BDP9: Building Mistguard Castle
Posted by Huw,
Our series of articles about BrickLink Designer Program 9 submissions continues with this one by Nate, aka @BrickDesignerNate, about his project Mistguard Castle.
I am a big fan of the Lego Castle theme and this round of the BrickLink Designer Program offered a unique opportunity to design a castle for a new faction. Whether it’s the Griffin Knights, Kraken Warriors, or the Serpent Knights, these factions have at most a color scheme and general vibe to base their lore off of. The imagination can run wild from there!
Mistguard Castle is my interpretation of a Griffin Knight stronghold. Since the Kraken Warriors were paired with them in 21358 Minifigure Vending Machine, I added them to my model in the form of a raiding party to help build the scene and round out the set. My vision of the Griffin knights is that they are a well-ordered faction with routine stronghold maintenance and training regiments. The Krakens strike me as a more chaotic group that is willing to take on a big fish for the big payout even if it’s risky.
The Inspiration
Castles have always fascinated me. During my years living abroad, I visited every castle I could. The history, the might, and the grandeur within their walls captivated me. It was difficult for me to walk the grounds of a castle and not imagine the guards whose ancient footsteps I followed along.
I pulled the most inspiration for my build from Chateau de Chillon or Chillon Castle in Switzerland. This castle on the water is an incredible fortress. Getting to see its defences, dungeon, and courtyard first hand placed it as one of my personal favourites. Its roofs, its covered walkways, and its gradual slope of its towers were all great looking details that I wanted to incorporate into my model.
Building the Model
My number one goal was to make a breathtaking debut castle for the Griffin Knights the LEGO fans would love. I had lots of ideas but the ones that stood out as imperative were a castle on the water as to tie in the Kraken Warriors’ ship. I also needed to make sure there was adequate height differentiation between my buildings to give the model depth. This would be a great reason to add a lighthouse. I wanted the model to have different buildings that the walls would connect to each other. These buildings would need to look different enough from each other to give them character but also maintain a cohesive look overall.
I really wanted to find a way to incorporate curved walls when I was making the layout of the model. I was able to make this happen with a combination of wedge plates and hinge bricks. An unplanned benefit of this technique is that it allows for the enclosed castle to be opened and displayed in a straight wall configuration. This will be beneficial for displaying purposes. Stretched out, this model reaches 38.4 inches (97.4 cm)!
One of my good friends and LEGO mastermind suggested that “if you wanted to make this castle really hot, you should have a double portcullis because no LEGO castle has had one yet.” I agreed and appreciated the suggestion for historical accuracy. I worked the two portcullises in and attached them to two levers so that they could be dropped separately. Above the entryway, a knight can drop stones through slots in the walkway on any invaders trapped between the portcullises.
Interior details include a blacksmith, a stable, a dungeon, a treasure room, a mess hall, a bunk room, and plenty of vantage points to watch the horizon. With the set at 3,985 pieces, I was allowed 13 minifigures via the BDP guidelines. So naturally I needed to make sure there was enough space inside and things for the minifigures to do when the model is on display.
Build The Ships
I actually started my submission by designing the Kraken ship. I wanted to make sure there would be a substantial Kraken presence even though I didn’t initially know how many figures I would be including. Five felt like a sufficient amount of warriors. That way there could be four rowers and one commander of the vessel. This set the scope of my model. Meaning I would need to reach almost 3,000 pieces for the armies to be even.
The ship itself is a cross between a Roman trireme and a Viking warship. With a powerful ram in the front and ballista to sink unsuspecting merchants, I wanted their ship to make a statement that they weren’t a peaceful envoy. The Kraken emblem on a large black sail would strike fear into all, noting their mission to plunder your vessel and sink it. I built a small merchant ship to add to the story telling of the sea raiders. I was worried I would need to remove it due to my piece count being so high, but was just able to squeeze it in.
This model has been my biggest building challenge yet. I hope you can see the passion and effort to make it the best it can be! Please feel free to give me any feedback you may have or to ask questions about the model as well! I’ll keep a close eye on the comments. I’d really appreciate your support to make this a real set! Thank you.
Please vote for Mistguard Castle here.
70 likes
18 comments on this article
I LIKE IT!
It may not be as original and creative as Wizard's Tower, but it just looks really good, and I like the part selection for each factions' minifigs, apart from the sabres used by the Krakens, which I think should be any other sword piece than this one. All around really nice, although I do hope that crest on the sail won't be an annoying sticker -- but we all know it's gonna be.
STAMP?!?!?!?!!
Honestly, as great of a build this is it's a shame some spaces are always taken up by castle nostalgia..
All these BDP posts are just triggering me, since the program is not available in my country and the already expensive MOCs would be insanely expensive to import.
One of the very few I rated as “love it!” Truly an inspired design. Best of luck!
I’d buy this one! As a big fan of Lion Knights faction I’m happy to see a castle based on new factions, especially with so many play features. The only thing I’d change would be brick built streamers for streamer pieces.
Kraken build!
I love this. Although not normally a fan of external auxiliary builds with castles, the ship really helps make this even more brilliant! I hope you make the cut. Even if you don't, you should be proud of what you have accomplished.
Thank you, very nice.
This in incredible, Nate!
10/10!
And I’m not even a “castle mafia” guy!
(I do however own Lion Knight’s Castle, and the original Yellow Castle from 1978!)
I would definitely buy this if it makes it through the BDP process …. And isn’t priced stupidly high!
Good luck
A lot of submissions are about the new Kraken and Griffin factions. The competition is stiff. This is a good submission, but there's one dedicated to the Kraken that will be incredibly difficult to beat due to its cliffside structure. It's funny how everybody is making them coastal/raiders though, but I love the idea. This one is definitely more balanced between two factions.
Good luck!
Ok first one from BDP9 that really got me :)
Fleshing out these two factions seems to have been a popular subject for this round of voting, and it's been interesting to see the varied interpretations, but this one doesn't speak to me much. The curved layout of the castle is mildly interesting but I'm not so much a fan of how the ship is done here (with a large decal over an uninteresting sail build, and not making the most impressive use of the distinct faction colors), and as a casual castle fan personally I feel like not enough interesting is done here to really justify the size.
@VaultDweller_197 said:
"Honestly, as great of a build this is it's a shame some spaces are always taken up by castle nostalgia.. "
Design your own space set for it then!
Voted love. Dunno if votes from non-BDP countries count. I can get my US folks to buy for me anyhow.
Pros:
Best rounded castle design by miles
Effective and efficient rock builds
Play concious
Cons:
Simple and boring towers
Not the most creative take on the new factions
The fold-up display and fold-out play options are both great designs. I really like the curvature and the instant creation of open areas above and below the wall-walks projecting a lot of atmosphere, without having to use hundreds of bricks to build lots of individual rooms.
I really really like this build. The only thing I struggle with is the Kraken figs. I loved Fantasy Era Castle so much, I keep looking at the figs hoping they are Trolls and when I see that they aren't, it makes me sad.
I LOVE it!