Trolls's Siege Brachiosaurus

1 - Why I build it ?

Like many I am passionate about the Middle Ages, the heroic fantasy and therefore inevitably, as a fan of LEGO, the line LEGO Castle.

Everyone loves castles and knights. And lot of people build great LEGO castles. But any King needs an opponent to his size to challenge him.

And it is always more difficult to make the "bad guys" attractive, to give them a real identity, to make them attractive.

What better way than making them dinosaur riders, handling gunpowder ? With the "Trolls's Siege Brachiosaurus", reverse the balance of power. This true mobile fortress will storm the best kept fortresses ! With this set Trolls will finally become your favorite minifigures !

I wanted to come up with a LEGO set that can both be a collector's item but also robust enough to be fully functional whit lots of playabilities.

This construction has the particularity of combining a large animal and a building, and therefore offer two completely different building phases in one set !

2 - Description and context :

Trolls in this set are from a nomad tribe excelling in two areas : the taming of dinosaurs and engineering. They build structures on the backs of dinosaurs and use powder cannons.

The brachiosaur and its structure are for the characters both a means of transport, a habitat, and a siege engine. I designed it as a mobile and autonomous place to live.

Spread out on the structure are many containers for food and beverages allowing passengers to have enough to eat and drink, without having to leave the back of the dinosaur. Other raw materials are present on the structure : tree trunks provide wood to repair and maintain the structure and for the forge, rocks and ores to forge weapons, create cannonballs or arrows spikes.

The forge is the central focus of the structure. It allows to always have fire on board for lighting or to warm up. The inhabitants can thus create all that is necessary, but also to cook or light the torches.

The rotating platform and the two winches allow passengers to have access to the entire structure, recover food or materials, change floors or be placed on the ground (a foldable ladder can also be deployed to reach the ground).

In battles or sieges the brachiosaur fights by presenting one of his side (in the manner of a "ship of the line") and fires from his naturally elevated position giving him the advantage over the opponent.

The arrangement of the guns makes it possible to defend in all directions.

3 - Features :

Set contains : 2900 pieces, 2 trolls leaders, 8 trolls warriors, 1 giant troll and 1 raptor.

3.1- Brachiosaurus :

• The brachiosaur is 44 cm (17 inches) high and 53 cm (21 inches) long in normal position.
• A suspension system allows brachiosaur to adapt the position of its legs according to the variations of the terrain or the load it carries.
• The neck and tail are both flexible and can be put in many positions, and these are sufficiently robust to fit in any one. His mouth opens and closes.
• The structure is easily detached from the back of brachiosaurus, the points of attachment are little visible and do not distort the dinosaur when it is presented without the platform.

3.2 - The structure :

• The structure is fixed on the back of brachiosaurus by 4 LEGO technic connectors peg.
• The whole dinosaur plus structure reaches a total height of 55 cm (22 inches).

The main floor of the structure contains many things :

• A place for the giant troll on the front to directs the brachiosaurus.
• Five guns (two on each port and one at the rear) steerable in direction and elevation.
• A forge (with light brick), its chimney and anvils.
• Two crossbow shooting posts.

The upper stage is fully rotary and comprises :

• Two winches of different lengths and a platform to hang there to win the characters or other elements.
• A fortify part for the commander, a long sight and a standard.
• The chimney of the forge comes out in its center releases smoke and allows to make turn all the upper floor.
• Two crossbow shooting posts.

Under the structure are fixed many elements including :

• A strap enclosing the belly of the dinosaur, on which chests are fixed.
• A retractable ladder to reach the ground.
• Various containers for food and drink.
• Raw materials such as tree trunks or ores.
• A nest for baby dinosaurs.

4 – To conclude :

It would be nice to have in this set exclusive (and more dino-accurate) prints for :

• The banner
• Shields
• The torsos and legs of the trolls
• The brachiosaur eye

If you like this LEGO product idea, do not hesitate to support it and give your suggestions in the comments section. And maybe we will soon be storming a fortress at the controls of a horde of dinosaurs !

This LEGO set is created as a totally independent model. Nevertheless, I have published two other product ideas that work perfectly with this one, I invite you to discover them and to support them if you wish.