Massive Undertaking~ the Shire from Rushock Bog to The Marish, Greenfields to Michel Delving

waynegg

With Unexpected Gathering apparently retiring and prices being fairly reduced, my wife and I have decided to undertake building the Shire in full scale as it appeared in the LEGO LotR video game. We'll post pictures as we go and ask for help as needed. Right now, we could use any 79003 sets bought by minifig collectors and can trade (at thus point, buy over the next several months) to get you what you need for what we need. Could also use elvish arches like those found in 79017 since those more closely resemble what's found inside Bag End instead of the brown arches which come with UG.

We're also discussing whether it would be better to start off with a Technic superstructure to rough out the lay of the land or to solid brick build it. I'm sure the Technic route would be much more cost effective and help speed the project on better, but it would be nice to hear from people experienced in building a structure like this.

So, yeah. Day 1. Trees from Endor sets and 79002 as well as a proper Bag End to design that doesn't resemble a green Hobbit mobile home!

Kevin_Hyatt

Ambitious project. Looking forward to seeing how it comes together.

plasmodium

I'm not experienced with building these, but I've seen a few similar MOCs (maybe not quite the same scale!). They almost always use random bricks to flesh out the landscape underneath. Even Duplo bricks can be pretty good for rough landscaping. Check out Blake Baer's models on MOCpages, he's done a lot of big LotR landscapes and he often shows the 'underneath'/back of his models. I think you'd find that helpful.

Sethro3

I had considered this as well, but I have too many other projects ahead of it, that I doubt I will ever get to working on it.

Best of luck to you!

I'd say technic would be sturdy enough, but long technic bricks aren't cheap, whereas multiple random colored 2x bricks are easier to obtain...

waynegg

Thanks for the advice! I can use all I can get as I've never attempted anything of this size. With all the overtime that's sprung up at work, I haven't had much time to invest in this yet. I decided to start with Bag End to establish a scale in which to build around. I've only gotten floor plans laid out and have gotten a rough start on a facade and worked out a floor tile pattern for it. I'll get some pics up after I get a bit further along, hopefully tomorrow night.

For the sub-structure, I'm still favoring Technic since it will cut down on overall weight. Before going all in on that, I do however need to run a cost analysis and see if the cost of the Technic beams will offset the cost of the shear volume of doing a solid brick built landscape. The Duplo thing sounds interesting as well. Is there a way to buy those in bulk?

waynegg

I've run out of tan bricks for the moment so I've gotta wait for Bricks and Pieces to come back online, but I've got a good start on the front facade and have been able to complete a study and the front entry :)

plasmodium

Nice! Keep us updated!