Derfel Cadarn

Well done on a nice little ship! It has a good pirate feel and the black colourscheme and shape looks good. Nice work on your sails and rigging, its not easy, those cannons also look good. I agree that you should change the tile planking length ways, as thats how it was done. Very nice ship, keep them coming. DC

This looks really good! Love the look of the house, you've achieved a great effect with the shape. The beach is also nicely done with some great parts use. Nice details, well done on a great moc! P.S the black background works really well When we goin see one of your epic creations bruv? Couldn't resist.

Hello there. This thread will be for just the guide only. No comments here please, if you have any questions and comments please post them in the other existing thread. To start off, i am going to briefly cover my technique for building houses in its simplest form. The more advanced additions and techniques will be covered as I build them through out the guide. So here is a little idea of how we will be tackling houses during the guide. Here we can see a basic wall of 1x1 round plates. Note that the primary colour is light grey then dark grey followed by odd spots of brown then black. You can also add some sand green if you have them as it gives a nice 'moss' effect. Tan also works well added in. As you can see, there are lots of small gaps and its not very stable. So we have to build a second wall with plain bricks behind the rounds like so. This also comes in handy when making an interior as you have another wall on the inside to add detail with out certain clips and bricks being visible from the outside. Once we have this, we can add the planking on top which holds the two walls together making them very strong and sturdy. But, a plane wall of 1x1 rounds can be a bit much, so we have to add in some tile brick work to break things up a bit. This is done with headlight bricks and 1x1 bricks with stud. Also, we can add some plants if need be, the basic ones are the 3 leafed 1x1 round part and the classic tree/leaf part. Both can be used to great effect which we will cover later. Next we start on the next level. Notice that I use a double layer of brown plate as the base for the timber section. It looks more prominent then a single and looks more like the tile width, which we will build the rest with. We do the corner of the wordwork with 4 black 1x1 bricks with stud(not the headlight piece). Between each brick we place 2 1x1 plates. You should end up with 2 bricks pointing one way and two pointing the other. This will allow us to clip on a height of 2 1x4 tiles to get the corner effect like so. Now i am going to switch to dark brown, as that is the colour I will be mostly using, although you can use reddish brown if it is more availible to you. Here you can see some of the problems encounted with dark brown. As there is a limited amount of plates in this colour we have to make the best of what there is. The easiest and most widely availible is the 2x6 plate. The Troll Battle Wheel set was a great source for these. As you can see in the picture below, at some stages we will have to have the plates sticking inside. This isn't a problem with this section as you can build a floor anyway, but can be tricky in other areas. Of course, if you don't need an interior and just want a village that looks good then it doesn't matter anyway. I have used white instead of tan here, as I think it works well with dark brown and makes a nice change from all the tan house around. Also note that the height of the 2 tiles is equal to 6 bricks and 2 plates. This is very handy, as instead of using 2 plates we can add a headlight brick on its back which will be used to attach the horizontal tiles as seen in the picture below. Next we come to adding a window. First we need to use the height of one 1x2 tile. These are connected using a combination of a headlight brick on its back with a 1x1 with stud, on the top, like in the picture below. Next we can place the window section top. This is made up of a 2x6 plate with a row of tiles and a 1x6 plate. The window then sits on the 1x6 plate and on either side we use a combination of 1x1 rounds and plate rounds with a clip on the top and bottom. On these clips we attach the pole/stick pieces which will hold the wooden shutters. Reddish brown is the most common colour of the pole/stick piece and works best along with black, but you can use what ever colour you wish. I like to add 2 plates/with handle or rail just above the window piece. All can be seen in the picture below. Next we use some 1x1 bricks with stud on side again. Placing these on top of the window and attaching tiles horizontally will bring you exactly level with the top of the vertical corner tiles like so. Now we have something like this. As you can see, unfortuantly 1x1 tiles in dark brown arn't yet availible, so I have just added a couple of rounds next to the window where the horizontal tiles would usually go. You can use any thing for this, a tooth plate looks good as well. This wont matter on bigger buildings of course, as we can make it wide enough to fit a 1x2 or 1x4 tile in. Now we come to the shutters. This is a very simple detail but really adds to the look. Its simply a case of getting 2 1x4 tiles and using 2 corner plates and 2 clip plates on the back to hold it together, as seen in the picture below. You can then use any colour of your choice, but I find that earth tones like sand green, dark brown, brown, dark tan etc work best. You can also use them in combination with different colour window as well, like the examples below. Green and dark green Blue and sky blue Next we start a roof. Note that i am not overhanging the roof bricks, as the step effect it produces can look very blocky. Instead we use a different technique. Using 2 clips with the new hinge plates attached we can create a nicer gable effect like in the 2 following pictures. As you can see, i have added a jumper plate on the top roof section with a headlight brick that allows you to attach some rounds and a black tooth plate. This results in the finished effect seen below. You can also add a different colour to the gable to match other parts of the house. for example, if you have dark green doors and shutters, you could add a few dark green plates to the gable to subtly tone it all in. Well, thats the basic house building technique we will use through out this guide. If you would like to view any of the pictures in a bigger size, then here is the link to the set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/45244184@N04/sets/72157627719756491/ Now we can begin with the main guide. I will post the first section asap!

These were both great sets. I can remember seeing Cafe Corner for the first time and thinking 'wow, Lego are really on to something with this'. I was late too buy it however, I heard it was about to be discontinued and so rushed out to my nearest Lego store and bought 2, as they were going for 80 pounds. I then managed to pick up a 3rd which was in their sale section after xmas, must have been a leftover one found in a clearout of their back store room. This was for sale for 65 pounds along with a giant Lego Castle chess set in the nice 'Book effect' box, this was also 65 pounds. Obviously I would have been mad not too buy them, so I did. The Cafe Corner proved to be an excellent set and great source of parts, I used two of the sets for parts and the 3rd is still boxed and unopened as I plan to give it to my son when he gets a bit older. Its a classic, BUT I feel it is too soon to bring it back. It hasn't been that long since its exit and like others have said, there are many more new exciting sets to come. Every new modular building always comes with a nice colour scheme in rarer colours. If they were to bring back any modular building in the future im sure it would be this one, as it was the first and a already a classic set. But in the mean time I could think of lots of other older sets that I would rather see come back before Cafe Corner. Im sure if you have a real good search you could find one going for a reasonable price, it does happen! I might even be tempted to sell my unopened set if you pay me 1000 pounds

Well Mr Rolltron, you are entitled to your own opinion. Yes, a lot of my houses do look the same, it kind of happens when you build medieval mocs. What would you prefer to see in a medieval built house? Rather then stone walls and half timber sections, should I build them out of different colour trans pieces? Or perhaps add some wings and wheels to really spice them up? Everyone builds in there own styles with there own prefered techniques, as I like to build historic mocs I usually stick with my particular style for buildings. Lots of people build medieval buildings and its hard to build without it looking similar to others. Unless we delve into the fantasy side of things, there isn't to much we can do with medieval houses because they were pretty much the all the same type of build and look. Its not about being a 'one trick pony', I assure you this pony has plenty of tricks! Do not think that if I were to build a spaceship I would build it out of 1x1 rounds! No, that is just how I like to build historic mocs, which happens to be my favourite type of themes. I have both space and train mocs planned which will be built in an entirly different way to my medieval builds. As for my ships, I will start by saying that ships are not the easiest thing to make, there are a lot of angles and curves which can be difficult and rigging them and making and sowing sails is not easy either. I have not been making ships long so im still learning. Im sorry to dissapoint, you obviously have a high standard of moccing, perhaps you could share some of your mocs? Hopefully one day I can build something that impresses you Thank you, thats nice to hear, and I must note that your sentiment of having 'your own style' aplies to you also, as you are a builder ive seen come on in leaps and bounds this year with some great mocs with which you have created a recognizable style of your own, with buildings, base and great mini-fig designs. Keep it up! Thanks, I guess you cant please everyone, but a forum needs its critics I suppose

Thank you all for your great comments, always much appreciated! Thanks cap, the sign came in the Medieval Market Village set, there was also a horse/stable sign as well. Unfortunatly they are not printed, just stickers. It worked well here as the sign is dark green which matched the doors and gabbles of the smithy. Thanks DC

Right, well i've been taking in some of your points on spitting this guide into 2 threads. I have to agree it is probably the best way as it will be far easy to follow without peoples comments and questions. So this thread can be for any questions and comments that you have. I have started the first stage and I will be ready to post the first part tomorro evening. Im a pretty quick builder, so I should be covering the water mill during the weekend as well. I will start a new post tomorro which will be just for the guide only. So remember that any questions you have, to post them in this thread please. Thanks all, we will get the ball rolling tomorro! DC

Hi there, my next moc for Lego town's countryside is Millbeck Smithy. With its whitewashed slate rubble walls and slate roof with round slate chimneys, this little smithy dates back to the early eighteenth century and is a real Lakeland architectural gem! This lovely little building can be found at the bottom of a garden in the beautiful tiny village of Millbeck - not many people can claim to have a former blacksmith's shop at the bottom of their garden! Its now a peaceful, tranquil area, it was once a hive of industry, as during the late nineteenth century woollen mills at Applethwaite and Millbeck prodeced blankets, bonnets and caps that were sold all over the world! Old buildings like these are what gives the countryside its charm and character. I will be tackling some village shops next, sweet shop, bookstore, pub etc. Thanks for looking DC

Beautiful work! Some great little techniques used here to create a very cute scene. The colour choice is great and not too over the top. Nice work

Well, when it comes to interiors, I usually just do what is needed. If im making a large stand alone building without a back section so you can see in, then i will add an interior. Usually, for large villages with complet walled houses, i will just add a small bit of interior to what ever inside area can be seen. So if I build a house with its doors open, I will detail the space of area that can be seen through the doors. I also do a bit just inside the window. Thats all it needs really, as the main aim of a large village is really the outside and all the goings on with Knights and civilians. You wont really have the need to keep reaching over your moc to lift off a roof from a one of your houses to see in. But, feel free to add an interiour to any of the buildings that I will cover in this guide. Like you say, some techniques do leave the inside looking messy. Well, thats hard to say, as its a pretty big amount. The way to do it is to order the same amount of light grey and dark grey, then order half that amount in brown and black. This is because the greys make up the bulk of the colour and the brown and black are added in here and there. You can also add a few other colours like tan and sand green, which work very well as lichen and moss. I used to order 200 of each grey and 100 brown and black each month. That way, within a few months I had a large collection. Its really down to what you can afford, and having to choose between buying parts and buying sets. I would see sets that I wanted and had to say to myself 'I either buy this and have a few parts i'll use, or spend the money on a big order of 1x1 rounds and build lots of houses'. It might seem a boring order, but its worth it in the long run.

I could do, but this particular building is part of a display and the inside is empty anyway, the only bit of interior is where you can see into the doors. That's all it needs for the dispay. As to how its built, i show step by step pictures during every building of the village, so you will see how its all done and what goes in there. DC

Thanks for your interest, it makes it all the more worth while. Now, before I start, i will go over a few things that we will be looking into with this guide. If i were to ask you to go and build a medieval house, its more than likely that you would build a ground floor out of light and dark grey bricks and an upper floor using tan and reddish brown woodwork. Its the tried and trusted formular and we all do it. The main probable reason is that these are the colours that we have lots of, as they a cheap and easy to get hold of and Lego likes to use a lot in their sets. Lets be honest, if we could all do are woodwork in dark brown we would. Dark brown is king! Unfortunatly dark brown is not a common colour and its not availible in many elements, which makes things difficult. However, dark brown 1x4 and 1x2 tiles are availible, and they are now not to expensive and easy to pick up. That is all you need. During this guide I can show you how you can do all those woodwork sections using just those two types of tiles. For a more realistic medieval village, we need to look more at dark earth tones, so bright medium blue houses are out! Of course, don't worry if you dont have a lot of certain colours, as you can always use what you have and update any of your buildings in the future. We can also look at using what rare colours you have got in subtle ways that will really make an impact. For example, here is a small moc I made the other day, its not medieval as such, but its a good example of how to bring a small area and building to life. As you can see, I have used mainly darker tones here, and of course, i've used the infamous 1x1 round plate attack! This is the kind of look we are aiming for. Now, if I were to build this same scene using normal bricks, bright greens and reddish brown, then we would get a completely different feel. Ive used sand green for grass here, and if could build a whole landscape with that colour I would, but its expensive and would take an age to get hold of. Most of us will have standard green, so we can use that as a starting point and from there I will show how and where we can mix in dark green, sand green, browns etc, to form a realistic landscape. Paying attention to the fact that the grass and mud will be darker under trees and by the banks of the stream and other circumstances. I will explain more during the main guide. Now, if we look at a more close up pick of that moc, you will notice how i've used dark green only for the doors and gables of the roof. I would usually also use it on window shutters, but this house has none. Using just a subtle bit of that colour this way, gives a much better effect than over doing it, plus it allows us to use a nice rarer colour in a good way without having to use many parts. The 1x1 round technique is very easy and they are cheap to buy, and give a great effect. You don't have to build using them during this guide, its clearly up to you. I will show you the construction latter on in the guide. I have also made 2 little sacks, these where made from a piece of cotton dyed with tea to give it a tan colour. I then wrapped it round a minifig head and used a bit of brown string to tie the top. Simple yet effective, a great detail thats easy to make yourself. Other things to note are that medieval villages were not clean and perfect, so we have to come up with a way of portraying this realisticly. Also, they did not have garden centers to buy pretty arrays of flowers for their front lawns, so we will be looking at creating small subtle wild flowers which can be be made with 1x1 rounds like in the picture. Riverbanks and the village would have a lot of overgrown areas. Right, thats all that needs to be said for now. I will begin working on the first step, which will be starting the base and building the stream. From there we will go onto our first building, which will be the water mill and how to build one. I Will hopefully post the first step tomorro or friday. Thanks for reading DC

Looks great so far, i do agree with the others, but would be interested to see the effect your ship technique has on a real brick build model. I look forward to seeing updates on this project, and welcome to Eurobrcks! Nice to see the Victory, Its odd cause Im only 30 minutes away from her, but havn't bothered to go and look round for nearly 15 years!!! Must pop in and pay her a visit soon

Hello there! Ive been asked many a time to do a tutorial on landscaping. Well, Im going to go one better than that and do a guide for a whole village. I will build a village from scratch, showing you each step and how its all done. My aim is to provide help and tips on creating realistic landscaping, buildings and techniques which will allow you to build your perfect village. I will try and be as in-depth as I can, and look into the more extreme detail that no one else bothers about. Imagine a detailed landscape with lots of buildings similar to my Forge but better :) I plan to update the progress as regularly as I can, hopefully every other day! I am currently sorting out the first step, which I will post in the next few days. I hope this will be useful to anyone thinking of building something lke this. Thanks, step one is on its way! DC See the whole guide as it gets updated here

Thank you all for your kind words, Im just trying to add a bit more of the 'country village' feel to the town forum, as its not often thought about. I have a few other new ones on the way within the next few days. Thanks again DC

Hey all, I while back I posted a few country village houses which were to be part of a growing collection. Well I now have built 2 more, and the idea is too display them all at shows. I only have 1 picture of each at the moment, but can always take some more as they won't be destroyed for quite a while. Anyways, here is the first: Country Cottage Then we have: St. Winifred's Well There will be more on the way soon!

Nice houses Z, a good size and I like the details at the top of the roofs as this is an area a lot of people don't bother with. Like Sandman said, I bet you just keep adding to this, it's not easy to stop once you get going! Looking forward to more updates.

Thanks for your feedback, things have been flying along and shes virtually finished. Just need to add the rigging and sails and a few other small details. I will probably keep with the Arthurian names and call her Lady Guinevere. Not many names of the English ships that fought against the Spanish are recorded, ive only found about 10, notable ones include 'The Revenge' and 'Elizabeth Bonadventure'. Drake did NOT use the Golden Hinde against the Spanish Armada, it played no part in the battle, but I expect I will build it anyway at some point. I will post a full topic when she is comeplete, but in the mean time here are a few more wip pics. Thank you, I have to agree about the stern, but it is something ive been working on and testing. I think ive figured out a good way to achieve a better sloping design for the stern and will use it on the next ship. Its not easy, but I would like some more variety in these ships, so its the only way forward. Thanks DC

Hey all, ive started on the next ship for my future Armada display. Unfortunatly I left it a little late, as I only started it yesterday and it needs to be finished rigged and sailed in the next 3 days for a show at the weekend! This means it is a little rushed, but it works out well as certain ideas I wanted to try can be used on futures ships, as I want each one to have its own colour scheme. Im going to alternate between different colour tooth plates(as used on the Princess Ceinwyn) and checker patterns for each ship. Im building all the English Galleons first, and sticking with the same design I used on my 1st one, which allows me to build them pretty quickly, although I will build a few 4 masters as well. My aim will be to have at least 5 built by the end of the year and hopefully have the full display ready by the end of next year. In the mean time, this one and its sister ship will be on display at The Great Western Lego show(STEAM) next weekend, if i get it finished within 3 days that is!!! The stern design will probably change again, as you can see it is different in each picture, same with the checker design as I think I will just use the first 2 coloured lines and not the top one.

Thats what I thought! Not sure why he has deleted them all, a bit strange, I'll have to find out.

I know some of you may have already seen this, but for those that havn't you really need to check this out! Built by a fellow member of the Brickish Association Carl Greatrix, who is known for his awesome train mocs. He works as a designer for the Lego computer games and so part of his job involves designing the models that appear in the games. This is his version of the Flying Dutchman and its simply breath taking. This is the rendered version, but I will hopeful see him at the upcoming STEAM show and nag him to make this in the brick! See more images on Flickr Some really great techniques used here, check out more pics at his flickr: http://www.flickr.co...otos/bricktrix/

This is a great scene you have built. It reminds me of a picture I once saw that had a pirate hideout in a cliff face with arches and cannons built into the rock. Its a great idea for a moc and one that you could really build on and enlarge. The rock work looks good and the hanging skeleton is a nice touch, as well as that lovely horde of gold! For future reference, I suggest maybe adding a few more different shades of grey to the rocks and add a few more plants and vines to break up the grey of the cliff, thats if you have the pieces availible. I wont comment on the open space of water as I see you were planning for a ship to be used there. Overall, a nice classic pirate cove hidaway! Great work, keep 'em coming!