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Having put a lot of hours into Town building (result: one new
16x32 3-story building completed with no interior) it's back to
Ancient, "the fan-created Theme". I'm posting this under Castle
because that's where we Ancient buffs squeeze in, right? (hi
Richard.)
Since I got back into Lego (97) I've found that my specialty is
with researched, planned, and (necessarily) adapted models of
historical sites. It's good if they're huge too. This goes for
my Town building too which is based on studying actual
structures. I'm replacing one big model with a new one now...
Recently I demolished the Villa Estree-sur-Noyes, which was a
Roman (Gallic) villa sprawling over a 2x4 foot table. My friend
Graig was eager to help with Villa II, so I drew up the new
blueprint on a 96x96 foundation, 20 bricks high, to incorporate
lots of new ideas and lessons learned. In the old villa, modules
were added without much forethought, and the stables wound up
flanking the kitchen. Not pleasant, but the kitchen had to
adjoin the baths to share the furnace. Meanwhile, traffic from
the kitchen had to go through the front atrium, the main
entrance room--unsightly. The master quarters never got built
because the door leading to those was already on the table's
edge.
So, the new blueprint found a sensible layout for these modules
in an arrangement of 9 square baseplates (32x32). I don't know
when the Villa II will be completed (we built some walls),
because I've planned so many other things now.
Here's another giant plan. Planning this one was really what led
me to redesign the Villa. Now it looks like Villa is pushed out
of the way for now. Keep in mind this is just plans on graph
paper:
NEW PLAN:
This is a minifig-scale model of Herod's Palace on the northern
end of Masada. The "blueprints" were made by taking measurements
on a map and adapting them to use 32x32 modules. Otherwise, it
is of consistent scale and realistic, probably undersized but
adequate for minifigs.
Some background: this palace perches on a projecting spur of the
really big mountain fortress of Masada, on the western shore of
the Dead Sea. Isolated from the main fortress and the other
buildings, the northern palace was designed as a private
residence with room for a small number of people. It enjoys the
best climate to be found on the rock, and a spectactular view in
three directions. The history of Masada is a tremendous topic,
which I will certainly include in future, but not now. Herod's
little palace is a very minor aspect of the whole.
(Now on to Lego.)
Its architectural appeal is three staired terraces:
The lower terrace is a rectangular double colonnade that fits
within a 32x32 baseplate. The middle terrace is also 32x32, but
consists of two concentric round pavilions of diameters 18 and
28. The two terraces are joined by a 4x32 staircase on the side,
because the middle terrace is elevated 20 bricks above the
first!
The lower terrace also has an adjoining 3-chambered bath, 12x20,
and one corner of the whole terrace is lopped off by a
precipice. (Actually, a 70-foot retaining wall was required to
stabilise the lower terrace.)
The third, upper terrace is two concentric semi-circles covering
20x40. Behind that is a 28x40 rectangular palace with 5
chambers. The steep slope down to the middle terrace is 33
bricks high.
The entire structure rests on a base of bricks 26 high. The
sloping sides of the mountain, also modular, might create a
maximum width of 64 (slope not determined yet.)
The total dimensions of the model of Herod's Palace are 136 long
by 64 at the widest, with a cumulative rise of 80 bricks to the
baseline of the third terrace.
I have not estimated how many mountain-colored (yellow!) bricks
will be required but it is surely large enough to kill the idea
of a realistic scale model.
An abridged blueprint would require a total rise of 44 bricks,
after shortening the cliffs somewhat.
Alternatively, the terraces themselves could be constructed and
placed on wood or cardboard risers. I will probably begin
constructing the terraces without the elevation. In contrast to
the fearsome mountain, the terraces are manageable buildings of
32x32, 32x32, and 48x48.
As a thought exercise, I projecting the entire mountain fortress
of Masada at the same scale as this little piece I'm
contemplating. This gives a truly gigantic Lego model, as
unlikely as a minifig-scale Star Destroyer. The mountain's
fortified plateau fits inside a 1260x600 area, which in terms of
48x48 baseplates would require a 27x12 grid (of mostly empty
space.) The mountain's sides would be at least 200 bricks high
on the west (the eastern side falls down even more than that,
towards the Dead Sea.) The siege ramp constructed by the Romans
to reach the 200-brick plateau would be (at least) 400 long and
800 wide.
Faced with impossible demands like these it is sensible to focus
on a part of the site, and from a construction point of view I
think Herod's Palace is the most appealing aspect. Other choices
could be a section of the casemate (chambered) walls surrounding
the summit, other public buildings on the summit, or parts of
the Roman camps formed below.
So, I've started building the terraces in a 48x64 working area,
and one day I hope to present some photos.
Good luck on your own massive creations!
-Erik
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Forgive me, Erik, for some massive snippage.
I just wanted to say, wow. Massada is amazing - I studied it for a long time
and was even there first-hand (which was an experience I'm not likely to
forget anytime soon). Herod, or Hordus in Hebrew, is considered one of the
greatest kings (he built the "second praying house", I guess the English word
would be temple); as for the history of that place, well, you and I know it,
but I say it's worth sharing with the castlefolk. ;-)
(I'm just too tired to go over it myself... ;-)
As for the Roman plateau - thanks for not building it in real scale... see, in
the trip, we had to CLIMB that. Your minifigs will certainly appreciate not
needing to climb it, I can tell you. <grin>
I *cannot wait* to see your version of Masada (we add an s but I'll forgive
you ;-)
-Shiri
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In lugnet.castle, Shiri Dori writes:
> I *cannot wait* to see your version of Masada (we add an s but I'll forgive
> you ;-)
I knew this would get someone's attention. (;
It's a lot of bricks! 'Wait' is a short word for it! And if I only build the
northern tip it will be massive, but the minifigs will have a fine view from
above.
I hope to see it for myself someday. Recently I picked up a discarded copy of
Josephus, and one thing led to another. I've been a Masada buff for a long
time, since the TV miniseries was produced about 1981. I found this glossy
book of Yigael Yadin, who led the archeological expedition in 1963, it has been
most helpful with diagrams.
Yellow bricks I think will be the main ingredient for the rock. I'm
experimenting with 2 colors. The palace will have white bricks, for plaster,
but also red and green panels on the walls inside. I wonder if anybody knows
about the roof or if I get to invent it?
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