LakeHold - (my first MOC)

ook22 · Post by **ook22** » Tue May 29, 2007 1:22 am

Splash HighRes

Hi all!

So it's been some 18 years since I put hands to LEGO and after recently discovering that castle building was alive and well (even for people in their 30s like me!) I decided that I would give it another go. I've been obsessed with castles for about as long as I can recall and it's been a huge amount of fun to build one again. I owe a lot to the kind folks at Brickfest last year and indeed to everyone here for dishing out inspiring MOCs just about every day of the week.

(EDIT: Renamed the MOC from StoneGuard to LakeHold as someone else had it first! Sorry!)

Cheers!

- ook

PS: These are linked off my personal site since I can't seem to get an upload to brickshelf to work... Anyone?

Front View
Back View
Knights Quarters
Spillage
Bad Guy
Three Parts
First Floor
Second Story
Apprentice
Cleaning Staff
Another Front View
Top View
The Obligatory Wizard
Front Gate

wunztwice · Post by **wunztwice** » Tue May 29, 2007 1:40 am

First off welcome, ye, to Classic-Castle ook!

This is a GREAT first MOC to post here. I love the overal look and shape of it, as well as your attention to detail. The landscaping is very nice, and basically a must for castle dioramas. I've never really liked using the green slopes for such, but you've bulled off well here.

I like that you cap off most of the studs with tiles, and your fig posing is nicely done. I especially like the guard slipping on the tar, that's good!

Do you have plans to close off the rear, or is it made to be more like the sets?

Anyways, like I said, its an awsome MOC. I expect to see many more from you.

Emp.Justinian · Post by **Emp.Justinian** » Tue May 29, 2007 2:11 am

You, you, you... Oooh

I couldn't build that in a year from now, and you built that on your first try!

You will have a long life here. We will all welcome you with open arms.

I look forward to seeing many more of your amazing MOCs. Gosh you're good.

God's speed

Emp.Justinian

Dunechaser · Post by **Dunechaser** » Tue May 29, 2007 2:20 am

Welcome to CC! This is a wonderful first castle as an adult builder! You clearly have some serious talent.

This is definitely evocative of some of the best castles we've seen in the last few months, but that's a good thing.

I like how your castle grows up and out -- very defensible -- and how there are so many different levels. As one of the resident "minifig guys," I can't help but point out all the funny, life-like action you have going on, from the soldier slipping on oil to the guy throwing water.

The interior is great as well, and I've always been a fan of non-enclosed buildings. If you build a cool interior, you might as well show it off!

(Bookmarked to blog later.

)

PRESTON · Post by **PRESTON** » Tue May 29, 2007 2:42 am

This is fantastic. I really like the front archway with the lion head over top.

smcginnis · Post by **smcginnis** » Tue May 29, 2007 3:11 am

This is a very beautiful little lake-tower. I love tiled water, I think it should always be that way, and the rocks rising out of it are very nice. The plant life looks (relatively) organic, which is hard to achieve with bricks, so good job. The tower itself is nicely built. The mixture of pre-fab wall pieces and good brick-built architecture works well here. The three colors of flags repeated throughout really ties this in with the Crusaders (and the Black Knight's shield on the front, never would've thought to mix those two). The interior is nice as well. That bedroom is nicely detailed, and I like the staircases looking down into the main hall.

The name is already taken, but that's not really a big deal when compared to the awesomeness. Since the back is open, I guess its not such a little lake-tower after all. Do you have plans to expand it? I'd like to see more modules of this.

All in all, really nice first MOC, and welcome to CC.

~smcginnis

ook22 · Post by **ook22** » Tue May 29, 2007 3:12 am

wunztwice wrote:First off welcome, ye, to Classic-Castle ook!

This is a GREAT first MOC to post here. I love the overal look and shape of it, as well as your attention to detail. The landscaping is very nice, and basically a must for castle dioramas. I've never really liked using the green slopes for such, but you've bulled off well here.

I like that you cap off most of the studs with tiles, and your fig posing is nicely done. I especially like the guard slipping on the tar, that's good!

Do you have plans to close off the rear, or is it made to be more like the sets?

Anyways, like I said, its an awsome MOC. I expect to see many more from you.

Thanks so much for the kind words, it really makes all the hard work (anyone else get "lego fingers" after a long build?) worth it.

As for the back end, my original plan was to grow this castle with a courtyard and some walls extending to the left and right however I think my collection may not be up to the task so I'll probably demo it in a few weeks and try something different.

- ook

Post by **Bruce N H** » Tue May 29, 2007 3:14 am

Wow, such an awesome entry for a gong farmer! It would be an awesome MOC from one of our most experienced builders, so it's that much more impressive coming right out of your dark age. There is much to love in this, like those stones coming out of the water, the curved steps in front of the drawbridge, guard chasing a rat, Timmy slipping on tar, etc etc etc. Well met, indeed!

BTW, what is your difficulty with Brickshelf? Were you unable to establish an account in the first place? Or unable to upload images after setting up an account?

Bruce

ook22 · Post by **ook22** » Tue May 29, 2007 3:17 am

smcginnis wrote:This is a very beautiful little lake-tower. I love tiled water, I think it should always be that way, and the rocks rising out of it are very nice. The plant life looks (relatively) organic, which is hard to achieve with bricks, so good job. The tower itself is nicely built. The mixture of pre-fab wall pieces and good brick-built architecture works well here. The three colors of flags repeated throughout really ties this in with the Crusaders (and the Black Knight's shield on the front, never would've thought to mix those two). The interior is nice as well. That bedroom is nicely detailed, and I like the staircases looking down into the main hall.

The name is already taken, but that's not really a big deal when compared to the awesomeness. Since the back is open, I guess its not such a little lake-tower after all. Do you have plans to expand it? I'd like to see more modules of this.

All in all, really nice first MOC, and welcome to CC.

~smcginnis

Oops! I didn't realize someone had already used the name... Should have searched I guess... Time to see if I can edit the title of the post!

I have to agree I wasn't really happy with the plant life. I think I will have to try some different techniques next time. I did plan to expand on this one but I'm not sure if I have enough lego... hehe.

Thanks for the heads up and great feedback!

-ook

ook22 · Post by **ook22** » Tue May 29, 2007 3:27 am

Bruce N H wrote:Wow, such an awesome entry for a gong farmer! It would be an awesome MOC from one of our most experienced builders, so it's that much more impressive coming right out of your dark age. There is much to love in this, like those stones coming out of the water, the curved steps in front of the drawbridge, guard chasing a rat, Timmy slipping on tar, etc etc etc. Well met, indeed!

BTW, what is your difficulty with Brickshelf? Were you unable to establish an account in the first place? Or unable to upload images after setting up an account?

Bruce

I have no idea what a Gong Farmer is but I'm glad to be one! As for Brickshelf whenever I choose to upload an image. The site thinks for a moment, says it's generating a thumbnail for a split second, and then nothing appears in the folder. Strange...

Thanks very much for the compliments.

-ook

Traveler · Post by **Traveler** » Tue May 29, 2007 3:31 am

ook22 wrote:I have no idea what a Gong Farmer is but I'm glad to be one!

You may have spoken too soon...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gong_farmer

Welcome to CC, and a great first MOC! Lots to enjoy here.

DARKspawn · Post by **DARKspawn** » Tue May 29, 2007 9:00 am

Hail to thee, ook22

Welcome to CC! Awesome MOC! First try in 18 years? I don't beleive you

Actually, totaly the contrary, I know first hand just how inspirational & helpful this site can be.

Build on!

Gumby · Post by **Gumby** » Tue May 29, 2007 7:19 pm

Way to make a splash! I love the good, clear photography, the way sections lift off to reveal the interior, the way you incorporated wall pieces, and the colors you've used. Light and dark grey for castle and rocks respectively can get pretty boring quickly, so the blue, yellow, and red elements add much needed color.

Is this MOC supposed to connect to something else?

Keep it up!

ook22 wrote:I have no idea what a Gong Farmer is but I'm glad to be one!

Never heard such enthusiasm for a gong farmer!

Paladin · Post by **Paladin** » Tue May 29, 2007 9:52 pm

Beautiful MOC. Very nice details, I still have trouble with that

I really like the way it flows, very much like it was hewn from some natural outcrop of stone or rock...one might coin the term...Wright-ish (as in Frank Lloyd

)

The interior details are slick too. There's a guy in our LUG that's all about doing that with his Castle creations.

If this is your first MOC in a long time, I think your "dark" period is over as they say. Keep going, that's awesome!

Quickblade22 · Post by **Quickblade22** » Tue May 29, 2007 10:21 pm

First of all, from one 22 to another, welcome to CC. I echo the praise of my fellow members. I like how it captures the feel of a tower and castle all in one. I like the wizard's staff as well. Excellent, excellent, excellent!