[WIP] Flying Dutchman

[Bart]

That hull shape looks amazing.  Almost ashame to not make a full hull, maybe for display purposes when you're done 

[Sebeus I]

Progress is slow but steady.

The bow section was going to take much time and study, I anticipated that.

The Tripple Cannon mechanism is not finished yet but I had to make certain that the barrel positions were correct relative to the gun ports first.

It's a tight fit though it's supposed to be. Must remember to swap the brown chains with dark grey ones still. It's all a bit messy still but it will get better once the mechanism is finished.

I expanded the crew, along with the official minifigures the Dutchman will have 22 crew members. I hope that will be enough to populate the weather deck.

Much to do still...

 

[Barbatos]

Can't wait to see new developments!

[Sebeus I]

Not much to report for last weekend. I worked a little on the stern.

On the previous model I used a pair of standard sharks to portray the demon fish sculptures that support the lower balcony, which I quite liked. However, since there are supposed to be 4 supports, rather than 2, I needed something else now, given the limited space. Quite challenging at this scale.

[Sebeus I]

I'm still waiting for a moment of hyper-focus to finish the Triple Cannon mechanism. In the mean time I gave the aft hull some more attention.

While I still prefer to have the galleries in dark/light gray, I do think that the dark green curved arches work well, a little too clean perhaps though.

I may remove an arch here and there to allow for some crusty barnacle attachments.

I'm loving the hull shape so far, my best ship so far.

My supply of jumpers and headlight bricks is depleting fast. While my previous model had around 7000 pieces, I think with this one I easily go over 9000.

 

[Franco Clarke]

Shaping up nicely, the flippers give a perfect nautical theme. I agree with your idea of adding some barnacles to break up the dark green arches. 

[Sebeus I]

I made a little progress this weekend.

I've gotten started on the staircase, connecting lower gun deck with upper gun deck.

Steeper than those on the previous model. This is still a prototype, I'm considering making it 3 studs wide instead of 4.

It sits after the main mast,  right after the staircase leading to the quarter deck. My previous model had them right on top of each other. I imagine there would be another staircase connecting lower and upper gun deck somewhere near the bow as well. However, since that area is taken by the triple cannon mechanism, this center staircase will be the only one I build for this deck.

I fiddled around with some ideas for the battle tops as well.

I'm considering using a flex tube to create the railing.

An impression of the outer hull:

Quite similar to the previous model. Though most bricks have been replaced by a combination of plates and the outwales are more prominent.

The hull shape is keeping up so far.

I might get into light functions next.

Edited March 1 by Sebeus I

[Bart]

Looking amazing so far! The stairs may be steep, but do look like the have an accurate angle. 

[Elephant Knight]

I saw the minifig legs and thought "Part of the ship, part of the crew".

Eknight 

[Jack Sassy]

On 3/1/2026 at 6:52 PM, Sebeus I said:

The hull shape is keeping up so far.

That cannon mechanism seems quite complex, I love it!  She is taking a lovely shape. As always, yer detailing is impressive! I must admire those stairs, such a simple solution and yet it never crossed me mind, it is beautiful. 

 

I must ask, will ye include some form of Liar's dice as well?

[Sebeus I]

On 3/2/2026 at 3:21 AM, Bart said:

Looking amazing so far! The stairs may be steep, but do look like the have an accurate angle. 

Thank you!

16 hours ago, Elephant Knight said:

I saw the minifig legs and thought "Part of the ship, part of the crew".

Eknight 

Inherited from the old model 

12 hours ago, Jack Sassy said:

That cannon mechanism seems quite complex, I love it!  She is taking a lovely shape. As always, yer detailing is impressive! I must admire those stairs, such a simple solution and yet it never crossed me mind, it is beautiful. 

 

I must ask, will ye include some form of Liar's dice as well?

I'm happy with the staircases, I made a pair for the upper deck as well and added some seaweed, more pictures soon!

I was looking for a printed tile, featuring dice but the best I could find was this:

A Liar's Dice scene will probably be limited to some cups (or simple 1x1 round bricks) and a barrel with plate to serve as table. If I can fit it in, the area below the quarter deck is going to be quite cramped I imagine, with the staircases (one up, one down), which are left out in the movie  and the rearward bulkhead, for which I will probably place the doors in such a way that they fit my other design needs best.

Now it's time to finalize the triple cannon mechanism so I can finish the lower gun deck. Because next, I want to begin on the visually more interesting area's, the upper gun deck and the captain's quarters .

[Franco Clarke]

I like the ingenious, yet simple solution to the stairs, I might have to steal that design.

[Barbatos]

I see great progress! I can't wait to see your new finished version!

[Sebeus I]

A few weekends before I brought some stuff to an exhibition event.

Almost all of the cannons (there are 4 heavy ones missing still). And some of the details I intend to use, along with the crew and what's left of the captains' quarters.

Since then I've been experimenting with little lamps.

I installed two in the aft main gun deck. These are from Game of Bricks, incase you were wondering.

I made a short video to show the effect.

I'm going to need many more lamps to fill the ship 

Old dark grey tiles are a little hard to come by these days.

I don't intend to cover up all studs though, I kind of like the raw look.

I've made some progress with the triple guns.

Incase you were wondering why that is taking so long; I've got all of this to manage .

It's funny that, even on a ship this big, I'm still struggling to get everything in.

Once the mechanism is done, I can cover up the technical spaces and finish the main cannon deck. When that is done, I can get started on the upper cannon deck and the captains' quarters. To start on the prow I really should have the forecastle finished. Or at least the front of the forecastle. I have some idea's for the lower balcony already too.

It is still my ambition to have the ship finished by summer.

[Jack Sassy]

12 hours ago, Sebeus I said:

I've got all of this to manage

Impressive mechanisms, I be eager to see how they will work in the end! The flickering lights are a lovely touch too. I take it the old version is still intact, yes?

[Franco Clarke]

That's a clever way of displaying an in-progress ship, the array of guns looks good. Lighting is a brilliant addition, and I agreed that leaving some studs exposed is more appropriate than going fully tiled. 

It is amazing, no matter how large of model I build, fitting all the structure and mechanisms within is always struggle. I suppose as the model grows, so does the ambition of what to fit in.

[Marooned Marin]

The lamp effect looks amazing, as the rest of the ship, especially the curvature from bow to stern which is nicely displayed on top-view image earlier. Awesome stuff so far! 

[Sebeus I]

15 hours ago, Jack Sassy said:

Impressive mechanisms, I be eager to see how they will work in the end! The flickering lights are a lovely touch too. I take it the old version is still intact, yes?

Somewhat .  I stripped some parts from it, most of the starboard side is already gone.

I hope I can keep at least the port side intact so I can take a comparison picture when the new one is finished. That one is eating parts like there's no tomorrow though.

7 hours ago, Franco Clarke said:

It is amazing, no matter how large of model I build, fitting all the structure and mechanisms within is always struggle. I suppose as the model grows, so does the ambition of what to fit in.

This is true.

2 hours ago, Marooned Marin said:

The lamp effect looks amazing, as the rest of the ship, especially the curvature from bow to stern which is nicely displayed on top-view image earlier. Awesome stuff so far! 

Thank you, yes the curvature is a great improvement compared to the old version .

[Admiral Bejaune]

That looks great! The shape of the hull is coming along nicely. The only word that comes to mind about the shape of the movie Dutchman is “dramatic”. And you’re starting to re create that. Well done. 

[Jack Sassy]

3 hours ago, Sebeus I said:

I stripped some parts from it, most of the starboard side is already gone.

 

It seems ye have the POTC film set version at the moment. 

Seeing both at the same time, the new one certainly seems more dynamic in the respective aspects, that and the colours at the stern stabd out more. Good work so far! 

[Mr. Townsend]

Wow!  I hadn't realized it was going to be a 100% rebuild without a teardown to start.  It's cool seeing both models next to each other.   I see a bunch of gearing in the bow.  What functions will those serve?

[Sebeus I]

15 hours ago, Admiral Bejaune said:

That looks great! The shape of the hull is coming along nicely. The only word that comes to mind about the shape of the movie Dutchman is “dramatic”. And you’re starting to re create that. Well done. 

Thank you, that is what I'm going for .

13 hours ago, Jack Sassy said:

It seems ye have the POTC film set version at the moment. 

Seeing both at the same time, the new one certainly seems more dynamic in the respective aspects, that and the colours at the stern stabd out more. Good work so far! 

Thanks.

4 hours ago, Mr. Townsend said:

Wow!  I hadn't realized it was going to be a 100% rebuild without a teardown to start.  It's cool seeing both models next to each other.   I see a bunch of gearing in the bow.  What functions will those serve?

Thank you, there are 42 gears in there, all put to work to support this particular feature:

The triple cannon rotating and recoil mechanism!

I'm almost there, it's been rather challenging.