[MOC] The Black Shadow (Pic Heavy)!

[John Cromwell]

Foreward: This MOC you are about to behold was heavily influenced by the Mechanical Pirate Ship 2 by @Sebeus I and was the inspiration for my version. All credit due to him goes to him. Now, on with the show!

 

The name brings fear into even the most stalwart and courageous of men. She has claimed countless lives, and disrupted trade and commerce throughout the Atlantic. 

The Black Shadow!

 

It was once a prototype mechanical topsail schooner for the English Navy, before it was stolen by the feared Captain Robert Scurlock. He converted it into a fully-rigged ship-of-the-line. (The sails are all custom-made by me, and yes, they are 1" black and white stripes, just like Lego's.)

The Bow: 

Pardon the dust, they recently sailed through the Dusty Straits and haven't had the time to clean up the ship.

The Stern:

Now for close ups:

Apologies for the darker pictures, the sails really darkened up the pictures.

Now for the insides. I had to remove the masts for these shots.

So, what I envisioned in the beginning was to make a ship that could defend itself from all angles, since the bow and stern of a ship are usually weak sections that are more vulnerable to attack. My solution to this problem? Stick cannons in those areas.

There are four cannonades protecting the stern. Two on the main deck, and two underneath the Captain's cabin.

For the front, I decided to take a page from Pirates of the Caribbean, and @Sebeus I. 

And of course, one last photo of the Captain of this mighty vessel. His head is unique because it is a darker shade of red that I have not found anywhere else.

More photos of the ships and rest of the crew can be found on Flickr. Ask any questions if you have them! 

Cheers! 

[Brickander Brickumnus]

I like how meticulously you photographed the ship!

[Tezclatipoca]

Nice !

You finally got it posted.

This is a good reinterpretation of the old Sebeus' vessel ! Good job !

I took the liberty to change a little bit your title to better match to our usual form of presentation.

May I suggest you to hide some of the numerous pictures in a spoiler window like this one :

Spoiler

a good place to hide some pictures of less relevance

 

[John Cromwell]

13 minutes ago, Faladrin said:

May I suggest you to hide some of the numerous pictures in a spoiler window like this one :

Thanks, I will definitely do that in the future!

1 hour ago, Brickander Brickumnus said:

I like how meticulously you photographed the ship!

Thanks! If you want a picture of something in a close-up, or something else I didn't photograph let me know!

[John Cromwell]

Here are a couple of pictures I took a while back, before the sails were complete.

The Black Shadow rips into the smaller Spanish vessel, the Estrella de la Norte.

Spoiler

 

 The smaller Spanish ship is a rip-off of one of @Sebeus I's ships as well. The first one he posted, actually. The smoke was his design as well, so credit to him for that!

[Mister Phes]

5 hours ago, John Cromwell said:

The Black Shadow rips into the smaller Spanish vessel, the Estrella de la Norte.

The Imperial Aramda will have our revenge!

[John Cromwell]

10 hours ago, Mister Phes said:

The Imperial Aramda will have our revenge!

We'll see about that! You can have your revenge if you can find us! 

[Mister Phes]

34 minutes ago, John Cromwell said:

We'll see about that! You can have your revenge if you can find us! 

Dispatching the drone now...

Ooops... did I say "drone" - I mean surveillance parrot.

[John Cromwell]

@Mister Phes

Well, that 'surveillance parrot' better not fly too close. 

I doubt you will ever see that parrot ever again...

Edited December 10, 2020 by John Cromwell

[Kwatchi]

I lovely ship with a some great detail on the bow.  I am frantically digging around for my Chima wings atm.

Question: Is there a story reason I missed for why the Jolly Roger is flying upside down on the main mast?

[Jack Sassy]

That's a mighty fine vessel, Mr. Cromwell! You've done a good job on this MOC, it feels alive and... pure, I appreciate inclusion of swivels.

[Sebeus I]

On 10 Dec 2020 at 12:05 AM, John Cromwell said:

Here are a couple of pictures I took a while back, before the sails were complete.

The Black Shadow rips into the smaller Spanish vessel, the Estrella de la Norte.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 The smaller Spanish ship is a rip-off of one of @Sebeus I's ships as well. The first one he posted, actually. The smoke was his design as well, so credit to him for that!

I am flattered that my work inspired you, to see that oldie again brings back memories.

I'm surprised you even copied the smoke effect. I must say it feels somewhat awkward seeing a ship so similar to my own .

Well done.

 

(For the interested; reference ship can be found here: Technic Pirate Ship)

Edited December 12, 2020 by Sebeus I

[John Cromwell]

1 hour ago, Sebeus I said:

I am flattered that my work inspired you, to see that oldie again brings back memories.

Haha, yep, I have several bookmarks of your posts from pirate ships and ports to different kinds of cannons! Actually since Mocpages.com has gone the way of the dodo, I can't find some of your older stuff, like this: gunfire and other forms of merciless metal. 

 

1 hour ago, Sebeus I said:

I'm surprised you even copied the smoke effect

Yeah, I thought that was very cool since no one else had done that before (to my knowledge). Thanks for taking the time to check it out!

 

5 hours ago, Kwatchi said:

Question: Is there a story reason I missed for why the Jolly Roger is flying upside down on the main mast?

Hahahaha! I didn't notice that until you pointed it out! Good eye! Nope, that's just a mistake I made. Although... maybe it's Captain Scurlock's personal sign, or maybe it's because he has a vendetta against a fellow pirate? I'm open to suggestions!

 

4 hours ago, Jack Sassy said:

That's a mighty fine vessel, Mr. Cromwell! You've done a good job on this MOC, it feels alive and... pure, I appreciate inclusion of swivels.

Thanks much! I recently renovated it, as you can see because the older pictures don't include a bunch of stuff, including the Chima wings. It wouldn't be the same without swivels!

[Mister Phes]

6 hours ago, John Cromwell said:

Well, that 'surveillance parrot' better not fly too close. 

Holy Toledo! Yer packin' some nice guns there, lad. The parrot will be pooped with projectiles!

Better send in the Due Diligence Dolphin instead...

[Brickander Brickumnus]

7 hours ago, John Cromwell said:

@Mister Phes

Well, that 'surveillance parrot' better not fly too close. 

I doubt you will ever see that parrot ever again...

EPIC! 

[John Cromwell]

1 hour ago, Mister Phes said:

Better send in the Due Diligence Dolphin instead...

My good sir, you don't know what you are getting into. That ship has withstood assault from the very best England, France, and Spain have had to throw at it. Tales say that ship is cursed, or blessed, depending on the stories.

Once, it was attacked by an English fleet and was being forced to sail towards an English port where it would be surrounded on all sides. All of a sudden, a thick fog blew in (for it was night) and when it dispersed, the Black Shadow was GONE... Gone I tell ye! The best option to do if ye encounter it is say your prayers, unfurl all the sails and dump the cargo. Even then, you may not survive... 

1 minute ago, Brickander Brickumnus said:

EPIC! 

Thanks! You can find more pictures of that quad-barreled death device here.

[Mister Phes]

46 minutes ago, John Cromwell said:

All of a sudden, a thick fog blew in (for it was night) and when it dispersed, The best option to do if ye encounter it is say your prayers, unfurl all the sails and dump the cargo. Even then, you may not survive... 

Ah yes... about that.  I have survived in these waters quite well for the past 15 years so I'm overly confident I'll survive the The Black Shadow.

I just need to fly the parrot into the fog machine so the thick fog won't blow in.. and then yer retreat won't be so mysterious.

[John Cromwell]

11 minutes ago, Mister Phes said:

I'm overly confident

You have been warned, @Mister Phes! Your hubris shall be your undoin'...

 

Oh, and last time I checked, they didn't have fog machines back then. It be the Devil's doing, them disappearing like that...

[Mister Phes]

1 hour ago, John Cromwell said:

You have been warned, @Mister Phes! Your hubris shall be your undoin'... 

Oh boy oh boy! It's already got me undone more times than me bootstraps!