Colorization help?

[ShrikeArghast]

I didn't know whether to post this thread in the MOC forum or not because, A) it's simply a question of aesthetics, and B) it's not even my MOC design, instead being Eddy Redbeart's old (circa 2009) 'pocket' line ship.

I'd like to build this fine vessel (thanks to his varied photos, I'm fairly certain I can come very close just by eyeballing it), but I see a number of problems right off the bat -- the most obvious being that there aren't any white hull pieces in the wider, 'old style,' much less any that feature black highlighting. While I think I can approximate the black banding (or come fairly close to it) by adding a single level of black studs onto the stern and bow sections, while raising the lower portion up slightly, the problem becomes: what color scheme do I use for the remainder of the hull (keeping in mind that all the lower white parts on the above picture will now be a somewhat ugly brown)?

In my mind's eye, I don't see tan and brown marrying to each other very well. I'm tempted to say that the tan portions should instead be red... but what, then, do I do about the blue trim? Green? Orange? Maybe even grey? I'd welcome input, because, honestly, one of the strongest elements of Redbeart's original MOC was that it meshed stylistically very well, and I'd like to retain that same nice flow going forward, even with dramatically different colors.

Edited June 20, 2015 by ShrikeArghast

[dr_spock]

The LEGO Friends set Dolphin Cruiser has white hull pieces.

Day 003 of 365: Un-Friended by dr_spock_888, on Flickr

[deraven]

Yes- not the same mold as the old large classic hull pieces, but same overall dimensions so you can definitely make it work for this MOC. You'll need to use another bow piece for the front and build-out the bit for the rudder, but that should work fine and would be a far easier compromise IMHO than changing up the whole color scheme.

Edited June 20, 2015 by deraven

[ShrikeArghast]

Hmm. I wonder what it would cost to purchase those hull pieces. And you say they're the same width? That's intriguing. Does anyone, off the top of their head, know the part numbers for those hull sections?

Also, out of curiosity, are the two brick high, four stud base, two stud top slanted pieces that compose the tumblehome (also used to make dresses for girl characters) available in tan? That would be the other major sticking point.

Edited June 21, 2015 by ShrikeArghast

[ShrikeArghast]

I decided to muck around in paint for a bit and just throw colors together using the traditional all-brown hull. Considering the bottoms of many line ships were copper sheathed in kind of a chestnut-salmon, the brown base probably is not that 'off' in terms of prototypical accuracy. Here are a number of random variations on the theme I came up with:

Very much leaning towards either the red or yellow, though the green could be considered a dark-horse contender.

[Mr. Townsend]

I'm a fan of the more traditional white and black or yellow and black. I do have to say that the model you're using is quite dated. Newer hulls will in the very least make your lines smoother.

[deraven]

Hmm. I wonder what it would cost to purchase those hull pieces. And you say they're the same width? That's intriguing. Does anyone, off the top of their head, know the part numbers for those hull sections?

Also, out of curiosity, are the two brick high, four stud base, two stud top slanted pieces that compose the tumblehome (also used to make dresses for girl characters) available in tan? That would be the other major sticking point.

Hull sections:

64645

64651

95227

All available is reasonable quantities, and would cost you probably about $10 altogether (they're only $1-2 each, generally)

The slope you're talking about (Slope 65º 2x2x2) is part number 3678a/b (a without bottom tube, b with) are available in tan but a little less widely available so they'd probably end up running in in the $0.60-0.70/ea range for the quantity you need.

[Capn Frank]

I didn't know whether to post this thread in the MOC forum or not because, A) it's simply a question of aesthetics, and B) it's not even my MOC design, instead being Eddy Redbeart's old (circa 2009) 'pocket' line ship.

Since this is a discussion about an aesthetic modification to a MOC, I moved this topic to the Pirate MOC Forum.