This is not an official Lego site.
These castles have all been built by Bob Carney using standard Lego bricks and other elements. Each castle is a scale model of a real European or Middle Eastern medieval castle. The first phase of each new project begins with in depth research, originally in libraries and now mostly on the internet, and then drawing the plans to "Lego scale", typically using 1/8" graph paper for plans, and elevations as well. Once I'm reasonably sure I've got enough of each kind of Lego brick needed to complete the project, I'm ready to build. The castles each take unique elements, so I'm often ordering some parts despite my planning.
Great news! I've turned 81, and I'm still enthusiastically building castles! The current project is the impressive Castello di Felino , located near Parma, Italy. It features the most massive splayed plinths of any castle I know of. My #190th project is a complex tower house in Aberdeen & Gordon, Scotland. It's called Harthill Castle, or sometimes Torries Castle, since its very near that village. My very recent project, castle #189, is a large model of Kamerlengo Castle in Trogir, Croatia, on the Adriatic Coast. My wife, Judy, and I visited Trogir exactly four months before the castle model construction began. We were not allowed inside the castle, as a Belgian Television show was in the process of being filmed that day. But it was an intriguing castle and there was plenty of information on the internet! The model will include features of the Venetian fortress as it looked before the moat was filled in, and it became a tourist attraction!
I also recently completed construction of number 187: the famous Burg Eltz, on a small tributary of the Moselle River in western Germany. It is likely the third most photographed castle in the world, after Neuschwanstein and Eilean Donan. My #188 is the English tower house, Dacre Castle, in Cumbria near the Scottish border. It was completed on the first of May, 2024. My #186 is the classic Scottish Z-plan, Hatton Castle, on the edge of Newtyle in Angus, built in 1575. I've also completed work on model #185, my largest Irish castle: Cahir Castle in County Tipperary. It's a classic castle with three baileys, and was deemed impregnable until the advent of cannon. Model #184 was completed late Spring 2023 and is in honor of our trip to Croatia in April 2024: the pretty castle that is iconic for the city an hour north of Zagreb: the Stari Grad Varaždin You'll love this project. Castle #183 is the famous castle gorgeously placed on Eilean Donan [Island of Donan] at the convergence of Lochs Long, Duich and Alsh in western Scotland. Construction started March 19, and was completed April 21, 2023. The model was displayed at Brickworld Chicago 2023 over Fathers' Day weekend, and was the only model of an actual castle at the convention.
Castle #182 is the stunning Castillo de Almansa in southeastern Spain. #181 was a large model of Dirleton Castle just east of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was an interesting and unique project in that the most castle-like version of this structure was the first, built by the French de Vaux family. Later restorations were far more 'residential'. So my model was somewhat speculative, since the original castle was very badly damaged in the war with England in the 1290's. It's a beautiful project. My previous project, for display at Brickworld 2022, was five models of the same Scottish tower house, Pitcullo Castle in Fife near St. Andrews, as an example of the chronology of a typical castle over 450 years. Numbered 176 through 180, the models are to be the original late 16th century L-plan, the mid-17th century U-plan, the deteriorating ruin, the 1971 restoration and the 1980s 'gentrification'. The five models were being constructed simultaneously, which was a blast. And the concept was very popular at Brickworld, particularly among the thousands of adult visitors.
Otherwise, I've arranged the castles I've built by their country of origin. Just click on any of the castle names that interest you (or all of them if you like) and you'll be treated to several photographs and a plan of the real castle, a brief history (possibly with personal notes) and pictures of my Lego model. There's also a Build Your Own section with my working Lego plans (when not too large) and several URLs referring you to related castle sites on the World Wide Web. You can also click on the name of the country where the castles are located (or the small picture) to link to a Castle Locator Map, with castles listed in the order I built them Also, after countless emails, I've decided to include a FAQ section which will hopefully answer most general questions. I'd still like to hear your comments! An updated castle lineage is now available -- it shows the order in which the castles were built and in which country the castle is located. The castle currently under construction is also noted, as applicable.
I have also added a page for novice but enthusiastic castle builders which is basically made up of several of my early castles which have largely been ignored on this Main Page due to the larger later edition. Pictures of the smaller castles plus available plans and elevations can be found at Early Castles and should be more rewarding for the beginner. There is also a Castle Builders' Page where you can enjoy the efforts of some your colleagues! I will update it as regularly as I receive input from various Lego friends.
While researching and modeling castles is my love, occasionally I use my Lego to build other things. If you look at my Wartburg Castle page, you'll find links to my Reformation projects both in 2001 and 2017, the 500th Anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation! There's some more of my favorite non-castle projects on a page entitled Trains, Ships and Other Stuff, including my 22-oar Viking longboat. And in the spring of 2011, I built to mini-fig scale the Tomb of Queen Nefertari, Great Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses II, located in the Valley of the Queens in Egypt. The ancient artwork is not Lego hieroglyphics, but authentic. In addition, I've assembled, at the suggestion of my friend Dan Vallauri of Monaco, a page which I call Lego Bar Art. When my wife Judy and I remodeled our lower level in 2000 (see Storage System below), the playroom bar was covered with 48-stud Lego baseplates. I've been doing "mosaic art" on the bar face ever since, and I've decided to show it off, since others might enjoy making their own variation(s) on this theme. Let me know what you think.
Then there is a page describing the history, design, purchase and setup of my plastic tip-out bin storage system. If you are thinking about a major alteration in the way you are sorting and storing your Lego bricks, and you are willing to spend a fair amount of money for the huge convenience, then click on the link above. And don't forget about BrickWorld 2024 at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in Schaumburg, Illinois next June. Finally, you will see no advertising on my webpage, but I must put in a plug for BrickJournal. And thank you all very much for visiting my Lego Castles webpage!
