[ENTRY] 6259 Broadsides Brig / 6234 Renegades Raft

[thewatchman]

For my entry iv decided to remake the classic broadsides brig with renegades raft added play feature.

The reason the raft was added was part of a story build / play feature, and the build was made to be modular to fit into the current Eldorado modular style.

Module 1 is the prison cell itself.

Module 2 is the middle dock section.

And finally module 3 is Captainess Broadsides room with tea set and medals.

And finally the bridge that connects both sections.

The raft is a simple affair mimicking the original.

The minifigures are as close to original styling as possible, however I like the idea that times moved on, with governor Broadsides daughter as a captain in his forces, and eagle eyed people may notice the renegade is now captain Krag!
 

The story of the build and play feature are as follows!

 The guard is bored of his duties, and decides to take his eyes off the Wiley pirates and enjoy a little grog and a some fishing, while the captive pirate realised the cell has been left unlocked!

Following this, the renegade takes his chance and shoots the base of the palm tree;

With the quick removal of a pin, the palm falls and the captive takes his chance and runs while everyone is distracted!

Getting aboard the raft and leaving!

The captain attempts the shot but she misses, allowing the pirates to escape another day!

I hope you all enjoy my entry and if you do, please feel free to check out my Flickr and I’m happy to do deconstructions if anyone cares for a copy.

Thank you!

[Spacedude studio]

Cool idea!

[thewatchman]

Would love some more constructive criticisms on this one!

 Might attempt a few changes before the end date.

[MstrOfPppts]

First of all, I'm very glad to see one of the fewer physical entries!

It's a nice start though I do have quite some complaints about this build. The rockwork underneath is a bit too high for my taste and takes away some of the recognizability of the original set. I think that two or three bricks height would be more than enough since the original is basically built on a plate and also shown on a not so high island. Maybe even make it a tad bit larger - from 6 to 8 studs per model? As in some other entries I miss more yellow as it is the highlight of this set. I had it as a kid and that decorated yellow panel was such a great piece I wouldn't be ashamed to use it even in an updated version. Also sometimes the changes are unnecessary as with the arches above the prison window. The original would look better, for this one has a more Arabic vibe. Also as mentioned elsewhere black for the wood looks a bit outdated for a modern remake. And finally use some headlights or SNOT bricks with cheese slopes to further continue the line of the wedge bricks or mix in a 3x3 wedge to not make the wall look so serrated. I do understand that building physically has its limitations on the bricks availability though.

Else I really like the modular approach for this remake!

As for the raft I've mentioned in a previous entry - I think that the brackets add some unnecessary height to it. Use some 1x2x1 2/3 bricks with four studs on side underneath the plate and build the logs from there.

[Horation]

A fine set of remakes

Theme 

There's a clear story going on and the two sets compliment each other well, with some pleasant play features (like that tree) and a nice variety of figures. I must however question how people reach the dock with a raft or a rowboat. Also, the treasure coins are nice, but it makes little sense why anyone would hang gold coins anywhere instead of putting 'em in a box

Build

I love the arabic arches-they look very colonial and exotic. Now in this case I'd just remove a few layers ; it's really, really tall and the whole thing feels a bit excessive, at least fix that dock problem I mentioned with stairs leading to a dock below and it'd already make more sense, and while I'm at it, the brig is super-cramped, it could really use a larger back area (do note that this wouldn't be an issue if the brig was ground level, since it'd be much more logical that way for play value). Now the rock's colour scheme is good, but why are there grey masonry bricks below? Does this mean they carved those stones but didn't paint 'em? Weird. 

Now finally, the walls are built in an interesting fashion, but either make 'em all white or add more yellow, since this just looks awkward. Overall, the upper part looks good but the height, width and depth all feel too cramped.

[thewatchman]

5 hours ago, MstrOfPppts said:

First of all, I'm very glad to see one of the fewer physical entries!

It's a nice start though I do have quite some complaints about this build. The rockwork underneath is a bit too high for my taste and takes away some of the recognizability of the original set. I think that two or three bricks height would be more than enough since the original is basically built on a plate and also shown on a not so high island. Maybe even make it a tad bit larger - from 6 to 8 studs per model? As in some other entries I miss more yellow as it is the highlight of this set. I had it as a kid and that decorated yellow panel was such a great piece I wouldn't be ashamed to use it even in an updated version. Also sometimes the changes are unnecessary as with the arches above the prison window. The original would look better, for this one has a more Arabic vibe. Also as mentioned elsewhere black for the wood looks a bit outdated for a modern remake. And finally use some headlights or SNOT bricks with cheese slopes to further continue the line of the wedge bricks or mix in a 3x3 wedge to not make the wall look so serrated. I do understand that building physically has its limitations on the bricks availability though.

Else I really like the modular approach for this remake!

As for the raft I've mentioned in a previous entry - I think that the brackets add some unnecessary height to it. Use some 1x2x1 2/3 bricks with four studs on side underneath the plate and build the logs from there.

Now this is a review!

 Thank you for the insights I find this kind of constructive criticism incredibly helpful!

i 100% agree about the angled wall section, but with current bricks we are rather limited and the official dorado set didn’t use those techniques, so I instead tried to emulate those.

The rock wall had to be that height to click in with the section of el dorado when displayed long way’s unfortunately, and during building this was one of my primary concerns!

Thank you very much!

[thewatchman]

3 hours ago, Horation said:

A fine set of remakes

Theme 

There's a clear story going on and the two sets compliment each other well, with some pleasant play features (like that tree) and a nice variety of figures. I must however question how people reach the dock with a raft or a rowboat. Also, the treasure coins are nice, but it makes little sense why anyone would hang gold coins anywhere instead of putting 'em in a box

Build

I love the arabic arches-they look very colonial and exotic. Now in this case I'd just remove a few layers ; it's really, really tall and the whole thing feels a bit excessive, at least fix that dock problem I mentioned with stairs leading to a dock below and it'd already make more sense, and while I'm at it, the brig is super-cramped, it could really use a larger back area (do note that this wouldn't be an issue if the brig was ground level, since it'd be much more logical that way for play value). Now the rock's colour scheme is good, but why are there grey masonry bricks below? Does this mean they carved those stones but didn't paint 'em? Weird. 

Now finally, the walls are built in an interesting fashion, but either make 'em all white or add more yellow, since this just looks awkward. Overall, the upper part looks good but the height, width and depth all feel too cramped.

Another good review thank you!

The cramped nature was something that I really struggled with here; but it was something I decided NEEDED to remain.

 The nature of the competition is something TLG would release. 
 There are some truely brilliant entries in this competition but none of those massive sets even for a second feel like something that would be built but TLG. 
 

Instead I chose to stick to the original footprint of the brig and ensure that it would fit in place with the new el dorado set, almost like a GWP set. 
 

The height of the rock wall is the same as the comment above, it won’t fit seamlessly without this height. 
The grey rock wall of el dorado uses masonry bricks as part of the foundation, I disliked this but thematically it was the correct decision, same as the palm tree design. (I hate the one I used but it’s thematically correct).

The same justification is used for the colour choice for the first 2 courses of bricks being yellow!

Hope that helps you to understand my choices, even if the final product wasn’t entirely your cup of tea!

[iragm]

This is outstanding work, and you're right that this does feel like something TLG would make as an official set, unlike many of the contest entries.  The criticisms that you've gotten can also be leveled against the new Eldorado (and perhaps rightly so), but you can't really fix them without completely breaking what you're going for here.

I do have some suggestions:

• Make the dock have some stairs to go down to the level of the raft.  You can build a curving staircase to keep the footprint small, or just a couple half arch bricks with tiles on them, to keep the build simple.
• The bridge between sections is too narrow.  I know the original was, too, but this should be at least two studs wide to allow a guard to walk across.
• Gulls do not build nests; they lay their eggs directly on rocks on the sides of cliffs.  It would be neat if the palm tree tipping feature sent the bird and the egg flying.

I especially like the arches used on the jail cell, they look fantastic and right at home with the rest of the build.  Excellent work matching the design language of Eldorado; from the rocks to the dark red bricks, everything matches very well.  I'd love to see pics of this connected up.

And thank you for the story pictures, they tie everything together so well and really sold me on this build.  I love the guard's shako on the post on the pier.

[thewatchman]

21 minutes ago, iragm said:

This is outstanding work, and you're right that this does feel like something TLG would make as an official set, unlike many of the contest entries.  The criticisms that you've gotten can also be leveled against the new Eldorado (and perhaps rightly so), but you can't really fix them without completely breaking what you're going for here.

I do have some suggestions:

• Make the dock have some stairs to go down to the level of the raft.  You can build a curving staircase to keep the footprint small, or just a couple half arch bricks with tiles on them, to keep the build simple.
• The bridge between sections is too narrow.  I know the original was, too, but this should be at least two studs wide to allow a guard to walk across.
• Gulls do not build nests; they lay their eggs directly on rocks on the sides of cliffs.  It would be neat if the palm tree tipping feature sent the bird and the egg flying.

I especially like the arches used on the jail cell, they look fantastic and right at home with the rest of the build.  Excellent work matching the design language of Eldorado; from the rocks to the dark red bricks, everything matches very well.  I'd love to see pics of this connected up.

And thank you for the story pictures, they tie everything together so well and really sold me on this build.  I love the guard's shako on the post on the pier.

Thank you for the kind words!

 The stairs on the dock were something I toyed with in early design but I’m terrible in smaller scale design work, and since it wasn’t in the original it was playing a bit fast and loose with the overall “recognition” factor. But I agree it would certainly look better with them!

And the bridge!

 Man it’s my least favorite part of the whole thing, I initially wanted it to be 4 studs wide but without modding the floor print of the other side I couldn’t make it look good but this is probably my own biggest criticism!

You actually picked up on something left over from my early design for this and it was an extra play feature involving a falling egg onto the guard that I couldn’t quite incorporate properly!

great review, thank you!

[Aanchir]

Ooh, I'm very impressed that you managed to split such a small model up into three modular segments (compatible with Eldorado Fortress) in a way that still feels natural! The little bird's nest on the cliff and the short jetty are both really neat features to help keep the cliffside from looking too plain, and the tea set is a great use for the interior. You did an impeccable job matching the design language of Eldorado Fortress's walls and cliff faces here. Overall, it feels very true to both the style of the new Eldorado Fortress and the original design of Broadside's Brig. You even added a neat new play feature (the toppling palm tree).

The only details I don't particularly care for are the 1x3x2 ogee arches, which feel more reminiscent of Mediterranean architecture than Caribbean architecture to me. I feel that a 1x6x1 or 1x6x2 arch would have been a better stylistic fit in both the places where you used these arches, and also would have more closely matched the other arches in both this MOC and Eldorado Fortress.

The crab and plants add some nice detail to the narrow subterranean tunnels without blocking access to them, but if you do decide to make any changes before the entry period end date, it could be neat if there were some details down there that WEREN'T included anywhere in Eldorado Fortress. Perhaps some seashell pieces like 53119 and 28619/3498, or some different type of animal like a rat, mouse, or spider.

 

You took a lot more creative liberties with the Renegade's Raft's color scheme than sets like Barracuda Bay and Eldorado Fortress did, but I think this is a valid choice, both because it's a secondary build in the context of this MOC and because the color scheme of the original raft felt less convincingly true-to-life than the color schemes of many larger Pirates set.

I feel a particular fondness for this part of the build, since I believe I did own that set as a child, unlike many other late 80s/early 90s pirates sets. You did a great job staying true to the model's size and shape while giving it more detail and a stronger sense of authenticity. I do kind of wish you'd included a shark as part of your MOC like the original Renegade's Raft set, though!

The minifigure version of Captain Kragg is a fun choice as well! While I doubt many folks here have any particular nostalgia for the 4+ Pirates sets (I certainly don't), it's a neat idea to tap into that range's figures for inspiration, especially to cut down on the feeling of repetition that might arise from using only 80s/90s inspired pirate figs.

If you have the time/interest, I'd love to see how the modules in this MOC look in a different arrangement (such as with the positions of the two buildings switched, or even combined with modules from Eldorado Fortress if you have any of those on hand and assembled! But no worries if you can't or aren't interested. Best of luck in the contest!

[zinnn]

4 hours ago, Aanchir said:

The only details I don't particularly care for are the 1x3x2 ogee arches, which feel more reminiscent of Mediterranean architecture than Caribbean architecture to me. I feel that a 1x6x1 or 1x6x2 arch would have been a better stylistic fit in both the places where you used these arches, and also would have more closely matched the other arches in both this MOC and Eldorado Fortress.

Agree 100%

Sweet little build, would love to build this at some point, as I had the original as a kid :) Great stuff

[thewatchman]

Thanks for the great comments guys!

 I’ll take some pictures in a different layout sometime soon and my Eldorado is due in just over a week (thanks Australia) so I can show it in the layout too :)

[thewatchman]

Just a few updates with pictures, following advice I changed a few small things too.

Hope you like v2!

[zinnn]

Perfect small-ish set! Love the update:)

one last thing I’d change is the black jetty but I understand it’s designed to go with the new Eldorado Fortres.

overall you nailed it :)

[Rogue Redcoat]

The set looks pretty good overall, especially the tree and the updated minifigs to go along with the immaculate story. My only suggestions are to enlarge the entry a little it all seems a bit cramped(maybe make it 8 wide on the sides?), other than this the colors look great and now I can't wait to see Eldarado alongside it! Anyway, Happy building :)

[thewatchman]

6 hours ago, Rogue Redcoat said:

The set looks pretty good overall, especially the tree and the updated minifigs to go along with the immaculate story. My only suggestions are to enlarge the entry a little it all seems a bit cramped(maybe make it 8 wide on the sides?), other than this the colors look great and now I can't wait to see Eldarado alongside it! Anyway, Happy building :)

Thanks for the kind words!

 I did toy with the idea of making it 8 wide but the modular nature and fitting in with the new Eldorado system was more important to me, that and I wanted it to feel like a TLG set, and not some sprawling 2000 piece moc.

 Working in the constraints of part and space restrictions felt more genuine to the original and the overall style of the draft.

[zinnn]

Hey @thewatchman what technique did you use for the bird's nest? Could you share how it's attached? I find those nests quite wobbly when placing on my builds, still looking for the best set up.

[thewatchman]

2 hours ago, zinnn said:

Hey @thewatchman what technique did you use for the bird's nest? Could you share how it's attached? I find those nests quite wobbly when placing on my builds, still looking for the best set up.

Certainly!

 It’s a 2x2 round plate with centre stud in light bluish grey, on top of that;

is a 1x2 jumper plate in dark bluish grey, on top of that,

I used a 1x1 round plate with centre hole in light bluish grey (these seem to have a tighter fit and im not sure why!)

then the neck fur, with the egg on top!

hope that helps!

[thewatchman]

Alright folks, last update I promise. 
 I had to add another layer to the rock wall to get it to marry up properly with Eldorado, I must have miscounted the height!

so here is the finished version;

and finally, how it sits between a few different modules of Eldorado fortress;

Thank you everyone for reading and the feedback!

[MstrOfPppts]

On 7/14/2023 at 1:59 AM, thewatchman said:

100% agree about the angled wall section, but with current bricks we are rather limited and the official dorado set didn’t use those techniques, so I instead tried to emulate those.

In your last picture it is clearly seen how the official set did use the cheese slopes and the angled wall looks much nicer and smoother than yours. I'd still change that! Else I like the other changes and am kind of grown on the idea of making it an Eldorado extension, although I was not too keen on the high rocks underneath it at first.

As suggested to others I'd edit the first post with your final entry and put the previous versions into a spoiler tag - a few images will do, keep it as transparent as possible. Also putting some paper (tan or white) for the backdrop would highly improve the images as the holed wall / wardrobe in the back is quite distracting ...

[CollinsAnimationStudio]

Wow, the new pictures show just how well it fits into Eldorado, it looks great!

[thewatchman]

1 hour ago, CollinsAnimationStudio said:

Wow, the new pictures show just how well it fits into Eldorado, it looks great!

Thank you so much!

[thewatchman]

Full layout pictures.

 

[US_Army_Tom]

Hello! New member, here--I love these builds because I knew exactly which sets you were remaking as soon as I saw them. You managed to update the old ones with new/better details, but you captured their original spirit and simplicity. Very well done, and kudos for inspiring those of us who don't have massive amounts of parts at our disposal! I am a father of five and I just do this as a fun hobby with my kids using my old sets from the 80s and 90s. Your builds are awesome, and I could see myself buying these at a LEGO store feeling good that my kids would love them and that I didn't have to break the bank.

[Mazin]

I love the raft and the tatooed pirate, those are best things about this, and some structure work is impressive in here, also the idea to use that palm tree as a bridge is brilliant! Simple frature, but makes such a cool prop out of a simple tree. That's a plus! 

But i do have doubts about creating such small add ons. Separately they don't look interesting, one must realy have an ability to see them in a bigger picture, to judge if they are attractive and worth it. So maybe they could be actually used as a minibuild themselves? Thinking about them being bonus builds for an existing set is one thing, surely they would find their buyers, but i  do think lego sets should work as stand alones, even the smallest ones, and i woudln't mind this being a set, a pack of x number of small add ons, but it would be much cooler if they could work together, to construct a nice small sets only by using them. Surely there's plenty of thought in it, and parts, and engineering so they could and should be able to be brought together to create something realy worth all that work You've invested into them.

And, those rocky elements, they all seem to have quite a volume. So maybe there could be something hidden in them? Not in all of them, but some could use this idea. Having secret openable compartments is always fun.