Re-interpreting Tokien & Jackson: Making of Fortress of Black Sorcery

In general, we just wanted the whole structure to look sharp and painful. I remember saying "if a massive giant tripped on this, I want him to get impaled no matter what....."
- Peter Jackson

This article was first published in 2022 on MyMiniFactory.

It has become a yearly tradition at MiniWorld3D to come up with a Halloween special model. It kicked into high-gear with Vampire Castle, one of our most popular models to date, downloaded and printed by hundreds of people all over the world! So, the stakes were high on 2022. After some crowd-sourced input and idea bouncing with collaborators, we decided to do something inspired by J.R.R. Tokien's Lord of the Rings fantasy world. Not only because this property is in the mainstrem again thanks to Rings of Power, but also because we needed a fantasy castle that was not vampiric.

The challenge then was clear: how can we create a brand-new model that does not necessarily conflict with copyrighted IP but still recognizable by the massive fandom?

The first step was to go back to the source; reading the original passage that describes this location, and also reading the lore from other sources. The Lord of the Rings has reached the public in several publications and iterations over time, each one interpreting the narrative visually in their own distinct flavor. We opted to take an approach where we don't replicate someone else's defined design from on-screen appearances, but re-interpret Tolkien's description, the lore, and then the very distinct visuals that Jackson gave to all things evil in his version. That way, we come up with something recognizable and familiar, but fresh and actually not like what has already been done before.

After studying Jackson's design language for Mordor and the forces of evil, a very recognizable aesthetic, and combining it with our own experience modeling both real world and fantasy military defensive buildings, we came up with the model you can see now here on Printables, where 3 different rows of high star-shaped walls precede the main tower. The back is naturally protected by steep cliffs, and there is a single entrance and natural pathway to progress from the outside all the way to the tower. This was a fun but tedious part of the process: to create a somewhat realistic and functional path for troops to access every battlement and platform of the fortress! You can trace this serpentine path if you print this model. It would be a hell of a trek for the defending army, but at the same time, geniously marathonic for the invading army!

Two of the unique features of our version are the main entrance and the crown of the tower. Knowing that this fortress is the HQ of the Witch King of Angmar, we wanted to integrate his likeness somewhere, the first idea being the top of the tower. That proved difficult and cumbersome, so it ended up being the main gate, an eerie and menacing entrance that requires anyone to go through the gaping mouth/face. The crown follows a typical Mordor look, sharp and numerous vertical lines. We added the easter egg of allowing the crown to turn or spin in place, as described in the book.

Lastly, this model needs light to really come to life. It is a crucial feature described in the lore, so we left it out for people to come up with the lighting source of their preference with just the necessary elements in the design to allow the fortress' features to be lit from below.

And there you have it, MiniWorld3D's own interpretation of the Minas Morgul: Fortress of Black Sorcery, we hope it lives up to previous Halloween special models and attracts both knowledgeable fans and the general public as well. In the end, this is a magical fortress for everyone to enjoy!

Print photos by: Dany Sánchez in Spidermaker Universe Black PLA, scaled 66%, 0.3 mm layers, 12% infill, 8 hrs.; by Erwin Boxen @slimprintnl  in a Ultimaker printer & silk purple filament; and by Jose Luis @bushido3d in black PLA, painted details and green lights.