[OL-FB] Down-time

[Franco Clarke]

As the Saler pulled into Breshaun harbour, it became more and more apparent that something wasn't right. Despite the calm waters of the bay and the light breeze, the Saler was rolling and creaking as if she were in a storm. The wood around the bow had developed some nasty cracks, around the base of the heavy cannon. Erwin dreaded to think what would happen if they tried to take this bucket into a battle. She must be repaired, and have her bow strengthened, so they set a course for the sprawling shipyards and tied up alongside a brand new jetty. The vast demand for new ships had allowed the ship builders of Breshaun to make big money, and the lack of major competition on the island meant that they charged top prices for their efforts. Erwin marched up the pristine decking to the shipbuilder's office.

10 minutes later, he had arranged for the Saler to be repaired and strengthened to be ready by the end of the month. His coin pouch felt significantly lighter though, although Erwin reasoned it was better to be a poor man with a seaworthy ship than a rich man at the bottom of the sea. He informed the crew that they would be able to have shore-leave until the Saler was ready, which would be by the twenty third. This was a very popular decision with the crew who quickly disappeared into Breshaun's warren of streets.

Erwin, however decided to explore the island further, hiking around the tracks and trails. He stopped in the ruins of some ancient structure, where one of the paths melted into the sea and stared out at the undulating waves, contemplating what the future had in store. Then he turned and made his way back inland for it was getting late and he should find somewhere to stay the night.

Meanwhile, to the north a flotilla of warships sat riding at anchor. Sloops and cutters clustered protectively around a few large brigs. In the stern cabin of the largest ship, the Admiral stood watching the fleet and the swirling waves. Behind him, junior officers and navigators scurried around the maps of the sea of storms, plotting the known positions of enemy warships and merchant convoys.

A marine captain entered the cabin, and cautiously approached the Admiral.

'Lord, you informed me that you wished to speak with the commander of HMS Flea when he arrived back from repairs, he is alongside as we speak'

Silently the admiral turned around a strode through the cabin, past the map tables and up onto the deck. Alongside the flagship a much smaller vessel was tied up, and it's captain climbed aboard up the ladder. The Marines from both ships stood to attention ensuring no-one interrupted the two officers. The exchange was brief, and after 5 minutes, the captain of HMS Flea saluted, whilst the admiral turned around and stalked back below decks.

HMS Flea untied from the Flagship, and sailed off towards the setting sun.

To finish off with a pair of alternate views of the two scenes featured in today's story. I wanted to build something other than more small ships, so these were the outcome.

[blackdeathgr]

Nice story and fig-packed scenes!

[TitusV]

I really like the two builds, especially the vegetation and the micro-part!

[Captain Dee]

Nice story. I really like the pic of Erwin walking down the trail to the ocean. That's a nice setting. The micro "war games" are neat too. Keep it up.

[Fuzzy MacFuzz]

I like this idea of building a ship without actually building a ship. As I own no special Lego ship pieces, this is somehting I will have to try myself if i am ever to have anything bigger than a class 2 ship. When that time comes, i will take my inspiration from your example!

[Kolonialbeamter]

Really like this one! Love the feeling of the ancient ruins part

Great story, and the microbuilds are a top addition.

Keep it up!

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Fine, fine!

Excellent micro ship!

[Ayrlego]

I particularly like the ship's cabin, as others have commented it's a great way of having a scene from a larger ship without having a larger ship. Good build and story - looking forward to the next instalment.

[kaiju]

That cabin build is quite impressive, both in ingenuity and execution.

[Captain Genaro]

This looks like the makings of an excellent story. I am excited to see where this goes.

The landscape is quite nice. You did a good job of creating some ruins or walls overrun with grass and weeds. In the first picture, it looks like there's something red (a parrot?) in the tree. Perhaps you could put that over your character so it is easier to see. I really like the cabin. It's great to see what you can create without specialized Lego ship parts.

[Bregir]

Nice story - it will be interesting to see how it wraps up. The landscape with the ruins is really nice, but my favourite part is your ship - or rather, the parts of the ship you have built. Both the ships side and the aftercabin is looking great! Well done!

[Franco Clarke]

Thank you all, and I am glad you liked my tale. However, rather than being just a representation of a larger ship, the cabin was meant to represent the inside of this ship, which I used when they were on deck.

However, thinking about it, that would be a very good way of representing large ships without building them in full

[Kwatchi]

I enjoyed your story, and I hope we get another installment.

[Bregir]

Woah, great looking vessel - will we see more of her?

Or have we already, and I missed it?

[Franco Clarke]

Thank you, I posted this ship a little before BOBS went live, but I thought she'd still be able to play a background role in my stories, even if she never impacts the game side of things.

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=118837&hl=

[Bregir]

Thanks! She looks great - very difference from your smaller vessels - you have a wide span! Hope to see more larger vessels from you in the future!

[Franco Clarke]

Thanks, I have a few more like her in progress, it's just so much quicker and cheaper to make small ships, hence why I have a lot more of them

[Gideon]

Nice scenes