Keymonus Posted November 1, 2019 La Phénix, belonging to Tristan Rimbaud since its very arrival in the archipelago, is a fast and versatile ship that played a role in some of the most relevant happenings of the last years: Tristan used it to move to different islands, to send emissaries or dispatches and to reach important social events, but also to bring a new platoon of soldiers to Astrapi, to reach Fatu Hiva and to support his secret campaign in Charlatan Bay. It is not a very elegant ship, but it's robust and has a capacious hold, useful both to host soldiers or to load goods. Armed with ten 12lbs cannons, Le Phénix can also face enemies at sea, even if it gives its best as a support ship. The ship owes its name to the wooden figurehead, depicting the mythical phoenix, phénix in Oleander. The glorious Oleander flag waves on the stern, near to the ship bell. Every man on board, from the captain to the last of the sailors, would give his life rather than furl the flag in surrender. The Captain, Tristan Rimbaud: recently appointed Count of Astrapi, re-integrated in the army with the rank of Major, he is quite an unusual officer. Not so concerned about uniforms or strict discipline, he refuses most of the privileges of the rank, such as the better food. He has personally chosen all the crew members, and his men would follow him blindfolded to Hades' Reign. Spoiler The empty cabin "Captain on deck!" Captain Rimbaud is not so concerned about being saluted, but La Royale has it's conventions. The navigator defines the best route, while a sailor calculates latitude and longitude with sextant and chronometer. When your ship completely depends on sails, a storm or a long period of dead calm could kill the whole crew. The so-called "stormglass" could be used to forecast storms, rain, fog or good weather, with an accuracy of about 3/4. The mechanism of functioning is unknown, but a long list of captains that trusted flakes or "clouds" in the liquid and survived to the worst storm seasons is a very strong argument for the stormglass. "Keep the deck clean, make it shine!". This is not only aesthetics, this is a paramount: a dirty deck becomes slippery, and you don't want a slippery deck during a storm or a battle. Below the deck a sailor takes rest, eating a part of his daily rations. Most sailors don't like sauerkrauts a lot but, after this food was introduced by doctor Marcel Laurent, nobody has developed scurvy. A sailor peeling potatoes, during one of the daily corves. Kitchen is a simple brick structure, with fire lit in a sandbox, as far as possible from the ammunition store. The pot is suspended to prevent dangerous spills of boiling water: a capsized pot could cause horrible wounds to the cook. Doctor Laurent medicates the survivor of a shipwreck, while Master Sergeant Dubois, the officer commanding the embarked soldiers, listens his story: an Eslandolan trade ship was sank by a storm in Eastern Prio Sea, with no other survivors. The surgeon's chest, containing medicines and tools that every sailor prays never to see in his hands. The ship kitchen The cook and some sailors in fatigue uniform. Soldiers and sailors in battle uniform. Captain and officers. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I built this ship even before entering BoBS, but for some reason I never published it… I continuously changed details and minifigs, waiting for the right occasion. I'm quite satisfied by the result, even if sails and masts are quite rudimentary and helm wheel is in a weird position… probably I could do something about that, but since it is my very first "creature" I prefer to let it in this way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Professor Thaum Posted November 1, 2019 A great old fashioned one... despite the assumed bulky style, I like this one very much : small but full of details upgraded years by years ! Well done comrade that's a for me ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bodi Posted November 2, 2019 Nice job with the custom hull, the slope bricks may work better than arches but it has its charm too you ship, and a big thumb up for the detailed interior. i particulary like the kitchen and surgeon pics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fraunces Posted November 2, 2019 I gotta say the best part is the way you put the different functions on board in words, this makes the MOC very alive. I was just reading about all the different posts on board of the old Dutch Indiaman ships back in the day, and this part about the era is most of the time forgotten: I like that in this build, you put some focus on this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt Wolf Posted November 4, 2019 Lots of detail here, and nice job with going for a brick-built hull. A bit blocky but it still works. And the figurehead is perfect. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Genaro Posted November 7, 2019 A very nice ship with a good classic Lego feel to it. Your use of the curved and sloped parts to create the brick-built hull is a little blocky, but still very good given the parts you are using. The detailed decks are very nice, and remind me of the playability features on Lego’s official pirate ships. While the ship is largely Lego, it does look like you are using some non-Lego string for the rigging as well as unofficial sails. These are great features, and I would encourage you to continue experimenting with these as they can add lots of details without the need to spend lots of money on new Lego bricks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keymonus Posted November 10, 2019 Thank you all guys! I'm glad you appreciated minifigures and details, since they were my main focus On 11/2/2019 at 4:33 PM, Fraunces said: I gotta say the best part is the way you put the different functions on board in words, this makes the MOC very alive. I was just reading about all the different posts on board of the old Dutch Indiaman ships back in the day, and this part about the era is most of the time forgotten: I like that in this build, you put some focus on this. Thank you! I read something about the different roles on a ship while building my MOC, and I adapted them to the reasonable number of minifigures I could include On 11/8/2019 at 12:51 AM, Captain Genaro said: A very nice ship with a good classic Lego feel to it. Your use of the curved and sloped parts to create the brick-built hull is a little blocky, but still very good given the parts you are using. The detailed decks are very nice, and remind me of the playability features on Lego’s official pirate ships. While the ship is largely Lego, it does look like you are using some non-Lego string for the rigging as well as unofficial sails. These are great features, and I would encourage you to continue experimenting with these as they can add lots of details without the need to spend lots of money on new Lego bricks. Thank you! I used only lego strings (very bad idea, considering their fixed length) and sails made up of cloth (+diluted glue). For my next ship (WIP) I'm using non-LEGO cloth and strings, and they work a lot better Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Dee Posted November 14, 2019 A little blocky perhaps but "brought to life" with all the descriptions and accompanying scenes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blackdeathgr Posted November 14, 2019 (edited) Hey, I really like your ship although a bit bulky but as always, your presentation is top notch! I even shivered at the site of your surgeon. Plus I am a sucker for group photos so the ones with the sailors etc are nice too. P.S: I also wiki-ed the stormglass device you mentioned. The follies a man falls sometimes into, are unbelievable... Definitely not Corries at their best (assumingly it were Corrington scientists that invented this...thing)... Edited November 14, 2019 by blackdeathgr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
