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Jay Castello
Written By
Jay Castello
Published
4/9/18

Charming Castles

Sabina shows off her medieval masonry!

There's a certain undeniable appeal to castles, isn't there? Whether they’re crumbling monuments or imposing, flawless edifices, they remind us of a time long gone by - and thanks to all those fantasy books I read as a child, a hint of magic and mystery!

Today’s builder, Sabina, has built four castles in the last three years, and they’re definitely far from crumbling. Each one is as massive as it is detailed, with libraries, fireplaces, flower beds, and more. It’s these details that make the castles feel homely and lived in, rather than ancient monuments long forgotten.

This is Sabina's first castle build, looking mighty fine in the rays of the rising sun. Let's take a look inside!
Sabina's later castles feature things like fireplaces and libraries to help create a lovely, warm atmosphere. But this foreboding room has a bit too much of an off-with-her-head vibe for my tastes.
Some builders just hollow out the roof and then call it a day. "Hacks!" I spit at them, when I see the wonderful amount of detail Sabina puts into her wooden walkways. Outstanding!
Plenty of nice touches outside the castle, too. Take this lovely fountain! Bet the King spits in it, mind.

“I usually get inspired by the terrain,” Sabina tells me. “All my builds start with me flying around the world until I find a spot I like.” She explains that she didn’t intend to build four castles in a row but kept stumbling on great places for them. “For Castle III I liked the mountains that were there and got inspired, the same for Castle IV. I was originally going to build a cathedral but was inspired by the terrain to build a castle instead.” Perhaps it was because of the re-moat location?

Once she’d decided to make her fourth castle, Sabina got to work with her very methodical process: “I started with a rough layout of the bottom walls, then built the main body of the castle on top by making buildings of different heights all connected to each other with towers. When I had the shell of the building, I put in all the roofs and lastly went around the build adding detail, which probably took the longest amount of time.”

It’s easy to see how the detail took so much effort. There are little flourishes in every corner of Castle IV. I especially love the fountains in the flower garden, and the stained glass windows – maybe a leftover idea from her original intent to make a cathedral!

Sabina is especially proud of the back of this castle, which she says she rebuilt twice. “I’m really happy with how it turned out,” she told me. “I also really like the two square towers that are joined by a bridge because they’re very detailed, so they stand out.” The towers have matching designs that look like decorative arrows pointing to their very tops, making them seem even taller than they already are!

She also explains how she’s been studying real castles in order to improve every time she builds a new one. “I used to think that my builds were unrealistic,” she tells me, “so this has definitely helped me with my planning process and gives my builds more structure.”

So does she intend to build more castles? “I’m always having different build ideas recently,” she says, telling me how she’s been thinking about creating a ship. But first she wants to circle back to the cathedral. “That’s been on my mind for a while, so I think that will be my next project.”

As great as castles are, it’s important to try new things and I’m sure that all of Sabina’s experience will be very valuable in creating in-spire-ing builds in the future!

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