Shell Keep

Post by **architect** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 2:28 am

You may ask what is a shell keep? This circular wall enclosure with an open courtyard was the last defense of some castles. Read more about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep

My latest creation is a Shell Keep. It uses approximately 6,700 elements and took 15 hours to build. It uses my panel offset technique. I also came up with a new way to make circular allures by connecting hundreds (1800) 1x1 plates in long rows to make giant rings.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9321695@N0 ... 490671455/

Please let me know what you think! Thanks.

Ben

Baned · Post by **Baned** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 2:57 am

Words escape me. That's such an awesome creation.

Aliencat · Post by **Aliencat** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:33 am

Very nice, some great techniques used there, but uhm... Where's the gate?

Post by **architect** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:46 am

Aliencat wrote:Very nice, some great techniques used there, but uhm... Where's the gate?

It does need an entrance. I ran out of time before BrickWorld. The problem is the rings do not maintain their circular shape when you place large openings in them. One good solution would be to have a smaller square or rounded tower for the entrance which connects to the shell keep.

Ben

Aliencat · Post by **Aliencat** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:54 am

architect wrote:One good solution would be to have a smaller square or rounded tower for the entrance which connects to the shell keep.

Either that or make a gate that's under the walkway and just build the gatehouse over the walkway without actually interrupting it, if that makes sense.

Post by **architect** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:56 am

Aliencat wrote:Either that or make a gate that's under the walkway and just build the gatehouse over the walkway without actually interrupting it, if that makes sense.

Yes, that is what I had in mind.

Ben

DARKspawn · Post by **DARKspawn** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:27 pm

Great stuff! I have been planning to actually try my hand at a shellkeep, but was going to use hinges (of course). Obviously this is very much a work in progress but I would love to see a little more wall detail, & the addition of a gatehouse is a must.

1800 1x1s in giant rings? That must have driven you crazy

Great to see an MOC frrom you too, Ben. This is the first new MOC I've seen from you in my time here

Post by **architect** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:38 pm

DARKspawn wrote:Great stuff! I have been planning to actually try my hand at a shellkeep, but was going to use hinges (of course). Obviously this is very much a work in progress but I would love to see a little more wall detail, & the addition of a gatehouse is a must.

I would like to add more wall detail such as rows of banding. Now I just need a few hundred 1x2 plates with rails

1800 1x1s in giant rings? That must have driven you crazy

I had help putting the 1x1's together. The mosaic packs were nice and I made sure that no 3 1x1's in a row were the same color. Bending the plates is not too hard until you have to connect the last 1x1's in a ring.

Great to see an MOC frrom you too, Ben. This is the first new MOC I've seen from you in my time here

Thanks. This is my first large scale castle moc in about a year. I also built smaller non-castle mocs (which I usually do not post about here) and a bunch of alternate models for the sets section as well.

Ben

Donut · Post by **Donut** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:55 pm

Wow this is very impressive. Are you going to expand on this creation or is it finished?

robin · Post by **robin** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:53 pm

Very cool, Ben. It has that really "solid" look, which I love. That 1x1-plate walkway must have seemed to take forever to build, though!

Robin

Spongey · Post by **Spongey** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:30 pm

This is an astounding creation. It's great to see a master of LEGO use such ingenious methods to make MOCs like this. However, I'm still not clear as to how you did this. Could you please explain it for a LEGO n00b like me?

Post by **architect** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 6:13 pm

Donut wrote:Wow this is very impressive. Are you going to expand on this creation or is it finished?

I will be working on this creation more. It will either receive a gate and interior courtyard buildings or it will become a tower keep with a conical roof over it. Hopefully I can acquire enough green to build a motte for it.

Very cool, Ben. It has that really "solid" look, which I love. That 1x1-plate walkway must have seemed to take forever to build, though

Thanks. The walkway was not as bad since my brother and sister helped me build the plate rings. Connecting the rings and building the spokes for the walk to rest on was harder.

This is an astounding creation. It's great to see a master of LEGO use such ingenious methods to make MOCs like this. However, I'm still not clear as to how you did this. Could you please explain it for a LEGO n00b like me?

Check out my article link above to see how to build the crenelations. If you have enough 1x2 bricks, you can build rings or curved walls. Sometime I will take a few photos showing the inner workings between the rings. That will show how it all works.

Ben

Spongey · Post by **Spongey** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:00 pm

Thanks Ben. All of these techniques are really cool.

Patron of the lego · Post by **Patron of the lego** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:17 pm

Lego can be built in the oddest of ways, some are thought to be impossible.

The_Vanquished · Post by **The_Vanquished** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 11:29 pm

I really like this creation. I'd like to see it intergrated into a castle. maybe a keep inside it, a village outside it, and a larger ring outside of that.