Aanchir

Fair point… it honestly surprises me a bit that they aren't one stud wider like doors with similar connections such as 87601 and 93096. I suppose one reason for this choice was that this way they work either with the 1x4x3 half-arches (like in King Boo's Haunted Mansion) or with the 1x5x4 half-arches (like in Peach's Castle), whereas if the radius were increased, they'd only really fit with the latter. That said, even with these proportions, they should work just fine with any cart or carriage with wheels six studs wide or narrower. The one from the Medieval Blacksmith would be too wide, certainly, but traditional medieval cart/carriage builds are usually at least two studs narrower than that one, like those from the Lion Knights' Castle or Medieval Town Square. Overall, I'm very excited for these doors! They're the first half-arch doors in a long time with really versatile hinges (certainly way easier to use in MOCs than 24054, which only really fit with one specific 4+ door frame mold), and certainly they will be great for modern revamps of many older Castle models as well.

Honestly the changes you made to the studded roofs don't make a whole lot of sense to me. You left the grille tiles and rock plates from the original set that are clearly meant to evoke a thatch roof, but then added criss-crossing rectangular tiles like the ones on the Old Fishing Store, which suggest it's been patched up using wooden boards. Conversely, the contrasting tiles on the door of the weaver's workshop seem to match the shape of the nearby tiles almost TOO neatly, as if two perfectly rectangular slices were cleanly cut out of the painted wooden door, and then replaced with unpainted boards of exactly the same size. Also, I agree with @sporadic about the gaps in the wattle & daub walls not making much sense for buildings that are still in active use. If your aim is just to make the walls look aged/weathered, it'd make more sense if you added some mismatched colors to suggest parts of the wall that have been patched up, but haven't yet been painted over. And on the farmhouse, you have also seemingly sheared a structurally important Reddish Brown wall post in the front left corner in half, shifting the lower half to the right (against the door frame). I think this may have just been a careless mistake, though, since if you flip that 1x3x2 chunk of wall in the bottom left around, the timbers will line up vertically just as they should. That's not to say all of your changes are bad. The additional colors and textures you added to the grey stone walls work pretty well, especially with the little bits of olive green you added to suggest patches of moss/lichen! The added leaves on the old tree don't look half bad, either! Even so, I think something to keep in mind in the future is to think about exactly what sort of materials different colors, textures, and patterns in the original set represent, and how those different materials might age differently. For example, the awning in the back of the carpenter's workshop is presumably fabric-based, so it wouldn't be likely to grow patches of moss or lichen in real life — instead, it might tear, which you can represent either by leaving gaps or by patching it up with not-quite-matching fabrics (which I believe is what the Earth Blue tiles on this awning are meant to represent in the original set). Alternatively, it might fade from repeated exposure to sunlight and rainwater, which you could potentially represent using lighter shades of blue. Likewise, a thatch roof is more likely to be patched with fresh thatch (which might vary in color from the older thatch) than with a smoother and more solid material like wood or slate. And while moss loves to grow on roofs, keep in mind that the thicker it gets, the more it will vary in texture from the roofing material is underneath. Consider how the Medieval Blacksmith set uses studded wedge plates for some of its thicker patches of moss, contrasting with the smooth tiles used for the rest of its shingles. On a final note, regardless of whether you agree with the criticisms voiced above, I think it's a little surprising that despite all the detail you added to the buildings themselves, the grass AROUND the buildings still looks as uniform in color and texture as it was in the original set. I feel like this is an area where you could add further details, like adding taller grass or weeds to the ground in places that water drips down from the roofs (and/or places where the grass is harder to keep trimmed, like against the sides of buildings), and patches of bare soil in places that get a disproportionate amount of foot traffic, like outside the front door of the weaver's workshop and farmhouse (and/or places that don't get a lot of sunlight, like under the awning behind the carpenter's workshop).

Oh, I absolutely love your rendition of the classic green dragon, even if it's just the head and claws! the triple leaf plates do a lovely job echoing the original's "frills"! The rafters, stained glass windows, and furniture are also beautifully constructed. While the grey walls deviate from the original Dragon Masters/Dragon Knights sets, I realize that if the walls here were black, the overbearing darkness would detract from the scene and cause a lot of details like the fireplace and wall cornices to melt into the shadows. Beautiful scene overall!

I mean, one of those three colors is long retired. And none of them are a great match for goats with a brownish coat. Beyond that, it wouldn't hurt to see even the two current goat colors in more sets, even if there's no particular urgency for it.

Those comparison photos are great! The Blacksmith is definitely larger than the other sets, and was clearly designed as a stand-alone build rather than one that would accompany these later sets. It's not so large that it couldn't believably exist in the same universe, but in ideal circumstances I probably wouldn't display them side by side in a layout (especially since the Blacksmith strikes me as the sort of building that might be a little more remote rather than near the center of town (in reality, of course, my display space is kinda limited so my medieval stuff will probably be displayed close together on a shelf, despite how I'd prefer it if I had the space for a larger layout). The Medieval Town Square also scales very nicely to the Medieval Market Village, despite the difference in their level of detail! Awesome to see the difference that 15 years makes! When I finally get the town square (holding off mainly 'cuz my birthday's coming up and IDK if anyone in my family might be planning on getting it for me as a gift), I will most likely be displaying both it and the castle folded closed for the aforementioned space reasons. But I will have plenty of time to figure out what works best.

I feel like that ring may be a hand-hold to assist the green-suited astronaut in getting up from bed and into his wheelchair!

Probably part of the same build section as the sleeping compartment. The outer wall for that section is 16 studs wide, but the sleeping compartment itself just takes up the eight studs in the center, leaving a roughly 2x4 space for additional furnishings on either side In the close-up image of the sleeping compartment you can see a little bit past the right wall of the sleeping compartment that I think is meant to be a shower, so the kitchen might likewise be in the space past the left wall (which is unfortunately not visible in any of the pics so far). Truth be told, "kitchen" is probably not the most accurate descriptor if it really is only equipped with two beverage dispensers, though perhaps there could be other details there not mentioned in the set description like a mini-fridge or microwave oven. If not, the space is just big enough that it may be possible to mod in a feature like that using a 2x2x2 mailbox or 2x3x2 cupboard piece. EDIT: I was just Googling to see if any other sites had listings for this set yet, and the Target (US) listing includes a lifestyle video that shows a brief glimpse (around 3 seconds in) of what does indeed appear to be a black 2x3x2 cupboard with a Tr. Light Blue door to represent a mini-fridge or oven of some sort. Unfortunately the angle does not show the drink dispensers, but there is a white mug sitting on top of the cupboard piece, so I assume the drink dispensers are a little further to the left. I imagine LEGO's own listing for the set might go up on Monday, since online retailers started posting pics of the Friends rover just shortly before LEGO revealed it on their own website. EDIT 2: I just noticed the description also mentions a food-delivery drone? But I can't see this in any of the photos or videos revealed so far, so I have no idea what that looks like or where it's tucked away.

There are lots more pics up here! The green astronaut has a hoverbike parked outside (same engines as the polybag one but built different in the back to accommodate his wheelchair). No green droid, but there is a sleeping compartment and, according to the set description, a kitchen with water and juice dispensers. Seems like a nice add-on to the main base overall.

Ooh, smart suggestion! I would love that sort of thing.

I definitely appreciated this survey. In the past I've often been frustrated at the lack of adult LEGO-branded apparel (and/or with the generic look of some of the adult LEGO-branded apparel that has been produced in the past) and this was a good opportunity to voice some of those opinions. The Bionicle and building instruction T-shirts were my favorite of the clothing examples shown — the Bionicle one for being colorful and nostalgic, and the building instructions one for being colorful, fun, and playful. By contrast, shirts and hoodies with just logos or other "minimalist" patterns can often feel like they're trying a little too hard to seem sophisticated/grown-up, especially when they are only offered in understated colors like black, white, charcoal, and navy (not that I won't wear shirts in these colors, but they need fun or colorful patterns to balance with that more neutral backdrop). One thing I mentioned with regard to some of the "upscaled LEGO part/figure" suggestions was that I especially like when that sort of stuff is practical rather than just decorative, like the upscaled mugs (which are reasonably sized for human use, stackable, and both microwave— and dishwasher-safe). The coasters, lamps, and vase stood out as some good example products which might also have a similar sort of practicality, though the vase is not specifically a product I'd be interested in. The travel mugs are very fun and colorful, although I mentioned that I'm more likely to use a water bottle or thermos than a travel mug due to having less risk of spills. I also mentioned that for the customizable backpacks or cosmetics/toiletries bags, I prefer the example using actual LEGO tiles over those using pins or velcro patches (and that maybe including a transparent plastic sleeve for a LEGO plate on the front instead of having the studs sewn on would make that even better, since it would help keep tiles from coming loose while traveling). The plushies are a very fun possibility, even aside from the cheeky choice of a LEGO goat for the example product! I know that LEGO has had lots of minifig plushies before, but the possibility of a range of cute LEGO animal plushies definitely excites me! Coffee table books are also great, though my interest might vary depending on the subject and how much new info (like behind-the-scenes insights from LEGO designers) is included. One specific example that I mentioned would be a LEGO Ninjago art book with lots of concept art and illustrations (including trading card art, posters/key visuals, and box art backgrounds from over the years). In general I'm glad that LEGO sent out this survey to get community feedback, as opposed to just basing their licensed merch decisions assumptions about what sort of products adults might enjoy. Of course, I realize this survey isn't necessarily going to mean the stuff I want ends up being made — for all I know, a most of the other adults who respond to this might have very different perspectives and preferences than I do! But regardless, it's good to know that AFOLs in general are actually being considered in these sorts of product design decisions.

Hey now, I think that's a little harsh. I definitely agree with you when it comes to enjoying play features in sets! But at the same time, I get that as an adult a lot of us don't get a whole lot of time to actually play with those features (especially those of us who also have other hobbies and/or spend a lot of our dedicated LEGO time trying to build new stuff, as opposed to playing with the stuff we've built previously). In that respect, I understand why other AFOLs might prefer if their money goes towards a more impressive shelf presence than towards hidden or interactive features they won't have as many opportunities to appreciate. I don't agree with it, but I understand it.

I mean, even several kid-targeted playsets back in the day were pretty dang expensive! Like, 6285 cost $110 back in 1989 — the equivalent of over $270 today when you adjust for inflation! And 6990 cost $140 in 1987, equivalent to around $380 in 2024 US dollars (though of course, the bespoke electronic elements and all-new track system were surely a big part of that)! Even 6195 from my own childhood cost $89 in 1995, the equivalent of around $180 today! LEGO was never a particularly inexpensive toy, even before big exclusives targeted at adult builders/collectors started to emerge in the 2000s. And in any case, @Yperio_Bricks was questioning was whether these sets really felt "for adults" aside from their size/price, which I feel is a fair question to ask — after all, LEGO could hypothetically bundle a bunch of kid-targeted City sets together in one box for a $400 price point, and that wouldn't mean the designs themselves are any less kid-targeted than if they were sold separately. You know, that's a valid perspective. However, I think the flat, narrow, perpendicular half-timbering in Lion Knights' Castle and Medieval Town Square is that way for reasons of scale rather than for the sake of simplicity. After all, the half-timbered structures in those two sets are individually a lot smaller than the Medieval Blacksmith, and having several sections of the walls themselves built sideways is arguably a more advanced building technique than building standard studs-up walls with occasional SNOT bricks to attach tiles, even if the end result looks more simplistic. For my part, interior is a HUGE factor in how "mature" a set feels to me, and certainly a big part of why I was drawn to Medieval Blacksmith, Lion Knights' Castle, and Medieval Town Square despite not having previously sought out castle sets as an AFOL. One of my frustrations with the LEGO castles from my own childhood was how empty their interiors often felt. Details I was familiar with from medieval fiction and non-fiction books I'd grown up with — lavish dining halls, luxurious royal bedchambers, long winding staircases, a busy kitchen with a blazing hearth, a stable, etc. — were basically nowhere to be found. Frankly, we were fortunate if a kid-targeted LEGO castle had much interior detail at all beyond a throne room, dungeon, and occasional clips for storing weapons! By contrast, even the otherwise lackluster Mega Bloks castle I received once as a gift (built inside a solid plastic shell/storage case) boasted at least a few of the sort of lifestyle-focused interior details that I could only dream of seeing in a LEGO castle — at least until the LEGO Elves theme came out in the 2010s. So to me, the best teen- and adult-targeted sets are those that present more well-rounded details than their kid-targeted playset equivalents. Sets that focus not just on exciting action play, but on everyday life. Not just on flashy-looking exteriors, but on realistically and attractively furnished interiors. The sort of sets that fulfill the sort of wishes that the sets of my childhood could never quite meet, but that I continued to dream of well into adulthood, and that I would always strive to address in my own MOCs. Not judging you at all for having different preferences… but I do think this provides a good anecdotal example of just how much adult tastes (and consequently, the sort of features we expect in adult-targeted sets) can vary! I wouldn't phrase it exactly this way, but this is also a pretty good point: Medieval Blacksmith is Castle-inspired in terms of setting, but doesn't draw considerable inspiration from traditional Castle playsets beyond that. By contrast, Lion Knights' Castle was specifically meant as a 90th anniversary tribute to classic Castle sets, and so the designers consciously went out of their way to include features reminiscent of ones adults might remember fondly from their childhood Castle playsets: a hinged construction which can be displayed either as a closed structure or a wider curtain wall play features such as a working drawbridge and portcullis a hinged rock wall which conceals a secret passage for the forest people both a towering, twisty brick-built tree with black bark, and a few small molded spruce trees. a mountainous raised foundation meant to echo the old-school raised baseplates …and so forth. Even the narrow timbers may be partly intended to echo the classic wall panels with printed half-timbering. Certainly that seems to be the case for the red back room of the inn in Medieval Town Square, since both its colors and proximity to a guard tower suggest it's likely intended as a specific callback to 6067 Guarded Inn/The Town Wall Tavern!

I think all of those are pretty much equally "for adults" — after all, they all include details and building techniques that go beyond the complexity and intricacy you'd expect in their kid-targeted counterparts (like, say, a LEGO Elves castle or Ninjago temple). So while the tastes of adults can certainly vary quite a bit (e.g. how much we want our sets to focus on play vs. display, or on interior detail vs. exterior detail, or on bright colors vs. understated ones, or on sets that resemble those we remember from our childhoods vs. sets unlike any we've seen before), there's still plenty to distinguish all of these sets from standard playsets beyond just their size/price. Funnily enough, I remember when Medieval Blacksmith came out I remember a lot of AFOLs criticized the big colorful roof shingles and warm Reddish Brown wood as evidence that LEGO had watered it down into a kid-friendly playset, so I'm kind of surprised you consider it "more like a set for adults". Did you get that impression mostly because of the Blacksmith's separating modular floors vs. "dollhouse-style" hinges, or is there another reason all those other sets gave you playset vibes and the blacksmith did not?

Honestly, a GWP based on 6038 could be really cool to see. We haven't had a four-wheeled carriage in any of the "new generation" medieval sets since the Medieval Blacksmith, and even that one didn't have front-wheel steering like 6038 did. Of course, it'd probably have to be redesigned to use the 33mm wagon wheels instead of the 27mm ones, since the latter were discontinued over two decades ago (although funnily enough, the building steps for 6038 were drawn with the larger wagon wheels anyhow).

That's looking very nice so far! for my part I used black for the tavern floor just 'cuz I figured that even if it has a stone foundation, it might have a wooden floor over top. But honestly, a different colored floor for the tavern itself is not the worst idea — a warmer color like Sand Yellow/Dark Tan might help brighten up the interior in a tasteful way. And in hindsight, there's no reason to think that a wooden floor inside would match the tarred dock outside. If you end up adding on to your port town even further I'd love to see what you come up with!

Since this topic has been revived, I'll mention that this is the best, most thorough table I'm currently aware of! And the colored cells link to example photos of the colors on Rylie's Flickr. https://ryliehowerter.net/colors.php

Regardless of what faction it focused on, I would definitely be eager to see what a modern, 18+ take on one of the black castles might look like! Back in the 80s, most of the grey castle sets tended to stick to relatively similar architectural cues regardless of faction, so that kids could combine those sets in any combination. And if you wanted to add a Black Falcon castle set onto a Lion Knight castle or vice-versa, all you had to do was change the shields and flags. But when Black Monarch's Castle was introduced, the fact that it didn't need to match with castles that had come before it freed the designers to incorporate new architectural motifs (like the use of 2x2 macaroni bricks to give the parapets on its towers unique scalloped edges, and heavier use of contrasting stone colors for columns, walkways, and arrow loops). I feel like a modern Black Knight, Wolfpack, or Dragon Knight castle could likewise be a great opportunity to employ very different architectural motifs from the Lion Knights' Castle — perhaps favoring curved or octagonal towers over square/rectangular ones, or battlements of a different form than LKC's wide rectangular merlons capped with smooth semicircular curves. Also, as I've mentioned before, if LEGO makes new Black Knight minifigures, I'd love if the scale mail were molded rather than printed. The 1988 scale mail torso print, much like the 1984 silver breastplate torso pattern, was used for multiple differently colored torso assemblies across several factions, so having the scale mail as a removable torso accessory like the current molded breastplate would allow you to pair it either with the current Lion Knight or Black Falcon torso patterns or with a newer, less heavily armored Black Knight torso pattern. I don't know how much I'd read into that — after all, other example products in the survey included upscaled flowers resembling the "old style" flowers and stems rather than the current version, and T-shirt graphics portraying decades-old Fabuland and Bionicle sets. So I don't think any of that iconic, nostalgic imagery is really predictive of what stuff LEGO has planned for future sets. That said, White Glow is still on the color palette, so I'd definitely be happy to see ghost shrouds in that color make a comeback (whether the mold itself resembles the 90s Castle version, the Monster Fighters version, or even a brand-new design).

I like both slopes and curved slopes a lot. The multicolored water approach from the Friends Beach Amusement Park is lovely too, but I think for many Pirates builds it's unnecessarily parts-intensive (whereas in the Beach Amusement Park it served a very practical purpose, raising the "ground level" a bit higher so that there's room underneath to conceal the interconnected Technic mechanisms). Several of these techniques can also be combined in interesting ways if you're clever about it (for example, using rocks along the coastline to separate the different coast styles so the transition between them is less abrupt). And obviously, depending on the type of build you intend to use these coastline techniques for, you might need to adapt quite a bit. Like, if you want to suggest a grassy tropical island instead of a barren sandbar/desert island, you're gonna have to include a layer of green plates or tiles no matter what type of technique you use for the sandy beach portion of the build. Some of these approaches allow for a narrower beach than others, while others might be more effective at locking together the plates underneath if you choose to give the surrounding water an irregular footprint using a mix of standard plates and curve/wedge plates (as official sets often do).

Beautiful work! Some of the design faults you mention are things I'll definitely try to keep in mind with future digital models (since usually my aim is to create something that could work in real life, even if I don't end up purchasing the bricks to build these models myself) And the fact that you preferred its build to that of the new Eldorado Fortress is very high praise indeed! Of course, I wouldn't have been able to do nearly as good a job with this design if I hadn't had the new Eldorado Fortress for reference. The rocks, sand, piers, and weathered brick walls of my model all borrow heavily from that set. Plus, it's much easier to redesign a mid-size set like this than a large set like Eldorado Fortress without the build becoming tedious or repetitive. The modular design of the new Eldorado Fortress is admittedly much more ambitious than anything I set out to do with this model. Truth be told, I'm still a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to incorporate more modularity into this build (either in terms of being able to separate the model into multiple segments, or being able to connect it to any of the Eldorado Fortress modules in a way that feels logical/coherent). This is an area where I feel some of the other I also wish I had been as successful as Pierre Normandin in providing rooftop access for the minifigs. Certainly, Eldorado Fortress lacked a ladder to the roof of the governor's office, but it still provided ladders for the other three rooftops AND the underground storerooms — whereas even with just two rooftops in this model, it still somewhat frustrates me that I was only able to provide a means of access for one of them. I feel like this is a good place for a shout-out to @CaptainLocke, who redesigned 6267 in a way that CAN connect quite beautifully to Eldorado Fortress, and managed to turn the otherwise purely decorative arch in the original set into a more practical bridge between the two rooftops (though it lacks roof access when not connected to Eldorado Fortress). That model also played around with the height of the docks in some very interesting ways, which makes their redesign feel a lot less "flat" compared to the original set. I feel like next time I try to redesign a classic Pirates set, I should think about taking more of these sorts of creative liberties myself instead of adhering quite so strictly to the original set's proportions.

The hatch I had figured out from a few of the pics from the original press release, but it's really awesome to see in video reviews just how smoothly it snaps open! I'd also noticed the paint splotches, but I thought they were all round tiles from the official pics — the semicircular ones against the back wall (underneath the clips for the paintbrushes) caught me by surprise!

I figure any corners cut on the No Way Home minifigures are likely due to that film having such a big ensemble cast. The previous two Spider-Man movie each had just minifigs of one or two heroes (albeit in a few different costumes in Spidey's case) and one or two villains. The No Way Home sets had to include FIVE different Spider-Man figures (three new costumes and two alternate universe variants), new costumes for Doctor Strange and Wong, and four different villains (six if you count the updated Vulture and Mysterio minifigs that were included in the first wave to avoid spoiling the movie's pre-MCU villains).

After reading some reviews and watching some speed build videos, I'm even more impressed with this set! There are several nifty details I hadn't been able to notice in earlier pics and videos: glowy Tr. Bright Orange tiles inside the inn's oven, various faction seals on the stickered envelopes, a puddle of melted wax below the candle in the shieldsmith's workshop, the way the paint splotches on the floor below the brush rack have pooled against the wall, and what I presume is ale or some other beverage in the barrel on the hand cart. I'm also able to better appreciate the cleverness of how rafters/supports for the roofs of the farmhouse and carpenter's workshop are constructed. Definitely eager to add it to my collection!

I mean, in-house designers get an actual salary, which I can't imagine any of them would willingly trade just for single-digit percentage royalties on net sales (especially since a salary means getting paid for all their work, not just for already released sets that they were the lead designer on)! But I can't imagine LEGO is really saving all that much money through the BrickLink Designer Program. After all, most of their revenue and profits tend to come from kid-targeted sets, and that's also what most of their in-house designers are primarily paid to focus on. So sets targeted at an AFOL audience are small potatoes by comparison And LEGO is still designing about as many sets in-house as they would be if the BrickLink Designer Program didn't exist, so it's not as though fan-designed sets like that are taking the place of stuff LEGO would be paying designers for otherwise. Furthermore, the fact that some BrickLink Designer Program sets sell out as quickly as they do should be evidence enough that they aren't being produced in anywhere near the same kind of quantities as most official LEGO sets. Four or five limited-run sets aren't going to be that impactful to LEGO's bottom line. Honestly, I think the main perk the BrickLink Designer Program has for LEGO (sort of like LEGO Factory and Design byME in previous decades) is fan engagement. Producing fan-designed sets has the potential to get fans more creatively and financially invested in LEGO than in-house sets and themes are likely to manage on their own. And even if somebody opts to buy a BrickLink Designer Program sets instead of a set designed in-house, that still means that they are dedicated LEGO buyers who are likely to go on to buy other LEGO sets (or loose parts from Pick-A-Brick) to complement their collections. Which is obviously something that it's in LEGO's best interest to encourage! Anyway, I'm not the most prolific MOC builder out there by far, but I figure I may as well respond to the main topic while I'm here: Some of the things I think about when designing things include what sort of scale I want to aim for, as well as what language I want to focus on. Bright colors or muted ones? Straight edges or curves? Realistic or stylized? Playset-like or model-like? Finding bricks for specific details can be tricky! For details in a particular color, it can be helpful to browse the parts catalog on Brickset and BrickLink to see what parts are available in that color. For example, on the BrickLink color guide page, you can click any number in the "Parts" column to see all the part shapes available from sets in that color. Whereas if trying to match a particular shape or type of connection point, it can be useful to either use the part tags on Brickset or to search BrickLink by terms related to that shape or color. Jumping off of the previous comment a bit, several organic-shaped parts on BrickLink can be listed under various geometric terms like "round", "curved", "cone", "cylinder", etc. But it can also be useful to browse by category — there are lots of useful curved parts in vehicle, animal, and windscreen related categories with official and BrickLink names that only identify them by size or intended purpose rather than shape. Once you've found a few nice curvy parts you want to start with, you can start playing around with other curved parts to see which ones will best match and help you to fill in any gaps between them. Alternatively, if you're making organic models that aren't so smooth and clean-looking (e.g. for a furry creature build or a rough-textured tree build), search terms like "rock", "claw", and "tooth" can help a lot, as can various round or wedge-shaped plates and tiles. I usually use digital LEGO building programs to start out my process these days just for convenience's sake — sifting through piles of bricks can be noisy, time-consuming, and space-intensive, and can involve a lot of cleanup between build sessions which can be a bit frustrating/demoralizing if a particular build session was not very productive. I've always got my inspiration from a variety of sources, I feel like. Recreating stuff like my mom and dad's cars, my classrooms at school, or my house/apartment/dorm can be a fun challenge that gets you thinking about the shapes and textures that surround you in real life and the sort of LEGO parts that might let you recreate those at a particular scale. But I'm also a big fan of building characters and creatures from my own imagination, models inspired by specific LEGO sets and themes, or models inspired by books, TV shows, and movies that I'm a fan of. Whenever something seems inspiring, you gotta embrace that! I feel like sometimes I'm more inspired by techniques, and sometimes more by ideas. I don't think I tend to lean one way or the other in how my models start out — the tricky part for me is following up on that to bring a model to completion where both the core idea AND the building techniques feel especially satisfying. I'm probably not all that qualified to give advice, since I've hardly produced any MOCs in recent years that I'm happy enough with to share! But I think it is important to always keep trying new things and not get too discouraged when you hit a creative roadblock on a particular model. It's a challenge I'm admittedly still struggling with myself.

Oh lovely! I remember when LEGO shared images of a "winter" version of the Lion Knights' Castle a couple years back how surprised I was that I'd never seen anybody make winter versions of their Castle sets before. And you really went all-out here, to the point of retexturing the roofs in a way that suggests a nice thick blanket of snow and ice! Even the smoke puffing out of the chimney suggests that the fire is really roaring inside to stave off the frigid winter air. The ice warrior minifig's sleigh is very charming, and in this festive context he sort of reminds me of legendary gift-givers from Slavic folklore like Ded Moroz! Was that an intentional reference? Some of the scenes feel slightly cluttered due to the number of figures and other details packed into a tight space. I would prefer if some of that stuff were spread out or used a little more sparingly so there are fewer different details/focal points fighting for the viewer's attention, but of course, there is also some charm to this sort of jam-packed scene where you really have to work to notice everything going on — the sort of feeling you get from search-and-find books like Where's Waldo/Where's Wally books. One detail that particularly amused me was the hare investigating its ice sculpture counterpart! One interior detail that stands out to me is the pineapple on the dinner table. Obviously medieval Europe wouldn't have had pineapples in real life, but I understand that this is a bit of a fantasy scene anyhow . Are pineapples associated with winter/holiday traditions where you live? I know that in 18th-century Virginia they were a symbol of hospitality that came to be associated with Christmas and New Year's Day, so I'm curious if this was a reference to any of your own local traditions. Beautiful work overall! Thank you for sharing!

Interesting! In hindsight, the version of the farmhouse from the survey just used the pre-existing 1x4x6 door with window, which DOES add credence to the idea that the new 1x4x6 door with window might've been a part developed for another set/theme that 10332's designer decided to take advantage of. And I guess the lack of set-specific new molds in Medieval Town Square is not so surprising, since even the much larger 10305 only had one set-specific new mold of its own (the 1x4x3 half-arch). I doubt the new dwarf beards will remain specific to the Snow White set either, since they don't have any braids, jewelry, or other ornamentation that mark them as IP-specific, but I would say there's a strong likelihood of them being designed for that set/theme specifically, since the dwarfs had a specific need for beards without mustaches (which would rule out simply using pre-existing beard molds).