(32x32) Dalebottom Keep

[Karrde]

O'er the dales, the great Hawk sails
Down to the dell, like a bolt he fell
In furious pursuit of his prey.

Brickshelf

Some deeplinks:

Courtyard shot

Modularity!

Who goes there?

I was going for a sort of realistic, Norman style castle, with defensibility and playability; so I wanted realistically thick walls which made fitting everything into the courtyard a real challenge. But really; such a fun build, I can only urge anyone who hasn't tried working within these space confines already to have a go, it really is interesting.

[RichardAM]

It's probably the perspective, but when I saw this on flickr last night I thought it looked like it was in microscale.

I love the wooden sentries dotted around the castle, and from the modularity photo it's evident lots of both work and planning has gone into the build. The arches and various decor make it all the more interesting.

What I will say however is that along with all the tiling and the pure grey walls the castle seems a little too "clean", maybe even artificial. The wooden elements really help break that up, but another colour in about the walls and stonework would work brilliantly, though i'm sure some would disagree with me.

[Karrde]

Thanks Richard.

What I will say however is that along with all the tiling and the pure grey walls the castle seems a little too "clean", maybe even artificial. The wooden elements really help break that up, but another colour in about the walls and stonework would work brilliantly, though i'm sure some would disagree with me.

You surely do have a point there, another colour would have been good, but I find that I'm not that skilled at random mottling of colours, dark bley tiles at various intervals in the walls I would have considered if I had enough for it to be viable. While I like the 'clean' effect it does jar a little and I tried to use grill bricks and other such details (perhaps not prolifically enough) to add a little variation. For me, this was more about texture than colour

[stuifzand]

Great moc!
I like the clean look and the tudor/wood look inside.
Nice job

[Quickblade22]

Nice build!! I can see how Richard thought it was a micro-scale at first glance. The tudor buildings and wooded additions make the build very interesting. I absolutly love the use of the brown cheese slope for the archway in the first pic. Glad you participated.

[the_Rascal_King]

Excellent work! I know it's supposed to be a more realistic build, but it has a sense of character that's unique and quirky.
The woodwork detailing is great!

[Ye Olde Republic]

Your 'Big Grey Walls' work for me. It's a small enough creation and there is enough interesting-ness built into them that the sterility is really, really striking. I'm not usually one to go ga-ga about tiling battlements and such but I'm glad you went that way as the studs probably would have been a strange texture on the textureless walls. Is it just me or are your inner hoardings five and a half studs deep?

[ben_toy_tech]

Outstanding work. Very clean looking, as others have mentioned. Nice use of tile. You also have a good use of foreground, middle, and background objects.

[mystuffiscool]

Dear God!

It is very clean looking, and I just love it! Too much to put into words.

[nanuck95]

I really like all the woodwork and the details on the inside. The mix of tan and brown really looks great, like they mixed a bit of pine and oak together in the paneling. Looks like a cozy, yet well defended place to live.

[Evil Ben]

Another fan of the woodwork here. And the clean walls don't bother me, either - they just make the place new-built or well-maintained, which seems appropriate for a Norman keep with Normans in it.

[Karrde]

Your 'Big Grey Walls' work for me. It's a small enough creation and there is enough interesting-ness built into them that the sterility is really, really striking. I'm not usually one to go ga-ga about tiling battlements and such but I'm glad you went that way as the studs probably would have been a strange texture on the textureless walls. Is it just me or are your inner hoardings five and a half studs deep?

Thanks man, glad the walls work for you. The hoardings are (If by inner hoardings you mean the ones on the main tower) are built on one of these which may account for any depth discrepancies. If, on the other hand; you mean the buildings in the courtyard then they just were built on jumpers.

Thanks for all the comments guys and I'm glad the walls worked out okay. This was a really fun challenge, I am hoping to build a landscape around the castle when I have the time

[Tycho McKorley]

I actually don't mind the big grey wall effect either. Some castles were actually white washed so that the whole structure appeared to be made from a single stone. Admittedly, your fortress is grey and not white. However, I think it conveys the same idea well.

Otherwise, this is a great MOC with a lot of detail packed into it. Keep up the good work.