LEGO Castle Jenga

This is one of those 'I love it when a plan comes together' moments.  I'm often astounded at how much we can hold in out heads, it's incredible.  Up until this point what you see was only an idea, it's such an incredible rush when you actually make an idea real.  I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.  I know it's not like I'm building the Mona Lisa here, but it's great to be at this stage.

The lower level still needs an interior and lacks a rear wall.  Once again I'm facing parts shortages but at least I can concentrate on the interior until I sort out my plastic allowance for this week.

Also, the castle has it's own ghost now, Sir Spookington Mc Boo.

Roofing Issues

Although not exactly what I originally planned I wasn't displeased at all with how the roof came out in the end.  At first I wanted to have the roof slide out as one single piece once the back wall was removed but it proved clunky and a little destructive.  You can see the horizontal slots in earlier pictures of the interior.

I even made the roof section a stud narrower but it didn't do much to alleviate the problem.  The stress was so great I ended up leaving it 1 stud short of the original width, which adds a small design aesthetic that only the creator can truly appreciate.

Intentionally crooked

The above shot really makes me want to work out some kind of lighting solution.  This model would really benefit from a model lighting kit or something.  I still need to work out a better solution for the flagpoles - I'll probably just use some flexitube in the end, a anything else makes them look too segmented and unnatural.

I've already started on the next level which I plan to include a grand balcony, a dinning hall and maybe a medieval loo.  Let's hope I can get at least two of those features in, I already foresee part shortages and even have a Bricklink tab open as we speak.  If only the Australian Dollar was worth anything anymore ... why am I always building when the local economy is going to the dogs?

Progress!

There's finally something worth blogging about.  It's been a difficult couple of weeks.  Work and home life have been a little busier than usual and it's been hard to find the time to build and post.  I've had a couple of part shortages too, most especially 1 x 1 modified bricks with a stud on one side and headlight bricks.  I have tried to keep it down to one order a week so far, and I must admit, I feel guilty typing that out.  But it's mostly been for little things and costs have been relatively low.  And it's not like I didn't realise what I was getting myself into when I fist started.

This is a view from the rear.  The roofing is complete but I'll cover that in more detail in a future post.  The entire rear wall of this section slides up and out to reveal the interior.

I'm still not happy with the flag poles and am likely to change them in the future.  The two roof sections look slightly out of place here but works quite well when the interior is not exposed.

The wall section slides into slots in the rear walls.  It was a lot clunkier than I originally anticipated do to the inherent misalignments in the bricks but actually improved over time and use.  It would be great to get some lighting working in this model, but I am really unsure which method would work best between the 80's lighting kit, yellow, battery powered light bricks, or a custom solution.  If anyone has any suggestions let me know in the comments.