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In the midst of the Mirkwood forest runs an enchanted stream closely guarded by
elves that protect and repel any unwarranted visitors. These elven guards patrol
not only the forest floor, but also the canopy with their uncanny ability to
leap from tree top to tree top.
Entry to the CCCX contest for the Forest Life category.
AC
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AC
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Hi All,
The www.altBricks.com website is ready for orders!!! It took way longer than
planned to get the site all up and running. And we have been so burried in
"side" orders that we keep running out! But we just received a large shipment
so there are plenty for all (we hope)!
On a side note, we aren't selling on Bricklink any longer, but still love the
site!!! Thanks Bricklink for letting altBricks get a start on your site!
SteveB
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The exploration and conquest of the New World often brought conflict between the
various European countries and their armies that often started with skirmishes
and ended with full scale battles.
AC
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Click the pic for more...
AC
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Frodo woke to a cool, clammy darkness. No, not quite darkness, there was an
eerie green glow about the low-ceiling chamber in which he awoke. He glanced
about himself to see the prostrate figures of Sam, Pippin and Merry now oddly
adorned in white and covered in circlets and rings, surrounded by ancient swords
and treasures. Are we dead? he briefly thought, but the thought was quickly
chased from his mind as he felt an impending danger, wending its way into the
room on the airy, phantom tones of a chilling death-like song. . .
The Lego groups release of the Lord of the Rings sets has been a very mixed bag
of results. For minifigure collectors its a dream come true (with slight
heartburn for critics of the lower quality out-sourced materials). For
construction fans, many diehard builders have already built their own versions
of some of these iconic structures. Lego takes an interesting (and for me at
least, unforeseen) turn on the releases of these basically Castle-themed sets.
My first build in the collection is the 9472 Attack on Weathertop set. The
price was originally daunting until I was able to make a deal with a
fellow-collector that ultimately made it possible for me to pick up the set
(that I honestly wouldnt have picked up at its original price).
9472 is an innovative spin on the Castle set. Its a two-level tower-like
construction with a spiral staircase winding upward from a small camp clearing
(with firepit). The stairs wind upward to an open battlement with decaying
arches and bits of ruins (very well depicted). On the first-level back side of
the structure (opposite the camp clearing) there is an arched doorway that leads
to a small interior armory. A trap door in the floor of the second level can
drop unprepared victims into the lower chamber and the entire structure is
hinged to allow better access to the lower interior. An additional partial
wall/corner assembly (separate from the main tower) is included to add to the
feel of ruins and while this smacks of simply adding to the piece count, the
bricks and plate will add to alternate building possibilities.
Figures included in the set are two ring wraiths, a warrior figure (Aragorn) and
two hobbits (Frodo and Merry--though it could just as well be Frodo and Sam) and
two horses. The wraiths are very well executed but nothing particularly new
(basically dark jedi knight figures). In all fairness it should be noted that
the menacing Harry Potter Dementor figs have already stolen the wraiths
creepy thunder. Aragorn and the hobbit figures are good sculpts and body
paints. Accessories include a spear, swords, torches, food bits (chicken legs,
carrot, apple) and a small, gold-plated ring (this is actually pretty cool).
Minor accessories of flowerless plants/weeds should be noted, they are simple
but add a great touch to the feel of the main model.
Where fans (myself among them) have complained about price-per-part issues, Lego
is now giving us more parts, and oh how cuts the two-edged sword! Were getting
more parts alright, but many of them are small 1x1 bricks and slopes (be careful
how you word your wishes)! This is indicative of not just the Lord of the Rings
sets. Fans need to carefully check out other themes (Ive seen it in Star Wars
and even Town sets) before going by only the listed part count to determine if a
purchase is worthwhile. Im a long-time construction toy fan and Lego is among
my favorite brands but the mentality that fans will buy whatever you produce
is not always true (particularly in difficult financial times). Time will tell.
Okay, now that Ive got that out of my system, lets take a serious look at this
construction. A perusal of the Lord of the Rings sets shows a very interesting
design mindset: minimal (if any) castle walls and panels! While the
price-per-part monster probably has a bit to do with this mentality (youre
gonna use anywhere from four to eight or nine parts to make up for that single
castle wall) it does make for a more artsy looking castle construction that I
found very appealing. Hopefully this is something that will only play part in
this particular theme and we wont lose the classic feel of a larger Lego
castle with those customary panels and wall bits. Adding to the artsy feel of
the castle is use of microfigures within the walls or arches to give the feel of
statuettes or relief detail (another great touch).
A second item to note on the building style is how the exterior walls are angled
such that we arent treated to a square design per se, but were getting an
almost octagonal design. Dont get too excited just yet, this unique
structuring was actually being done by Tyco Superblocks sets over 25 years ago
(anybody remember the very cool
Black
Knights Castle set?) though its admittedly improved upon by Lego.
Last note on the design of the structure is in answer to a possible question of
why is there an interior to Weathertop?. I think the Lego group is actually
implementing a bit of the barrow burial mounds that were originally part of the
Fellowship book but not a part of the movies. I pictured the barrow vaults as
being a lot larger but the basic idea is here.
Final judgment? This is a very good principle model using a good assortment of
grey, dark grey, dark green and tan elements that many fans will miss out on
because of the high sticker price. While I dont approve of figure-pirating,
construction fans can benefit by picking up the set minus figures at a much more
reasonable price from ebay or elsewhere and populate the set with their own
existing figures.
!!!4x2ReVu Stats!!!
Rating: Five out of eight studs. (It isnt fair but the high price easily
knocked off two stars.) Thumbs up for: A very cool, innovative structure.
Thumbs down on: Totally overpriced! The demand for (and resale of)
collectible figures (along with price-per-part cramming and lofty license
price-jacking) is sadly not a good thing for our favored brand of construction
toys. Wallet-Wise: $60.00 suggested U.S. retail for 430 pieces. Date:
7/27/2012
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A large group of the Elves of Lorien march in to reinforce the defence of the
keep sent by Elrond, at the prompting of Galadriel, under the command of Haldir.
Click the pic for more details...
AC
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In lugnet.castle, Stephane Simard wrote:
> Oh well, I was expecting to see some...
>
> Good thing I moved to Eurobricks :\
If everyone waits for someone else... nothing happens. Maybe post a link to your
favorite one there? Or to a creation of your own?
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Oh well, I was expecting to see some...
Good thing I moved to Eurobricks :\
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In a crucial chrono-axis-point, inadequate safeguards and the nefarious efforts
of he who must not be named proved far too effective and the boy who lived
did not in fact live. In this alternate timescape the powerful Voldemort
ironically became the word on everyones lips as he gained an unholy and
omnipresent grip on the wizarding world. Refuges like Hogwarts Castle were
prime targets for his fury (and deeply embedded fear of reprisal). These
once-havens were quickly emptied by powerful life and energy-consuming spells.
But the power mad wizard overreached himself and soon dissent within his own
ranks of death-eater lieutenants brought the once-powerful regime to an abrupt
and destructive end. Now there are only the smallest groups of good and
evil scattered here and there, seeking to gather and strengthen each other. .
. and the fortress of Hogwarts (devoid now of even spirits) remains a silent,
sullen shell of what was once good.
This is the Lego Groups fourth version of the Hogwarts Castle/estate, the
various released versions are as follows (by year): 2001 - 4709, 689 pieces
2004 - 4757, 928 pieces
2007 - 5378, 943 pieces
2010 - 4842, 1290 pieces
I cant give a completely unbiased comparative opinion because Ive never
actually built the previous versions but the 4842 does seem to give the
best/full version of a fortress construction (with the 5378 being a close
runner-up). At any rate, its obvious that this one has the most pieces.
To be honest, Im a Castle fan at heart and I picked up this set with an eye to
modifying this into a standard fortress-type model. With this particular set
were going to get various castle pieces/portions with each section linked to
another through peg-and-hole connections (keeping in mind that Hogwarts is
really more of a campus than a single castle anyway).
Facing the castle from the inside looking out and going left to right, the first
construction is comprised of three levels with the first level featuring what
looks like a large closet or doorway to a passage (though it actually leads
nowhere). The second level features a bookshelf with sliding transparent doors
(nicely designed). Handcuff elements are secured to each sliding door with the
suggestion that inserting keys into the base of the doors and twisting the keys
will pop off the cuffs/binders. The idea is novel but the cuff elements are
just too wobbly and will undoubtedly come loose in play (or whenever moving the
entire construction) and could very easily be lost. The third level of this
section is an open battlement with a large powerful telescope that is actually
done quite well.
The second castle section is a four level tower with the bottom floor featuring
a small waiting room/lounge with two revolving chairs. The rear wall is adorned
with a Slytherin tile/plaque and two snake elements adorn each side wall (nice
touch). The second level features a suit of armor standing on a revolving base
(though nothing in particular is featured on the other side of the base). The
third floor is another lounge with, again, two chairs, but this room features a
fireplace. The fireplace is very well done with a sliding mechanism that makes
a 2x2 tile (with what appears to be some sort of fire demon) come out of the
fireplace. A Griffindor banner hangs above the hearth. The fourth level
features an enclosed owlery, complete with perches, three owls, and poop bits on
the perches (again, nice, subtle touches).
The third and largest castle section is the dining hall. Its very well
executed with two long dining tables and benches, two chairs and a lectern at
the back/head of the room and a door near the back of the room for exiting. The
tables are filled with all kinds of elements for food (including a large turkey)
and goblets (great accessory assortment). Two banners hang over the room
(Griffindor and Slytherin) and a simple but effective chandelier hangs from the
main rafter. The design of the hall is very well done, particularly with
multiple windows at the rear wall, sturdy columns made up of 1x2 bricks (rather
than a one-piece pillar element) and the use of transparent 1x1 bricks set high
in the side walls to denote stain-glass.
The fourth and final castle section is a three-level construction with the first
floor featuring an entrance door, a trophy-type shelf, a chest and a winding
staircase. The second level features some simple but great shelves (with
non-sliding drawers) for various vials and potion jars. The drawers do contain
items (bone bits in one, a letter in another) but the drawers cant actually be
accessed unless the shelves are removed from the construction and partially
disassembled, still the idea is interesting (werent there sliding drawers in
early Lego sets?). The room also features a low table with a crystal ball and a
large (almost throne-like) chair. The third level is a partially open
battlement with a large one-piece roof element (similar to the one that encases
the owlery) that houses a stand for the sorting hat and a large silver sword.
None of the multi-level sections provide any access to the various upper levels
except for the fourth section winding staircase and these particular assemblies
have never impressed me with the way they fold up and arent very stable. Id
much more prefer a single-piece, smaller, spiral staircase. (Im sure the
collapsing staircase is essential to the wow factor, but the instability of
the assembly detracts from the desired result.)
Figures in the set include Harry, Hermione (class uniform prints), Professors
Dumbledore, Snape, McGonnagal and Flitwick, Argus Filch, Voldemort and two
dementors (with McGonnagal getting the best dress print/slope in my opinion, she
makes a great sorceress fig). The dementors are also pretty cool (half-figures
really) with the upper torsos and arms of a skeleton (in dark grey) and tattered
cloaks. The bottom half of these phantoms is comprised of a single stand
(instead of legs) that gives them a floating appearance. Its a neat gimmick
that could also work elsewhere for floating spectres. Lastly, there are a bunch
of animal elements included in the set: two snakes, a spider, a grey rat, a
frog, bat and a kitty (with a painted face).
There are a lot of minifig accessories including books, a magnifying glass, two
different swords, a shield, the sorting hat and a crystal ball (plus the
aforementioned food elements). Stickers are included for the castle walls,
various banners and a couple of book covers. There are also a number of
pre-painted tiles making up a newspaper, map, scroll, crest and a letter of
correspondence. Its also worth noting that the set comes with THREE
instruction books.
Standing back and looking at the construction as a whole, there are some great
and innovative ideas for castle builders such as ledges for the windows and
recessed facades that add for a great look to the design. There is a great
assortment of parts including basic building bricks, plates and hinges (and the
aforementioned peg and hole connectors for modular building options). With the
set probably right on the verge of going out of circulation, this is a good time
to pick it up and its definitely worth the price-per-part ratio.
!!!4x2ReVu Stats!!!
Rating: Seven out of eight studs.
Thumbs up for: Terrific designs implemented that will give great ideas to
castle enthusiasts who might normally have passed-up this set because theyre
not into the Harry Potter genre. Wallet-Wise: $130.00 suggested U.S.
retail for 1,290 pieces, if you can find it on clearance, GRAB IT! Date:
5/16/2012
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Sent to find a missing noble, one notoriously brash and irresponsible Earl of
Huntington, who has gone missing for nigh unto two years now, the knight
apparently asked too many questions in all the wrong places. Caught unawares on
a trail in the haunted forest of Hode (after being followed for some time) he
was attacked by forest rogues, knocked unconscious and now finds himself at the
bottom of what appears to be a half-flooded cave with no way out. With the
cave at his back, he faces crude dungeon bars that let him see just enough
beyond the cave walls outside. He is in the middle of a small body of water and
the cool lake water within the small cave gently ebbs and flows, lapping against
his soaking feet. Chirps of the night insects and waterfowl are interrupted by
distant voices, and on the stone walkway above him he can see the subtle
dancing, waving light of an approaching torch. . .
Ive been restoring older castle sets lately and in working on the Forestmens
River Fortress, there were just enough inquisitive and revelatory moments (since
Ive never actually assembled one in all my days of collecting) that I figured
it was a good enough reason to sit down and write a review.
First of all lets give some background to the late 1980s Forestmens theme
(note that Im not a total aficinado, so feel free to add corrections). Lego
started releasing minifigure Castle sets with the classic 6075 yellow castle in
1981. I never owned the 6075 castle but my collecting started closer to around
1984 with the 6080 Kings Castle. An opposing castle sub-theme was hinted at
with the (1986) 6074 Black Falcons Fortress but an official Castle sub-theme
would actually crystalize with the Forestmen sets coming out in 1987-1988
(followed shortly thereafter by Black Knights and Wolfpack sub-themes).
Considering the history and development of the themes/structures is important
because as I rebuilt this particular set there were some anomalies that can be
attributed to and explained by a toy company in the stages of growth.
The 6077 Forestmens River Fortress is a castle construction that appears to be
built right in the center of a large tree, situated in the center of a body of
water. There are technically three levels to the structure, the ground
(swampy?) floor, second stone-based structure and a high open battlement that
overlooks the front and back of the tower. The ground floor features a small,
door-less prison cell and thats about it. The second level features a short
walkway platform that leads to the (manually operated) drawbridge. From this
second level one can drop someone down into the prison cell but theres no other
form of egress (ladder, etc.). The third level of the tower is simply an open
walled terrace with a winch for raising and lowering the front door of the
tower. The tower is completely enclosed with a hinged rear wall that provides
access to the entire interior. There is no ladder for reaching the upper level
of the tower from the second level. The castle drawbridge extends to a bit of
landstrip (2 x 8 green plate) on the edge of the baseplate with a single tree
growing right next to the landstrip (a small bullseye for target practice
attaches to the tree). One final mini construction is a barrel-based river raft
the forestmen use for transportation (nice detail!).
Figures included in the set are five forestmen (with peaked Robin Hood hats) and
a single knight. Accessories include bow-and-arrow elements, quivers, standard
grey swords, a treasure chest, and a couple of stag-head shields.
The construction is quite a fun addition to the Castle theme but there are a
number of minor issues I had with it. The first curiosity is that the 32 x 32
blue baseplate for the construction is not pre-printed as the baseplate for the
6071 Forestmens Crossing is, leaving the base of the castle to come straight
out of the water. Just a smidgen of paint for the castle/tree base (or even
more, like the baseplate for the 6270 Forbidden Island) would have been
terrific. The second concern is that I didnt even realize the tower was
built in the middle of a tree because all tree parts are black instead of brown
(as are all the 1980s Forestmen sets). Im going to attribute this to the
early stage of a company that limited the mass distribution of multiple colors.
As it was in these early days, black and grey were the primary colors for
castles. Elements in green or brown were fairly rare (though it would be great
to see this 6077 set re-imagined with brown replacing most of the black parts).
The last interesting bit about the set is that there are a number of tiny gaps
in the construction. While theres nothing that leaves the tower feeling shoddy
(on the contrary its quite sturdy), there are a few noticeable spots where a
castle corner could have used a 1 x 2 or 2 x 2 brick just to make the whole
thing feel whole. I didnt notice anything like this in the same sub-themes
6077 Forestmens Crossing so were probably dealing with a different designer or
design team.
In the end, this is a very good stand-alone entry in the Castle series (its
classic so there are a lot of elementary building pieces, not a lot of
specialized parts). Originally a 348 piece set for around $40, I imagine an
unopened set would go for around $200 but the average castle fan would probably
reasonably pay around $75 for a used set (depending on the condition). Keep in
mind these sets are over twenty years old and restoration can mean removing a
lot of dust or replacing yellowing grey parts (unless the original owner was
careful in maintenance).
!!!4x2ReVu Stats!!!
Rating: Six out of eight studs.
Thumbs up for: A great stand-alone set, uncommon entry in the Castle series.
A good sample of the Lego company in early stages of structure development.
Wallet-Wise: Over 20 years old, expect to pay around $100 or more for a used
copy. Date: 4/25/2012
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Hi All,
AltBricks (Brick Link Store) has released the Fall Leaf Collection...
100 Mixed Leaves (20 of each color): Brown, Dark Tan, Dark Red, Yellow, &
Orange. $20.00 ea
100 Brown leaves
100 Dark Tan leaves
100 Dark Red leaves
100 Orange leaves
100 Yellow leaves
$20.00 ea
100 Green leaves
$15.00 ea
SteveB
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Hi All,
Alt Bricks (my new BrickLink.com store) is proud to announce its first custom
product. Green Plant Leaves 6 x 5. This element is similar to the LEGO 6 x 5
plant leaf. This is NOT manufactured by LEGO. It is a custom element made for
Alt Bricks from ABS with the consistency of regular brick plastic. It has
fantastic clutch power so that cascaded leaves, a method often used for large
trees, do not fall apart! These elements are available for only $0.15 ea in lots
of 100!
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/SEBarile/AltBricks/greenleaf.jpg
In the near future I will be adding Brown, Dark Orange, Green, Yellow, Orange, &
Dark Red. These will sell for the same price and min quantity as the green! A
100 count mixed color pack will also be available with 20 of each color sans
green.
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/SEBarile/AltBricks/thumb/leaves-tree.jpg
SteveB
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Jakob Hestbæk posted this medieval house on www.byggepladen.dk today:
I think it is worth sharing with the rest of the world.
Play well,
Jacob
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During the height of the Roman empire, it was a common sight to behold the
Legionaries led by the commanding Centurion depart for new campaigns after
visiting the temples.
Click the pic for more details...
AC
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In lugnet.castle, Erik Olson wrote:
> Hey, welcome back. And Hi Rich!
Hi Erik!
Yeah, I've been only lurking here for awhile. And, only infrequently.
I have recently put some new images in my Brickshelf gallery, (version 3 of my
Blue Streak - version 2 of my Citrus Express coming soon). I've cleaned up some
of the stray folders under new folders (trains, buildings, etc.) More work to be
done. I've also cleaned up some of the images of buildings (straightened the
crooked look, took out distractions, brightened them). More soon, on the
building front. I've got teasers for some buildings that I have built, but not
an in depth look at them. That will change soon too. New building images too, as
I go to each building and fix things that aren't correct, or that I don't like
now, but lived with when I built them, based on parts availability.
Not a lot of castle stuff right now, but who knows, that could change soon too.
Rich
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In lugnet.castle, Ed Jones wrote:
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Back on LUGNET after a long time. Will be posting some pics of some creations
soon.
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Welcome back, Old-Timer!
JOHN
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Hey, welcome back. And Hi Rich!
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