Once upon a time, in October, I think it was, I began building a display that would highlight children's literature. The deadline for the project is Literature Day on Friday, March 1st. Will it be ready in time?
About this creation
Seven weeks of building since work was completed on my last posting. This project has filled my every moment, my waking, my sleeping, every pore of my imagination...it has enraptured me, and it has exhausted me. It has cluttered my house and annoyed my wife. It has taken my time and my money. Hopefully, it's all been worth it!
Briefly, let me tell you that I am building a display for my school's Literature Day, one that will fill up a 5-shelf display case in the library.
The premise of the display is that storybook characters have come into our land, beause of a clumsy wizard's spell. Merlin is going to put things right, but first he needs to know which characters to send back. So, King Arthur's soldiers (you'll see them in red, they're the old "Kings" from the 80s) are going around listing the stories and characters.
Enough chatter, let's check it out:
The second level of the display is the Princess castle, which has a moat and river leading to the waterfall of the first level. There is also a Robin Hood scene.
Robin Hood's merry band seems to be accosting a young lady, but they'll be accosting the King's Men soon enough.
The carriage came out very delicate, I thought.
I spent one evening building this in my head while I gave my wife a shoulder rub. 20 minutes in, I jumped up and ran downstairs to start building. How do you make a round carriage? Easy! Use something round!
"Flynn" rapelling up the wall with Rapunzel's hair.
Let's enter the castle!
The Prince awaits his true love, unsuspectingly.
Rumplestiltskin.
The Evil Queen.
Sleeping Beauty.
The Frog Prince. Does Lego make kissing lips?
"We're painting the roses red!" (I've had that song in my head for weeks now. Every time I see it...Oops, sorry, I've passed the poison on to you!)
The fourth level of the display is the Three Little Pigs (left, not pictured), Jack and the Beanstalk, and King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
Pig City.
Hay!
Jack's beanstalk will reach up to the next level, as in my previous posting.
The Knights. I suppose King Arthur is the shiniest one. I used to have a crown, but now I suspect it resides in one of my student's collection. I would have bought another one, but I had already exceeded my Bricklink allowance. Ah, such is life.
The sword in the stone.
The third level of the scene has a large book (still needs typed pages), a forest scene, and the gingerbread house.
The book (more on this later).
Snow White and the Huntsman.
Little Red Riding Hood. (Sorry about the blurriness - but remember, it's just a WIP!)
Easter egg - Lucy, from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
The book actually took quite a bit of work, despite its simple appearance. I went through several mental trial versions and two physical ones.
Here I am on Saturday, getting the display case prepped. I even snuck in some of my bottom layer, then covered it up so it wouldn't disturb our librarian's Black History Month display. I hope she doesn't mind...
My awesome, amazing wife got me The Black Pearl for Christmas, knowing I wanted Captain Hook to have a ship. The Black Pearl is so...black, though. I knew I would need to give it a face lift. Perhaps I waited to long for this mini-project, though, since it felt rushed.
I essentially stripped the ship section by section, rebuilt it using "fun" colors, and covered every stud I could with my remaining tiles. I couldn't edit out all the grays though, and the black sails are not ideal. Red and white sails on Bricklink? Forget about it!
The thumbnails of these pics remind me of something a rainbow warrior might concoct. It'll have to do, though.
"I'll get you for this, Peter, if it's the last thing I do!"
Notes: I estimate the display covers an area of 17 standard baseplates, or 17,408 studs. I can't even begin to guess weight or part count. I'm trying to come up with an amount of hours spent, and I'm thinking around 100, making this my most involved project ever.
Huge thanks go to my wife, who has supported this crazy venture from the beginning till now. God is good to provide me with such a wondeful helper!
Stay tuned as I'll have a final post within a week or two!
Comments
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April 7, 2013 |
Wow! Really outstanding work man! Excellent stuff! The different scenes are really awesome! Love the long hair! :D The buildings, foliage, etc are all top-notch! |
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April 7, 2013 |
Great work! Love all of the scenes. :) The Hologram is from Star Wars. :D |
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March 4, 2013 |
Wes, this is fantastic! I love the curvature of the river, and the unusual colored castle. Can't wait to see it finished! |
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March 3, 2013 |
Beautiful and fanciful, I like it! The colors are nice and I like all the curvy surfaces. |
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March 3, 2013 |
Excellent, Wes. This is really turning out great! |
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I made it |
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March 2, 2013 |
Quoting Chris Phipson
When I showed this post to my daughter yesterday she said "Can I go play with it?"
That's awesome. I walked in on some kids the other day as they discussed the castle. I guess the girl of the group had just finished telling the boys that she wanted to live in that castle. Heck, I'd love to see my creation from a minifig's perspective! |
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March 2, 2013 |
When I showed this post to my daughter yesterday she said "Can I go play with it?" Something tells me you hit the nail on the head with this one! ~ Chris. |
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I made it |
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March 2, 2013 |
Quoting LukeClarenceVan The Revanchist
...does the young lady who's being robbed have a moustache?
I wasn't terribly clear on that point - it's one of Robin Hood's men, in...costume. |
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February 26, 2013 |
Very nicely done Wes! Great job on all of the scenes. Very recognizable.
--Blast-- |
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Emerald Knight February 25, 2013 |
Great lego !>.....well done |
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February 25, 2013 |
Phenomenal work Wes, that castle looks fantastic! Love how you managed to fit so many fairy tales into relatively few creations, and they're all top-notch. The carriage design is perfect, though does the young lady who's being robbed have a moustache? |
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February 25, 2013 |
All sorts of cool stuff going on here, especially that carriage! Excellent! |
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February 25, 2013 |
fabulous! |
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February 25, 2013 |
fabulous! |
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February 25, 2013 |
Great collection of stories.
But i have to note Jolly Roger (captain hooks ship)
In the variously movie's , series, it's kinda, Dark Red.....(i say this as a big fan of captain hook, and ships in general)
Besides that. Great idea and display |
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February 25, 2013 |
Ummm... we are all glad that you do not spend all of your time grading papers! Super Stuff! :) |
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February 25, 2013 |
OH! How lovely. :) That coach design is a winner! The little hut with the pig coming out of it really caught my eye too. Three cheers for Jack and the bean stock. Excellent build Mr. Pitter! |
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February 25, 2013 |
You know, when I looked at the homepage today I thought " Ohh, just another castle." But NO I WAS WRONG! This is spectacular~The perfect blend of all things imaginary~absolutely Stunning!My highest complements to you!
- Brick Boy |
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February 25, 2013 |
Amazing display! It's always a good thing when the general public can be exposed to LEGO creations, especially well-built LEGO creations. That book in particular is magnificent! |
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February 25, 2013 |
Magical! The highlights for me are the rose painting scene, three little pigs and gingerbread house. |
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February 25, 2013 |
Wow, what a brilliant idea! And even better execution! :) |
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February 25, 2013 |
Beautiful! That horse and carriage is brilliant. More back rubs for you I say :) |
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February 25, 2013 |
Haha! Wink wink nudge nudge, I spy with my little eye a bit of inspiration?? ;) |
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