But I like it. I’m rather odd that way though. Behold Grimmhavn, by Mr. Brick. It’s a nice place to visit and I would like to live there…
Tag Archives: Castle
eMonthly Build Challenge on Classic Castle: Medieval Weapons
Hey, all you lurking Castle Lovers out there, I will be hosting a monthly build challenge on Classic Castle. The first challenge is life-size Medieval Weapons. No other rules. That’s right. No rules. So give it whirl, hop over there, and show us what you can do.
Here’s an example, to get the creative juices flowing:
Anthony Sava: Have smoker will travel – Boilerplate & Beyond Vol. 1 [Interview]
We’re excited to have LEGO icon Keith Goldman conducting several interviews for us with fellow LEGO fans. Take it away, Keith!
This week’s builder is Tony “SavaTheAggie” Sava, who broke onto the scene the same time as I did, which automatically makes him interesting because he had a front row seat for my meteoric rise in the LEGO hobby.
One of the first models by Tony that captured my imagination was Stonebarrow Keep (right).
Now, before you snort and say “I can build better than that” or “I see castles every week better than that”, realize that this was created seven years ago and was considered an amazing build. Tony is currently working on a model of the Cathedral of St. Francis:
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I sat down with Tony at his ranch outside of El Lago, Texas, where we enjoyed ribs, Lone-Star beer and firing his collection of antique shotguns. We also talked about LEGO.
The Build
Keith Goldman: You primarily build castle and train models, do you find one more challenging than the other, and do you use fundamentally different approaches when building each?
Tony Sava: I find different challenges in each (oh come on, you gotta give me that cop out). Castles, typically, are primarily studs up creations, but they’re very organic, so finding that balance between what is “made by man” and “made by nature” can be tricky. SNOT is typically reserved for detail work, such as windows or flooring. Trains, on the other hand, can be studs up, or no studs up at all, and have the engineering aspect of being animated and navigating track. Steam engines, especially, I view as a prime mix between artistry and engineering, and it’s a challenge I enjoy quite a bit. It takes quite a bit of time to not only get the shapes correct, but to get all the wheels to navigate the track while the pistons fly around them.
More of Keith’s interview with Tony after the jump: Continue reading
The terror of Colorado Boulevard
Jarek (Jerac) combines his car building skills with a distinctly Castle aesthetic, for a unique race car with an even more unique driver and her unprecedented pet:
I don’t want to know what sort of fuel is in those yellow canisters…
What the Death Star looks like as a floating rock
Barney Main (SlyOwl) knows our soft spot when he built his entry for the Time Twisters Contest. The association with 10188 Death Star is so obvious and hilarious that you don’t even need to know the rules of the contest to predict this as a likely winner.
A castle in the modern day
Most major Lego castles, with the exception of Hrothingas, haven’t been open to tourism. Now, Castle Terezcak by legacek is open to visitors. But please, no graffiti on the walls.
I love the train tunnel cutting through the rocky mountain on which the castle is firmly planted. The use of bley and old gray on the castle walls is a classic technique to add texture.
Twisted? Most certainly.
There are some fantastic entries coming in, for Classic-Castle‘s Time Twisters contest. For a brief re-cap, the idea is take an existing set, and turn your wayback machine a few centuries…or in this case, switch your “fantasy worlds” entirely!
Rod Gillies weighs in with his Twisted AT-AT:
A tribute to the King of Pop-Ups
Nathan Sawaya has created a gorgeous tribute to Waldo H. Hunt, the King of Pop-Up Books. By the way, this is also Nathan’s first castle.
Thanks to Bruce for pointing this out on Classic-Castle.
LEGO Pixar, Kingdoms, World Racers – 2010 sets at Canadian Toy Fair [News]
Once again stealing the New York Toy Fair’s thunder, the first publicly available photos (read: not stolen or leaked) of late 2010 LEGO sets come from the Canadian Toy & Hobby Fair, via CTV tech reporter Kris Abel.
Of particular note for LEGO Castle fans is the new Kingdoms theme.
Check out Kris’ main post for links to each of his theme-specific posts, including:
- DUPLO (with new Pixar Cars sets)
- Prince of Persia
- Space Police
- Star Wars
- World Racers
The Time Twisters Contest [News]
Two members of Classic Castle, Aliencat and Bluesecrets, are putting on something called “The Time Twisters Contest“. I know you are wondering if this has something to do with that bizarre theme from the ’90s. The answer is ‘No’.
They want you to “medievalize” an official Lego set….any official Lego set. Here is an example of what they are looking for:
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Pick a set, any set. Figure out how it would look as a “Castle” set and build it. Naturally, you don’t have to actually own the original set, as you do not need use the pieces. Go Twist some Time!
Castle Falkengrund
Colossal Castle Contest Winners Announced! [News]
The Classic-Castle Admins have finished the judging and announced the results! Check out the winners. There are some excellent castle creations there. If you need more Castle goodness, take a peek at all the entries. While there were less entries this year, the quality seems to continue to rise. I can tell you, it was hard to judging this year.