[WIP] Flying Dutchman

[Captain Pirate Man]

Amazing MOC!!! One question, how do you feel about Lepin trying to rip off your design? This has clearly been a labor of love for you, for multiple years. I honestly feel that they won't be able to do it justice, I hope it sinks, literally.

[kurigan]

5 minutes ago, Captain Pirate Man said:

Amazing MOC!!! One question, how do you feel about Lepin trying to rip off your design? This has clearly been a labor of love for you, for multiple years. I honestly feel that they won't be able to do it justice, I hope it sinks, literally.

What's this now?

Also, while I agree with your sentiment, plagiarizing someone's master work is... inappropriate, condemning another builder to failure just isn't in the right spirit either, not around these parts.

[Legostone]

20 minutes ago, Captain Pirate Man said:

Amazing MOC!!! One question, how do you feel about Lepin trying to rip off your design? This has clearly been a labor of love for you, for multiple years. I honestly feel that they won't be able to do it justice, I hope it sinks, literally.

 

Sebeus has replied to this on his flickr a couple weeks back. The actual model from that brand looks much worse though, they tried (and failed) to copy it and stole his pictures basicially. 

[Captain Pirate Man]

25 minutes ago, kurigan said:

What's this now?

Also, while I agree with your sentiment, plagiarizing someone's master work is... inappropriate, condemning another builder to failure just isn't in the right spirit either, not around these parts.

I wasnt condemning another builder to failer. I'm not sure where you got that sentiment. I was talking about Lepins model. I DO hope they have a hard time replicating the Flying Dutchman. I don't think I'm wrong for feeling that way.

Edited September 3, 2017 by Captain Pirate Man

[Cousarmy0001]

On the one hand, I'd be pissed if somebody claimed credit for my work.

On the other hand, though, I'd be kind of flattered.

I guess the better route would've been for that person to do the legal thing, and purchase my plans or the model itself.

[kurigan]

On 9/3/2017 at 10:11 AM, Captain Pirate Man said:

I wasnt condemning another builder to failer. I'm not sure where you got that sentiment. I was talking about Lepins model. I DO hope they have a hard time replicating the Flying Dutchman. I don't think I'm wrong for feeling that way.

Simple mate, I don't know or care what Lepin is. Cheers!

[Sebeus I]

Update:

As I'm attending Skaerbaek coming weekend I need to have this ship presentable by then. Too bad I won't be able to get it completely finished .

Completely new poop deck, now with a grim reaper over watching the ship (although I still need to swap Lady Liberty's head for a skull).

I realize now I forgot to take a picture but I can tell you that I've managed to keep the Captain's quarters interior with the organ. And it's still accessible, although that will become more difficult when I add the shrouds and other rigging to the mizzen mast .

Grates over the staircases.

New battle tops.

I think I've redone almost every part of the ship. Compared to the version I originally posted this is an almost entirely new ship .

Still a lot of work, mainly on the rigging and the sails I will add one of these days. But there are some small things that need attention as well, such as the anchors, crying for a new design etc.

Special thanks to Legostone for supplying some highly needed parts .

Edited September 18, 2017 by Sebeus I

[Bart]

great to see you are still at it Sebeus!

[Sebeus I]

It's been many years since I finished this glorious ship (posted here).

While I was quite satisfied with my creation, as the years passed I felt there was room for improvement. I began listing all things I wanted to improve and now I have a list long enough to make it worthwhile to break open her hull again.

Starting with the lower hull! 

I intend to completely revise the hull, it'll practically be a new ship.

The first improvement can be seen from this top view of the lower hull. I've found my previous hull to be too wide near bow and stern. This new hull should solve that issue. Needless to say, this will have a serious impact on the upper structures.

This is currently my to-do list:

• Lower hull (width management)
• Swap out a lot of light gray with more dark tan and dark gray
• Triple cannon mechanism
• Broadside cannon carriages (heavy cannon on lower gun deck)
• Staircase positions on quarter deck and forecastle
• Light functions (exterior lanterns and captain quarters)
• Captain quarters interior (including new organ)
• Stern window (currently simple solution using transp. Panels)
• Balconies
• Galleries
• Weather deck details (grates)
• Masts, sails and rigging.

I've considered a working cannon flap feature as well but I can't figure out a viable, compact mechanism that would work with the slanted walls of the ship.

One other thing I am considering, which might be possible now since I'm basically starting from the bottom up, are building instructions! No promises will be made however.

I might post updates here. I've got most of it planned out already though suggestions are welcome. I hope to get it finished before LEGO brings an official Flying Dutchman set.

 

 

Edited December 4, 2025 by Sebeus I

[Franco Clarke]

The original has to be one of the great pirate builds of all time, I'm excited to see how this new version develops. Should be a selection of new parts to use too. 

Looks off to a good start, compared to the early pictures, the improvement in shape is clear. The gun port mechanism is a tough one as they have to slide down. I suppose those for the bow guns would be simpler to operate? 

[Sebeus I]

On 12/5/2025 at 8:00 AM, Franco Clarke said:

The original has to be one of the great pirate builds of all time, I'm excited to see how this new version develops. Should be a selection of new parts to use too. 

Looks off to a good start, compared to the early pictures, the improvement in shape is clear. The gun port mechanism is a tough one as they have to slide down. I suppose those for the bow guns would be simpler to operate? 

Exactly, a peculiar feature of the Flying Dutchman. I'll give the broadside cannon flaps a try for sure but I don't expect to succeed.

 

I'm done with the lower hull for now. I might optimise some more later.

I digitalised the hull to get a better idea of the overal shape, since I don't have enough slopes at the moment.

The curves are a bit rough but I think the Flying Dutchman can get away with that.

I also designed a new carriage for the twenty 36-pounder cannons, which provide the Flying Dutchman with its brutal fire power on the lower gun deck.

Since the lower gun deck is never shown in any of the movies, I guess I don't actually have to build 20. Just the ones that might be visible through the grates on the well deck will do. For the others I'll just use the cannon barrels on a holder.

With the new cannon carriage, the only brown part left on the ship, is the steering wheel. I'm not sure I can replace that one, I don't like the look of blueish gray on the ship 

Coming up next is the triple cannon mechanism. I thought it wise to start early one that one, since I expect it to take quite some space in the hull. It might take a while to figure it out though.

 

Edited December 8, 2025 by Sebeus I

[Franco Clarke]

That beefed up cannon carriage looks the part, suitably weathered and rough. Interested to see how you tackle the triple guns, at least those shan't need gun carriages. 
With the sliding gun ports, have you considered having them rotate out of the way? That might be more space efficient and easier to motorise. 

 

[Jack Sassy]

On 12/4/2025 at 8:54 PM, Sebeus I said:

I began listing all things I wanted to improve and now I have a list long enough to make it worthwhile to break open her hull again.

Glad to hear ye are creating a new version. I was not around for the old version but she certainly was a beauty! 

 

I imagine that for the triple cannon mechanism ye could take advantage of the area underneath the forecastle. Is the main colour going to be dark tan for this vessel?

[Sebeus I]

On 12/7/2025 at 11:10 AM, Franco Clarke said:

That beefed up cannon carriage looks the part, suitably weathered and rough. Interested to see how you tackle the triple guns, at least those shan't need gun carriages. 
With the sliding gun ports, have you considered having them rotate out of the way? That might be more space efficient and easier to motorise. 

 

Rotate them out of the way? That is an interesting suggestion, one I hadn't considered so far. I'll keep it in mind when I give the broadside flaps a try . Regarding the triple guns, I'll do something similar to the old design.

I will have to make the openings (which are 4 studs wide) smaller though, to account for the forecastle width which will be smaller. 3 studs wide would be perfect. I hope I can design a proper hatch for that. Perhaps I'll have to move the triple barrels closer to each other to make them fit as well.

16 hours ago, Jack Sassy said:

Glad to hear ye are creating a new version. I was not around for the old version but she certainly was a beauty! 

 

I imagine that for the triple cannon mechanism ye could take advantage of the area underneath the forecastle. Is the main colour going to be dark tan for this vessel?

Thank you! That's the plan, though I'll try to make the mechanism as compact as possible to keep future interior plans possible. Dark tan will be the main colour, yes.

These parts were not available to me when I completed the last version and I can't wait to use them on the hull for some more texture and detailing. I will use a lot of smal light gray plates still, to break the dark tan a bit.

Edited December 8, 2025 by Sebeus I

[Bart]

This morning I got an email from eurobricks? In my inbox, that's been a while (I know I know but live). Wait it's about Sebeus's Dutchman? Let's check! 

Looking forward to see how you improve this ship mate. I'll be keeping this browser tab open to spy on it once in a while. 

 

Bart

[Sebeus I]

On 12/11/2025 at 9:41 AM, Bart said:

This morning I got an email from eurobricks? In my inbox, that's been a while (I know I know but live). Wait it's about Sebeus's Dutchman? Let's check! 

Looking forward to see how you improve this ship mate. I'll be keeping this browser tab open to spy on it once in a while. 

 

Bart

Thank you!

 

I have been working on the Triple Cannon mouths first. A significant improvement over the previous model.

Much more recognisable as a demon face. It's going to be a challenge to get the chains routed smoothly through the interior and and even bigger challenge to figure out how to operate the hatches. I've been making great progress on the triple gun mechanism already, retracting, turning 120 degrees and recoiling all operated with a single axle. Can't wait to show that off.

I looked into a potential feature for the broadside cannon hatches.

The design on the right makes a mechanism, to slide down the hatch within the hull, viable. I don't like the design much however. I'm considering to forego such mechanism and simply leave them open. Before these two designs I looked into alternatives for the vine pieces but they really do make the best option to somewhat create the demon faces on this scale.

I think I'll fiddle a bit more with it before I finalise my decision, which I will have to do in order to continue building the lower hull.

Another dilemma that has been plaguing me, is the transport solution. The old ship went in two parts, each in a box. Upper masts and sails removed. This proved to be a very efficient solution . However, for my new model, I'd like to add some more rigging, which will become rather complicated on a ship that goes in two parts. It has to go in two parts though since it wouldn't fit in my car otherwise .

[Long_John_Silva]

Loving the progress so far. 

As to the the broadside cannon hatches / demon faces, i just think you're too atached to the vine piece... nothing wrong with that, but it's such a big piece that automatically conditions the use of other parts.

Most of the faces are not even "angry", so perhaps you should consider a different approach to them... for instance, i kinda liked the idea used in the Indiana Jones Idol Temple set for the arrow shooting faces on the wall.

It allows other possibilities with the eyes (and eyebrows if you manage to include them), the nose, the "beards" aroud the gun port and so on, but it can fit perfectly in the 4 stud space you have available for the hatch.

 

Just a thought, nothing more... 

[Franco Clarke]

Those gunports are superb, looking forward to see the mechanism to go behind. 

[Sebeus I]

I figured I can keep the old one intact for a bit longer, at least until I finish the lower hull. 

I'll have to dismantle it at some point though. Or at least strip some essential parts from it. The comparison is a little bit distorted since the old one was a waterline model while the new one has a significant part of the submerged hull built as well. Which makes it about 3 bricks higher.

I considered to stick with a waterline model, they work great on layouts after all, engaging into battle with other ships... However, the new rounded underside does provide additional strength. Much needed strength if I ever were to, for instant, set it up in a mealstrom scene. Not saying I will but If I do get such crazy idea in my head, at least the ship will be able to handle it.

I threw some money at this project. Partially spent on a missing crew member, Hadras (on the top right).

Hadras is the only one that is still somewhat affordable, I'm glad I already have Davy Jones, Maccus and Bootstrap Bill. Below the official crew, there are some of my own and below that some other POTC figures. The Flying Dutchman will need a much bigger crew though, to man this 52-gun ship.

I'm considering using these fish people as well.

A bit early perhaps but I tried my hand at a new stern window for the Captain's Quarters.

The sparkling transparent purple is only temporary, the intention is to replace those with transparent yellow, orange and maybe pink. Though I've got to say, I do like the starry appearance as it is now. I placed some large bricklink orders to get going, mostly dark tan parts but also some specialised Technic parts to enable the triple cannon mechanism. Which still isn't ready but I'm confident I'll get there. I did decide to have the triple cannon hatches mechanism independent of the firing mechanism, there simply is not enough space in the forecastle to make it work otherwise. I'll have to forego the broadside cannon mechanism, unless I leave out the front 2 cannons (on each side), I can't make it fit along with the triple cannon mechanism. I might explore the concept one final time when I get the triple guns working but I doubt I'll come up with something.

On 12/19/2025 at 3:35 PM, Long_John_Silva said:

Loving the progress so far. 

As to the the broadside cannon hatches / demon faces, i just think you're too atached to the vine piece... nothing wrong with that, but it's such a big piece that automatically conditions the use of other parts.

Most of the faces are not even "angry", so perhaps you should consider a different approach to them... for instance, i kinda liked the idea used in the Indiana Jones Idol Temple set for the arrow shooting faces on the wall.

It allows other possibilities with the eyes (and eyebrows if you manage to include them), the nose, the "beards" aroud the gun port and so on, but it can fit perfectly in the 4 stud space you have available for the hatch.

 

Just a thought, nothing more... 

 

The big one yes. But the small ones look rather derpy though  I don't think they embody the haunting impression I want to display with this ship.

Not all of them look angry for sure, some have a rather sad expression.

[Franco Clarke]

Nice to see a comparison between old and new, I like all the extra crew you've made. If you wanted to bulk out the crew further, you could add some East India Trading Company troops, who could be more uniform. 

The stary windows are a great look, not sure if they suit the Dutchman, but they are very pretty.

[Jack Sassy]

On 12/24/2025 at 5:15 PM, Sebeus I said:

Hadras is the only one that is still somewhat affordable

If ordered by separate parts, Bootstrap Bill is also quite affordable, though, in yer case, that is not important.

On 12/18/2025 at 6:48 PM, Sebeus I said:

I looked into a potential feature for the broadside cannon hatches.

The design on the left hand side seems a lot more accurate. Did ye experiment with small flame pieces instead of vines for some ports?

On 12/24/2025 at 5:15 PM, Sebeus I said:

I tried my hand at a new stern window

That is impressive! How did ye achieve connection for those tiles as lattices? I meself am looking for a new lattice window solution.

 

Overall, good progress!  Out of curiosity, in terms of bricks, how tall is the vessel's head?

[Sebeus I]

I've decided to build a Captain's Quarters vignette first.

I figured it would be a shame to hide away all of this in the ship before taking good pictures of it. Since the accessibility of the interior will be limited on the finished ship (if even accessible at all), It makes sense to take out and highlight the most famous part of the interior this way. I designed a new organ, which I'm very happy with. This vignette may also serve as a benchmark on Rebrickable to see how realistic it is to expect to sell building instructions of the Flying Dutchman.

I gave the anchors a makeover.

They are more consistent in colour. The previous ones were hard to spot since they blended into the the rest of the ship very well. Not necessarily an improvement, more like a personal preference.

Not a very urgent matter but I have been looking into the planking of the weather deck. I hadn't really paid much attention to it earlier but upon closer study of the movies I noticed the weather deck isn't as dark as I imagined. This picture gives a good impression of what it really is (but I've confirmed this colour with movie shots as well).

Building a deck out of medium nougat tiles and plates is perfectly viable. All though I'm not sure I want to. In my mind the colour doesn't fit so well on the ship.

Anyway, lots of time to reconsider, I haven't even started on the lower decks yet.

On 12/26/2025 at 1:11 PM, Franco Clarke said:

Nice to see a comparison between old and new, I like all the extra crew you've made. If you wanted to bulk out the crew further, you could add some East India Trading Company troops, who could be more uniform. 

The stary windows are a great look, not sure if they suit the Dutchman, but they are very pretty.

That would be an easy way to enlarge the crew though I think the presence of "normal" people on board, would weaken its ghost ship appearance. I already ordered some transparent yellow and orange to replace the starry window panes .

On 12/26/2025 at 6:28 PM, Jack Sassy said:

The design on the left hand side seems a lot more accurate. Did ye experiment with small flame pieces instead of vines for some ports?

The vine pieces are not really the main limitation for the cannon flap mechanism, what makes the whole thing very complicated is that the sides are angled, already reducing usable cannon barrel length. I tried, instead of using a brick wall, using plates and brackets but I end up not winning any space at all . I have been a bit too ambitious with this Idea. Perhaps the scale is just too small to make this work. 

On 12/26/2025 at 6:28 PM, Jack Sassy said:

That is impressive! How did ye achieve connection for those tiles as lattices? I meself am looking for a new lattice window solution.

That, my friend, is thanks to the wonderful D-shape SNOT brick.

A real game changer in the world of MOCing, if you ask me . These connect to the tiles while 1x1 clip plates connected to flex tubes behind the window, keep the thing together. this means there's the backside is the ugly side though.

On 12/26/2025 at 6:28 PM, Jack Sassy said:

Overall, good progress!  Out of curiosity, in terms of bricks, how tall is the vessel's head?

Well,  counting from the waterline it's the exact same height as on the old model. However, since my new model includes a significant part under the waterline, which amounts to about 3 bricks, the total height from the bottom to where the hull ends and the superstructure begins, is exactly 10 bricks high (if that is what you meant).

Edited December 27, 2025 by Sebeus I

[Jack Sassy]

On 12/27/2025 at 8:01 PM, Sebeus I said:

All though I'm not sure I want to. In my mind the colour doesn't fit so well on the ship.

Perhaps the colour could win ye over, if ye mixed it with something a tad darker...

On 12/27/2025 at 8:01 PM, Sebeus I said:

Perhaps the scale is just too small to make this work.

As ye well know, some details must be sacrificed for the sake of the scale.

On 12/27/2025 at 8:01 PM, Sebeus I said:

A real game changer in the world of MOCing, if you ask me . These connect to the tiles while 1x1 clip plates connected to flex tubes behind the window, keep the thing together.

So I see, I still find this part hard to work around with. One of these days ye must tell me about more uses for this part in vessel building. This design is impressive, though most likely not for me, I wish to keep visibility through the window. So I imagine ye will make a double window - another one on the exterior. 

On 12/27/2025 at 8:01 PM, Sebeus I said:

exactly 10 bricks high

Thank ye! 

 

Impressive display of progress! I admire just how fast ye are building this fine beauty.

[Sebeus I]

Not much to report as this point. Lot's of celebration to be attended .

But my bricklink orders have been coming in and I finished the outer shell of the lower hull. 

There are well over 1500 pieces in there already and I still need to add some reinforcing inner structures.

It is a slow and cumbersome work, building a custom hull of these proportions. But it has to be right from the start. Adjustments will not be possible later.

I am satisfied with the result, an excellent hull will make a great ship! 

That rudder end of the keel is attached via 3 different anchorage points (the one on the old model fell off every time so this time I want to make sure it doesn't )

Furtermore...

Two more crewmembers have presented themselves, they are very enthusiastic about joining the Flying Dutchman. 

I couldn't wait to get started on the doors to the cabin. I had this design in mind ever since I laid eyes on those fender pieces.

The 2x2 half round tile allows for a compact design. I'll need 6 of these doors since I'll be paying a little more attention to the bulkheads as well this time. I've been studying all Flying Dutchman movie scenes the last couple of days, including the deleted scenes. As was to be expected, more inconsistencies surfaced. This means choices will have to be made.

A rather special part in my bricklink order, were these chain links with bar, I do hope they prove to be useful for the triple cannon mechanism.

Another interesting part are these arches.

One of the area's I look forward to revising, are the side galleries. In a perfect world, I'd use old light and dark gray arches. However, we don't live in a perfect world, cost-wise these are simply not viable. So I'm giving it a go with sand green and dark green, hoping that they won't stand out of the ship too much.

With most of the needed parts at my disposal, there's nothing stopping me to continue building this ship. I've decided to have the ship in two parts, much like the old one, for transport reasons, that will bring challenges for the rigging but I'm confident that I'll manage to figure out a good system. Still need to figure out were to place the battery boxes though .

On 12/29/2025 at 11:03 PM, Jack Sassy said:

So I see, I still find this part hard to work around with. One of these days ye must tell me about more uses for this part in vessel building. This design is impressive, though most likely not for me, I wish to keep visibility through the window. So I imagine ye will make a double window - another one on the exterior. 

The intent is to either turn the window around or have the flex tubes in a position were they won't be seen, such as behind the upper balcony. I don't have the space for a double window though, due to a consistency error in the movies, the captain quarters' interior is longer on the inside than it is on the outside. So I'll need all the space I can get .

 

I made a quick sketch to get my bearings on the interior,I took some liberties in deciding where some area's are, begin and/or end.

Edited January 2 by Sebeus I

[Franco Clarke]

The hull looks good and ship-shape now, having struggled to move large single part models to shows, I agree modularity is the way to go. 
The new door is lovely and compact, the sunken hinges are a great detail. Finally, I love the little sketch you've done to plan out the build, makes it look like such a normal ship without all the sea life and craggy pieces.