[MOC] Africa: A redcoat bomb ketch

[Samarth]

Africa: A redcoat bomb ketch

It all began in November 2022 when an ad showed up on olx for a bulk lot. Bulk lots are very hard to come by in my country, since hardly anyone can afford lego, much less afford to throw it away! To my amazement it seemed that an entire dolphin cruiser set had been discarded. I showed the photos to another AFOL friend (Dominic David), and he told me to double check because the dolphin cruiser had been as a Chinese knockoff too so maybe the pieces were fake lego. After confirming with the seller that it was genuine lego, I picked it all up for a song. Combined with the gold and pearl gold I'd gotten from another junked lot in 2020, I had what I needed. The build time was around 4-5 months. One man's trash is another man's (pirate) treasure. 

 

The design is loosely based upon "La Candelaria" which is sold as a model ship (google it if you're curious). 

Shaping the stern was truly challenging due to limitations on the parts I had on hand. I still can't say I'm 100% happy with it but considering it's made mainly from parts others have junked, combined with pieces from my own collection, its good enough. All the sails except the spanker are made from the template of sails that come with the Skull's Eye Schooner, so they're all 'official' size. The spanker is essentially an SES topsail cut in half along a curve. The sails are made from canvas sourced locally and is usually used for making bags. The rigging uses yarn, as that's the closest approximation I could find to official lego string. 

The only piece not from my own collection is the "Africa" printed tile, borrowed from another AFOL. 

A big thank you to sundry builders who have inspired me with their creations:

kwakly
boeing_787_8_dreamliner
Elephant Knight
Sebeus I
mocyourbricks

And many many more...

 

Head to flickr for the rest: https://www.flickr.com/photos/31679299%40N00/

 

 

 

 

[Samarth]

Mods, please delete the lock screen screenshot, I'm not able to... 

[Jack Sassy]

Looks lovely, colour scheme is beautifully diverse. Good job! 

 

Does she have any interior to her? 

[Samarth]

1 hour ago, Jack Sassy said:

Looks lovely, colour scheme is beautifully diverse. Good job! 

 

Does she have any interior to her? 

Thank you! No interior in the cabin, but she is well armed! She gets 2x mortar launchers in the form of stud shooters and enough room for 16 full size cannons 

Edited April 30, 2023 by Samarth

[Jack Sassy]

2 hours ago, Samarth said:

She gets 2x mortar launchers in the form of stud shooters

I do like them mortars. 

[Mister Phes]

20 hours ago, Samarth said:

You're proving to be quite the talented builder!

You've adapted the La Candelaria to LEGO form nicely with an Imperial Guard makeover, much to the chagrin of the Imperial Armada, given the inspiration was originally a Spanish ship.

Two things:

• The sails - maybe it's just me, but crisper sails with a cleaner edges would work better on Imperial ships with sleek hulls.  Those particular sails would work better on a pirate ship that's seen a bit of action and has battle damage.
   
• The background - I mentioned this in the Facebook Group but haven't checked it again since, but the photo appears to be taken too far back from the water.  Is it possible to position the ship closer so only the ocean is visible in the background?
  
  It would enhance the presentation by eliminating or minimizing the rather rather drab area concrete we currently see.

[Samarth]

12 minutes ago, Mister Phes said:

You're proving to be quite the talented builder!

You've adapted the La Candelaria to LEGO form nicely with an Imperial Guard makeover, much to the chagrin of the Imperial Armada, given the inspiration was originally a Spanish ship.

Two things:

• The sails - maybe it's just me, but crisper sails with a cleaner edges would work better on Imperial ships with sleek hulls.  Those particular sails would work better on a pirate ship that's seen a bit of action and has battle damage.
   
• The background - I mentioned this in the Facebook Group but haven't checked it again since, but the photo appears to be taken too far back from the water.  Is it possible to position the ship closer so only the ocean is visible in the background?
  
  It would enhance the presentation by eliminating or minimizing the rather rather drab area concrete we currently see.

Thank you for your kind words! 

 

The sails probably need a bit of ironing (doable). Maybe even some hemming (beyond my skillz). 

 

Here's my response to you from FB, with some additional information:

I somewhat managed that with the cutter but it's an extremely risky proposition with a vessel of this size, unfortunately. There's nothing but tetrapods that close, and I can't risk parts (or figs!) accidentally falling off between them. I'll never get them back! Beyond the tetrapods are a lot of rocks where the tide comes and goes. Reaching there is no big deal even with how slippery it is, but not while carrying a delicate ship.

 

There's also quite a few people at the time of day this was shot, and she drew quite a crowd while we were shooting her. I did the cutter at 7 am but the lighting wasn't as nice but it wasn't crowded. Today we went around 10. A bunch of people even came and took pictures with the ship. It took a ton of effort to keep my shots clean. Worrying about someone knocking her into the depths is a fear I could live without! Finding vacant space like this in crowded Mumbai is a challenge. We do have a few beaches but they come with the same problems x10. There may be nooks here and there where I could do an unobstructed shoot, but this place is closest to my house, and there's no city skyline to distract you. 

It may be possible to get a stool from home and position the ship in a way that looks like it's at sea however. Maybe next time! When I have all my ships built, maybe I'll take the trouble to find a place to stage a small skirmish! Who knows... 

[Mister Phes]

19 minutes ago, Samarth said:

It may be possible to get a stool from home and position the ship in a way that looks like it's at sea however.

That's what I was going to suggest - bring a small table or some form of stand you can setup.

20 minutes ago, Samarth said:

Thank you for your kind words! 

If you like I can create a blog post for the Africa.

I can even use this as a training exercise to break down my process to provide you with a better understanding of how to formulate MOC blog posts.

[Crazy bricks]

That looks fantastic, love the old-looking sails too!!

[Marooned Marin]

Two ships in only two weeks? Are we up for the third next week? You can't stop now!

Those white hull pieces are now quite rare and expensive, you made a good use of them.

[Samarth]

50 minutes ago, Mister Phes said:

That's what I was going to suggest - bring a small table or some form of stand you can setup.

If you like I can create a blog post for the Africa.

I can even use this as a training exercise to break down my process to provide you with a better understanding of how to formulate MOC blog posts.

Yeah you're seriously tempting me to re try this business at sunset, we'll even get the evening sun in the frame then. My 16 year old brother in law was my willing and faithful assistant yesterday, but today I'll have to persuade the wife 

So far as blog posts go, knock yourself out 

7 minutes ago, Marooned Marin said:

Two ships in only two weeks? Are we up for the third next week? You can't stop now!

Those white hull pieces are now quite rare and expensive, you made a good use of them.

I may or may not already have a ship cooking. Bigger than this one. And much more piratey. 

[Mister Phes]

17 minutes ago, Samarth said:

Yeah you're seriously tempting me to re try this business at sunset, we'll even get the evening sun in the frame then.

A good sunset or sunrise could result in phenomenal photography!

But don't let me tempt you further...

[NOD]

A very beautifully built ship.   The rigging, the ship's bow and stern look good. The sails aren't bad either, this is what sails look like after a storm. The 2 bomb are a great detail.

[Samarth]

3 hours ago, NOD said:

A very beautifully built ship.   The rigging, the ship's bow and stern look good. The sails aren't bad either, this is what sails look like after a storm. The 2 bomb are a great detail.

 

Thank you so much. Cheers. 

 

It did rain the morning we took the pictures, so it's fitting that the sails are like that then! 

[PxChris]

Another fantastic MOC @Samarth!

[Samarth]

On 5/10/2023 at 8:08 PM, PxChris said:

Another fantastic MOC @Samarth!

Thank you @PxChris!! 

[Stoertebricker]

The building technique of the hull at the stern looks interesting. Those are the small hull pieces from the diver boats ot the one from imperial trading post, right? The rudder sits in between those. Great, never seen that before!

[Samarth]

6 hours ago, Stoertebricker said:

The building technique of the hull at the stern looks interesting. Those are the small hull pieces from the diver boats ot the one from imperial trading post, right? The rudder sits in between those. Great, never seen that before!

Yep, I had to make a number of sacrifices/compromises with the stern since I didn't have any more pre formed large hull pieces (BL is not a thing here; only 1 BL store in the country and orders from abroad take at least a month and are expensive). Ideally, I would've liked at least one more mid section and the bottom section of the bow pieces. But that would've probably made this ship look a bit less interesting. I don't know! Thank you for your kind words!