134 replies to this topic

[ZCerberus]

The Phantom has always been the pride and joy of Admiral Buress’s fleet.  It, however, never photographed well because it was just too black.  I lightened it up by making the decks reddish brown- but overall it was still just too colorless.

Here is a link to the old girl... The Phantom

It had a good shape and size- but it was just too darn black to pick up any details.  Though black is still a major color- I decided to do some things to enhance the look of the ship…

The changes:

1. Less black- more dark red!



2. Bigger gun ports!



3.  Better placement of capstan (and it works better too), deck opening moved to below long boat rack.





4. Deck tiling!



5. New bow

new headrails- though I wish they were gold- better shape and better color transition (I think)  though I am going to have make some changes to this again... see # 7 below







6. New stern

I think I am going to go with a more classic look here... Technically the quarter deck should start just in front of the main mast and not just in front of the mizzen, but I am going for looks and not accuracy.  I haven't started work on the cabin- but it will likely follow a slightly different color scheme... maybe more reddish brown?  Not quite sure yet.




7. Wider.

The whole shebang is going to be 4 studs wider than it was previously.  I decide this while working on the middle of the three sections, after I redid the bow.  This means the bow is now also going to be getting a make over again.   The bow will also likely have to be 2-4 studs longer as well.  I think this will mean another gun on the forecastle.

[Captain Blackmoor]

Awesome improvements Z! I agree the ship was too black first, but it did fit with the name Phantom.
The dark red stripe on the hull is a big improvement and adds a lot of realism, the tiled deck is also very nice. The custom rigging is still nice and I'm still in awe of it's size.
The headrails are rather small compared to the large ship. They look quite fragile.
Furthermore I'd like to wish you luck updating your massive vessel!

[Commodore Hornbricker]

I hadn't seen the old ship before.  Big improvement with the color change.  I can't wait to see it all finished.  Seems like large ships are coming out of the woodwork right now!

[Rick]

The color scheme is really great, I really like the dark red. Yet another build to closely watch indeed.

[Big Cam]

That is imense.  Is the hull all custom made?  It looks like there are no usual LEGO hull pieces.  I like this idea.

Subscrived for updates  

[Perfectionist]

Ahh I see you used the same technique for the headrails that I first introduced on the Achille  
They look quite good.
The cholourscheme is a major improvement although I would have used the standard red, but regarding the discussion that came up about the scheme i use on the "Superbe", I really don't want to criticise yours. It does look good for sure.  

Edited by Perfectionist, 26 October 2009 - 07:50 PM.

[ZCerberus]

Perfectionist, on Oct 26 2009, 02:49 PM, said:

The cholourscheme is a major improvement although I would have used the standard red, but regarding the discussion that came up about the scheme i use on the "Superbe", I really don't want to criticise yours. It does look good for sure.

Well the original scheme was black with a little red- and the red did pop- but I needed a LOT of tiles to do the snot walls on the ship... I had a whole bunch of the dark red tiles from the pick-a-brick wall at the Mall of America.  Plus I think Dark Red is my favorite color- I almost wish I had more d. red and less black- but that just isn't possible.  I hope with some good lighting the ship will look great with a dark red/black/gold scheme.

On the Superbe- I like the color scheme- any other comments I will make in that thread.  

Perfectionist, on Oct 26 2009, 02:49 PM, said:

Ahh I see you used the same technique for the headrails that I first introduced on the Achille  

I don't specirfically remember that ship... I originally wanted to use some copper tubing up there but it was a little too short.  Then Brickbeard's Bounty went on sale at TRU so I had extra black tubing and wen with this design.

Is yours also black?  I really wish I could have done it in gold or dark red- I assume Achille is on the forum for me to take a look at.

Big Cam, on Oct 26 2009, 02:35 PM, said:

That is imense.  Is the hull all custom made?  It looks like there are no usual LEGO hull pieces.

Those of us who have tried to make ships without using the prefabbed Lego hulls like to call them "brick-built" hulls.  

The Lego hulls are only 16 studs wide (and only 12 if using the smaller ones) and the Phantom is about twice as wide as that, standard hulls just wouldn't hack it!

[Tereglith]

This is a ship that truly deserves the adjective "fantabulous", and I mean that sincerely. I actually became a bit terrified at its scope when I realized that that was the large AT-ST  

[Milan]

Wow, impressive. What I like the most are the tiled deck and its size. Color is perfect. I will be around to check this in further steps of building!

[ZCerberus]

Milan, on Oct 27 2009, 05:28 AM, said:

Wow, impressive. What I like the most are the tiled deck and its size. Color is perfect. I will be around to check this in further steps of building!

That's actually a MOC AT-ST.  It is a lot bigger than the system AT-STs but it is smaller than the UCS one.

[Burf2000]

Fantasic moc, thats really brilliant!

[Mad Dutchman]

this is awsome!!! MY ship, The Mad Dutchman is built on the standard hulls and it really is too thin, you've inspired me to careen her for an overhaul!

[Captain Genaro]

This ship is magnificent, just like all your work. I can't wait to see the finished product.

[starwarsfanatic]

Arrr! There be good comments ahead!  

Almost every ship I've found thus far along Classic-Pirates.com is at the highest standard expected on EB, and this ship is certainly no exception. Make all of your enemies bow down to you.
However, when I first saw it I was awestruck by it's sheer size! Never have I seen such a large ship. Yet you say on the thread title it's a work in progress. Does this mean there will be a bigger version or just some slight detail changes?

[ZCerberus]

starwarsfanatic, on Nov 1 2009, 10:29 AM, said:

Does this mean there will be a bigger version or just some slight detail changes?

The length is about right- it mostly just needs details (like a stern) and the bow will be about 4 studs longer when I get around to fixing that!

How about that stern... well I am working on it... not sure if I like the black and gold.  I wish I could go with another color- but I am not sure I know what color to use... I also wish I had a bunch of pearl gold 1x1 plates...hmmm...












As you can see the slide outs need some work too.  I think there is going to be a little sky light where the giant hole is up top- I also need to finish the back quarter with some slops- I wish I had gold slopes- but it will likely be all black :(

I could use a little help with trying to pick new colors for the cabin.

The samari sword sword is there solely to make that portion less black- I will likely replace it if I can find a better gold piece (assuming the gold stays as is)

[Admiral Croissant]

I think this ship is quite 'boxy' but on the other hand it's a nice ship. The colours are great and ofcourse it's size is also very impressive.  I think you should make the part below the stern a bit more curved, for the rest it's ok. I also think it would be nice to put some firebuckets above the doors (instead of the lantern, something like this:http://static.photo....8s-23060084.jpg)

Very impressive floating fort!

[ZCerberus]

Admiral Croissant, on Nov 2 2009, 10:27 AM, said:

I also think it would be nice to put some firebuckets above the doors (instead of the lantern, something like this:http://static.photo....8s-23060084.jpg)

oops.  The latern was only there because I didn't want it rolling around on the deck (I made a pair of them and the sailor was holding one.)  The intent is to have something hanging there- just not exactly sure what that will be yet (or how).

As for the boxiness- It is hard to acieve a good slope... I am not sure the very back under the cabin is how I want it yet. I think if I rework that it will help wit the boxiness to a degree.

[Perfectionist]

Wow, your stairs on the poop deck look absolutely amazing, I have never seen something as nice as this before. Surely, the tiling adds a lot to the improvements you've made. I feel it always adds a touch of realism and makes it look so much more like a actual ship!
The widening of the hull also is a major improvement I think. When I first saw pics of the Phantom MkI, I thought it would be build on prefab hull pieces in a way because it seemed so narrow.
The stern seeems rather nice to me, given that it is preliminary, I expect it to get much better even.
One issue is that your ships generally looks a bit squarish which I think is a result of the techniques you used for building the hull; you might get better at this point but I doubt that you can make the hull smoothly curving.
But since it's Lego, this isn't so much an issue to me. Your overall design doesn't seem to focus on historical accuracy anyway, but on good looks. Here ,in my opinion, the Phantom is getting better and better.

Best Regards
Perfectionist

[Derfel Cadarn]

That is looking awesome Z! Nice to see you've chosen to create your own hull, great choice of colours as well and i rather like the gold on the stern! I dont know much about ship building but this looks great to me

[ZCerberus]

UPDATE

Well some of it is better- some of it I am not yet sold on... I wonder if the black was better... hmmm... well anyhow I did work on some other stuff that I am satisfied with...









A few new shots of what I am working on- I shot these in a hurry heading out the door.  I am not completely sold on the dark blue- but I am thinking of some other changes that might held me feel better about it... still working!

[Captain Genaro]

I love the usage of blue for the stern but I don't think that there is a good transaction . It looks a little out of place. Still, I love your ship. The rigging and sails are near perfect.

[ZCerberus]

Captain Genaro, on Nov 21 2009, 02:39 PM, said:

I love the usage of blue for the stern but I don't think that there is a good transaction . It looks a little out of place. Still, I love your ship. The rigging and sails are near perfect.

Agreed- I am trying to figure out what to do to fix it... any ideas?  I assume it will require some black!

[Captain Blackmoor]

Yup, black would fit nice at the stern as well. The Blue colour doesn't really fit with a black/red coloursheme, though it looks quite nice to me.
Perhaps a second cabin above this one? I think that will look better and less bulky. 1 cabin looks like too small for such an impressive large ship.

[ZCerberus]

Captain Blackmoor, on Nov 24 2009, 09:01 AM, said:

Yup, black would fit nice at the stern as well. The Blue colour doesn't really fit with a black/red coloursheme, though it looks quite nice to me.
Perhaps a second cabin above this one? I think that will look better and less bulky. 1 cabin looks like too small for such an impressive large ship.

I am thinking I am going to go with black as you have suggested here.  I used it before and I like it better than the blue (though I think the blue will need to be used on another ship project soon).  I would like to have used some color- but it just doesn't work--  I will go with black and gold with some occasional dark red accents.

A double cabin would work especially well if I had a quarter deck that started much further up the ship or if I but the second cabin below the current one- I am hesitant to do either as I like the curved stairs and I would lose a lot of the tumblehomme effect... I will see how she looks with the black first and then go from there.

[Zorro]

An amazing update! I like the current amount of black vs. dark red bricks for sure .
Keep up the good work!