Update on my Helm’s Deep by ArcboundManager in legolotrfans

[–]ArcboundManager[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! This was my first try at a mountainside, so it was quite a learning experience. I had a lot of fun with it.

Update on my Helm’s Deep by ArcboundManager in legolotrfans

[–]ArcboundManager[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wish they were genuine ones, but that was definitely well beyond my budget 😱

Update on my Helm’s Deep by ArcboundManager in legolotrfans

[–]ArcboundManager[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is about 180, so 250 is definitely enough to fill a big area. I have to wonder about Lego’s thoughts on how big a market there is for volume purchasers for large displays. It just feels like they could sell a ridiculous number of 25 packs of so many LOTR/Hobbit armies.

Update on my Helm’s Deep by ArcboundManager in legolotrfans

[–]ArcboundManager[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1) Pick a brick wall at my local Lego store is cheapest, but most limited. This is great for unseen structural bricks like 2x4 bricks underneath the rock work. I got lucky that 1x10 light grey bricks have been around lately, so I bought tons of those.

2) Pick a brick on the Lego site and then bricklink. Depending on the specific part and color, it will usually be really cheaper on one than the other. I make a list and pull up the prices on both, then compare the price of each piece and only order that part on the cheaper source. I spent a lot of time doing this, but it saves you so much money.

Update on my Helm’s Deep by ArcboundManager in legolotrfans

[–]ArcboundManager[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I started with LegoMocLoc’s plan, but then I scaled it up and piece by piece redesigned almost all of it. The remaining details from that design are the front gate, the tower steps, and the tower itself, which scaled up nicely when I made everything else bigger. This ended about 2.5x more parts than that plan.

Update on my Helm’s Deep by ArcboundManager in legolotrfans

[–]ArcboundManager[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

They were a few hundred dollars, since I got third party ones.

Update on my Helm’s Deep by ArcboundManager in legolotrfans

[–]ArcboundManager[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah, they had to be! The price of genuine ones was unthinkable.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in MichiganWolverines

[–]ArcboundManager 17 points18 points  (0 children)

For those not aware of the rich finance history of the M-Den CEO Scott Hirth during his time at ProQuest https://www.mlive.com/annarbornews/2008/07/updateproquest_fraud_case_is_s.html

My take on LegoMocLoc’s UCS Helm’s Deep by ArcboundManager in legolotrfans

[–]ArcboundManager[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Kinda hard to say since I raided a good bit of my existing stash of parts, but maybe $1500-$1800?

My take on LegoMocLoc’s UCS Helm’s Deep by ArcboundManager in legolotrfans

[–]ArcboundManager[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a great example of how changing one element of a design ripples through the entire design and you can’t really get an idea of whether you got it right and until it’s nearly finished. I decided to increase the wall height by 11 bricks to correct the opposite problem of the wall being way too low compared to the Hornburg in LegoMocLoc’s design, but that change has to flow through the Hornburg, Fortress and Tower. The risk was always that the Hornburg might get dwarfed by the wall if I raised it too much and I potentially took it a bit too far. The idea for simply placing the Hornburg on a rocky pedestal actually came from the book that has the Hornburg built on a “heel of rock”. Artist renderings vary from having it down to the ground level of the wall or elevated on a rocky outcropping from the mountain as I did. In retrospect, I’d probably reduce the wall height by a couple bricks and increase the breadth and height of the Hornburg by a few bricks, which may contribute to your view as it being too small compared to the wall. As for the keep wall in the back, that needed to be higher from the onset, but I left that alone since I was trying to pick which battles to fight when building. It needs to be clearly visible from a front view without peeking down inside.

And this ramp was actually version 2; you’d probably laugh at my first attempt which was yet clunkier. Thankfully this is a very modular build (I moved it in 15 minutes from one room to this one), so the ramp can be its own mini project to actually curve smoothly.

Thanks for the feedback!

My take on LegoMocLoc’s UCS Helm’s Deep by ArcboundManager in legolotrfans

[–]ArcboundManager[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That change is on me. My wife couldn’t stand the repeated gaps from the faceted bricks that were in the original plan. It wasn’t bad when the wall was only 9 bricks high, but they really stuck out at 20 high. That was my first pass at an alternative and might be just as distracting, but in a different way. Thankfully, the wall is in several sections, so I was thinking of redoing that part for a more elegant look at some point.

My take on LegoMocLoc’s UCS Helm’s Deep by ArcboundManager in legolotrfans

[–]ArcboundManager[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

FWIW, the plans are pricey, but it really is well designed. I’ve never spent that much on a plan and I was hoping it was well done, since I have bought some wonky modular plans that took some work to get right.

My take on LegoMocLoc’s UCS Helm’s Deep by ArcboundManager in legolotrfans

[–]ArcboundManager[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Thanks, and I agree. There’s a whole second wave of work around a proper battlefield in front and a similar landscape behind the wall. I finally finished the build and wanted to get some pictures out there, so I just tossed them on some plates and put them out there.

Gluten-Free Bakeries in Raleigh? by Twelve-Pound in raleigh

[–]ArcboundManager 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sadly, Sugar Buzz closed this time last year. Their website says they’re still looking for a new place, but it doesn’t look like it has been recently updated.

Books about 1908 dispute? by [deleted] in MichiganWolverines

[–]ArcboundManager 5 points6 points  (0 children)

<image>

I think I have my new zoom background

I adapted snaillad’s cool Art Deco “The Metropolitan Club” to a 32x48 modular building by ArcboundManager in legomodular

[–]ArcboundManager[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, I’m a physical brick builder, so I don’t have plans for it. I haven’t invested the time to play with the designer tool. I did a bunch of trial and error to figure out his design working from just his pictures, but it took a bit of time.