21 replies to this topic

[Bonaparte]

75a
About 2 years ago I started working on my French frigate L'Orient. I was never satisfied with the looks of the ship, so somewhere in 2008 I started rebuilding big parts of it. You'll see a lot of changes on the sides of the ship (changed the colors) and you might notice it now has canvas sails instead of paper ones. There's now a beam for the anchor and it's got shorter headrails (more fitting for a frigate from around 1800). The crew and officers have also been expanded. Currently the ship is stationed in the West Indies to protect French interests in that area.

Here's the updated Orient (version 2):































For reference, this is what the version 1 (from 2007) looked like:




Comments and feedback are welcome!

[Patriot720]

Wow, that is impressive   Are you finally satisfied with it because I think it looks amazing!!!   Do you have cannons for all those gun ports?

Edited by Patriot720, 31 December 2008 - 02:31 PM.

[Bonaparte]

Patriot720, on Dec 31 2008, 03:30 PM, said:

Are you finally satisfied with it because I think it looks amazing!!!

I'm quite satisfied now. The way this ship is build there's little room for structural improvements at this point unless I destroy the ship completely and start over.  I've recently started building a new ship using some more advanced techniques than the ones used for building L'Orient. Because I'm working on this new ship I wanted to get the updates on L'Orient done and pictures posted to finish that chapter.

Patriot720, on Dec 31 2008, 03:30 PM, said:

Do you have cannons for all those gun ports?

Yes, there's a cannon behind each gun port!

[RocketSeason]

Great way to test techniques for your new ship.  I know that progress on mine has been going slow because I am doing alot of this stuff for the first time.

The canvas sails look fantastic.  What type of material did you use and where did you purchase it at?

[Head Fleet Architect]

Wasnt the L'orient the flagship of the battle of the nile? becuz that had 120 guns but back to your ship- AWESOME but maybe you should make the sails billow more.

[Captain Blackmoor]

That's what I call an improvement. Especially the sails look much more realistic this way.
Overall I like this MOC very much.

Great work!  

[Zorro]

I said it before and I'll say it again: very well done Bonaparte   , the improvements are noticable!
Your Brickshelf account has become a weekly-read for me.

[Admiral M]

WOW! that looks Bee-a-youtifull! nice guns, too

[Commander Red Hat]

She's a beauty Tom!
The new headrails, the added rope and the sails make this an outstanding creation.

[Lt. Col. Thok]

Very nicely done, Boney!  That figurehead is kinda creepy though.........

[dsmithers]

It's nice. The way the people are set up, it reminds me of Master and Commander with Russel Crowe

[Bonaparte]

RocketSeason, on Dec 31 2008, 05:30 PM, said:

The canvas sails look fantastic.  What type of material did you use and where did you purchase it at?

I used normal sheets coming from a bed for the sails. They have been in a bath with coffee for the color. Afterwards I used special glue to stiffen them. It took a bit of experimenting but the procedure has been done before by other members.

Head Fleet Architect, on Dec 31 2008, 05:54 PM, said:

Wasnt the L'orient the flagship of the battle of the nile? becuz that had 120 guns but back to your ship- AWESOME but maybe you should make the sails billow more.

That's indeed the ship used by Napoleon for going to Egypte, but I only borrowed the name, not the design.

I have been thinking of ways to make the sails billow a bit more, but I couldn't yet think of an easy way for doing that.

dsmithers, on Jan 2 2009, 06:06 AM, said:

it reminds me of Master and Commander with Russel Crowe

That's no coincidence as the design of my ship is based mainly on the HMS Surprise/Rose from that amazing movie.

[sir jami344]

Very nice Bonaparte, i think the red and black desgin looks really good!   I wish i could build like that, sadly i do not have enough bricks.

P.S. Nice pool!

Sincerly Sir. Jami344

[Phred]

I like the sail configuration in version 2.
I don't see ships with the Sky Sail too often.

Now we just need to see some brown, tan, or rown decks.

[Captain Blackmoor]

Bonaparte, on Jan 2 2009, 09:01 PM, said:

That's no coincidence as the design of my ship is based mainly on the HMS Surprise/Rose from that amazing movie.

I knew it! Your ship look so familiar to me and now you say it, only the coloursheme is different.

[ZCerberus]

Likes on the new version:

the color scheme is a nice improvement in the mid section.

the bow castle and the railings up front by the new figure head are excellent.

I like the new sail configuration as it is more realistic, especially with the long topsails.  I think the sails on the mizzen mast are a great improvement.

Suggestions:  I think the red decking is okay, it is certainly better than black- but I can see where rown decking would look even better.  

Though I think the sail configuration is an improvement, they look fairly lifeless in your photos.  I would consider doing something to make them look like there is wind in them.  I usually do this by using a different "cut" in the sail to simulate wind, though it also works to add a piece to the mast to push the sails out.  Take a look here at the lowest sail on the main mast.  You will see a hinged piece attached to the mast that pushes the lowest sail out to look like wind is in it. (picture is quite large)

[Bricks]

Impressive ship, Bonaparte!
I prefer the second version, because it have a lot more detail's. Especially the new big flags [are they selfmade?] and the canon-wholes.
So great 'tuning' at your giant ship.
Greetings 'Bricks'

[AND3RSEN]

I really love this. The sky sail is awesome! And yes, i agree that this ship is very much like Master and Commander.

[Thee Pirate]

That looks really cool man, great improvements.  

[Bonaparte]

Phred, on Jan 2 2009, 09:32 PM, said:

Now we just need to see some brown, tan, or rown decks.

ZCerberus, on Jan 4 2009, 07:25 PM, said:

Suggestions:  I think the red decking is okay, it is certainly better than black- but I can see where rown decking would look even better.

You guys certainly have a point there and I might change the decks at some point in the future. I still kinda like the red decks because it's a Lego ship, but they are not very accurate (historically).

ZCerberus, on Jan 4 2009, 07:25 PM, said:

Though I think the sail configuration is an improvement, they look fairly lifeless in your photos.  I would consider doing something to make them look like there is wind in them.  I usually do this by using a different "cut" in the sail to simulate wind, though it also works to add a piece to the mast to push the sails out.  Take a look here at the lowest sail on the main mast.  You will see a hinged piece attached to the mast that pushes the lowest sail out to look like wind is in it. (picture is quite large)

Yes, that was annoying me too. I've worked hard to make those sails, but indeed they seem a bit lifeless. A few days ago I found a very simple way to make it look like there was some wind in the sails. I'll make a picture to show the result.

[ZCerberus]

Bonaparte, on Jan 12 2009, 03:28 AM, said:

Yes, that was annoying me too. I've worked hard to make those sails, but indeed they seem a bit lifeless. A few days ago I found a very simple way to make it look like there was some wind in the sails. I'll make a picture to show the result.

Ohh-- a new technique!  do share!

[Commander Red Hat]

Bonaparte, on Jan 12 2009, 10:28 AM, said:

Yes, that was annoying me too. I've worked hard to make those sails, but indeed they seem a bit lifeless. A few days ago I found a very simple way to make it look like there was some wind in the sails. I'll make a picture to show the result.

You rolled them up?