The Kinslaying at Alqualondë: Build Log

We’re back with another build log! This time we’ll be taking a look at what went into creating my Kinslaying at Alqualondë build. Let’s get right to it!

Because the Kinslaying took place at a harbor, I knew I would need at least one ship in the scene and as such, that was my starting point. I had never ventured into medieval ship building before, so I thought it would take quite a lot of trial and error to get something I was even remotely happy with. As it turned out though, it only took about one afternoon to get something I was more than pleased with! The hull shaping uses simple plate hinges and brick modified with stud to attach the curved slopes, and give the overall curving shape. To best fill in the deck, I used SNOT slopes and inverted slopes.

Moving on from the ship, I went on to the water. Originally it consisted solely of 1×2 trans clear bricks, but over this large of an area, they warped so much that I couldn’t attach them properly. As such, I had to take the whole thing apart and re-build it, incorporating sections of 1×2 plates that connected into the blue layer of bricks below the clear layer. In the end I’m glad I had to do this, as I think the water looks better with a mix of plates and bricks, but it certainly would have been nice to know that from the beginning!

Next I had to decide where the harbor itself would be. To give a more dynamic layout, I chose to have the walls curve slightly. I also used an interesting brickwork technique utilizing jumper plates that didn’t end up being super noticeable, but I still thought it looked quite nice.

The water also gives off a nice reflection from the right angle!

The rock arch was definitely one of the hardest components of this creation to make, and although it didn’t end up quite as big as I was imagining it, I still am pleased with the result.

After finishing off the railing and dock area, I continued building the rockwork around the harbor, and decided where the stairs would go. Some of the cobblestone was started as well.

More rockwork, as well as starting on a few buildings. In the back you can see the layout of the largest, and the first story of the tan house is nearly complete.

One of my main goals with this build was to keep the architecture looking different than my round 4 build, as that was also Elvish. Alternating square bricks and round plates was one of my main designs that I used to achieve this difference, as you can see here.

The build is starting to come together! After quite a lot more rockwork and filler brick laying, the largest building’s foundation is laid, and the lighthouse is also completed. The lighthouse was probably my favorite building in this creation, and it was also a lot of fun to build, especially the sloped foundation.

At this point, things were really coming along and the main building was only lacking its roof to be completed. But there ended up being a little delay in progress, as one of our cheese slope containers got dumped all over the build! It actually looked kind of pretty I think, but none the less, I had to pick them all up. Well, I say ‘all’ but I actually found a few more that I had missed when I took the build apart later.

Kind of looks like a landslide, doesn’t it?

After an afternoon’s worth of rockwork building, I was able to start work on adding the vines/foliage that would cover the mountain. These were definitely the most difficult parts of the build, as they always wanted to fall apart, or not stay where they were supposed to, etcetera, etcetera.

And here it is, finished except for some of the figs and a few final finishing touches. One of the last things that I had to add was the sail and mast on the boat. It ended up being a somewhat tricky part of the build, but I’m fairly satisfied with the result.