[WIP] HMS Lively, 12 Gun Sloop

[Skipper]

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26 July

This is one of my older projects but I think only now it's at the point where I have something nice to show.

It's still very much a WIP but I thought I'd post it anyways to get some feedback before I order the parts (sometime in the next year, I hope ).

I spent a long time trying to build a sloop using the CGH method but somehow it didn't look right to me, because of the prefabs it was too high and the half-stud offsets on the sides were too noticable IMO at such a small scale. So I gave up for a while until I realized that the only way I could build something with so many curves as a ship nicely was with bricks that could curve, hence the flex tubes.

Using the flex tubes, I hope, should allow them to bend nicely IRL and hopefully to match the shape of the hull smoothly. As you see in the next two pics, they are still linear in LDD:

C&C definitely welcome.

Any advice on how to build the bow or on how to use Bricklink effectively would be nice too.

Edited July 30, 2012 by Skipper

[Sir E Fullner]

It's coming along nicely. It reminds me of Captain Hornblower's Hotspur.

[Frank Brick Wright]

I might been seeing it in the wrong way but at a first look I find your structure intriguing. Were you inspired by Sebeus technique?

If not, they certainly look very identical. Now I don't quite see how will you curve the hoses if the structure is interconnected from stern to stern — at least without stressing the parts. This looks as an issue to me as the only place where it looks possible to curve the flex tubes is at the gunports — and then not, because you have those which you really don't want to get stressed.

As an advice I would strongly recommend you to not pursuit this building method only in LDD. It is a new method, quite interesting and with potential, BUT it has not (as far as I know) been tested in the brick in a finished ship with any rate of success. Trying to anticipate the problems that appear with real bricks is extremely hard when hoses and/or hinges come into play — I can assure it based on personal experience.

I have also found plans of a 12 Gun English Sloop I don't know how close this is to your reference ship but it's interesting nevertheless. This being said, and taking a look at the plans, I confirmed my first impressions: the distance between gunports and the waterline is too small — it should be almost 3 times the gunport height at the farthest point (!)

At last, and considering you have a small budget — so do I… — I would buy some hoses of different sizes and a couple of plates with clips to play a little with the bricks and try some structures before considering submitting a larger order without any idea if it will work or not.

I hope this feedback was helpful!

[Sebeus I]

I had the exact same Idea once, flex tubes are a great tool but once you try to combine them with a brick-built structure it gets nasty, it looks very clean in LDD but I agree with Frank Brick Wright, there will be complications with stressed parts. I'm pretty convinced that LDD is not usefull for this building technique, you need to get yourself some real flex tubes and clip plates, trial and error is the way

So far I only managed to produce shipwrecks with this technique

(Click the picture for more pictures)

I gave up on waterline models for this technique but I'd like seeing your progress, keep it up

Btw, I named this technique organic ship-building, I see it as Polar style opposed to the traditional cartesian style.