Carney's Bran Castle

Jacob C. · Post by **Jacob C.** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 2:34 am

Carney has finished his amazing "Bran Castle!"

http://12.223.136.182/bran/index.htm

Pretty Awesome!
The thing must have been overwhelming to build!

Jacob C. · Post by **Jacob C.** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 2:44 am

When looking at the pics, you'll notice the severed heads sticking on the poles near the entrance of the castle!

"Vlad The Impaler"

Dunechaser · Post by **Dunechaser** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 2:58 am

I'm not sure whether to be most impressed with the end result, or with the organization (bins in background) and planning. Wow.

lil Jon · Post by **lil Jon** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 3:19 am

I like this one. A lot of his stuff doesn't have minifigs, so they're just vacant castles, but this one includes minifigs... and their heads...

Always impressed.

porschecm2 · Post by **porschecm2** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 3:24 am

Hm, well, I admit that I like this one better than most, but I still see that he's cutting corners and stickering things that are easily accomplished in Lego, if he'd take a little extra effort. Hundreds of builders have made great looking Tudor walls with angled beams without resorting to stickers. And the same for the windows. He's got alot of brick, and he makes great accurate castles, but as a builder, I don't think he's that great.

Cm2

ottoatm · Post by **ottoatm** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 6:27 am

Ahh... cool - he did Vlad's castle! I've read a bit about Vlad and his castle, so I was really interested to see what he had to write about the castle as well as how he translated that to the brick.

Cool!

porschecm2 wrote:...but I still see that he's cutting corners and stickering things that are easily accomplished in Lego, if he'd take a little extra effort...but as a builder, I don't think he's that great.

I'm not sure that he's cutting corners - it's possible he likes the look better than with brick-only solutions. Remember, he is trying to re-create the castle the best he can with LEGO bricks, but that doens't make him as much a purist as some of the rest of us...

Anyway, just my thoughts - maybe he is cutting corners, but with all the documentation and building he has already, I just don't feel like that's the case.

Maedhros · Post by **Maedhros** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 6:50 am

Well, this looks good but I´m not overly impressed. It looks a bit angular, especially the southwest tower.

And as a side-note. Vlad III Dracula never ruled this castle, he may have visited it sometimes but many sources doubt that as well.
And to be historically correct he should have put whole bodies, not just heads on the stakes.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 5:05 pm

The design and planning are very impressive, and so is the quantity of resources used. But there's something lacking in it, there's no warm feeling to it. I am not sure what it is that's lacking, it might be the lack of colours, or the lack of windows, ports etc. Or maybe the strange contrast between the brightly red roof and the grey walls. Also, there are no pictures of the interior, if there is one at all.

stuifzand · Post by **stuifzand** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 6:21 pm

right, there goes my plan to build this castle...

I love the moc's this man makes, simply amazing!

FUBU · Post by **FUBU** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 7:14 pm

Legomaat · Post by **Legomaat** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 8:09 pm

Exept for the stickering and the "false" windows, he did a nice job.
Maybe some mottling and some more details would have made his caste more "lively".
But it is fairly convincing..

Kanduu · Post by **Kanduu** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 2:33 am

Boy, this is a tough crowd. I really like this castle, and the real one alot too. It's very impressive, and must've taken many tedious hours. Nice work.

Blueandwhite · Post by **Blueandwhite** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 5:18 am

porschecm2 wrote:Hm, well, I admit that I like this one better than most, but I still see that he's cutting corners and stickering things that are easily accomplished in Lego, if he'd take a little extra effort. Hundreds of builders have made great looking Tudor walls with angled beams without resorting to stickers. And the same for the windows. He's got alot of brick, and he makes great accurate castles, but as a builder, I don't think he's that great.

Cm2

I agree (to a point). I don't particularly like Dr. Carney's use of stickers to create windows and doors where brick-based solutions are readily available. Of course, not everybody is a purist. Dr. Carney clearly has his own view on this matter.

Tuthfully, very few builders can claim to be his equal. He is very talented, and most of his castles are well executed. I've noticed that it has become very fashionable to put down or belittle his efforts. But honestly, how many people can lay claim to a portfolio of over 100 large-scale LEGO castles? Despite shortcuts, Dr. Carney has used a variety of techinques foreign to most beginner and intermediate builders.

Certainly, Bran suffers from a feeling of "more of the same", but after 105 castles, you have to figure that his building style is going to feel a little 'familiar'. Though no longer humbled by his work, I certainly respect Dr. Carney as being one of the best castle builders arround.

Later.

ottoatm · Post by **ottoatm** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 5:33 am

Blueandwhite wrote: Tuthfully, very few builders can claim to be his equal. He is very talented, and most of his castles are well executed. I've noticed that it has become very fashionable to put down or belittle his efforts. But honestly, how many people can lay claim to a portfolio of over 100 large-scale LEGO castles? Despite shortcuts, Dr. Carney has used a variety of techinques foreign to most beginner and intermediate builders.

Certainly, Bran suffers from a feeling of "more of the same", but after 105 castles, you have to figure that his building style is going to feel a little 'familiar'. Though no longer humbled by his work, I certainly respect Dr. Carney as being one of the best castle builders arround.

This is really well said - and I think it's worth saying - I agree. I think one reason that all the castles have a feeling of "more of the same" is because he is not creating castles from imagination, but from reality. Actually, a lot of castles from Medievil times are "more of the same" - they were made for practical purposes, not looks.

I do think it's good to point out the "short-cuts" he takes (I hadn't noticed some of them until I saw the other posts), and criticise even the best MOCs, but in the end, the sentiment above has to be true - this guy is a building machine!

ezehogan · Post by **ezehogan** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 6:21 am

I love looking at this guy's castle's. Even if he does use stickers I don't think anybody can truthfully say that any of his castles are "bad". They might not appeal to someone's particular tastes, but even his worst efforts are better than most builders. I certainly know I haven't reached his level yet. Given the same time and resources, I know of only a handful of builders that could match what he has done.

Personally I liked this one. I love the roofline and all of the little nooks and pathways. I certainly wouldn't feel ashamed to have this in my house.