Skipper

Hi there. I've read this site nearly a decade now, and some of my favorite non-MOC threads have been those in which people discuss their interpretations of the lore behind LEGO characters and factions. From my perspective as a fellow forum user, Aanchir's post is in that happy tradition. You said in your post that you found the previous argument pointless because it was over "whether or not people had a right to hold an opinion." I agree with you completely. In the same vein, I don't see it as my role to regulate whether Aanchir can hold an opinion on this character's backstory. A character such as that hypothesized by Aanchir would not be out of place historically, either (article from Historic England, which hopefully is uncontroversial). For my part I think it's a fun theory and part of the appeal of classic, unlicensed sets like these; we can all come up with whatever stories we like. Just my thoughts. Hope you and your family are well. -Skipper

Thanks, all. You're right about the identity of the wall panel, and that it hasn't (to my knowledge) been released in black and white before. Funnily enough, the only place I've ever seen it in black and white IRL is in another Black Falcon's MOC posted to EB. Perhaps a custom sticker? I also imagine a similar effect with thin diagonals could be made with SNOT slopes placed 180 degrees to one another with a black tile placed in between, though I'd need access to my real bricks to try it out.

Guarding the waters, shores, and villages of Lake Tiercel, the Roost appears solid and tranquil as it has in time immemorial... But today, its inhabitants labor under threat of war! Some soldiers stock its storerooms with fish and perform a last inspection of the curtain walls... While others help the villagers and their livestock take shelter in its courtyard. With a full armory and storeroom, and soldiers posted on the walls... The Falcons are more than ready to defend their home. This was my first build in a year or so and was very good fun. My inspiration was the original Black Falcon's Fortress (the half-timbered sections, the high shield wall in front), but our designs diverged in the end. An ongoing challenge for me is establishing a scale that keeps the castle small enough to be elegant and have that classic LEGO feel, but is also big enough to be imposing next to civilian buildings. I feel like I've finally found it in this MOC. As always, I wish I had the bricks to build this in real life, but I'm grateful to the people who make Stud.io possible. I'd love your C&C!

I was debating that cannon for so long! I too thought it wasn't the right place to have a cannon but I also have a weird obsession with MAXIMUM FIREPOWER. Your comment persuaded me to change it! Crest by A J, on Flickr I made a scene of redcoats fighting the front of the fort. You're right, it looks much more lively! I would love to build out a whole system of outworks or a proper glacis but this model is already at the limit of what my poor ol' computer can handle. Fighting by A J, on Flickr Thanks for the feedback everyone!!

Update 10 April 2018... Fighting by A J, on Flickr Fighting 2 by A J, on Flickr Crest by A J, on Flickr Original post... It's been a very, very long time since I've regularly browsed this forum, let alone submitted a post of my own. This weekend I found my old redcoat army as I was cleaning the basement and felt obligated to give them a home! So I re-downloaded LDD, forgot my Flickr credentials so made a MOCpage(s?), and here we are now. This is in many ways a successor—and hopefully an improvement—to the last MOC I posted to this forum, Vanguard Fort. Here's the front of the fort as it might look to an attacking minifig. A view of the residential range. Downstairs holds a kitchen, mess hall, and cellar. The stairs lead upstairs to a 16-man barracks. To the left you see the ramp accessing the ramparts, as well as a small door leading to powder storage. Here's a look at the powder storage. I don't have much patience for fiddling with interiors on LDD, so this—as well as the main interior—are quite sparse. I leave you with a vaguely minifig-perspective shot of the ramparts behind the barracks. Note on the right a hotshot furnace. Fiery destruction awaits! That's all I have. Comments and critiques welcome!!

Awesome. I'm in something of a dark age but still click through the forums, and it's really exciting to see people building forts in this style! Yours looks really promising. Nice army, too. Because I used to obsess over trying to build these forts accurately, I've gathered a few links over the years that might be helpful in thinking about how to get more pointed bastions. 1) This really great MOC of Fort Ticonderoga. No slope in the walls, but it seems to look good regardless: 2) Another version of the above fort, but with a slope in the walls. The corners aren't very sharp, though. 3) LEGO's own, from MINILAND. Has pointed bastions and an outward slope in the walls, but I can't for the life of me figure out how they built it. 4) My own. The bastions are well pointed here, but the walls again can't angle outward. The walls also can't really be detailed. Hope this helps!! Excited to see what you come up with.

Do pots no longer drop from the godlands? In about an hour of playing today, I had six blue bags drop, all of which contained eggs, not pots.

I'm in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

I've always like your rigging style, actually--it's very classic, which fits your ships' designs. Anyway, nice little sloop (though a tad chubby), and I'm looking forward to the upcoming bigger ship.

Really enjoyed reading through all the comics just now. Sebeus I - 1 point Dr_Spock - 1 point Skallydr - 1 point Brig. Brick - 2 points

This looks great! I like how you haven't changed the structure of the set too much (like some past remakes have), you've just made it subtler and more MOC-ish. Like others have said, the cliffs are especially great, and I like the addition of the chain to the bridge section. Edit: nice tag on the topic, by the way.

Oh wow, this is going to be a project to follow! Apart from the scale, which is, of course, spectacular, I'm impressed by the detail and functionality of the interior--the layout looks very similar to that of real castles that I've visited. I remember staring at the pictures in David Macaulay's Castle for ages as a kid and wishing I could build something similar in LEGO; now I can see it happen. Keep it up!

I'm such an idiot! Lost my 4/8 Necro after going into Spaces on my Mac, and then lost a Cwand, Prot, Elder, and Exa HP, Priest to Mixcoatl the same way.

Really cool project--I love 'upgrades' of classic sets! To my eye the gatehouse should be a bit taller (seeing as its the tallest part in the original set), or the whole fortress might end up looking a bit flat. Also, I think you should build the holes in the walls just a bit higher so that cannons can fit through them. But otherwise it looks awesome!

1X Turtle - 3 points 1X Albatross - 3 points (hopefully with articulated wings) 1X Pelican - 3 points 2X Lobster - 2 point 2X Crab - 2 point 1X Seagull - 1 point Total:14 points

You can create instructions with LDD by clicking the 'Building Guide Mode' button in the very top right corner.These instructions are sometimes a bit nonsensical but they're still usable. To see the parts list, while still in Building Guide Mode, click the 'Generate HTML Building Guide' button in the top left corner. When it appears, go to the very last page of the instructions and you'll find the parts list. An alternative for finding the parts list is Superkalle's LDD Manager, but as I use a Mac I have no experience with it. Looking forward to those creations!

Thanks for bringing these to my attention. I agree with Hive, the firearms are a little overdetailed for me. But the bayonets are amazing! Really cool musket ball collection too.

A lot of people started (using the lag to multiply your items--so you can turn, say, one ammy into two, then four, then eight, and so on) after the process became common knowledge, causing the price of everything to deflate. It's awful. The mods stopped it yesterday, but a bit late don't you think?

26 July This is one of my older projects but I think only now it's at the point where I have something nice to show. It's still very much a WIP but I thought I'd post it anyways to get some feedback before I order the parts (sometime in the next year, I hope ). I spent a long time trying to build a sloop using the CGH method but somehow it didn't look right to me, because of the prefabs it was too high and the half-stud offsets on the sides were too noticable IMO at such a small scale. So I gave up for a while until I realized that the only way I could build something with so many curves as a ship nicely was with bricks that could curve, hence the flex tubes. Using the flex tubes, I hope, should allow them to bend nicely IRL and hopefully to match the shape of the hull smoothly. As you see in the next two pics, they are still linear in LDD: C&C definitely welcome. Any advice on how to build the bow or on how to use Bricklink effectively would be nice too.

Can anyone recommend some good Bricklink stores to me? I'm using Bricklink for the first time, and can't seem to find a store with all/the majority of what I need--whenever I find a store with enough of one piece that I need (120 of the plates with a clip on the end, for example), it doesn't have anything else that I need. The bricks I'm looking for aren't just the regular 1*2 or 2*4 bricks or whatever, so am I just going to have to accept buying from dozens of stores? Really don't want to pay separate shipping for each. I'd appreciate it if someone with some experience could help me . . . Thanks!!

Skulls Eye Schooner. My six-gun BSB has defected to the Imperial Guards, and it needs some Pirate cannon fodder! The others are too small (CBC and RR), wacky (RBR), or . . . the BB. Although actually, the Renegade Runner looks pretty much how I would imagine a System Pirate ship would look (albeit with some ugly stuff like the blue keel and dragon figurehead), and it's colors fit the Rock Island Refuge, so I kinda like it too. The Caribbean Clipper is another set that I want, I think with a bit of modding that set would look fantastic. The sails and figurehead are already beautiful, the stern just needs a bit of work like adding windows on the sides and door in front.

The major advantage for me in getting two Sabre Islands would be the minifigures; I already have a Redbeard, so the one in the Lockup would be a repeat, and since I already have an extra shako, two Sabre Islands would let me get my Bluecoat army off to a nice start with 5 infantrymen and 1 officer. But I think you're right--the design of the Lockup is just so superior to that of Sabre Island. It's such a shame, there are so many classic sets that I want, yet so little money!

Thanks for the great review Captain Settle! This set looks amazing, whether you're looking for a standalone fortress, a parts pack, or to expand your army. Now do I get two of these or a Lagoon Lockup?

It's too bad they put another officer in this set, otherwise at just under 6 USD on Bricklink this would be perfect for armybuilding . . . still an awesome set though, it's so small but theres so much playability. Thanks for the (excellent) review!