Waiting for a name...

[Cousarmy0001]

So enough lurking and commenting on other people's builds, time for one of my own.

I'm not sure if I want to classify this as a cutter, or as a sloop. I intended for it to be the former, and entering BoBS with it, but on reading the materials for BoBS, the latter may be better for the character I'm wanting to use. I used a different color scheme than I'm used to on this one, using the colors of my wife's favorite (American) football team, the Green Bay Packers- mostly so I could spend the money on the pieces without getting yelled at :-)

She also gets to pick the name, which is why this ship currently lacks a name. It turns out she has an even harder time picking a name than she does picking a restaurant At any rate, here is my newest completed creation, an unnamed slootter. She features a tiny cabin for the captain, a dedicated cooking area for the crew (the pictures of that didn't turn out very well, but it's got a stove), a common area for the crew, and bunks for the luckier members of the crew. Forward of all of that is the cargo hold.

No tumblehome on this one, I was on a kick where I wanted to build some small, relatively cheap and simple merchant ships for my warships to protect. Perhaps in the future I'll change that, but not likely, as my attempts at building tumblehome into ships this small have been somewhat less than successful. The exterior is painted so that from a distance it looks like she's mounting six guns, though in reality she's only got the four deck guns. The thing I'm proudest of, I think, is the slant of the mast. I wasn't sure how well that was going to work out, but as luck would have it, the whole thing was at a perfect angle for the aft rat line on each side to connect to a vertical holder installed in the hull.

So, without further ado, my slootter. Thoughts?

[soccerkid6]

Cool ship, the tilted mast is pretty neat, and I like the use of yellow, especially in the stern The interior is great, with the cozy bunks, map, stool and table

[KotZ]

The interior is very nice. My only complaint is that the stern is a little too boxy, but that' a problem I have with my builds as well. If you could slope them inwards, the ship would be just right, in my opinion.

[Cousarmy0001]

The interior is very nice. My only complaint is that the stern is a little too boxy, but that' a problem I have with my builds as well. If you could slope them inwards, the ship would be just right, in my opinion.

I've got another one waiting for its sails, that is a little less boxy on the stern.

[GeoBrick]

Like the white/green line along the upper hull.

Nicely detailed interior there. It must be very popular with your crewfigs.

The bowsprite, is that two of those oldstyle upper masts on top of each other? If so, never occured to me to try that.

[Cousarmy0001]

Like the white/green line along the upper hull.

Nicely detailed interior there. It must be very popular with your crewfigs.

The bowsprite, is that two of those oldstyle upper masts on top of each other? If so, never occured to me to try that.

I've got lines like that on all of my MOCs, though they're usually a checker pattern two plates high, rather than a single line. I copied it from Maive Auselbrook, which was the ship that got me back into Lego. I think it adds a nice bit of color to the hulls, and I try to make each ship's pennant match it.

As for the bowsprit, there is an actual piece called "bowsprit", part # 30047 (at least in LDD), that basically functions as an extender for the old style top mast. I didn't know they existed either, until I got one in a minifig order off of Ebay (before I'd discovered Bricklink). This is the second ship I've built that uses one (the other being my flagship, which is linked in my signature). It looks like this:

[azog]

I really like the look of this one! I don't know what it is but it does look very sharp! Good job

[GeoBrick]

I've got lines like that on all of my MOCs, though they're usually a checker pattern two plates high, rather than a single line. I copied it from Maive Auselbrook, which was the ship that got me back into Lego. I think it adds a nice bit of color to the hulls, and I try to make each ship's pennant match it.

As for the bowsprit, there is an actual piece called "bowsprit", part # 30047 (at least in LDD), that basically functions as an extender for the old style top mast. I didn't know they existed either, until I got one in a minifig order off of Ebay (before I'd discovered Bricklink). This is the second ship I've built that uses one (the other being my flagship, which is linked in my signature). It looks like this:

Thanks!

And now I have to look up the Maive Auselbrook as well. ;)

[Cousarmy0001]

Here ya go!

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=38226

[Staslegomaster]

What are the sails made of? Are they parts of Technic?

[Cousarmy0001]

What are the sails made of? Are they parts of Technic?

Sorry I missed this question. They're fabric that I bought at a fabric store several years ago. I honestly don't remember the name of the fabric. The lines are drawn in pencil in accordance with the sail making tutorial.

You mention Technic, though, which makes me think you're asking about the spars. If that's the case, then here's the parts they're made of, images with part numbers:

[Staslegomaster]

Sorry I missed this question. They're fabric that I bought at a fabric store several years ago. I honestly don't remember the name of the fabric. The lines are drawn in pencil in accordance with the sail making tutorial.

You mention Technic, though, which makes me think you're asking about the spars. If that's the case, then here's the parts they're made of, images with part numbers:

Thanks for your info, perhaps it'll help to improve my ship.

Did you see it?

[Cousarmy0001]

I did, but I didn't notice that you posted brighter pictures until just now.

They're still a bit far out to see much in the way of details, but I do like the aggressive lines of the hull. The bow makes her look very fast!

I assume that the pirate flags on the hull are gunports. If that is so, I'd recommend having them open upwards, instead of sideways. I'd also suggest trying to work in some windows on the sides of your captain's cabin, perhaps trying to lower it into the hull a bit as well. You should be able to keep that stern gallery if you work some steps into the cabin. Barring that, I'd try to ease the transition between the hull and the cabin. The easiest way to do this would be to place a #30099 at the front of the aft castle on each side. Speaking of the cabin, does it have an interior?

Other than that, I'd recommend making your own sails. I personally don't go for the dyed look, I prefer mine to be white, but as yours is a pirate ship, dyed might work for you. If you can't get your hands on some hobby epoxy like in the tutorial, if you get some plain white school glue (it's called Elmer's in the US, I don't know if they have something like that in Russia) and dilute it in water, then dip the edges of the sail into it, it'll keep the edges from fraying. I would also lower the bowsprit, and put it at a less extreme upwards angle. The axe on the front is a nice touch, and I recommend keeping it if you can. With that added length, you should be able to mount more than one sail running from your bowsprit to your mainmast (like how the ship on this thread has three. The technical term is a "forestay" or "jib"). I think that would compliment your swept hull, and make the ship look even faster. You might consider hanging a sail from the bottom of the bowsprit, like here: http://www.modelship...1/dIMG_0842.jpg

I'd also suggest that you try to work in some more colors, other than just red and the brown of the hull. You could try tiling the deck (using tiles to make it look like there is planking on the deck), or possibly adding a stripe (the color of your choosing) along the length of the hull, level with the gunports. You could also try using a different colored flag (something other than the pirate flag or red flags) for your gunports. Lastly, a brick built anchor adds a lot to an MOC, you might want to look at some of the anchor designs on the forum.

Edited June 14, 2016 by Cousarmy0001