Was a minifigure scale version of a Lego Downton Abbey ambitious for a first MOC? Probably. I am glad I took on the challenge? Absolutely. I could not be happier with my results! (Well, that’s a lie. There are fiddly little bits that aren’t quite right, but I’ll get into those later…)
Lego Downton Abbey at Brick Bash 2020
Here are a bunch of pictures from my model at its public debut.
How Did Lego Downton Abbey Come To Be
Around Christmas or New Year, my wife and I were sitting around, flipping through the channels on TV. I ended up on The Lego Movie. It was near the end when we learn the dad is actually the “bad guy”. She made some comment to the effect of, “I’d be happier if you actually did something with all your Lego and built something.” This stuck with me and was the inspiration I needed. It was time to build my Lego Downton Abbey.
I can’t say the idea for my Lego Downton Abbey was born that day as I’ve been planning this build for years. Slowly but surely identifying and amassing the parts I would need. And I still didn’t have enough. After numerous Bricklink orders, trips to the Pick-a-Brick wall, and a couple orders from Bricks & Pieces I had what I needed!
Once I made up my mind to build Lego Downton Abbey, I first started playing around with some test designs for things like the towers and window sections. Once I found things I liked, I sat down with pen and paper to figure out how big this thing needed to be. After that, I was ready to start placing bricks! If you’d like to see some Work-in-process pics, check out my Instagram. While you’re there, give me a follow!
Why Lego Downton Abbey?
Downton Abbey is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired on ITV in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2010, and in the United States on PBS, which supported production of the series as part of its Masterpiece Classic anthology, on 9 January 2011.
There is nothing about Downton Abbey that would indicate I would enjoy it. No explosions, no apocalypse, no car chases, no superheroes, no zombies. But. My wife asked me to watch it worth her, so I did. Begrudgingly. And I fell in love after one episode. I love it. The writing is brilliant. The characters are brilliant. The actors are brilliant. And Highclere Castle is a beautiful backdrop to a beautiful story.
How Long Did It Take You To Build This???
There were a few questions that got asked repeatedly over the weekend about my Lego Downton Abbey:
- How long did it take you to build this? I worked on it an hour or two a night since just after New Year. I think I have 40-50 hours wrapped up in this build, which is less than I thought it was going to take.
- This isn’t a set is it? Did you have plans for this? No plans other than the ones I developed in my head! I was lucky enough to find an old floorplan online to make sure I got the footprint right. And then I downloaded a bunch of pictures of Highclere castle from the internet and used those as guides. I had a wealth of inspiration as well!
- How many pieces are there? I’m guessing around 22,000 pieces total. I didn’t keep track of the amount of basic bricks and plates I used, but I have a good idea of the more specialized parts.
- Where do you get all the specialized pieces from? I got the pieces for this build from a variety of sources including LUGBulk, Bricklink, Bricks & Pieces, Pick-a-Brick Walls, and my own collection.
Do you remember your first MOC? Link to it in the comments below. I’d love to see it!
I am an Adult Fan of LEGO (AFOL) and an active member of the Michigan LEGO User Group (MichLUG). I have loved LEGO for as long as I can remember. I am currently working on the following models:
– UCS Millenium Falcon
– Emmett’s Apartment Building
– Gringott’s Bank
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