Tuesday, 8 September 2020

How to Make a LEGO Castle

There are a ton of LEGO castle-building sets, but you don’t have to have a set of specific instructions to make your own castle. With a solid foundation, the right building technique, and a good design idea, you can easily build one.

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]Building Walls, Gates, and Towers

  1. Choose a flat base plate to form the base of the wall. LEGO base plates are the flat pieces often used as flooring in a model. Use a flat base plate to give your first layer of bricks a surface to attach to so they’re sturdy.[1]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 1 Version 2.jpg
    • You can choose multiple flat base plates to build your foundation or use a large single one.
    • Choose a brown base plate to mimic dirt or a green one to look like grass.
  2. Place rectangular bricks on the base plates to start your wall. Form the first layer of your castle wall by attaching rectangular LEGO bricks to your base plates. Place them end to end so they’re touching and form a single layer.[2]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 2 Version 2.jpg
    • If you want to give your castle a classic look, use gray bricks.
    • Try to use bricks of the same size so your wall looks more uniform.
  3. Use an interlocking technique to stack additional bricks. An interlocking technique means you take 2 bricks touching end to end, and lay 1 brick across them to keep them connected. As you continue stacking your bricks and building your wall, use an interlocking technique to make your wall sturdier.[3]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 3 Version 2.jpg
    • An interlocking design is a classic brick wall technique, so using it for your castle will make it look more like a real wall.
  4. Leave larger gaps at the bottom of the wall to create gates. As you’re stacking your bricks and building your castle wall, choose where you want to place a gate. Leave a larger gap between 2 sides of your wall to leave a gate opening. If you have a LEGO gate piece or drawbridge, add it to the opening and build around it.[4]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 4 Version 2.jpg
    • If you’re making a larger castle, you can make multiple gate openings.
    • The gate opening can be any size you like, but a proper castle must have a gate!
  5. Stagger the bricks to create openings for windows. If you want to add some windows to your castle walls, leave an extra space between 2 bricks so there’s a small opening. Then, continue stacking your castle in an interlocking fashion.[5]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 5 Version 2.jpg
    • You can adjust the size of your windows by leaving a smaller or a larger gap between bricks.
    • If you have square bricks, you can stagger them to create a series of small windows.
  6. Add towers above the gates by stacking corner bricks. If you want to add some towers on top of your gates, use 3-studded corner bricks to add a textured design effect. Stack them on top of your gate and place rectangular bricks across them to create a roof.[6]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 6 Version 2.jpg
    • You can also add smaller bricks on top to give the tower a spire, or a point.
  7. Space out square pieces on top for a classic castle design. Once you’ve finished building a section of your castle wall, add some square pieces on top to give it that classic medieval design effect. Space out the square bricks evenly so it looks consistent.[7]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 7 Version 2.jpg
  8. Create corner turrets by stacking bricks in a square design. A turret is a tower that’s usually placed at the corners of a castle. Stack rectangular bricks in a square pattern to build turrets and then place them at the corners of your walls.[8]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 8.jpg
    • Make the turrets taller than your walls.
    • If you’re making multiple turrets, build them the same size and height so your castle looks even.
  9. Create bridges with base plates between towers or walls. Use brown base plates so the bridges look wooden. Attach them to the tops of walls or towers to connect 2 of them together and form a bridge that your LEGO people can cross.[9]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 9.jpg
    • You could also use gray base plates to look like stone bridges.
    • Add thin rectangular bricks to the sides of the bridges to make railings.

[Edit]Choosing Castle Designs

  1. Look for instructions on the LEGO website if you want a specific design. If you want to build a specific castle design, you can use the official instructions as a guide. Search on the LEGO website or in a search engine for the castle design you’re looking for and print out or read the directions on your screen.[10]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 10.jpg
    • To visit the LEGO website, go to: https://www.lego.com/.
    • You may need to find or buy specialized pieces in order to build some of the designs.
  2. Use the Kingdom’s Modular Castle Creator for a variety of designs. You can use LEGO castle “modules” which are sets that can be configured in multiple ways to give you a lot of different design options. The set includes instructions and all of the pieces you’ll need to build interchangeable modules, which you can use to create castle designs of your own.[11]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 11.jpg
    • You can purchase the Kingdom’s Modular Castle Creator online.
    • Most of the designs in the modular require specialized pieces that are included in the set.
  3. Find specialty castle sets if you want to build a specific design. LEGO makes sets that include instructions and all of the pieces that you’ll need to build a specific castle, such as Cinderella’s castle or Queen Elsa’s castle from Frozen. Search online for specific castle designs offered by LEGO and choose the one you want to build.[12]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 12.jpg
    • Check out the LEGO website for different castle sets you can build.
  4. Combine multiple castle sets to form a large castle build. Choose LEGO castle design sets that you like and build them individually to combine them into a large castle. You could also use modules or pieces from the various sets to build a castle of your own design, using elements from each of the sets that you like.[13]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 13.jpg
    • For instance, you could take modules or pieces from a forest castle design and a medieval outpost design and use different features to make your own unique design.
  5. Search online for inspiration for your castle design. There are a lot of LEGO builders out there who love to construct super elaborate and detailed LEGO castles. Look up LEGO castles online and search through the designs to find elements that you like and can replicate in your own castle.[14]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 14.jpg

[Edit]Adding Details, Decorations, and Scenery

  1. Attach a castle door to the outside of the wall. Use a specialized rectangular brick that has studs on the side to allow other lego pieces to be attached to them and add it to your wall design. Take a LEGO castle door piece and stick it onto the studs to add a castle door to the exterior of your wall.[15]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 15.jpg
    • LEGO castle doors are specialized pieces that may only come in specific building kits.
    • The castle door can’t be opened like a gate, but it’s a great decoration for your castle walls!
  2. Clip balcony modules onto walls or towers. Modules are specialized pieces that form a specific design. Choose a balcony module and attach it to a tower or wall to add balconies to your castle.[16]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 16.jpg
    • Balcony modules require specialized pieces and may need to be purchased separately
  3. Place LEGO animals and people around the castle. Add some pigs, chickens, soldiers, farmers, and other figures into your castle to bring it to life. Place the soldiers along the walls and the animals around the area to create a realistic scene.[17]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 17.jpg
    • Use your imagination! For instance, maybe there’s a mighty dragon landing on the castle walls or a LEGO person chasing after a chicken inside of the castle.
  4. Use flat blue base plates to make a moat around the castle. A moat is a ditch filled with water surrounding a castle to help defend against attackers. Take some blue flat base plates and place them on the exterior of your castle, next to the walls. Stack them end to end around your castle to form a flowing moat.[18]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 18.jpg
    • Lay a brown base plate over the water in front of your castle gates to create a wooden drawbridge.
  5. Add some plants and trees around the castle. Attach bushes around the outside of your castle walls to add some greenery. Place trees around the inside and outside of your castle to make it look more realistic and lively.[19]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 19.jpg
  6. Put some LEGO flags up around the walls and towers. If you have some LEGO banners, stick them directly onto studs on the top of your castle walls. If you have flags and flag poles, attach the flag poles to studs and connect the flags to them to make it look like they’re blowing in the wind.[20]
    Make a LEGO Castle Step 20.jpg

[Edit]Tips

  • Spend some time sorting out your pieces before you start building so it’s easier to find what you need.
  • It’s your castle design, so have fun with it!

[Edit]References


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