ellerb

Yes. Thank you. Indeed we did. In general, I like to build structures that other fans do not often build. I am glad you like the snot technique. The triangle is a gable roof. This pediment is a small Georgian detail on an otherwise Mediterranean military tower. The columns supporting the roof and trusses are to scale. Adding the gun port shutters would improve the look of the upper tower. Yes. I do not mind ;) Ben

Unfortunately I can not have the redoubt hinged in half to reveal the interior. Originally this was my plan but the snot construction prevents it. I may be able to make the upper level lift off to view a second floor barracks. Personally, I prefer structures that hinge in half over floors that are lifted off. Ben

Military 10D A redoubt is an independent fortification without bastions that supports a larger fortification. This type of structure was used in European and North American forts. One example is a pair of redoubts built by the British at Fort Niagara in 1764. Small cannon mounted on the upper level could fire grape shot at advancing Indian warriors who lacked cannon. These strong points housed soldiers, stored weapons and powder, and provided a last point of defense. This was needed as the original earthen fort walls with wooden palisades, originally built by the French, were extremely large and continually prone to erosion. Images of the Fort Niagara Redoubts: http://k41.pbase.com/g3/18/621218/2/55849386.sredoubt.jpg http://i.pbase.com/g3/18/621218/2/55140537...akeOntario1.jpg Redoubts are transitional structures from medieval to colonial fortifications. This tradition would continue in blockhouses built for various western forts on the great lakes and great plains. As long as the opponent lacked heavy artillery, this type of tower was effective. The lower walls of my moc of the South Redoubt needed to be tapered to match the original building. I accomplished this by using snot construction and studs turned on their sides. Certain details such as windows, wooden shutters on upper level, and the brick chimney were not completed in time for the BrickWorld display, but I hope to complete these as well. Please let me know what you think. Thanks! Ben Thumblinks: Edit by Phred: Added thumbs-pics to links and full-sized the main pic.

Certain helmets work such as the forestman cap and viking helmet. The flared helmet will rest on the head but not completely engage the stud of the head. Most other castle headgear other than these, the wizards hat and maidens cap, likely will not fit. Ben

Just to add a bit of clarification to Starwars4J's post, Matt is Matt Ashton, the Product Design Lead for Castle 2007. LEGO does care about leaks because the competition (notably clone brands from China) can and have illegally duplicated sets in a very short amount of time. This latest feedback was a favor to let fans know that the final products will not be exactly the same. This way fans will not be as upset if something changes, like we were when Viking beards (in Viking prototype pictures) did not come with the sets. Ben Ellermann

Sorry, but I can not comment on the future of the castle line. I am not sure. Unfortunately some of the last Legends sets were poor choices from a sales perspective. Due to this, LEGO currently is not planning on making more Legends. Of course we know that sets like 6071 and 6060 would sell like hotcakes.... Bringing back the timber frame wall piece would be cool. I always wished that it had been made in white and tan. The real question, which I do not know the answer to, is will the current castle be in stores for several years (like 6080 King's Castle was) or will there be a new castle every year or two? If there are new good guy castles, it would be nice to include a timber structure. I am glad that you are happy with my input. Since I have been active in running Classic-Castle.com for the last four years, I got a good idea of what fans didn't like about KK2 and what they wanted in a new line. Hopefully it has something for everyone (Historic and Fantasy). The trips were paid for. Ambassadors work is always voluntary and we are not paid for it. Of course sometimes we are sent a new set to review. That is always nice. Ben

I would also love to buy more sets in the style of Dan Siskind's shop. Since this set sold well, and is bringing high premiums on ebay, I hope that LEGO will make more sets like this. I more central meeting location easily accessed by public transit (metrolink) would be ideal. It is something that several of the club members are looking into. The building workshop that I participated in was early in the process. Later a smaller group worked on final designs for the sets. Some sets are designed by several people and some by one designer. Many S@H exclusives, like the new UCS Millenium Falcon, are designed by one person. Ben

Thanks. I thought the civilian modular models turned out fairly well. Unfortunately, these models (and other civilian models by the designers) did not test well with kids who wanted action sets. Yes. You should check out Gateway Lug in Saint Louis: http://www.gtwlug.org These building workshops produce a very large amount of models and only six became sets. That being said, specific features from my designs were used in sets. These include the modular castle walls, 2x2x2 slope buttresses in the castle walls, 4x4 curved macaroni corner battlement, preliminary flag color scheme (blue and yellow), and arches in the jousting fence. Ben

My name is Ben Ellermann and I am a huge LEGO Castle fan! This article will tell you how several lifelong Castle builders and I contributed to the new castle line. I first joined the LEGO Ambassadors in Spring 2006. Soon I found out that a group of Ambassadors, a Certified Professional, and fans had just started working with LEGO to help develop ideas for the latest Castle line in 2007. Knowing that my involvement at Classic-Castle.com gave me a good idea of what fans were looking for, I asked to join the team. Our team included: Nathan Wells, Paul Janssen, Robin Sather, Johannes Koehler, Luis Baixinho, David Tabner, Lenny Hoffman, and Andrzej "Shaggie" Szlaga. Check out the rest of the article and fan prototype images on LEGOfan: http://www.legofan.org/ambassadors/projects/castle2007.html You can ask questions and leave comments in this thread. Ben Ellermann

A small group of fans and LEGO Ambassadors have been working behind the scenes to make a new LEGO Fan site after the server crashed earlier this year: http://www.LEGOFan.org The site has new content and a new logo. Certain areas are under construction and we will add more "Getting Started" articles for new fans in the coming weeks. If you have suggestions or would like to contribute to the site, please send an email to lfanquestions AT gmail dot com or leave your comments in this thread. Thanks! Ben Ellermann LEGOFan Team

Currently in the USA two of the mosaic bags are on sale for 98 cents (USD) each. If you purchase 15 or more bags, the cost is only 83 cents per bag of 90 elements. That works out to .009 cents per element before shipping. Of course international shipping prices would probably eliminate any major savings. Ben

I ship USA shop at home sets to a friend overseas several times a year. By opening the sets, and flattening the boxes you save space. Plus the sets are now used and have less value than an unopened set. Unfortunately our Post Office prices just rose about a month ago. This makes it less affordable to ship overseas. If you are paying three times the price of a US set price, it is worth it to ship. If it is only 1.5 to 2 times the US price, shipping may negate savings. Of course there are always exclusive sets found in one market or another so it is good to have friends in many countries willing to ship to you. Recent examples include the flag accessory pack that comes with 10176 Royal Kings Castle (Classic Castle) and 5998 Vladek which were sold in Europe and not the US (although the Vladek was a LEGO Club gift). Ben

I was hoping that LEGO would make a green bowler for the Riddler. Unfortunately they gave him hair instead. Bowlers would be great for a variety of historic mocs. I could make a Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. :) This suggestion will be passed along. Ben Ellermann LEGO Ambassador

The value really depends on the condition of the set and box. I have seen these sell as low as $15 USD. Good examples with mint boxes bring much more. Photos would help assessing a more accurate value. Ben

Each of the sculpture plane models are excellent. I have two copies of the Wright Flyer and would like a few more. It just sold out North America. It is more fragile and a somewhat more difficult build than the Sopwith Camel and Fokker Triplane. The original plane was fragile so this is appropriate. Be careful while swooshing ;) The model also has a good selection of tan plates which are useful for landscaping. The various technic elements are good for making other plane sculpture mocs. Ben

I want to give this thread a friendly bump ;-) The LEGO Castle Contest will be ending in less than two weeks. Currently there are only 5-10 entries per category. This means that anyone has a good shot at winning. Each category winner will receive one of the brand new LEGO Castle sets before anyone can buy them in stores. Check out the prizes: http://www.classic-castle.com/events/conte...st1/prizes.html Submit you entries soon! Ben CC Contest Admin

While I don't mind that my feedback here was posted on the forums, it would have been nice to be asked first. A response email would also have been appropriate. Admins on various fan forums often contact each other. Feedback from other site admins is valuable because they often have the same challenges that you do. I would like Classic-Pirates to be as good as it can be. It is starting fairly well but much in the way of content still needs to be accomplished. Ben Ellermann Classic-Castle Admin I want to add a comment about trust. Interactions between individual fans, fan sites, and LEGO are built on trust and mutual respect. If that trust is violated, it severely hurts personal relationships and the community as a whole. I request that any further correspondence be kept private. If you think an idea would start a good discussion on EB, please ask first before quoting me. Thank you.

I think it is great that a LEGO Pirate fan site has been created. It should be separate from EB with its own forums, articles, set archives, building standards, etc all hosted on CP. Ben

LEGO made two bardings for the Black Monarchs (and later Black Knight's). I think it is a nice surprise to see two bardings for one faction. Ben

Dark Forest had a limited release in Europe. Usually they were not in catalogs found in sets. Some Shop at Homes carried the sets and they were available in Denmark. 1584 Knight's Challenge and 6071 Forestmen's Crossing also had very limited released in Europe and may have been available only in Denmark. There are differences in boxes between North America and Europe. This is why we know that these sets were released in Europe. Ben CC Sets Admin

The time it takes to design new sets was decreased drastically. Some sets still have alternate models. Creator sets, some of the best that LEGO makes, still have atleast 3 models. I think that all sets should have alternates. Building other creations from a set is what LEGO is about. Ben Ellermann LEGO Ambassador

Nope, these are not fan created accessories. Ben

The visor and mace were not made by the Little Armory. Ben

I think your instructions look nice. A few things could be improved. The black elements are hard to read (as they are on LEGO instructions). Adding lighter outlines around the bricks would help a lot. This can be done by hand in photoshop or with MegoPOV rendering. You should consider adding which parts are used for each step on that page. Check out the instructions I made a few years ago for a Building Instructions Portal article: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=401676 www.bricksonthebrain.com/instructions/resources/tutorial1.cfm (although Jake's site seems to be down right now) Ben

You should definitely buy the Battle at the Pass. It has more weapons and figures than any other similar sized castle set ever. It may even have more weapons than any other castle set. The Viking Catapult is ok, but I prefer the smaller and more affordable 7020 Army of Vikings with Heavy Artillery Wagon. http://www.classic-castle.com/sets/archives/7020.html That set has more Vikings and more useful brown plates. Both Viking sets have too much technic and not enough basic plate and brick. Ben