adam5743 Posted July 13, 2015 (edited) My oldest son has really gotten into legos like I did as a kid, and we have pulled out all of my old legos from the 80s and 90s which includes a few ships like the 6271 Imperial Flagship, Renegade Runner, and Imperial Trading post. He got into the Pirates of the Caribbean so we have the Black Pearl and Queen Anne's Revenge too. My son told me that he has lots of Pirates, but not enough imperial/British ships to make it a fair fight! We have recently built quite a few custom kits from http://www.brickmania.com/, so I thought there might be custom ship builders out there or at least instructions to buy. I thought that something like this http://www.ebay.com/...=item2eda5a3ad8 might be a good solution, but it turned out to be way too big and fragile to be playable, and I wasn't happy with the lack of the tumblehome technique that I saw while browsing these forums. 20150703_111506 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr I found Sebeus's masterpieces to be absolutely perfect and his HMS Marianne has become my goal. http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=71195 So I've taken apart the monstrosity I had built, and I'm trying to figure out how to replicate some of these amazing techniques from Sebeus and others. Being completely new to doing this without full instructions, it is a steep learning curve. Sebeus suggested that I make my own thread to get some pointers from the community so I can reach this goal of a playable and sleek Pirate killer. Here are a few pics and some comments on what I'm struggling with. Please feel free to offer critiques of my building work and posting. I am trying to build each section independently and then attach it to the hull. I've had to go back and completely break down sections and build it in place to get things to line up. I'm not entirely settled on what approach will work best for me here. 20150703_210350 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr Tying together these gaps in the structure are really stumping me at the moment. There is a little gap between the sides of the ship and the interior deck and a big section i need to figure out between the very front which ended up at a higher elevation than the rest of the deck. 20150712_191039 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr Overall, I'm liking the shape of the tumblehome but I'm a little worried about there being too much of a gap. 20150712_191030 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr Once again, please help push me in the right direction... I'm a big boy and can handle it, I just want to learn. Thanks, Adam EDIT: Here is the (initial) completed ship! 20150816_163144 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr Edited August 16, 2015 by adam5743 Images way too big. Turned into links. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Plaid Beard Posted July 13, 2015 (edited) Howdy! and welcome! Looks like you're off to a good start, and I love your dedication when it comes to going all-out on cannons - one can never have too many cannons. I recommend a three things for starting a ship-building project. The first thing is to study pictures of ships that you might like to base your design on so that you have a general direction in which to go. The second thing is to look through pictures of other Lego ships that folks have built to see if there are any neat tricks or techniques you want to "borrow" from them. And the third is to study the frigate tutorial you'll find at the link below to see the outstanding techniques of an amazing builder. I used this tutorial for two of my custom ships. http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=30622 As for the gaps, I had to use jumper plates under some of my decks to offset them slightly, then I filled in the gap along the side with 1x plates. This meant that the topside decks that were at different levels didn't line up with each other, so I used jumper plates again to connect those. I think you can see how I did that in the picture below (which I may need to resize because I think it might be too big). It's a lot easier with a ship that stays straight from fore to aft, but on a project like my schooner where the ship narrowed from midship to stern, I still don't have a great way of filling in those gaps. Fortunately the schooner was too small for a tumblehome so I didn't have to mess with that. For me, it was also difficult making the connection between the tumblehome angle and the forecastle, but I played around with that until I got it more or less right. So in the picture below you can see how I used jumpers to connect the higher deck to the lower deck. The reason they are offset the way they are is because my schooner narrows from front to back, so the decks have to get gradually narrower as they get closer to the stern. However, you can use this same technique on a ship that stays the same width from front to back because as you go higher each deck needs to be narrower than the one below so it fits into the narrowing angle of the tumblehome. http://www.brickshel...08_223231-1.jpg Looking at the pictures you've posted thus far I'm really excited about your ship. You've done a great job on the tumblehome. Getting that angle to connect with the sterncastle can be tricky, and while I've seen a lot of different techniques for that, every builder can do it differently and make it work. Good luck! Edited July 13, 2015 by LuxorV Image way too big. Turned into link. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adam5743 Posted July 13, 2015 (edited) Hey Plaid Beard, thanks for the very helpful response and the detailed picture... all very helpful! BTW, I was searching the forum to see your ships but couldn't find them... have you posted a thread or do you have an image gallery you can link me to? Edited July 13, 2015 by adam5743 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Plaid Beard Posted July 13, 2015 Hey Plaid Beard, thanks for the very helpful response and the detailed picture... all very helpful! BTW, I was searching the forum to see your ships but couldn't find them... have you posted a thread or do you have an image gallery you can link me to? You're very welcome! I'd never have been able to build a ship were it not for the help I got from folks on this forum. The only one of my ships I've posted is the one I'm linking below, and it's an 18th-Century schooner. My frigate and my galleon are basically done, but I'm just doing some detail work on them before I post them. http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=111842 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cousarmy0001 Posted July 13, 2015 I had a similar problem when I built Thunderchild. I can't give pictures atm because I'm completing a move and have yet to put her back together, but the way I overcame the gap was to raise the deck high enough that I could expand it to cover the gap with the highest level deck plate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adam5743 Posted July 15, 2015 (edited) I've been working on this more in the past week since I'm on vacation, and I need some more feedback and suggestions. I'm waiting on another bricklink order to be able to swap out a few pieces that are the wrong color right now and researching different options for sails and the capstan. I'm not sure what I want to do for the rigging or if to have rigging at all. I'm also not sure if I want to build a partial or full deck above the cannons. I think it would add to the look but I'm not sure how I would feel about the gun deck being so cramped. I don't want to go overboard and try to make this too complicated or fragile for my 8 year old to play with. 20150715_113608 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr 20150715_113638 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr So sails, capstan, rigging, and upper deck design decisions... thanks again to everyone who has provided invaluable feedback and I'm looking forward to your further responses! (and sorry about the image sizes previously!) Phred - Thank you for sending me that 'how to' thread!!! I would love your feedback on these design choices too of course... ;) Edited July 15, 2015 by adam5743 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capn Frank Posted July 15, 2015 (and sorry about the image sizes previously!) No worries Adam. Just so you know, you can use your Yahoo account and log into Flickr. Even if you keep your images large when you upload them to Flickr, you can post them in smaller sizes that meet EB requirements. Check out our Flickr Tutorial Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adam5743 Posted July 16, 2015 I decided to go ahead with the upper deck, I think it works. Your thoughts? 20150715_231525_001 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeroTheLegoman Posted July 16, 2015 Looks nice, a good combination of realistic feel to it and some simple "it's a toy" solutions. Love the way it looks alot more real and detailed but still in a comparable scale to the classic lego sets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adam5743 Posted July 16, 2015 Looks nice, a good combination of realistic feel to it and some simple "it's a toy" solutions. Love the way it looks alot more real and detailed but still in a comparable scale to the classic lego sets. That is 100% what I'm going for - thanks a ton for your feedback, I really appreciate it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capn Frank Posted July 16, 2015 I'm glad to see you've reposted your images. I decided to go ahead with the upper deck, I think it works. Your thoughts? I like the complete spar deck. The layout of the decks looks more like a flush-decked frigate now. Great job so far. I look forward to seeing this MOC completed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Plaid Beard Posted July 17, 2015 I like what you're doing, too. Your colors are really looking good, and the overall layout is working well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adam5743 Posted July 17, 2015 (edited) Wow, I'm really enjoying the positive feedback! Please feel free to offer criticisms or suggestions on alternate ways of doing things that I may be missing on my first MOC here. While I'm waiting on my latest bricklink orders and think about how to do the capstan, rigging, and a few other details, I'm worried that I'm just going to mess with things just for the sake of changing it... Here are some comparisons next to the BSB and Imperial Flagship. 20150716_173712 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr 20150716_173657 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr Now I've added the 'top' or fighting top platform on each mast as well as what I think might work for attaching some string for basic rigging. 20150717_160630 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr Edited July 17, 2015 by adam5743 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adam5743 Posted July 26, 2015 Now I've added a very simple working capstan (similar to the Queen Anne's Revenge but using a natural sisal thread instead of a chain) and I have also made my first attempt at some rigging with string. I've also received the bricklink order that I needed to replace a few pieces that were the wrong color. 20150725_172839 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr Any feedback or suggestions are always appreciated, especially regarding the rigging... I'm not entirely sure I'm going to move forward with it. Next up is a set of custom sails from CapeMadness! 20150725_172919 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeroTheLegoman Posted July 26, 2015 Rigging looks odd. Think the string is too thick Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adam5743 Posted July 28, 2015 Yeah I'm not really happy with it myself... is it the thickness of the string, my poor technique trying to rig it up, or the color of it? ...probably some combination... I think I'm going to try to find some thinner, darker colored string and see how that looks as well as better figure out how I'm supposed to string it up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeroTheLegoman Posted July 28, 2015 Technique isn't all that bad, but looks kidna strange as it's too thick and yes might look better in a bit darker colour. Black or at least some grayish, tanish colour Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adam5743 Posted July 29, 2015 I tried a different approach here that I think looks much better but it isn't as sturdy as I would like. I think that might be a downside to anything that isn't the plastic Lego rigging snapped into place. 20150729_174356 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr I'm also trying to fabricate sails out of sheets of canvas that I found, but my cutting skills aren't great and I need to research an option to prevent the holes from tearing and the edges from fraying. I found a few threads on the forums and I'm going to see if I can find a good solution I can use. 20150729_174427 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adam5743 Posted August 16, 2015 (edited) I've finally made some sails (along the lines of this tutorial http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=87124) that I'm pretty satisfied with and added proper red coat flags. I would say this is pretty much finished for now, but I'm still toying with the idea of improving the rigging more along the lines of this awesome tutorial: http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=12757 and I'll probably add some more details here and there. Thanks again to Sebeus for the inspiration and help getting started as well as the community for the advice, displaying their work, and the tutorials here. All of this was extremely helpful for a brand new MOC'er like myself when taking on this project with my 8 year old son! Any comments and suggestions are very welcome. 20150816_163136 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr 20150816_163125 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr 20150816_151218 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr Edited August 16, 2015 by adam5743 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Plaid Beard Posted August 16, 2015 Thanks for the updates! Good to see you've still been working on, and I like the direction your going. I don't know if it's just the way the picture is, but the ship looks a bit short fore to aft. Any major issues in construction? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adam5743 Posted August 17, 2015 (edited) I really appreciate the comments and feedback, it makes a new guy like me feel like part of the community! 20150816_151712 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr Sitting next to BSB, QAR, Black Pearl, etc., it seems pretty proportional so maybe it is just my poor camera phone technique? The main issues for me were really just going into something like this for the first time without instructions and also trying to emulate the more advanced techniques without ever even seeing it in person. I'm not 100% happy with the rigging or the construction of the cabin, but my son is happy with it and it is sturdy enough to be playable so I'm happy with it overall. Plus it gives the pirates who have been running rampant something to keep them looking over their shoulders... 20150816_151254 by adam_beck_bell, on Flickr Edited August 17, 2015 by adam5743 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capn Frank Posted August 17, 2015 Yeah I'm not really happy with it myself... is it the thickness of the string, my poor technique trying to rig it up, or the color of it? I am looking for alternatives to tying ALOT of knots. I found a place where they sell 3mm OD black hose, $30 for 300 feet before shipping. I plan on buying a roll in the near future to find a way to make it work easier than string. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Staslegomaster Posted August 17, 2015 The most rare set you have is Imperial trading post. And you've got quite a large fleet to attack it. And there are very few redcoats to defend the merchants, as you said. Keep on building. It can be a beginning of your LEGO story. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adam5743 Posted August 17, 2015 I am looking for alternatives to tying ALOT of knots. I found a place where they sell 3mm OD black hose, $30 for 300 feet before shipping. I plan on buying a roll in the near future to find a way to make it work easier than string. Phred - this is what I used: http://www.hobbylobby.com/Party-%26-Baking/Themed-Party-Collections/Luau/5'-x-10'-Fish-Net/p/45211. I just cut it into strips that fit the length I wanted. The only downside is how to make it look realistic where it connects to the ship and to make it secure. Staslegomaster - thanks for the feedback! I could certainly have quite a showdown if the Pirates could only agree on who the leader of their fleet would be and how to divide up the spoils! I think the Redcoats have a chance if they choose the engagement carefully... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spud The Viking Posted August 17, 2015 (edited) Beautiful Ship you have there my friend! A very classic and well designed ship. The only thing better than a Redcoat ship are several Redcoat ships Edited August 17, 2015 by Spud The Viking Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
