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As I am moving to Scotland this week for at least six months, and my girlfriend is staying in the Netherlands, I decided to make her favourite Castle in the Sims - so this one is dedicated to Sophie, my girlfriend!
Blair Castle is undoubtedly one of Scotland's better-known stately homes. Located in Perthshire near the village of Blair Atholl / Pitlochry, it is the home of the Dukes of Atholl and Clan Murray. Although the original castle dates from the 13th century, significant alterations were made in the 18th and 19th centuries to turn it into the home it is now. In addition, the Castle is the base of the Atholl Highlanders, the only remaining private army in Europe. The Castle is currently a museum, owned by the Blair Estates Trust and is open to the public from spring through summer and autumn.
The Castle was originally built as a simple tower house, and was subsequently expanded significantly. During the last Jacobite Rising (mid-18th century) the castle was besieged for the final time and after this the house was converted into a Georgian manor. After Queen Victoria's stay at the castle, the castle was extensively remodelled into a Scots Barional Style mansion. Although much of the current castle is therefore 19th century, the oldest parts of the castle such as the Cumming's Tower still remain.
The Castle itself features a large number of rooms with antiques and Atholl heirlooms on display, taking the visitor through the turbulent history of Scotland, the Clan Murray and the Atholl family. For more information, please see the links at the bottom.
This reproduction, almost identical to the original castle, is comprised of four parts and as such constitutes a set. The set in this upload includes:
1. The Main Building
2. The Outbuildings
3. The Main Gate
4. The West Gate
The Castle also features an extensive garden in reality, which is not included but may be released separately in the future. Of course, all the buildings can also be used separately and adjusted in whatever way you want - if you're just looking for a small cottage or a cute tower house, why not download the Main or West Gate and quickly delete the gates / fences?
All exteriors are as close to the original as was possible. All interiors are my personal imagination (except for the Main Building, the accessible rooms of which are 100% authentic), and combine the late 19th / early 20th century style of the rooms in the Main Building with modern luxuries such as tv and laptops.
For more pictures of each lot, please check the general pictures above.
The buildings were made in riverview in these locations:
Main Building
The Main Building of Blair Castle is currently in use as an art Gallery /Museum. All the rooms that are in the original castle have been recreated almost identically. Each room features a text plate summarizing the name, curiosities and history of the room. Although currently all ''fictional'' rooms are currently black due to hidden room markers, they are all fully furnished to the highest standard and and such all that is required to turn the castle into a residence is to remove all the room markers, and unlock the doors to the extra rooms.
This particular lot features a total of 42 accessible rooms (including bathrooms, dressing rooms, corridors and toilets)
Should it be converted to a residence, it features a total of 7 bedrooms in the main castle (including one decorative one), and 3 more in the adjacent cottages.
Pictures of real castle and Sims 3 version:
Building
Tea Room
Furnished Price: 958,257
Unfurnished Price: 275,605
Lot Size: 64 x 64
Outbuildings
The Blair Castle Outbuildings are in reality attached to the main castle. However, since I wanted to have two lots with different functions, they are now not fully attached. The Outbuildings in reality are occupied by individuals having links to the castle, be it family of the Dukes or staff presently working at the castle. As such, the Blair Castle Outbuildings in this Sims 3 version have been made into luxury apartments. There are two luxury apartments (of which the Player can use one) and one smaller apartment for a groundskeeper on the bottom floor. Although only one Apartment is inhabitable at any time (due to game restrictions), all other apartments are fully furnished (see pictures) and as such should it be desired, the NPC and player apartments could be switched around by moving the room markers [please check a guide on how to do this]. The interior of these buildings is fictional, as the original floor plans and owners are confidential. The inhabitable apartment currently include a kitchen with authentic elements, a drawing room, a library, a living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom.
Comparison
Interior:
Furnished Price: 184,859
Unfurnished Price: 17,610
Lot Size: 50 x 25
Main Gate
The Main Gate of Blair Castle is located on the south side and features an impressive gate of sandstone, locally sourced granite and cast iron. It is accompanied by a small cottage. In this sims 3 version, the cottage is inhabitable by a couple and features a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room.
Comparison:
Interior:
Furnished Price: 91.382
Unfurnished Price: 52.280
Lot Size: 40 x 40
West Gate
The West Gate of Blair Castle features a small L-plan tower house next to a minor gate. Again, the exterior is reproduced as closely as possible, while the inside is imaginary. The Gate / Tower House features a small kitchen, a decent-sized living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom.
Comparison:
Interior:
Furnished Price: 83,048
Unfurnished Price:36,565
Lot Size: 30 x 30
In order to use all of these lots, there are a few items that you require from the store, as well as some CC (however, only the CC is a requirement for the lot to look good, the other items can be replaced by non-store items).
I wish you all a lot of fun playing with this set, which I have put countless hours into! Feel free to adjust and please send me screenshots of you playing, as I'd be happy to see how you use it.
If you have any questions, remarks or bug reports, let me know.
For a detailed look at individual files, see the Information tab.
Key:
- File was updated after upload was posted
Install Instructions
Quick Guide:
1. Click the file listed on the Files tab to download the file to your computer.
2. Extract the zip, rar, or 7z file.
2. Select the .sims3pack file you got from extracting.
3. Cut and paste it into your Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Downloads folder. If you do not have this folder yet, it is recommended that you open the game and then close it again so that this folder will be automatically created. Then you can place the .sims3pack into your Downloads folder.
5. Load the game's Launcher, and click on the Downloads tab. Select the house icon, find the lot in the list, and tick the box next to it. Then press the Install button below the list.
6. Wait for the installer to load, and it will install the lot to the game. You will get a message letting you know when it's done.
7. Run the game, and find your lot in Edit Town, in the premade lots bin.
Extracting from RAR, ZIP, or 7z: You will need a special program for this. For Windows, we recommend 7-Zip and for Mac OSX, we recommend Keka. Both are free and safe to use.