| |
|
Isengard . Do you like hot bathwater? . Just thought I'd ask. Welcome to my 61st MOC. It's hard to believe I have been on only a little more than a year. This is my 32x32 entry to Christopher Baldacci's The Great Lord of the Rings Contest. This MOC is mostly based off my imagination of the book, but Orthanc is mainly off the movie. One of the clearest images that I have in my mind from reading The Lord of the Rings, is this picture of Isengard, Saruman's ancient city. In the movie, the first time you see the inside of Isengard, Gandalf and Saruman are strolling through an orchard of trees. Later however, you see that the the River Isen has been dammed up and there are large cavernous holes in the earth inside the perimeter of the city walls. I imagine that even after Saruman starts manufacturing the Uruk-Hai, the visible part of the city is still beautiful. This, I think, parallels how Saruman's voice soothes the mind although evil is at work. Likewise, as Saruman used to use his foresight for good, Isengard too was once a stronghold of freedom as the "headquarters" of the White Council. Here, Isengard is depicted as the city it once was, before Saruman's addiction to power. As you can see, the Isen is not yet dammed up. Enjoy!
Here stands Orthanc, a tower of impenetrable stone built by the men of Numenor long ago. I don't imagine it quite like this, but it serves it's purpose. I believe that the only way to reach the caverns underneath the city is through the bottom of Orthanc.
Here lies the westernmost edge of the Gap of Rohan. One key characteristic that gave Isengard a claim to power, was that it connected the Fangorn Forest, Rohan, and the Misty Mountains. I am not entirely happy with the way the grasslands of Rohan turned out, but I was pressed for time, and it works. At least it looks good from far off.
The pinnacle of Orthanc. I am real happy with the way the tower turned out, even though it is not quite how I imagine it.
Here, you can see the road to Isengard, the White Stair (yes, I do imagine them literally white), and some of the gardens of the city.
The Forest of Fangorn. This took an INCREDIBLE amount of dark green cheese wedges. Ugh. Not only was I forced to do a last minute bricklink order for more wedges and grass stems, but I also ended up having to borrow 15 from Christopher Baldacci himself. Thanks so much to the bricklink store I ordered from (BrickAThon is the best store I have ordered from, and the prices were not only great, but the shipping was ridiculously fast), and Chris.
The Isen river, falling from it's source in the Misty Mountains, to the earth beneath.
Paul's Peak. Named after Paul Vermeesch who re-convinced me to add snow to the peaks of the mountains.
Here, you can see more of Isengard as a whole. If I were working on a bigger scale, I would have made the circle of actual "sheer rocks." To get an idea of the scale, the average person would be about as tall as the "O" in the word lego on the normal lego stud. Yes, I imagine Orthanc HUGE.
Another peak. The mountains, being hollow on the inside, have many small parts that a clumsy builder dropped to the bottom. I don't know how many parts the peaks have claimed.
Do you like hot bathwater?
Fred doesn't.
Sorry, I just felt like being random. This easter egg was just a fun waste of time. I do like the way my bathtub turned out though. Thanks for viewing!
AS OF 10/31/2011:
While listening to Schoenberg's "Transfigured Night," I took the entire thing apart. Not two pieces are still together. I did, however, count all of the many cheese wedges.
Here sit all 192 cheese wedges used in the dio (except for the 15 that I borrowed from Christopher Baldacci).
Thanks again!
|
