Blue Glass Castle by Cynthia Bradham

[Bruce N H]

Hi all,

I'm sure that many of us remember Cynthia Bradham's Blue Glass Castle from Brickfest pictures. She's finally put up a gallery of her own featuring this amazing creation. Be sure to look closely at the stained glass windows and the interior furnishings (my favorite is the chess board). Most amazing of all, this is only her SECOND MOC! Imagine what she'll do as her experience grows. Here is her Lugnet post.



Bruce

[Blueandwhite]

I must say, in a hobby that's generally dominated by guys, its nice to know that there are a few women out there who can still show us a thing or two. That window is easily some of the best SNOT design I've ever seen!

The detailing here just blows my mind. I really like that chess board, and the abundant use of tiles (if only I could be so liberal with the tiles I have )!

And the Harry Potter hairpiece actually looks good on a female!

This is really nice!

[Draygen]

I had the same thoughts on the hairpeice. IT really goes well with the female. Making her a somewhat warrior female would really shine with that hair.

Great castle. I love the chessboard, I have to look at that again to see each piece. Overall beautiful

[ottoatm]

Only her second MOC... wow... I guess some people just "have it".

This IS very well done. The amount of detail is great, and she has a lot of the "little pieces", such as the glasses, food, tiles, etc that can be hard to gather in mass amounts (at least for me).

Makes me wanna hit the next brickfest!

[Jojo]

Hello!


Thanks, Bruce, for pointing this out. That's a beautiful building. I'd seen it on BrickShelf and wondered who might have built this. So I was able to give Cynthia an answer on Lugnet.


Bye
Jojo

[LEGOFREAK]

I remember seeing the hand on someone's pictures from brickfest, and a sideways shot of the castle. I am so glad to see the rest of this MOC.
Thanks for posting it.
I still have a printout of that hand, because I had wanted to see how she did it. This is some fantastic work! I like the windows, especially the spiral one. Thats totally my favorite.
There are a few things I am not crazy about like the arches on the sides, with the 1x1 rounds, and the way she did the grand chairs in the hall, (I just think they look more like thrones than chairs ) but those are minor quibbles in an otherwise fantastic MOC.
I sure picked up a trick or two from looking at this..

second moc you say?

can't wait to see more!!!

[Ja_izzle]

Wow, this is incredible.. it just kind of blew me away. First of all the view from the front, the initial view is astounding and leaves you wanting more, and the outdorrsy sceneery fits right in with the moc. But as you want more, you look closer, and as you look closer, you see more and more details..... Its an execelant piece of work, and I hope she keeps it up.

Jason

[forester3291]

Very impressive for only her second MOC.

What I like: I like the landscaping and trees on the outside. I like the use of tiles . I like the chess board! I also like the small details put into the MOC. I also like the hands. They could be changed to white to simulate Saruman's white hand from LOTR.

Samll things I don't like: I must agree with Freak . The arches with round 1x1's doesn't look that good, just something about that doesn't looks right. I also don't like the dark gray uniform-ness in the walls.

[BreadMan]

I happened across this earlier just browsing recent brickshelf updates and was totally blown away. Getting very inspired here, I think my next creation is gonna have to be a castle.

[Dragon Master]

I really love the interior detail. Well most of it at least. And I am envious of her use of tiles. The stained glass windows are the most skillful I've ever seen!

However as a Castle I really don't like it all too much. For one the mix of HP stone walls and poops does not look good at all. But I understand this is here 2nd moc, so she probably doesn't have that much of a supply of standard gray as of yet.

I see no real reason for this castle. It’s too military to be a palace, and to palatial to be a fortress. Taking this castle would be a breeze. There aren't even any guards!

DM

[cabrad]

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for your comments and feedback, I appreciate it. This is my first post at Classic Castle, although I've been a lurker here for a while. I'd like to say that this castle wasn't intended to be historically accurate or to serve a purpose like being a fortress or palace. I just built it for the fun of it and for the learning experience. I got some criticism at Brickfest about the dark blue chairs. Someone said they looked like Captain Kirk chairs , but the reason for them was simply that I wanted them to be dark blue, and those were the pieces I had. Think of them as thrones if you like As far as the arches, I guess you love 'em or hate 'em. They were based on something Jojo built, but I can't find the image in his gallery anymore. I might have used 1x1 bricks rather than rounds, but I didn't have enough. Does anyone have suggestions about not having uniform gray walls, aside from mottling them? Anyway, thanks again for the comments, see you around the forum,
Cyndi

[forester3291]

Welcome cindy! If you want the walls to look uniform go ahead. I was just saying that I didn't like it that way. Really, if you want them to be non-uniform just buildsome of the wall with l-gray, then add some d-gray in some places, and so on.

[Dragon Master]

Hi Everyone,
This is my first post at Classic Castle, although I've been a lurker here for a while.

Welcome to the forum! Just a question, would you have joined if Bruce didn't announce the moc?

I'd like to say that this castle wasn't intended to be historically accurate or to serve a purpose like being a fortress or palace. I just built it for the fun of it and for the learning experience.

I suppose that is what LEGO is all about, no. After looking at it again, it looks like a temple of holy place? Was that intended? It looks like some parts of this castle could be turned into entire mocs themselves. This is a great starter moc, I think you should go with it!

I got some criticism at Brickfest about the dark blue chairs. Someone said they looked like Captain Kirk chairs , but the reason for them was simply that I wanted them to be dark blue, and those were the pieces I had.

I think that is a great idea for a throne!

As far as the arches, I guess you love 'em or hate 'em. They were based on something Jojo built, but I can't find the image in his gallery anymore.

Would this be it by any chance? http://brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=359472 I think that is an awesome technique too. But I would put it on either a temple, university, or in a castle (as long as it is facing in).

Does anyone have suggestions about not having uniform gray walls, aside from mottling them?

Not quite sure what you mean by that. But I would suggest maybe getting some more of those printed pieces. They look awesome in a uniform wall:

http://brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=249353

Anyway, thanks again for the comments, see you around the forum,
Cyndi

Sorry if my criticism was a bit harsh in the first post! I'm always a little more critical to nonmember’s moc. Forgive me if I have offended.

I look forward to seeing more of you mocs!

DM

[Jojo]

Hello!

Would this be it by any chance? http://brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=359472 I think that is an awesome technique too. But I would put it on either a temple, university, or in a castle (as long as it is facing in).

Argh! How embarassing! Customized minifigs by me...
It's a long forgotten sin (hopefully).


Bye
Jojo

[cabrad]

Hi Everyone,
This is my first post at Classic Castle, although I've been a lurker here for a while.

Welcome to the forum! Just a question, would you have joined if Bruce didn't announce the moc?

Probably, but I wanted to wait until I actually had a castle MOC to post. Otherwise, I don't feel qualified to say much.

I'd like to say that this castle wasn't intended to be historically accurate or to serve a purpose like being a fortress or palace. I just built it for the fun of it and for the learning experience.

I suppose that is what LEGO is all about, no. After looking at it again, it looks like a temple of holy place? Was that intended? It looks like some parts of this castle could be turned into entire mocs themselves. This is a great starter moc, I think you should go with it!

I don't know what it is! It's an amalgam of stuff in my imagination I 'intended' for it to look like Jojo's tower.....you can see that it didn't really come out that way But thanks. I'm not unhappy with the results. I just can't say that they are what I intended

As far as the arches, I guess you love 'em or hate 'em. They were based on something Jojo built, but I can't find the image in his gallery anymore.

Would this be it by any chance? http://brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=359472 I think that is an awesome technique too. But I would put it on either a temple, university, or in a castle (as long as it is facing in).

No, it's this one:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=1052816
I uploaded it to my gallery of inspirations (at the moment, the only one), since I really couldn't find it in his gallery. I hope this isn't so embarrassing for you, Jojo.

Does anyone have suggestions about not having uniform gray walls, aside from mottling them?

Not quite sure what you mean by that. But I would suggest maybe getting some more of those printed pieces. They look awesome in a uniform wall:

http://brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=249353

That does look pretty cool. But you know, the parts you have, you have. When Brickfest is 3 days away, there you are

Sorry if my criticism was a bit harsh in the first post! I'm always a little more critical to nonmember’s moc. Forgive me if I have offended.

I look forward to seeing more of you mocs!

DM

I wouldn't say 'harsh', more like blunt. But that's cool, I want genuine feedback. I was surprised though, that most people wrote as though I wouldn't ever see it, which I thought was kind of odd. Anyway, I really like this site, and read it often.

Cyndi