[MOC] Charlemagne 74 gun ship of the line

[BrickDuvel]

Here’s my minfig scale MOC of the Charlemagne. (Charles The Great)

I’m posting my MOC on this great Pirate MOC forum so this can also inspire other builders in the future.

It’s a 3rd rate Téméraire class 74 gun ship of the line of the French Navy. It’s big brother was launched in 1807 in Antwerp under the Napoleonic rule in Belgium.  It had a length of 54m (177ft) and a beam of 14,3m (47 ft).  

This MOC at about minifig scale counts 150 studs long from stern to the bow at it’s longest point and 42 studs at its widest point at the lower gundek near the main mast.

Don’t know the brick count (never made it in digital form) but it took about 2-3 years to finish of which several months were spent on the rigging.

I want to pay a small hommage to the builders of these lego ships who inspired me to build this lego ship which gave me hours of fun:

•         Achille
•          Gallus
•        HMS Bulwark
•        HMS Lively
•       HMS Prince of Wales/Minerve
•        HMS Victory
•        Le Fleuron/Prins Willim
•        Le Fourageux
•        Phantom
•        Pinnacle
•        Rapscallion
•        Revenge  
•       VOC De Ruyter  
•       USS Poseidon

(And I’m sure I forget to mention quite a few superb ships on this forum, sorry guys)

And a special thanks to the builders of :

•        HMS Agamemnon for it’s colour sceme and stern technique  
•      HMS Enterprize for it’s hull technique and steering mechanism
•        HMS Persephone for it’s modular build thechnique and it’s perfect composure at a it’s own (smaller) scale.

    Here's the link to my Flickr page for some pics:

 

Here's the link to the big brother info:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Charlemagne_(1809)#/media/File:Lancement-du-charlemagne.jpg

 

Edited May 2, 2021 by BrickDuvel

[Jack Sassy]

Ooh, we really are getting mind-blowing MOCs day by day now. She's an amazing vessel and you've done even more amazing work on her! Could we get a few more close-up photos of those various figures and their activities?

 

Other than that, astonishing job! 

[Captain Edward]

Gosh! That's not just a ship, that's a behemoth! Very well done. Are you thinking of making sails as well? It would take some time, but I think it would definitely improve the silhouette. 

[Mister Phes]

Impressive build!   But terrible photography with the distracting roof and shadows in the background.

Not to worry, we'll blog it anyway.

[VaneStream]

Wow, what an impressive ship! Don't think any pirates would like to cross her path

I love the rigging, very detailed and makes the whole ship even better. Is there an interior?

 

[BrickDuvel]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

On 5/4/2021 at 9:53 AM, VaneStream said:

Wow, what an impressive ship! Don't think any pirates would like to cross her path

I love the rigging, very detailed and makes the whole ship even better. Is there an interior?

 

Sure there is, one of the big benefits of building to minifig scale is being able to add a full interior.

On 5/4/2021 at 3:40 AM, Mister Phes said:

Impressive build!   But terrible photography with the distracting roof and shadows in the background.

Not to worry, we'll blog it anyway.

So true, I'm a real noob at photography when I compare my simple Iphone pics to ohers here on the forum. When the picture is somewhat sharp, I'm more than happy. Lighting and shadows are way out of my league.

On 5/4/2021 at 1:51 AM, Captain Edward said:

Gosh! That's not just a ship, that's a behemoth! Very well done. Are you thinking of making sails as well? It would take some time, but I think it would definitely improve the silhouette. 

Putting up sails and a French flag are on my wish list....sewing them is on my wife's to do list. That's your answer why they are not up yet :)

On 5/2/2021 at 5:35 PM, Jack Sassy said:

Ooh, we really are getting mind-blowing MOCs day by day now. She's an amazing vessel and you've done even more amazing work on her! Could we get a few more close-up photos of those various figures and their activities?

Other than that, astonishing job! 

We'll start with pics of the most important things when you go out for a long journey by sea: food and rest :)

Im not able to add the pictures directly in the post because they take up too much space. So I added them to the flickr album. Have fun.

Edited May 5, 2021 by BrickDuvel

[Wellesley]

Really great ship!
Two deckers are my favourites, especially 50- and 74- gun ships. Don't ask me why:D

 

 

[JintaiZ]

Check it out!

[Supersick_]

Love this! One of my favorite historical ships are the French Temeraire-class 74’s. 
 

Also it’s huge! So fkn cool!

[BrickDuvel]

 

I’ ve made some changes to the ship.  I did an overhaul of the hull in order to create a more realistic model of this 74.

Most significant changes:

• The ship is 2 studs lower, 2 studs wider and about 5 studs longer.

• The upper gundek was increased in lenght to fit 2 more gunports on each side. There are now 30 gunports on the upper gundek.

• The bow and the stern got a new look.

• The weather deck is opened up at the waist +2 life boats were added.

Work in progress: making the masts a bit higher, redo some of the rigging and putting the flag up.

 

 

[Feuer Zug]

Mon dieu! That's a beauty, before the refit and still is as you put it back together. Great attention to detail.

[Dashiell brown]

WOW Incredible! This really inspired me. 

 

 

[BrickDuvel]

The flag is up, the rigging is redone, and after several attemps I'm settling for this rounder new stern look. I think it suits a French third rate. I used the plant pieces with the three leaves as fleur de lis symbols and the chicken is meant te be a French rooster.

Also happy with the picture below, which nicely shows the curving of the 36-pounder battery.

Charlemagne IMG_7165 by Brick Duvel, on Flickr

Charlemagne IMG_7148 by Brick Duvel, on Flickr

Maybe she'll get sails some day, but for now the work is done

Edited July 25, 2021 by BrickDuvel

[Thomas Waagenaar]

Damn, she looks really impressive!

It's always cool to see a ship come to live with something as "simple" as rigging!

[Supersick_]

Really love the updated proportions and details! Great job, she looks beautiful. 

[BrickDuvel]

The ship received a great review on the brothers brick last week.

Here's the link:

https://www.brothers-brick.com/2021/08/19/this-epic-74-gun-lego-ship-is-ready-to-set-sail

 

 

Edited August 23, 2021 by BrickDuvel