[SR-FB] The Parakeet

[blackdeathgr]

CB4's way of constructing the hull is a true feat of LEGO mechanics and although i dont know if this is sturdy or not (for swooshing playing purposes), i find it one of the best yet hull designs a LEGO brickbuilt ship can have. Also huge thanks for all the deconstructing photos as i am already reverse engineering them. And another thanks to Kurigan this time for bringing up these links/threads. I think i must learn to dig deeper in this forum after all

[cb4]

I've personally found it to be fairly swooshable. It can definitely be fragile during construction, but once complete the hull is very strong, especially if it is held by the bottom of the keel (you can see this early on in the xebec thread where I balance the WIP on a single barrel). MOCs tend to have more structural problems the bigger they get (think Collector's Edition Imperial Star Destroyer), but I've had no issues up to 100+ studs waterline length. A lot of this has to do with the structure being light as well as strong.

For smaller models, you can get away with a great deal. The Parakeet is not heavily built by any means - it only has 5 frames, with 2 free floating and 3 attached to the bottom of the keel only.

For larger models I have cross-pieces (this is also convenient for supporting the deck) for most frames. The tricky part with this is locating where the hinges should go, since you need to find integer intersection points between the coordinate systems of the keel and the side. To do this exactly, you need an understanding of lego geometry (the 6:5 rule for bricks), along with an understanding of pythagorean triples (3:4:5 in particular) and similar triangles, as well as experience with various offsetting tricks using things like Euler (headlight) bricks. You can also fudge this - that's what Frank Brick Wright would do, since Lego has some tolerance. Not having everything exact and perfectly tight bothers me, so I work this out on paper.

My process for hull construction looks something like this:

1) Find a draft for a ship similar to the one you want to MOC

You need something like this that has the profile of several sections:

2) Build the keel with the stem and stern posts.

3) Build frames for some of the sections - there is a lot of leeway here - but you probably want a frame at least every 8-10 studs. I do this by blowing up my schematic to the desired scale and coming up with frames that roughly conform, while leaving room for the planking.

4) Build strakes and plank over the frames.

5) Build the SNOT bows and come up with a stern closure that you like.

6) Build the deck.

7) Decorate, add rigging, etc

It's actually a lot like building a real ship, or so I like to think.

For me there's always a lot of iteration between 2), 3), and 4) because sometimes you can't get a nice curve initially. Another decision to make is how you want to build up to the gunwales. There's a large number of ways you can do this, and which one you choose will probably depend on what parts you have and what the shape of the hull is like (ie how much tumblehome).

[Legostone]

Just about a week ago I stumbled over your older builds, and suddenly there is a new one. Really liking this application of the technique on a smaller ship.

I've been trying building a ship with this technique as well (building a small schooner) and start to appreciate how stable it is too - even though I'm far from done and my execution of the technique is far from perfect it is surprisingly sturdy.

But I would - like others I would guess - really appreciate a proper tutorial of building hulls like this one, especially the stern and the bow.

Edit: I must have overread the last post, I guess that pretty much answers my question about a tutorial. Still, I would like to see some more examples of bows and especially sterns as that part seems to be the one where it is most difficult to get rid of gaps sadly.

Edited February 8, 2016 by Legostone