Farewell We Call to Hearth and Hall!: Build Log

Here’s a look behind the scenes at what went into creating my MELO Round 1 build, Farewell We Call to Hearth and Hall!

I started off with the hobbit hole interior, which was possibly the funnest section of the entire build for me. I first looked up a few pictures of hobbit holes, to get an idea of what details to include, what colors to use, etc. I decided on reddish brown and tan for the walls, and since hobbit holes are very well kept, did no wall texturing. To make it a little less bland, I included some wooden details around the base of the wall, using a technique Legopard came up with. Unfortunately, these were almost completely hidden once all the furniture was added, but it’s still one of my favorite details.

Next came all the furniture. Making everything a little shorter than I normally would was challenging at times, but I’m quite pleased with the end result, especially the chairs. And of course, the ceiling had be at least slightly rounded, since it’s a hobbit hole. Initially I was using several 1 x 6 x 3 1/3 curved top arches, but then switched to 1 x 3 x 3 arches, to keep it more cohesive.

As the middle section was mainly landscape, it was pretty straight-forward and didn’t take long to complete. However, the Rivendell portion was not so easy. I was planning on having a bridge connecting the landscape and Rivendell, but making a design I liked that was small enough proved to be a difficult task. Here you can see one of my attempts.

As such, I decided to forego the bridge and just continue with an irregular base. Choosing the color for Rivendell’s landscape was another tricky section, but I think it turned out really well. I opted for autumn-like colors, such as dark orange and medium dark flesh, which was a fun change from our usual more earth-toned landscapes.

The circular gazebo was definitely the most challenging part of Rivendell, particularly achieving a design that would allow me to put some sort of roof on it. Small white levers proved to be very useful in this situation, and the domes rested nicely on top of them.

After that, I added a few more trees to the forest, a small path in the Rivendell section, and tiled the top of the hobbit hole walls.

And here is the finished product: