STORY

Turn around, bright eyes…

It was 1886. Era of science, steam and dresses with big bustles. But also the era of gothic novels, secret societies and brave explorers.

[Mysterious silhouette appears in the dark]

Turn around, this is the night…

Three brave explorers from a far away city were breaking through dense thickets behind a small village. They didn’t care much about warnings from the villagers and their rich repertoire of love songs about garlic. They heard about mysterious ruins and just needed to explore it. Because they were explorers. Brave. Logic!

And we'll only be making it right

Cause we'll never be wrong…

But, of course… Deep in the old woods , hidden from human sight, ancient EVIL was sleeping. And snoring. Also, he was a little bit dried, his cape has civilization of tineids, he's lonely, he's sad and he's HUNGRY.

So his heart and his stomach felt shivers of excitement, when young, fresh and rebellious dinner strayed near his lair.

Together we can take it to the end of the line

My love is like a shadow on you all of the time...

(Dance of the vampires,

Vampires in love)

MODEL

Will you find all the easter eggs, details and references that I have put here for our joint entertainment? I dare you…

With inconspicuous small ruins on the hill I tried to put as many features (and funny details) as I could. The building has a ground floor with a tomb and attic with broken stained glass, but without a roof. The mausoleum is worn out by the tooth of time, but still very picturesque. Under the floor remains and broken stones we can find a secret room which is, for lack of a better word, cozy. Who said old vampires have to spend their immortality in dampness and cold? So my Briclock has a hidden passage through his own tomb, to a small room, full of elegant furniture, decorations and a portrait of his long lost love.

Every part is removable for better access, what is more, back parts have hinges, allowing you to open and close it at will.

Dimensions:
width: 35,2cm
length: 26,6cm
height: 32,6cm
Total parts: 2353 (+minifigures), total lots: 678, stickers: 8

MINIFIGURES

Count von Briclock - A stylish gentleman with disturbingly good taste – a luxurious crypt, shiny coffin and fancy bookcase, all under a crumbling tomb. If he lived in the 21st century, he'd have an Instagram account called "#cozycryptlife." His sardonic smile has its own fan club among bats.

Alfredo, Bat: The least dangerous bat of all time – he's afraid of his own reflection in the window and constantly bumps into the curtains.

Sara Murray - She is the only one in the group who can use the map – which doesn't help anyway, because it usually leads everyone straight to the Count's crypt, but her confidence is as big as her bustle.

Professor van Bricksing - Who needs two legs when you have one mission: defeat vampires! Old, wise, legendary… even if little mad.

Jonathan Chagal - Hopelessly in love with Sarah, he had no idea what he was getting into when he embarked on this journey. He has a gun, so his chances of returning from it are even slimmer.

Villagers - they may be extras, but they have a lot of garlic to protect themselves!

INSPIRATION

Well, obviously, my inspirations were vampire stories. A lot of them. I was born as a bat, so it’s in my, hehe, blood to talk about… bats. I'm a big fan of XIXth century architecture and fashion, so I tried to embed my model in this particular era as closely as possible. Ruins was based on Polish late-XIXth century buildings, which are an interesting mixture of XIXth century with gothic architecture and “mystery”.
This was one of my first projects, so I was in a deep, deep need to design it from scratch :D.
I'm a first-timer here, so I’ll be very grateful for any advice on how to improve my skills.