OK so I have definatly decided my first project is going to be Dr Doom's Castle.

The Castle Works Ultimate is my starting point, but as this is my first project I am still overwhelmed with where to begin.

I have the layout thanks to reference materials, but I ant ot make sure it has plenty of space for playing heroclix within it.



Thats the layout

and this is how it looks



so my questions are largely about making it less fantasy and more comicbook.

The Tower of Solitude in the middle needs to be bigger than the stock tower (rounder?) and the walls are generally taller in the middle area and will need entrances through.

I also want ot make the nuclear reactors, surveilance tower and the robot manufacturing plant more sci-fi so what parts of other kits coudl i merge?

Have I taken on too much for a first project?

Its certainly ambitious...but take a little "artistic licence"...and scale it /make it to suit your needs...rather than a complete recreation of the comic book Doom castle (I am sure through the years there have been more then one interpretation of Doom' castle )
As for the more SF elements...I would look to the Platform Command stuff for this, then possibly Hellworks III and the First Light sets for labs and computer stuff.
I think those should get you going in the right direction

One other thing I might do...plan it and think about how you want it to be "one day...when its done" But concentrate on doing a bit at a time...start small and complete a section or building at a time.
Above all have fun

IF and that is a big if you want to build the whole thing, i would say plan it out, start by making a few scale estimates on the size of the various parts.

Like figure out how big the vechile launch platform is, or the servants quarters and go from there to get the size of other stuff so you know how big everything will be in the end. Or maybe compair it to a few real castels to get a sense of scale. You got to figure out how big it's going to be to find the space to house the thing. I have always wanted to make a Star Wars CR90 in the First Light family of productts, but it comes out to 100 inchs give or take or over 8 ft, or 2.5 m. I just don't have the room for it anyplace. Not sure how much of a bother this will be to find a home for.

if it turns out too big, i would say maybe make a few of the sections, if you you are building this for mainly a Hero Clixs map i would say start with the sections tou want to game in (and maybe the sournding areas) then work from there out. Some times makeing a Whole project just puts up a mental block, and you need to start with something small first to get an idea of what to do.

As for the Robot Production plant, and Reactors, i would say go with Platform Command: Night Watch, got good cranes, elevated walkways, cray power generators etc. For the Nuke Plant i'd go with Platfrom Command: Red Sector.

If i were you i'd figure out what i want this for, display, or actually game map, if a map make the areas that will get used for scenerios, first and then as you get into the swing of things you can make the rest of the castle around the areas created.

For the big tower, i'd almost say make it square, or use the exisistant octaganagle towers and just scale them up, do some selective cutting glueing to make the walls and floor area twice as big.... it would be a bit of a physical kit bash (as compaired to digital bash, or if you have the skills to it digital i don't got those skills i tend to make physical bashs), but perhaps not too hard.

looking at my maps they are 36 x 36 so I have more room to play with. Essentially 3ft x 3ft

yes please!

Can't wait to see you blueprint