Chuckle Bear Reggie Hi Tina, thanks for your post!  It would be easy to add pumpkins (one or up to many more-- probably up to 25 if you wanted!) to the existing castle setup.  The kit uses all of our standard lighting parts, cables, connectors, etc, so it would just be a matter of seeing what additional parts were needed to make room for the additional lights you wanted to connect.  It would be very easy.  RE: Christmas lights, yes we do sell a string of color-changing lights that is very popular around holiday time-- that could be added to the kit as well using the same types of connectors and cables as the pumpkin.  If you went for the color-changing exterior light kit for the castle, you could also set the exterior color of the lights to red or green to get a holiday feel.

Garry Smith Thank you for your post!  Yes, the effects you described above can be implemented with the second controller add-on kit.  We have added the add-on kit to the pre-order page on our website-- you can see it now in the product drop-down selection on that page.

Here is a link to a video showing the split-level lighting effects, and also the cool white effects, in action:

https://youtu.be/xxN7h2ts1Ak

Here are some photos of several options available when using the second controller:

   We have also added a "cool white" option to the controller program code, so now you can set the exterior lights to cool white.  This is added to the existing functions of fireworks, cycling color, or static color.

When adding a second controller for the top lights, you can set any combination of effects, including:

• Cool white on one level, any other color option on the other level.
• Static color (user selectable) on one level, any other color option on the other level.
• Color-cycling on one level (with adjustable speed), any other color option on the other level.

Adding a second controller opens many new possibilities for making your castle look amazing.

The second controller add-on requires the external color-changing add-on kit, which itself requires the exterior light kit.

Hopefully this all makes sense-- let us know if you have any additional questions.

Also, we've extended the pricing on our Early-Bird Mega Bundle to May 15, so if you're interested in this option, you have two more weeks to place your order.

Thank you all so much for your support of this project-- we've had amazing response, and we're working hard to get our first batch of orders ready!

Rick Prescott ... or if not: Rob Klingberg , do we pre-order the second controller separately, and the worker elves will connect the original MEGA pre-order with the second controller pre-order into one shiny, pretty package?  

'Cuz yeah, my bride will likely like the option to split colors.  (Darn options!)

Rick Prescott Hi Rick, the Mega Bundle does not include the 2nd controller-- that wasn't an option at the time we created the product assortment.  Anyone who has already placed and order and would like to add the 2nd controller, please contact us through our website and we will send a separate invoice via PayPal so you don't need to pay a shipping charge.  I hope this helps clarify-- sorry for the delay in responding.

Paul George Ah yes, we can have a chat with our Worker Elves to make sure everything is packed together.  Per the comment I just posted, contact us directly via e-mail or through our website if you would like to add a 2nd controller.

Timothy Spann Thanks for your comment.  I understand what you mean, and how this can look confusing.  As we posted earlier today, the 2nd controller will not be included with the Mega bundles-- we hadn't planned that part at the time the kit was designed and cost baselined.  If you would like to add that 2nd controller, please let us know.  We'll also be updating our website listings to clarify that the 2nd controller is not included with the mega bundle.

On the topic of shipping, we can definitely appreciate as well how this looks.  We've had many internal conversations about how to make this right for those who ordered earliest (and paid shipping), and in the end we decided the right thing to do was refund shipping for all pre-orders that now would qualify for free shipping under our latest shipping rates (we've been preparing for this even before your comment was posted).  It's a major expense for us to issue these refunds, but it's the right thing to do.  It will take us a little while to process the refunds, so please be patient.  We'll make sure everyone is taken care of.  If you don't see a refund appear on your statement by the middle of May, please contact us directly and we'll look into it.

Hopefully this clears everything up-- thanks again for your feedback!

Timothy Spann Thanks Tim!  Website should now be  updated.  And I forgot to mention in response to your earlier post-- the benefit of ordering early is that you will be among the first to receive your kit, since we're making them in batches and will mail out kits in the order in which they were received/paid.

Jay Hamilton Hi Jay, absolutely-- instructions will be included with the second controller.

Chris Cooper Hi Chris, you are correct.  The split-level multicolor controller depends on the color-changing light set, which itself depends on the exterior light kit.  I hope this helps clarify-- if not, let me know.  Thanks!

Gregory Yep, that would be me. :-)  I'm working on those today and tomorrow.  Thanks for your patience-- we are working nonstop making kits.

Side question: what's the footprint of the controller?  We're mounting this baby on a lazy susan, and want to set aside space for it before we file in the floor...

Paul George Hi Paul, there are several controllers, each of which is about the size of a 2x6 LEGO plate.  One main controller, one controller for the outside color-changing lights, and another for the split-level color-changing lights control.  The way the kits are designed, the controllers will fit either into the space behind the clock on the 2nd level, or under the plates that make up the 2nd floor.  So you should not need to allow space below the castle itself for the controllers.  The external lights do have thin cables that run beneath the castle (sit between the bottom plates and the surface onto which the castle is placed).  If you are adding a baseplate beneath the castle (as it appears in your photo), then you should add some plates at supporting intervals between the castle base and your baseplate.  Just one plate height will be enough, just to keep some space open for the wires to pass through.  Hopefully this makes sense-- let me know if you have any additional questions.

Just out of curiosity-- what brand/model of Lazy Susan are you using?  Several customers have mentioned they would like to mount their castles on these for display.  I'd like to get one myself, and also look at a trimmed baseplate like you're doing.  Please let me know, thanks!

Brilliant - I'd not yet considered a plate-spacing for underneath wiring, but that makes sense, and also gives me the plate-height to then also build up a tile ballroom floor on the inside side.

For the lazy susan, I went with a 15-inch diameter (they also have a 21-inch, but I lack the added space for it) out on Amazon, here... something like $22 delivered, and in 2 days (thanks Prime!).

Knowing my Dependent CAN be cautious, but at times not - and the neighborhood kids are unpredictable - I used some of the wife's crafty glue (6000 or something) to affix it after trimming it down.

The vision is to build up some slopes on the perimeter, creating a small void between the slope rocks and castle walls for the base lighting on the lazy susan, and once placed on the tabletop (among the other carnival sets and Friends' amusement park stuff). From there, we hope to then extend down the rocks to a tabletop river (to hide the susan's edges). 

As an aside, I'm finding I'm not nearly as awesome as I think at LEGO-ing: water techniques may become my undoing (but Flickr and Pinterest may prove helpful)... but it's a castle -- you HAVE to have a moat, I was told... 😉

Paul George Thanks Paul for the link to the Lazy Susan-- I'll pick one up.  Sounds like you are working on a grand plan for the Castle grounds-- I can't wait to see it.  And yes, water and rock features in LEGO are one of those things that, until you try to do it yourself, you have no way of knowing the amount of planning and work that goes into something made to look so "random".  Good luck in your building!

Rick Prescott 

Rick Prescott the 21-inch would absolutely be better in my book; the castle's footprint is just a touch shy of 13-inches deep by 19-inches wide.  Had I not had to wedge this onto the narrow part of the fire engine table (long story), I'd have gone with the 21 myself, but the current setup would mean all six inches would hang over the edge.  (And for ~$25, I'm down with potentially just upgrading the susan and plates later... relative to the value of the castle and lighting, it's just a drop in the bucket.)

I'd flirted with that very same base on Amazon, but opted against just out of being lazy (milling a circle, attaching it, etc) while still trying to keep the overall thing short... this susan is roughly two bricks tall and *maybe* a plate.  (The front path just clears the two-brick rock formations currently in the works.)

We're looking to integrate it into a setting, and I didn't want to needlessly have to build up a wall of "rock" any higher than I had to -- 'cuz naturally, my 8-year-old designer now also wants a drawbridge added into the fray.  Y'know, logically, that's next after the mandatory moat...