[MOC] La Volonté - my new ship, finally on active duty

[Dreamweb]

I actually started building this ship way back in 2016, immediately after I moved to my current house (along with my bricks of course). If I remember correctly, this was supposed to be the very next ship after my pirate vessel Juggernaut. However, after building a good part of the hull, I found myself distracted by other activities, including other MOCs. So I put it aside somewhere and almost forgot about it. Then a few months ago I picked it up, took a good look at what was already there and what was yet to be done, then decided to finally try and finish it. Well, at least now I can boast that it took me five years to complete this thing...

Anyway, there she is - La Volonté:

I have also posted this on Instagram so don't hesitate to follow me there too!

I really, really wanted to use the ladder from the old fire engine set for the stern windows - it was a bit tricky, but I was finally able to pull it off:

The bow uses... well, the bow piece from the SpongeBob Flyng Dutchman set. In my review of this set I once discussed the possibility of using it, and well, I finally had this chance:

A close-up of the figurehead:

And a general view of the upper deck. The ship has three decks, all of which are accessible. This will be shown further below.

The sterncastle with the ship's wheel, and a bell:

The ship has a total of 12 cannons, 6 per side. They are placed on the gun deck, which is the middle one of the three decks.

The whole sterncastle, including the mizzen-mast, is a removable module. Here you can see this module after separation, which also enables a good look at the door to the captain's quarters.

The inside of the quarters is in turn accessible by lifting the plate with the ship's wheel on it. Here's what the actual cabin looks like:

 

After removing the sterncastle module, one can access the galley, with some food animals there too:

The plates of the gun deck are removable to access the lower deck. Here you can see some hammocks for the crew. I built a ship with hammocks once , but these are a different design:

And finally, here you can see hatches and ladders from the main deck to the gun deck (plus the anchor mechanism), and from the gun deck to the lower deck:

Let me finish this by saying (or writing, actually) that I completed this just in time for a LEGO exhibition which will take place in a week and a half, and where I will probably show a whole bunch of ships from the Pirates theme, this new ship inlcuded.  I'm actually considering sharing some photos from that event. Well, until then, thanks and please let me know what you think about the ship itself.

[Mister Phes]

2 hours ago, Dreamweb said:

Well, at least now I can boast that it took me five years to complete this thing...

Oh it's delicious!

Let's feature this ship on the Eurobricks frontpage.

[Dreamweb]

4 minutes ago, Mister Phes said:

Oh it's delicious!

Let's feature this ship on the Eurobricks frontpage.

Wow, thanks so much mate! That's a first one for me.

[Mister Phes]

Just now, Dreamweb said:

Wow, thanks so much mate! That's a first one for me.

Surely not?

[Dreamweb]

3 minutes ago, Mister Phes said:

Surely not?

Seriously though, aye, some of my ships were featured on Classic-Pirates, but never on the Eurobricks frontpage. Guess I should have finished the build a lot sooner then.

[Mister Phes]

Just now, Dreamweb said:

Seriously though, aye, some of my ships were featured on Classic-Pirates, but never on the Eurobricks frontpage. Guess I should have finished the build a lot sooner then.

Yes Shirley, obviously it's all your fault!

Let's hope they approve my Feature Post Request promptly.

So who's this babe in the bicorne?

[Dreamweb]

1 hour ago, Mister Phes said:

So who's this babe in the bicorne?

He's the captain, obviously.

And by the way, if you're interested in what it looked like for the almost 5 years it spent unfinished in storage, LOOK HERE. This was its condition before I resumed work a few months ago. It had a lot more black back then; I replaced some with yellow to make it look less boring. And HERE IS another work in progress picture from a slightly later time, when I was experimenting with the ladder windows...

Edited December 1, 2021 by Dreamweb

[Mister Phes]

4 minutes ago, Dreamweb said:

He's the captain, obviously.

Obviously. I meant what's his name?

4 minutes ago, Dreamweb said:

And by the way, if you're interested what it looked like for the almost 5 years it spent unfinished in storage

So bang...

Bang...

Bang!

[Dreamweb]

6 minutes ago, Mister Phes said:

Obviously. I meant what's his name? 

I didn't really think about it, but it would have to be French.

7 minutes ago, Mister Phes said:

Bang...

Yes, it really is that easy.

[Scoar Sonander]

Although I don't wander much in the stormy seas of the pirates subforum, this is an absolute masterpiece. The overall combination of colors gives a good old feel, and those cannons look generally wonderful with those one-stud height offset. The sails look nicely ordered and the ships curves are nice, making use of all those slopes and special bricks to make it look like an actual ship with wood. The only (constructive) criticism I have is that there could be more hammocks to make it more crowded in the hull, but nothing really important. Excellent job!

[Dreamweb]

Thanks very much! Glad you like it!

4 hours ago, Scoar Sonander said:

The only (constructive) criticism I have is that there could be more hammocks to make it more crowded in the hull

Yeah, I agree it could use more. On the other hand, adding one or two more would leave almost no empty space on the lower deck, so the solution I used is a compromise of sorts.

[Jack Sassy]

Another amazing model ye present. I have to ask (because I do ), will this feature in the series?

 

Anyway, amazing work on her, really like those windows on the stern side. Astonishing work! 

[Dreamweb]

12 minutes ago, Jack Sassy said:

will this feature in the series?

The comic is currently suspended (again... ) for an indefinite period, but if it returns one day, then I think it's very likely that we would see her.

13 minutes ago, Jack Sassy said:

really like those windows on the stern side

Thanks, it was indeed tricky to install the yellow ladders in this position, but I'm really satisfied with the result.

[Professor Thaum]

Nice ship, the bunk are really well thought.

 

I like the bow.

 

@Mister Phes : let me some time to check ! Except is you've madly fallen in love with that build

[Mister Phes]

4 hours ago, Professor Thaum said:

@Mister Phes : let me some time to check 

Check what?

[NOD]

Nice ship. I particularly like the ship's kitchen and the hammocks on the cannon deck.

[_TLG_]

Awesome ship with nice details, I like the flags especially!

[Dreamweb]

20 hours ago, Professor Thaum said:

Nice ship, the bunk are really well thought.

 

7 hours ago, NOD said:

Nice ship. I particularly like the ship's kitchen and the hammocks on the cannon deck.

 

25 minutes ago, _TLG_ said:

Awesome ship with nice details, I like the flags especially! 

Thanks for the feedback! Now I'm really glad I finished the build after all this time.

[Professor Thaum]

16 hours ago, Mister Phes said:

Check what?

Just the Pirate forum, to see if there is something to frontpage... only two hours between the initial post and your frontpaging !

[Marooned Marin]

On 12/1/2021 at 9:38 AM, Dreamweb said:

for a LEGO exhibition which will take place in a week and a half, and where I will probably show a whole bunch of ships from the Pirates theme, this new ship inlcuded.

Great build! Any chance you could share where will this exhibition take place? EU or Poland?

[Dreamweb]

24 minutes ago, Marooned Marin said:

Great build! Any chance you could share where will this exhibition take place? EU or Poland?

Thanks! This one will be in Warsaw, organised by WawLug (registered LUG of Warsaw AFOLs). Depending on the Covid situation, it may be just people looking at LEGO models standing in another room, behind large windows in a shopping mall. A similar event took place in April and it worked pretty well.

[Marooned Marin]

20 minutes ago, Dreamweb said:

Thanks! This one will be in Warsaw, organised by WawLug (registered LUG of Warsaw AFOLs). Depending on the Covid situation, it may be just people looking at LEGO models standing in another room, behind large windows in a shopping mall. A similar event took place in April and it worked pretty well.

In that case please do share some photos of your armada :)

Good luck! :)

[Dreamweb]

20 minutes ago, Marooned Marin said:

In that case please do share some photos of your armada :)

I definitely will.

In the meantime, this is what it looked like back in April (four of those ships were mine, the other two and the islands were built by other AFOLs - all great stuff). I took this photo shortly after the exhibition ended and just before collecting the models (this only shows the part with Pirates, the whole exhibition was much bigger, with trains and town and Star Wars and a lot more):

 

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by Dreamweb

[Marooned Marin]

Ohhh this is clever! To use the gym floor mat puzzle as the sea. Too bad that I bought only RED for my home gym.

Great picture :)

[Mister Phes]

7 hours ago, Professor Thaum said:

Just the Pirate forum, to see if there is something to frontpage... only two hours between the initial post and your frontpaging !

You need to be fast around here!