Hogwarts MOC (MKII)

monkey_roo

First I know this is a MOC thread and not 100% Forum friendly, but I hope the Mods/Admins don't mind and let this go.
Anyway, way back in 2007 i came out of my dark ages by building up a MOC of Hogwarts Castle. The build took around 6 months and was a more of a classical interpretation of the castle using Lego's own sets and filling in the gaps than anything else, it was also one of the first things i posted about when I joined the forum here back in 2011 - http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/724/hogwarts-castle#latest (For reference).
Anyway, as much fun as that was the more i got back into Lego and the more building i took on the less happy I was with this MOC so at the start of 2011 when Lego were producing more Harry Potter stuff i began stocking up and planning my next version, which brings me (and us if you are reading) to now.
After just under 1 year of building i have now finished the main building of the MOC and a little 'dressing' aside this cake is cooked.
So what do we have:
The castle has been built as a Modular style set up, so there are a lot of moving parts, walls come out, roofs lift, things slide and slip everywhere (follow link to photobucket site for more images, i only wanted to load one up here) - http://s1239.beta.photobucket.com/user/monkey_roo/library/

The stats are:
Build time - 1 Year (11.5 months really)
Piece count - 100,000+ (I stopped counting around 75K and was only when the model was about 2 thirds built)
Sets used - 5x 4842, 1x 4841, 1x 4738, 3x 4867, Pick a Brick and Lego Direct - A LOT... LIKE A LOT.
Cost - None of your business... and certainly none of my wife’s :)
Light bricks - 3 (Ravenclaw Tower, Hagrids Hut and Grand Hall)
'Playable' Rooms/Buildings - Grand Hall, Dumbledoors Office, Hospital Wing, Divination Room, Remus' Classroom, Snapes Classroom, Grand Hall (Staircase), Ravenclaw Tower, Room of Requirements, Slytherin, Griffindore, Owlrey, Boat House, Hagrids Hut, Hidden cave (under the ruins), Chamber of Secrets, Hogsmead Station, Hogsmead village
Size - 8x5 boards or 256 studs x 160 studs, height is approx 2 foot at the top of Dumbledore's tower (roughly 50 bricks high + the tower pieces on top)

Hope you enjoy - Matt

y2josh

I like the AT-AT patrolling the grounds.

fy222

really cool. I always wonder how people keep their large scale MOC from collecting dust...

monkey_roo

^ yeah, if anyone knows let me know :) - should say the train is customized for power functions and working lights, although no room for track :(

CapnRex101

Spectacular model, my only suggestion would be to add a Herbology greenhouse, perhaps there is one already and I am missing it, but apart from that I think it is the most complete Hogwarts I have seen!

monkey_roo

^ ah @capnrex101, forgot about the herbology greenhouse, there is one at the rear of the main building by the AT-AT, not a massive building but it is there, I think some of the pictures on the photobucket site show them, so much here to keep track of :)

monkey_roo

One herbology greenhouse in picures :)

akunthita

This is gorgeous! I love the layout of the structures! Maybe just add a little bit more landscaping to smooth out the sharp edges of the baseplates around the water. Awesome job and real labor of love!...(c:

CapnRex101

@monkey_roo - In that case, perfect in my opinion! I particularly like how the layout is quite faithful to the films as well.

I am currently starting out on an Arkham Asylum MOC from Batman which could end up being quite big (I have six 48x48 baseplates for it), any advice on where to begin on a MOC of this magnitude?

monkey_roo

@captnrex101 I started with books. Not sure about Batman but for Potter there are a lot of great film books that contain official Hogwarts blueprints and schematics to build from. I watched a few of the later films and read about the making off those films to build up an idea of what to build. In my case I used a schematic from half blood prince and a few visuals from deathly hallows.
I would recommend finding solid source material and plenty of pictures to fuel the designs and be prepared to build bits and then have to start again, the were times I went way wrong and just had to pull down what I had done and start over.
Oh and the last thought is pick a section of building with a clear scale and that then sets the scale for the rest of the building. I my case I build the great hall to the scale I wanted first and then the rest of the castle was scaled around that so the final size was unknown from the beginning.
Good luck with it though, Arkham is a cracking building and has been imagined in quite a few different ways over the years.

Decker

I wish I did not open this thread and look at those amazing pictures. More so, I wish I had not shown them to my fiance. I have just been told that we need to build one and that she thinks it should replace my city.

On a more serious note... That Hohwarts is amazing. Hands down the best MOC Harry Potter themed build I have seen. Great job.

CapnRex101

@monkey_roo - Many thanks for the advice. Once again, fantastic MOC.

Si_UKNZ

beautiful and v inspiring thx for sharing

Crownie

LOL, @Decker!

@monkey_roo - That is incredible! I love it. Do you plan on moving it to a table or surface above floor level? Having to crouch over it for viewing can't be that fun...

As far as dust, you could get some thin plastic sheeting to cover it when you're not around - though in my case I end up just leaving the cover on my models almost all the time, and then I never really see them. Kind of a waste. :P

Si_UKNZ

clear plastic dustsheets from b and q for me (diy shop) to keep dust out.

Phonebooth

That's awesome! Is that the whomping willow between the two main castle buildings?

Bosstone100

That has to be one of the most impressive MOCs I've ever seen.

atkinsar

Looking great @monkey_roo, wonder how @Matthew's is coming along?

Matthew

^ Stagnant I'm afraid... I *will* give it more time this year...


Impressive @monkey_roo

Redbullgivesuwind

This is a great model. Its all the attention to detail as well. I do love the AT-AT keeping the dementors off' perhaps.

monkey_roo

Thanks for the comments guys.
I plan on putting figures in place over the next few weeks and add in a bit more fun. A few ewoks in the forest I think, and inside the room or requirements I want to put a lego Ark of the convent and I have a 7620 I wanted to put as one of the entrenches to Hogsmead, I even wanted to turn the hidden cave into a LotR hideout, I know that is mixing it up a bit but that is the fun, also my kids can't stop playing with this so right now it is firmly a toy not a display model, which also means it get rebuilt a lot... :)