The Adventures of Tintin - Marlinspike Hall

The Adventures of Tintin - Marlinspike Hall

Herge's Tintin series, one of the most popular comics of the 20th Century, provokes strong feelings of nostalgia for those who spent their childhood poring over them. The characters are iconic, the adventures thrilling, and the buildings, planes and automobiles are just begging to be built from Lego!

I have recently become more than a little obsessed with Lego, and building Marlinspike Hall was my holiday project for 2015. The mansion first appears in The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure - Tintin's discovery of Red Rackham's treasure in the cellars (through a hole in the brick wall) is included in this build. Herge based Marlinspike Hall on parts of the french chateau Moulinsart.

I wished to create a doll house type building with unrestricted access to rooms so that I could create a detailed interior. The mid-section and two wings are built separately, just to make playing with them easier, and are not yet firmly fixed to the base (although they can be).The rooms include:

* The state room with grand piano + stool and grandfather clock (Castafiore singing, Wagner playing, Jolyon Wagg listening)

* The orange sitting room with two arm chairs, whiskey table (with glasses, bottle and newspaper) and Iago the parrot. Nestor the butler serves. I am currently working on a chandelier to add to this room.

* The blue bedroom (Castafiore's room) with canopy bed, patterned rug, blue lounge with cushions and small and large perfume tables (Irma is there to clean)

* The telephone room, containing a yellow telephone on a table, a fireplace, and the dining / breakfast suite (table with green table cloth and striped red and green chairs) laid for breakfast with silver coffee pot, croissant and fruit

* The green bathroom with bath, sink, cracked mirror, gold taps and green tiling

* Attic room containing the chest, owl and gramophone (featured in The Castafiore Emerald)

* Further attic space storing relics from Tintin and Haddock's adventures, including a glass case of Unicorn relics and wooden statue of Francis Haddock (Red Rackham's Treasure), Arumbaya fetish with broken arm (The Broken Ear), a crystal ball (The Seven Crystal Balls), and an anchor, ship's wheel and binoculars.

* Tower room with rat, cheese, and Francis Haddock's manuscript

* Entrance room with knight and grand stair-case featuring the broken step (The Castafiore Emerald)

* Cellars/old chapel containing Red Rackham's treasure and additional space for storing extra items (I am working on Calculus's shark submarine, which I intend to store here)

I was restricted to Lego bricks I currently owned, which influenced my choices in colour and detailing on the front of the building. It also meant I unfortunately ran out of white and brown window frames. The gardens feature a row of red flowers, a tree, a mail box  and Snowy with his bone. Also included is Wagner's bike and ladder and the thieving magpie with Bianca's stolen emerald (The Castafiore Emerald) and policeman who has just retrieved the stolen key (The Black Island). There is room to display key characters Tintin, Haddock, Calculus, and the detective twins.

List of characters

* Tintin the reporter with gun

* Captain Haddock with whiskey bottle and pipe

* Professor Calculus with umbrella

* Detectives Thompson and Thomson with walking sticks and magnifying glass

* Policeman with key

* Bianca Castafiore, the famous singer, with fan

* Wagner her accompanist and Irma her maid (with bag)

* Jolyon Wagg the insurance agent

* Nestor the butler (with whiskey tray)

* Animals include Snowy the dog (with bone), Iago the parrot (with perch), magpie, crow and cat

For fun, I have included some extra pictures of Tintin characters (mostly villains) which I have pieced together.

Enjoy!