the freight train. US 1880's TRAIN MODELS - U.S. MILITARY This entire military transport train was inspired by sets 60052, 79106, and 79111. This train also has a couple play features, such as a rotating Gatling gun, moving steam engine side rods, and a exploding jail car wall. This eight-wide model is a complete model of my own design, and is inspired by the steam engine from the 1970's Western film, "Breakheart Pass". I included working pistons, and a more cohesive color scheme of red and green, with a splash of yellow. Big Ben bricks' medium size wheels, 4 flanged and 4 blind, are meant to take the place of the gear wheels. You can buy them at his site here. The tender and cab walls are supposed to have four of this printed red 1 x 6 piece inserted into them: The front headlight is supposed to have two of this printed 1 x 1 placed on it. This horse car was originally a cattle car from set 60052, (2014 Cargo Train) but I've re-purposed it for my Army officer horses. These cannons are from set 79106 (Calvary Builder Set) and were placed on a generic flatcar for transport by rail. The rotating Gatling gun you see here was taken from set 79111. (Constitution Train Chase) This car has the basic "look" of the 1955 Disneyland MOC trains cars from TJJohn12, albeit without the clerestory roof, which instead has a walkway for train crew / soldiers on lookout during fuel stops. The jail car you see was originally from set 79111. (Constitution Train Chase) while gaining the styling of the 1955 Disneyland MOC trains cars from TJJohn12. This car has one play feature that is sure to blow you away: the back wall can be removed to get at the jail cell via the "dynamite" on the outside of the back wall. When pushed back towards the other end of the car, the lever on the left side pops the back wall out and the bad guys can escape! US 1880's TRAIN MODELS - MAINTENANCE OF WAY ROTARY SNOW PLOW This blue train is marked (4-8-0+0-8-4 Garratt, for heavy duty rotary snow plow jobs) is pulled / pushed by an 8-wide Garratt-type steam locomotive is perfect for use on the mountainous terrain of Colorado Rocky Mountains, with it's double steam locomotive pistons sets. (Before anyone says anything about Garratt loco's not being ever sold into the North American market, I'll say it's an lost experimental prototype to help with a motive power shortage. It may have been seen by the owner as a economical way of sending one locomotive to do the job of two.) This steam powered rotary snowplow was inspired by the real-world Denver and Rio Grande's narrow gauge plow "OY", as now seen on the Cumbres and Toltec RR in New Mexico / Colorado. I've decided to name my plow "YO" in tribute to my inspiration, using four of this part from the original Toy Story sets as a sort of marker. The rear of the plow features the coal tender with a ladder from the water tank-top down to the magnetic coupler. This 8-wide engine was originally a SRW locomotive works product, (made by Anthony Sava and formerly available on Bricklink until LEGO sadly removed most of his models.) I reworked the engine to have working pistons and side-rods plus a longer frame. This made it from 2-4-0+0-4-2 to a 4-8-0+0-8-4, among other smaller updates to the engine. I also substituted a Disney train-style boiler onto the engine to backdate it to the mid-1880's or so. The rear of the steam locomotive. This part in black goes on the water tank and coal bunker walls (it's the number 4). Even with the added pistons, the engine can go around corners and switches quite easily. A simple caboose, for the snow plow train. I used a pair interesting windscreen parts for the cupola windows. US 1870's WESTERN MILITARY - FORT LEGOREDO This is an updated and enlarged form of sets 6769 / 6762, (Fort Legoredo) with new parts and some modifications to the original set. These new parts include two cannons which oddly are missing in the original sets. I have heavily modified this model by adding Technic pins to hold the sections together, and by filling in the gaps in the wooden walls. The jail cell has also been enlarged and opened up for play-ability, plus a train platform had bee placed at the secondary gate for loading and unloading soldiers and equipment. The yellow flag is supposed to have this print: http://www.bricklink...35pb107#T=C&C=3 while the tan plates above the main gate are to have printed 1 x 1 tiles spelling out "Fort Legoredo". (which are sadly not in LDD) The back of the fort features the commander's office and jail cell below. I removed the originals set's trap door and enlarged the cell. The main gate has been greatly enlarged to allow for wagons to enter the fort. The secondary gate allows for rapid deployment of artillery and troops off of trains and into the fort. The commander's office is above the jail. I plan on adding a custom Confederate officer into the cell. Not much to say about this part... US 1870's WILD WEST MINI-FIGURES Commanded by General Buford Armstrong, the garrison at Fort Legoredo is ready for anything... or so they think! Just some local folks, including retired sheriff Woody, Jessie the cowgirl, the current sheriff (Rodger Walker, top row in black) two deputies (lower row), two ladies, and two citizens. Just some local folks, including a old miner 49er, a couple ladies, the honorable Mayor Peter Johnston (with white beard, lower row) and three citizens. The Blackheart gang is led by the genius gunslinger the "Man in Black" whose name is not known by anyone still living. Also he plays harmonica during raids, giving clues and help to gang members in code as he does not speak much. (lower, center) This gang features other criminals such as (top row from left to right:) "Sister" Sarah: she infiltrates the train at a previous station sometimes disguised as a Catholic nun. She then makes mental notes of where the valuables and safe are kept, and how many guards their are Tuco "the rat": This man puts ties on the tracks to stop the train, then blows the track behind it. He also can blow the safe door easily, no matter how thick the metal. He also knows most locks better than most locksmiths (just in case), and keeps a running table in his head of how much dynamite he has left to use. "Hot-Lead" Luke: He takes care of any guards (permanently) and relives the passengers of their watches, gold and and cash, with help from Sarah. "Smiley" Feared sociopath, and is said to kill the train men of each train they rob, though the bodies have never been found. he also makes sure no-one looks at the robbers as they leave or tries to be a hero. These hardened railroad men are as follows: Top: Tom Hardy; senior locomotive engineer and perpetually two weeks from retiring (or so he says) Joseph Barbara; station master of the Fort Legoredo depot, always punctual and runs through life like a well oiled machine Middle: E.S. Hawkins; division manager and a bit of a eccentric. Stops by the Legoredo station every now and then and demands a train be chartered to a fictional / impossible place (such as the ghost town of Grave Stone). He says he's serious, but in actuality he just likes to keep people guessing on his next sentence! Lower: Sidney Flattery, junior fireman of engine Number 3 and is very proud of keeping the girl running like clockwork. Alex; locomotive engineer of engine 3 and sometimes old No.1 when Tom Hardy is busy or unavailable. These Native Americans are of the tribe displaced by the US Army and the silver miners in the Raindance Ridge area back in the 1880s. They went onto reservations, which they then left under cover of darkness for their even older ancestral burial grounds: known only to their lone elder, the much revered Chief Big Bear. When they arrived, they found two people already there: Doctor Emmett Brown and his wife Clara, who had decided to take a 20th-century shortcut through an 19th century world and got lost. Chief Big Bear could somehow tell that Doc Brown was a man "from many sunrises from now" (aka the future), and offered to help him if he could help them. So, Doc drew up the plans for the time train, and, with the help from his inventions and the native americans, worked to keep the hidden valley a secret for ten years, all while getting parts for the engine from opening a saloon in the nearby town of Legoredo City. (He can't drink it, but he can sure sell it!) US 1870's MODULAR EADS TRAIN BRIDGE Here is my final design of the St. Louis bridge, commonly known as the Eads bridge because of it's designer, James B. Eads. It uses Indiana Jones roller-coaster ramps for the arches, which looks pretty cool. The bridge is nine tracks total in length and 19 bricks high from base to track. (this means about fourteen brick of clearance between arch top and floor, so some ships could pass through!) First, a little background info from Wikipedia (which is also where this picture came from): "The Eads Bridge is a combined road and railway bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis, connecting St. Louis and East St. Louis, Illinois. The bridge is named for its designer and builder, James B. Eads. When completed in 1874, the Eads Bridge was the longest arch bridge in the world, with an overall length of 6,442 feet (1,964 m). The ribbed steel arch spans were considered daring, as was the use of steel as a primary structural material: it was the first such use of true steel in a major bridge project. The Eads Bridge, which became an iconic image of the city of St. Louis, from the time of its erection until 1965 when the Gateway Arch was constructed, is still in use. The bridge crosses the St. Louis riverfront between Laclede's Landing, to the north, and the grounds of the Gateway Arch, to the south. Today the road deck has been restored, allowing vehicular and pedestrian traffic to cross the river. The St. Louis MetroLink light rail line has used the rail deck since 1993." This is a rough representation, as it is missing a lot, (I.E. no car deck, missing tunnel under downtown, and lack of the East St Louis ramp approach.) Here is the modular component, of which three of these big sections together via eight Technic pins (four per section) to make the whole bridge. The modular component of the bridge's design also makes it a LOT easier to carry as the whole bridge with the three sections weighs about 10 pounds total. US 1870's WESTERN STAGECOACH, TOWN CARTS, SNAKE-OIL SALESMAN VEHICLE, US ARMY CANNON CART + AMMUNITION WAGON "Come one, Come all! Gather 'round for a cure to end the all-too-common cold!" It may say "bait shop" on the side, but it really is a patent "medicine" store, where Anton Dewey Cheatum makes his own brand of lethal cures using rattlesnake venom, whiskey and his special addictive ingredient... one or two tastes, and you'll come back for more until you drop (dead). Usually this happens after he has fled town in his red wagon with the citizens hard-earned cash. This Express Stagecoach model was mostly taken from set 79108 (Stagecoach Escape) from the 2013 Lone Ranger theme. I removed some of the random colors to give it a more unified look, and replaced red with yellow as the main color for this stage while the rear baggage ejection feature still works as originally designed. Here we see inside the stage, with the roof removed and doors opened. The brown box on the roof is the safe hauling the silver miner's pay, disguised as a steamer trunk to fool bandits. These wagons are for my townsfolk and their businesses. The yellow crates hold various liquor bottles for the Saloon, and the other wagon is headed for the mine with TNT and a barrel full of Whiskey. This 1860's US Army covered ammunition wagon with cannon is inspired by set 6716 (covered wagon) from 1996's Western theme. The cannon can come detached from the wagon, and become ready for action very quickly. Revered among the west are the lawmen, the get-it-done type of folk, like Wyatt Earp, for example. This is the ride of not a single one of those type of men. The wagon you see here is the official Mayor's carriage of the town of Fort Legoredo. This wagon was used for the second though fifth mayors, with the first (the one who died before this wagon was delivered) being the only truly honest and good one in the bunch. He was pushed off of Boulder Cliff Canyon in 1872 by cattle ranchers for giving the Native Americans a fair share of the land they were owed in a treaty that was signed by all involved.... unfortunately, this mattered not to the ranchers. The next eight years and four mayors were full of lust, greed, bullets, and backstabbing. It wasn't until 1880 that a real era of economic boom and social change began in the Fort Legoredo area. (The snake oil delivery wagon, mayor's wagon and the two town wagons were designed by Baskerville bricks (seen at this Bricklink store here.) with some added flourishes by me.) WILD WESTERN STERN-WHEEL STEAMBOAT The captain of the Proud Mary is Thaddeus Sweeney, better known as "Old Man Sweet-tooth", for his habit of chewing saltwater taffy when the going gets tough and and giving candy out to the little children whenever he lands at small towns and native american villages such as Lone Tree, Nebraska, or Fort Legoredo, Colorado. He usually plies his brand-new-for-1872 stern-wheel steamboat up and down the Rapid River, with the Missouri River in Iowa at one end, and the the mighty cliff face of Showdown Canyon Springs at the other end in the middle of Colorado. Thaddeus is the only one he trusts to handle his ship, as he says the Rapid River is too treacherous for many newer pilots, as the wrecks that litter the shoreline prove. However, even Captain Sweeney admits from time to time that age is catching up to him, and he has been looking for a suitable first mate for the Proud Mary for some time. The name of the ship is the Proud Mary, after the Creedence Clearwater Revival song of the same name, as I figured it would be appropriate. The rear paddle moves around 360 degrees and simultaneously slides the gray piston parts in and out on both sides. WILD WESTERN RAILROAD TRUSS BRIDGE This through-truss bridge design was originally downloaded by me (I don't remember the name of the original designer who created the bridge) from the LEGO Factory / Design By ME page in 2010-ish and was never built in real life due to questions about it's strength. I came across it again while looking at my MOCpage account's older files and made it into the version seen above using newer parts and a longer frame quite a while ago. (and as to those original questions about it's strength: It's built like a safe, as I can pick it up with a single finger by the top..... just don't drop it, because the reddish brown parts won't survive the landing!) More recently, I revised the deck where the track goes to be able to take the RC track up and be able to put down 9V down more easily. (We run 9V trains at shows in Gateway LUG.) In short, the track is now more easily removable to become 9V, 12V, or even a road bridge. The bridge fits any of my trains, and should fit all official LEGO trains except for double stack containers such as sets 10219 (Maersk Train) and 10170 (TTX Intermodal Double-Stack Car). WILD WEST RAILROAD WATER TOWER This model was inspired by fellow builder @Pdaitabird and his water tower, as seen here on his Flickr page. I have re-purposed the model for my Wild Western town / railroad. The tower top rotates a full 360 degrees with the water pipe, allowing the engineer to pull up, get his loco full of (imaginary) water, shove the pipe away, and move on. US 1860's WESTERN SILVER MINE AT SKULL ROCK This Wild West model was originally LEGO set 79110 (Silver Mine Shootout) from the 2013 Lone Ranger theme. I added a more reinforced right wall and a real base-plate to support the model, as I know from experience it can be pretty flimsy if handed wrong. I also added the collapsing water tower from set 79111 (Constitution Train Chase) to the front corner as another action play feature. The model has also been heightened by five bricks to allow for regular train cars to pass through, but unfortunately it still isn't wide enough for custom locomotives with side-rods to fit through. (yet!) The natural rock formation (the skull) on top of the mine gives it it's name, and features a carved out section for two cannons to protect the mine, either from Native Americans wanting their sacred mountain back, or desperadoes looking to cash in on the (supposedly cursed) silver. You can see many more details on the mine can be seen in this topic. NOTES ON THE POST EDIT 1/16/21 Added new 8-wide trains and new overall pictures of the Western town / Army fort. As usual, comments, Questions, and complaints are always welcome!

This is my creation for Brickstory 2017 contest, for the "Age of Piracy" category. This is my biggest creation so far.. and it came with a theme that I love.. Pirates!! This inspiration came from one of my favorites series.. Black sails!!! :D And because i didn't like the end of Vane.. I decide to change it a little bit!! And the story starts..: Year: 1715 Place: Nassau Mission: Free Vane and burn Nassau to the ground! Vane is shuttled to the town square of Nassau where he will be executed. Bones and those loyal to him join the crowd, intent on a desperate rescue attempt. However, Vane makes eye contact with Billy and gives him a silent order to stand down.. But Captain Flint has a different opinion than the movie series.. Free Vane and kill them all!!! Nassau it's ours again!!! I hoped you like my creation! C&C are welcome!! :D

Here is my latest MOC, Fort Iron Cactus. It is my interpretation of an Old Wild West Fort. Inspiration for this comes from a mix of the Lego Western theme, Ninja theme, and some Ninjago. Some details about this fort is the base is 64 x 64 studs, it is made with some of the modular techniques were different sections of the building are able to be removed. It is able to be separated into 13 different sections plus the base section. Different sections of this fort include an armory, jail cell, chow hall, bunkhouse for the enlisted, bunkhouse for the officers, and an office/living quarters for the fort commander. There are three groups of minifigs in this MOC: enlisted in the light blue uniforms, officers in the dark blue uniforms, and of course two bad guys. 1 by Jamin Star, on Flickr 2 by Jamin Star, on Flickr 3 by Jamin Star, on Flickr 4 by Jamin Star, on Flickr 5 by Jamin Star, on Flickr 6 by Jamin Star, on Flickr 7 by Jamin Star, on Flickr 8 by Jamin Star, on Flickr 9 by Jamin Star, on Flickr 10 by Jamin Star, on Flickr 11 by Jamin Star, on Flickr 12 by Jamin Star, on Flickr 13 by Jamin Star, on Flickr 14 by Jamin Star, on Flickr 15 by Jamin Star, on Flickr I have also submitted this MOC as a project on Lego Ideas website https://ideas.lego.com/content/project/link/0c31545f-c770-4ec4-961a-8f8583ba45c6

I've been promising my fellow MCTCers a fort for a long, long time. But at last, here she be! I hurry to say that the brick separator roof was @Garmadon's idea. Credit where credit is due and I'd hate for Captain Nordau to feel like I'd robbed his designs. But on the other hand, I don't recall him crediting me for those lamp posts he totally ripped right off my desk... As you can see, this fort is totally ready for a prolonged siege by any number of Class 10 pirate ships. No false front here. And it was nice to have this one wall going straight up. Fortunately the soldiers here are able to get their hands on a newspaper or two once or twice a year. So the angled stuff was actually pretty complex, but I'm very happy with the end result. And always happy to show off my light aqua... ...and my light yellow... I tried to go detailed in keeping with my previous Salida Este MOCs. Would have been nice to use some vibrant coral somewhere but I stuck with the pastel colors. Anyway, now we in Salida Este can finally rest secure. Maybe... C&C welcome! Edit: Forgot to mention that there's a build log on my blog.

Fort Arltrees, February 620, El Oleonda The fort giving the name to the new Oleander settlement was finally completed. Fort Artrees was not much more than a palisade surrounding a few buildings, but now nobody could dislodge the small contingent without a hard fight. Lieutenant Marcel Dubois, the officer in charge of the garrison, was quite satisfied by the result: now, at least, nobody could take them by surprise, and more soldiers would soon have flowed towards the settlement… or at least that was the plan. Meanwhile, he had decided to reinforce all the weak points with additional defences: the soldiers built some cheval de Frise to protect the cannon loopholes... ...and deployed a real forest of pointy poles to prevent an attacker from approaching the wall with ropes and ladders. The garrison spent the rest of the time doing little jobs, such as unpacking tools, sharpening a blade with a whetstone or "testing the quality" of some Oleander aquavit. Others spend some time gambling, something strictly forbidden in most garrisons, but allowed in Fort Arltrees, considering the absence of any leisure or distraction. Everybody, however, was ready to run to his position in case of need… and more than grateful for the 24-pounders just unloaded from the warship Scamander. Overall view: Not so much to say about this build… I wanted to show the complete fort before licensing it. Despite the plot size (32x32) I will license it as a small fort, due to both the simplicity of the building and, storywise, the rushed and not exactly irresistible defences. Thank you for watching!

Fort in Astrapi, Île de Zeus This is my entry for Challenge II - Defending Yer Claims, category A. On Île de Zeus, which has recently been incorporated into the empire of Oleon, Oleander military engineers have been busy erecting defensive structures. They are designed to be suitable both against any hostile natives and to defend the island from other nations if the political tensions should turn into open war. This small fort is built using resources which can be found in great abundance on the island, namely wood and sand. The slope of the walls increase their effective cross-section to provide additional protection of the rooms inside and the sand provides excellent ballistic protection (compare with modern-day sand bags). The fort is of course not built to withstand a prolonged siege, but it’s heavy cannons and high elevation should be able to put up a good resistance against any of the smaller vessels still predominant in the waters of New Terra. The three cannons can be directed in all directions from the fort, and a soldier in the high lookout tower can spot approaching ships better than lookouts on higher ground on the island, since the peaks are most often shrouded in clouds while the land closer to the beaches is more likely to have good sight of the seas. A lot of weird angles in this build and quite a few iterations to get things the way I wanted, but I'm fairly happy with the end result. The gate is on the other side if someone wonders, but in the rush to complete this it didn’t turn out well enough to merit a picture... I tried a new black background for this photo session, which I think worked ok except for that the contrast to the black roof wasn't very good... I also tried some different lighting with another flash from above, to simulate sunlight. What do you think of that?

After months of exploring islands in the New Haven Sea, Eslandola’s expedition finally set foot on the island of Maldria. Initial exploration had identified a prime location for a settlement on the north side of the island, and preparations for a base for further exploration of the island were begun. Now, after much hard work by the ship crews and troops that made up the human capital of the expedition, a permanent base was established. Even though the fort was done, work crews continued on other tasks, as a dock and other infrastructure was needed for the new settlement. Ship gun crews and troop leaders worked to make sure the fort’s armament was ready. Outside the fort, musketeers patrolled the perimeter, as the island was still a great unknown. Inside the fort, expedition leader Philip “Pip” Janszen discussed matters with somewhat-renowned explorer Thaddeus Calvo. Pip’s protestations aside, Calvo informed Pip that the men had already named the fort after their expedition leader. It was Fort Janszen. He was stuck with it. ---------------------- This is a part of my ongoing AMRCA exploring the New Haven Sea, but I’ve posted it separately for licensing purposes. All C&C welcome.

With settlements being raided, and altercations between Corrington and Oleon in the eastern islands, it was no time to relax on security. And Eslandolan troops were scattered all over the Brick Seas. But recruitment numbers had been up ever since the regimental soccer team went to the Soccer Cup finals. Finally, Weelond had a battalion of fresh troops ready for service to supplement the veterans already on duty. The new battalion paraded through the main gate of Fort Weelond, reviewed by General Alonzo: The traditional core of Eslandolan infantry were the pikeman: But it had become apparent in the Eslando-Mardierian war that the musket needed to be featured in greater quantity: A couple more pics: All C&C welcome.

The latest and greatest engineering has come to Turtle Island. This Forts long guns are hefty enough to slice any ship to ribbons. OoC: I built this off memory of the civil war fortifications in New England from when I toured as a kid. It was originally built with a barracks in the center but I decided to make it a tower at last minute. After I posted a preview in the faction pm, I was sent this link to the fort that stood in Tortuga. Ironically it is very fitting hence the naming. Comments and Criticism welcome!

After losing the corvette HMS Badger to a nefarious fleet of pirates (and sinking the flagship, the Komodo Dragon), Corrington had been outraged to see the pirates parade the prize into the Olean port of Lavalette. Hence, Corrington had sent an official request to the RNTC authorities to size the unlawful prize and return it to its proper owners. This had left the authorities of Lavalette in a dilemma, as can be seen from the following official communication. Official letters: The outcome had been an agreement that Corrington would dispatch a group of Royal Engineers to assist in building up fortifications to counter the the pirate threat. In return, Oleon would seize the HMS Badger and expel the pirate fleet, as well as assist in the build up of similar Corlander defences at some point in the future. A plan had been made for a distributed build up of fortifications that would add up to a well-rounded defence of the settlement. Lavalette Fort Headquarters by Tom Gray, on Flickr (32x16 by @Spud The Viking) Fortifications: Visitors for Lavalette by @Bregir (32x16) Lavalette Cannon Battery by @LM71Blackbird (32x16) Innovative Tactics for Lavalette by @Drunknok (32x16) Mortar Emplacement by @Bregir (32x48) Small Fort at Lavalette by @Bodi (32x32) to be continued... For now, a large fort will be licensed.

This MOC was a commissioned model builld. My client gave me the general layout, and some specific details to include, and then let me go from there. It’s 64×64 plus the two stud border, and is modular, allowing each 32×32 module to be easily removed, and also allowing for easy additions in the future. All the building’s doors/trapdoors are functional, the two cranes work, and the prison cell has a break-away wall. Total piece count, excluding figs and accessories (all the dock cargo) was 5696 parts, making it my largest MOC in the Pirate theme so far. See lots more pictures on my website: http://www.brickbuilt.org/?p=3813 Feedback welcome

Fort Annetta in Queens bay QV12.1 by LM71Blackbird, on Flickr After a reassuring visit to the barracks of the 1st Quinnsville Fusiliers, Captain Nathaniel Brickford's next stop was the newly completed Fort Annetta. QV12.2 by LM71Blackbird, on Flickr Situated on a rocky island in Queens Bay, it made the perfect spot for a defensive position. It is only accessible by boat during high tide and is heavily guarded. QV12.3 by LM71Blackbird, on Flickr There is a small guardhouse before the main entrance to the fort. Behind it is a favorite fishing spot for some of the stationed troops. QV12.4 by LM71Blackbird, on Flickr Having been recently completed, the main living area hasn't been fully completed so the men have to sleep in the main courtyard. QV12.5 by LM71Blackbird, on Flickr The basement, which will be used for the main living quarters, is currently a storage area with boxes and crates of supplies to be unboxed and set up. Dear Captain Jno. Cooke, RN, I have just finished my visit to the newest defensive position in Quinnsville, Fort Annetta. Having been recently completed, the interior is still being set up, but the guns are set up and in full working order. Before too long it will be able to adequately defend the entirety of Queens Bay along with the other small forts that are nearby. I will be heading back to the military district of Quinnsville and will update you again with my finding. So far I am quite pleased with how Sir Smaugton left the fortifications of the settlement. In service to her Majesty, Captain Nathaniel Brickford, Military Attaché to Quinnsville Another build that was quite fun! For now i'm going to leave it unlicensed until further notice, but I couldn't not make a fort! C&C are welcome and apprecieated and thanks for looking!

Hi, This is a combination of the 1989 Eldorado Fortress and the 1992 Imperial Trading Post. The right half of the MOC is loosely based off the Imperial trading Post with the exemption of the tower which is my own version of the tower from the 2009 Soldier's Fort. The left half of the MOC is a modded Eldorado Fortress. I docked my trading ship on the right side to add a little zing to the MOC. Any feedback is welcome and the are more pictures on my Flickr. IMG_3952 by SheepBlubber, on Flickr IMG_3953 IMG_3954 IMG_3955 IMG_3958

As a result of winning 2nd place on Challenge V, the Sea Rats receive 2 free large forts that don't count against the fort minimum. We have chosen to place one of those forts in Bastion. This is the required micro-build:

This model was inspired by a LUG challenge focused around the Pirates theme. While I usually only make a few Pirates builds each year, it has always been one of my favorite genres. The one limit for the challenge was that your entry had to be no bigger than the largest official Pirates set. I have always been more attracted to the islands, forts, and land settings than ships themselves, so I settled on building a small fort on an island. A single 32×32 baseplate served as the foundation for the model. For once a peaceful day with no pirates, or enemy ships in sight of the small Imperial outpost. Which makes it a fitting time to restock with some fresh supplies. More pictures are available on brickbuilt. Thanks for looking

Lt. Billsby left the small rowboat and met up with the fort commander in Argentia, Major Mason. Fort Agravia by North White, on Flickr "So, you're the new guy eh? Well, welcome to hades." Said Major Mason "Excuse me?" Asked Lt. Billsby Fort Agravia by North White, on Flickr "The role of this fort is to keep the WTC from doing anything that endangers the empire." Answered Mason "And that makes this hades because?" Asked Billsby Fort Agravia by North White, on Flickr "Wait why does the fort not have front doors?" Asked Billsby "The WTC stole them, because quote: 'Build more ships or something' apparently" Answered Mason Fort Agravia by North White, on Flickr "Let's go to my office." Fort Agravia by North White, on Flickr "So, this is my office. And bedroom. And kitchen. And dining room. I hate it here. Did I mention that?" "It can't be all bad." Said Billsby Fort Agravia by North White, on Flickr "Here's a book of emergency procedures to follow in event the WTC does something stupid and or bad. Let me read you a snippet." Said Mason "Okay?" "Code 403. If the WTC is to summon a deity, extradimensional demon, spooky ghost, or the kraken, you are to destroy Mesabi Landing and it's inhabitants." "Wait how on would they even..." "Code 404, huh this is missing. Okay 405, if the WTC is to cause Eslandola to go to war with Corrington, you are to destroy Mesabi Landing and it's inhabitants." "Wait how are we even supposed to do that?" "I'm glad you asked..." Fort Agravia by North White, on Flickr "Recent developments in military science have allowed us to create new more powerful weapons, things that can really, really, do some damage." Fort Agravia by North White, on Flickr "Meet Betty. 400 lbs of Solid murderosity. We figure she should be able to destroy Mesabi Landing from here in less than 10 shots." Suddenly, a Drunken Horse stumbled out down the road. Fort Agravia by North White, on Flickr The soldiers all gathered to watch as it collapsed. Fort Agravia by North White, on Flickr Fort Agravia by North White, on Flickr "Don't worry guys, I've got this, yelled a WTC marine, armed with a pike. FIN Thanks for viewing this installment. C&C appreciated everyone, let me know if this story is to ridiculous or anything, I kinda think it's pushing it so I might rewrite it.

The destructive war between Mardier, Eslandola and Garvey has come to an end with the complete withdrawal of Marderian troops from the island, however before leaving, Mardierian troops conducted a scorched earth policy, determined to leave nothing of value behind for the victorious Eslandolans. Left behind however, were the poorest of the poor, the most vulnerable and the most exploited. They turned to Corrington for help and happy to oblige Corrington was, the refugees have left their homes with all their belongings now set course for New Haven, located on the island of Alicentia. However during this journey they are vulnerable to those who would see them harmed and pirates, The Corlander authorities knowing the perils of traversing the seas authorised the construction of a fort in a New Haven, the burden of overseeing the construction of this fort in such a short period of time fell to Army Captain Augustus Fernsby. The fort has been named Fort Montoya in honour of the man who secured freedom for the Marderian refugees. However Captain Fernsby will not be able to stay to see that the refugees arrive safely for he has since been recalled to lead an Expedition to the Mokolei Empire ___________________________________________________________________________________ Will be licensed as a Medium Fort Thanks

After finishing it and creating minifigures I uploaded it to LEGO Ideas which you can find here: Four-Towered Castle It contains some extra information such as piece counts. Feel free to leave a support on the LEGO Ideas site if you like it. 3D Model view here on Sketchfab: Four-Towered Castle The Full Inside view. Note that the castle is made in a "L" shaped layout. The left/West Entrance. Notice the flaps that would allow archers/crossbowmen to fire through and take cover. The inside side of the West entrance. Entrance to the hall from the courtyard/bailey. The alchemy room. With a green substance in a flask and a chandelier below the tall ceiling. The certainly need a ladder here. A tower with a wooden hoarding around it. Crossbows are stored here. The armoury. Along with the stacked sword it has a bed for a soldier here as well. View above the towers. Better view of the catapult and the winch for raising the portcullis. Inside the shack extension. The Great Hall. Turnable fire in the great hall's fireplace. Winch which you can rotate the fire and exterior of the hall. Drawbridge Outside. Gate Inside. Chest room. Stone Sigil. Walkway. Romans with a catapult & Celtic Warriors. Upper view.

The shipwreck bay is a small portion of rockier coastline on the nothern shore of Sea Turtle Island. Many an unfortunate ship ran aground, not seeingthe deadly riff by flow. The falling tide reveals what's left of the once proud vessels. Nonetheless the Sea Rats found good use for them, refitting some of the shipwrecks for hideouts. Shipwreck Bay by Jacob Nion, auf Flickr Shipwreck Bay by Jacob Nion, auf Flickr This will be licenced as a medium fort in Tortuga.

The war between Mardier and Eslandola had devastated the Mardierian city of La Puebloto. Much of the fighting happened in and around the city. As such, civilians fled to other settlements on the island, mainly the former Terra Fin Tin, long ago. Now the city is in ruins, and there is no one here. However, lest anyone think Eslandola has overlooked any needy refugees, Eslandolan troops have rebuilt a small Mardiedrian watchtower on an abnormally rocky (for this bay) piece of the coast. It probably served more as a warning to sailors to stay clear of the hazard than anything else, but Eslandolan troops now man the tower and make sure no refugees are overlooked in La Puebloto. Eventually they hope to rebuild the city. --- A quick build to address the current situation on Isla de Victoria. It will be licensed as a small fort. The tower began life as a Kingdoms set, but has been greatly modified. All C&C welcome.

Settlement Name: La Puebloto Ownership: Eslandola Crown Location: Isla de Victoria Mayor: TBD Trade Value: 0 Who can own property in La Puebloto: Anyone. Who can freebuild in La Puebloto: Anyone. Fortifications: One small fort. Please post any free-builds that take place in La Puebloto in this thread. If you want to license a piece of property in La Puebloto, post in this thread and fill out the web form. Location of La Puebloto:

Fort Philip 1 by Brandon Stark, on Flickr Fort Philip 2 by Brandon Stark, on Flickr While Dragonstone continues to be built, Brandon ventured south with a small force of soldiers and some workers. He built Fort Philip, a fortified trading post named after the king at the edge of Oleander territory in Blueton. While the trading post's main goal is to open up trade with the natives and Corrington, it is also fortified, to act as a guard for the border, in case either the natives or Corrington turn hostile. While Oleander soldiers initially had some trouble with the forest, they were able to clear the forest and get the fort finished. As for now, neither the natives nor Corringtonians have been seen, so the fort is still a fort and not a trading post.

After ten months of renovations, Fort Arlin was once again on the verge of being fully staffed and gunned. With rumors that the Queen would be visiting the colony islands, Aiden Coyle payed a visit to the fort to make sure the fort was prepared for a royal visit.

Royal Battery by Brandon Stark, on Flickr A new colony always needs a fort, to protect itself from any enemies. Thus, on a small island that stands at the entrance to Dragonstone Bay, Brandon Lantell, the mayor of Dragonstone, ordered the construction of the Royal Battery. The battery is located on high ground, meaning it is hard to storm, or to be hit by cannon fire, but can also fire down onto any ship trying to force its way into the bay. Though the royal architect in the New World instead headed to Stephanique to build a fort for Lavalette, Brandon was able to request another architect from Breshaun, who was able to make plans for a fort for Dragonstone. Construction began almost as soon as the first settlers began to arrive, and was finished quickly. The fort's construction comes just as war looms between Eslandola and Mardier.

My 9th entry into the CCC XIV, for the ‘Ice Castle’ category. Credit for the tree design goes to Legopard. I didn’t really think I was going to do an entry for the castle category this year, but after looking at several wooden castles from various people, I decided to give it a try. I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. The story continues one that Isaac started here. One of the first visits Glorfindel made was to the nearby village of Balkr. Since it was nearby, and the jarl, Torkild, was good friends with Karsten it seemed like a logical starting point. Also for these reasons, Karsten allowed the twins to go with Glorfindel and Dedan. Eryl and Elise were enjoying the little excursion, and Glorfindel was glad to have a chance to spend some time with his nephew and niece. Upon arriving at Balkr, Glorfindel and Dedan were welcomed by jarl Torkild and went into the long house to discuss their news. "Feel free to explore the village, but stay close by, we shouldn't be long," Glorfindel said to the twins. They soon found several village children and a shortly after a vigorous snowball fight was underway. As they had expected, Torkild was quite willing to keep a close eye on the Nocturnus border. In fact, from the look of things in the village, he already had been strengthening the town watch. Upon exiting the hall, Glorfindel was almost hit by a snowball! Laughing, he glanced at the playful kids and saw that one of the village children had just been clobbered by a large snowball. "Sorry to break up the party, but I'm afraid we need to head back to Harburg now." "Alright Uncle Fin," Eryl answered reluctantly, "thanks for playing Toke and Stefan!" More build pictures: And as usual, you can find more on brickbuilt. Thanks for looking