[ENTRY] Shipwrecked Survivor (Mini set)

[nyugvo6]

This idea for a shipwreck has been with me for long years, only to be realized because of this contest.
My main goal was to present a wreck modified into a cabin-like living space.
He's been stuck there for a bit now, and will have to wait for the rescue still.
Therefore once the main structure was done, I focused on adding things ensuring his survival.
A barrel of water, a jolly roger for visibility's sake, a lantern just in case.
(I've included a bottle of rum which played a big part in him landing there in the first place)

The gun will be used to signal, but until then it will serve to reinforce the side of the build. Unless he needs to defend himself.

The backside of the wreck, admittedly a large number of pieces went into it, but it just didn't feel right without.

The other side, I used the same fence piece and the same 1x6 plate for consistency's sake. The bowsprit's placement was a bit of a headache.

Lastly a closeup. Once I placed the mustache on him, I knew it had to stay on. Originally I built it in LDD, he had a different face with the eye patch on the other eye. It gave me a laugh so I left the telescope as is.

Signed up for this contest because the piece count limit sounded challenging, and a challenge it was.
Didn't even reach the halfway point before I realized this build would need at least 70 pieces.
Keeping it at 50 was a constant uphill battle, I had to make very hard decisions. Took weeks of fine tuning.
There's a silver lining here, thanks to the low piece count, it's compressed to the point it feels authentic.
it's also one my sturdiest moc yet. probably.

I have extensive builder notes, LDD and Stud.io files, models of previous versions and even a bad ms paint concept art if you'd like some more insight.
I plan to extend this tiny island in the future with two more 50 piece/moc structures to expand the story.

[Yperio_Bricks]

Nice one! I really like that idea of a small shipwreck outpost. If only the parts limit would be higher so there could be a real base How does it look with a 6x8 plate that covers the build only?

[MstrOfPppts]

What a great idea for a mini set. Love the aesthetics and the color scheme resembling the old Barracuda! I too think that the build would benefit from being placed on a 8x6 plate and make it black. As if it's the part of the ship and so that it could be placed on a tan baseplate when playing to achieve the current effect or it could be built into something bigger. Maybe use this at the top of the window to attach the ladder so it wont be sticking out that far. Great entry!

[iragm]

An excellent build!  I think the beach is fine, it adds some good negative space around the build, although admittedly it is a bit square.  Ideally, it would be cool if the ship was tilted as though it had sunk, although this might not be possible with the limited parts count in this contest.

I'd like to see an animal or two -- shark, crab, parrot, monkey, whatever, just to add some life to the build.

I really like the use of the angle of the window to hold the ladder, a wonderful touch.  Overall, this looks pretty good to me!

[Aanchir]

Whoa! I can definitely tell why fitting a build this substantial into the 50-piece limit was challenging for you, but I'm extremely impressed with how well you managed it, without compromising its visual appeal or the creativity of its build. As it is, this could fit in flawlessly with bigger and more complex pirate builds in a unified display (none of the distracting difference in detail that you'd get from, say, displaying a 4+ Ninjago set next to an 8+ Ninjago set).

Moreover, you still managed to include enough pirate accessories like the bottle, barrel, lantern, spyglass, and musket to ensure that it would be plenty fun as a playset, and not just a display piece. I do kind of wish that the base were less rectangular, but I know that's tricky when you have to fit everything on a single plate (I think the only round plate that'd be big enough to fit this entire model is 80031, and even that would require the ship's quarterdeck to extend past the edge of the base).

All in all, this might be my favorite wholly original "mini set" entry yet!

[Mazin]

Wonderful design of the bow! and a very nice idea for a legit set, as it's not only a display piece, but clearly something with a real story and play values. BTW, since You said You plan to create more sets like this, You could definitely go with a bow, comes to my first :) And then if You'd look for other possibilities for this theme than pehaps a gun deck, turned into sort of a cave, as most of the wreck could be buried in sand, would be interesting, not ery carribean but still attractive.

But back to Your design! I realy love attention to detail, very appealing, but not overdone! Those curves, even that line attached to the mast, wow, and that lantern is very well positioned. And the fact that You've managed to achieve all that with very few pieces, that's some achievement, with surely a lot of planning behind. 

The interior of the bow looks a bit empty, but i guess we can blame it on that damn storm and all that sand that got inside ;) Plus, hardly any pieces that could be sacrificed to put a brown "wodden" baseplate in there i believe. If it would be even worth it ;)

I wonder if that fence below the window is a good thing tho? The other fence, one from the more open side, looks gread, but since there's already a window in that preserved side, is it a good element to place in there? I mean, if it's a part of the original ship then it would be a bit weird. Like, why would they build a ship in that way, even with all that tropical heat. But i guess we can always presume that Your hero simply built it onto that space himself, probably to secure that entry point or something.  

Also, i like the ladder very much, and i guess it has to be that long, but the way it's placed it covers a lot of space on top of that bow. Makes it hardly accesible for the figure. Sure he can climb on top of that cute yellow railing, but i'm afraid he could fall as it's so nice and shiny but slippery ;) Tho, he could probably take that ladder off in order to stand firmly on that lover part, still, i think it would be better if he could just use a shorter ladder. IF there would be such element available and if You'd be willing to do so of course ;) 

And btw, looking at that back wall in the bow, with a window... am i wrong or does this part look like its openable? 

Lastly, wonder, if it wouldn't be better to change Your character's hook into a golden one, as this simple change would give You an another attractive element to go with the set, and without sacrificing any pieces. Then again, with so much yellow around, and with his own hands being so yellow, i'm not sure if gold would look good on him ;) Then again maybe there are other colors of hooks that could go along with it, diamond one or somesuch. 

[durazno33]

As has been said before, great color scheme. It looks sharp. 

Speaking of sharp, doesn't a pirate need a sword? I guess the question is, "What's more important to a pirate: an awesome mustache or a sword?"

[nyugvo6]

On 8/23/2023 at 9:35 PM, Yperio_Bricks said:

Nice one! I really like that idea of a small shipwreck outpost. If only the parts limit would be higher so there could be a real base How does it look with a 6x8 plate that covers the build only?

(this is the ldd model don't worry about the textures.) I think it's entirely justified to include the plate like this, but it makes the build appear a lot less "grounded"? like a chess piece without a chess board.

On 8/23/2023 at 9:49 PM, MstrOfPppts said:

What a great idea for a mini set. Love the aesthetics and the color scheme resembling the old Barracuda! I too think that the build would benefit from being placed on a 8x6 plate and make it black. As if it's the part of the ship and so that it could be placed on a tan baseplate when playing to achieve the current effect or it could be built into something bigger. Maybe use this at the top of the window to attach the ladder so it wont be sticking out that far. Great entry!

I agree! it looks better like this, but I would have to sacrifice a piece somewhere. maybe the glass in the lantern...?

As for the ladder, it won't work for two reasons. It serves a structural purpose, has to keep the backside of the ship in place. it'd also take up all the space inside unfortunately.

On 8/23/2023 at 10:18 PM, iragm said:

An excellent build!  I think the beach is fine, it adds some good negative space around the build, although admittedly it is a bit square.  Ideally, it would be cool if the ship was tilted as though it had sunk, although this might not be possible with the limited parts count in this contest.

I'd like to see an animal or two -- shark, crab, parrot, monkey, whatever, just to add some life to the build.

I really like the use of the angle of the window to hold the ladder, a wonderful touch.  Overall, this looks pretty good to me!

Thank you! I planned to include at least a crab, it just didn't make it into the final build sadly.

On 8/23/2023 at 11:01 PM, Aanchir said:

Whoa! I can definitely tell why fitting a build this substantial into the 50-piece limit was challenging for you, but I'm extremely impressed with how well you managed it, without compromising its visual appeal or the creativity of its build. As it is, this could fit in flawlessly with bigger and more complex pirate builds in a unified display (none of the distracting difference in detail that you'd get from, say, displaying a 4+ Ninjago set next to an 8+ Ninjago set).

Moreover, you still managed to include enough pirate accessories like the bottle, barrel, lantern, spyglass, and musket to ensure that it would be plenty fun as a playset, and not just a display piece. I do kind of wish that the base were less rectangular, but I know that's tricky when you have to fit everything on a single plate (I think the only round plate that'd be big enough to fit this entire model is 80031, and even that would require the ship's quarterdeck to extend past the edge of the base).

All in all, this might be my favorite wholly original "mini set" entry yet!

Thank you so much for the kind words!

10 hours ago, Mazin said:

Wonderful design of the bow! and a very nice idea for a legit set, as it's not only a display piece, but clearly something with a real story and play values. BTW, since You said You plan to create more sets like this, You could definitely go with a bow, comes to my first :) And then if You'd look for other possibilities for this theme than pehaps a gun deck, turned into sort of a cave, as most of the wreck could be buried in sand, would be interesting, not ery carribean but still attractive.

But back to Your design! I realy love attention to detail, very appealing, but not overdone! Those curves, even that line attached to the mast, wow, and that lantern is very well positioned. And the fact that You've managed to achieve all that with very few pieces, that's some achievement, with surely a lot of planning behind. 

The interior of the bow looks a bit empty, but i guess we can blame it on that damn storm and all that sand that got inside ;) Plus, hardly any pieces that could be sacrificed to put a brown "wodden" baseplate in there i believe. If it would be even worth it ;)

I wonder if that fence below the window is a good thing tho? The other fence, one from the more open side, looks gread, but since there's already a window in that preserved side, is it a good element to place in there? I mean, if it's a part of the original ship then it would be a bit weird. Like, why would they build a ship in that way, even with all that tropical heat. But i guess we can always presume that Your hero simply built it onto that space himself, probably to secure that entry point or something.  

Also, i like the ladder very much, and i guess it has to be that long, but the way it's placed it covers a lot of space on top of that bow. Makes it hardly accesible for the figure. Sure he can climb on top of that cute yellow railing, but i'm afraid he could fall as it's so nice and shiny but slippery ;) Tho, he could probably take that ladder off in order to stand firmly on that lover part, still, i think it would be better if he could just use a shorter ladder. IF there would be such element available and if You'd be willing to do so of course ;) 

And btw, looking at that back wall in the bow, with a window... am i wrong or does this part look like its openable? 

Lastly, wonder, if it wouldn't be better to change Your character's hook into a golden one, as this simple change would give You an another attractive element to go with the set, and without sacrificing any pieces. Then again, with so much yellow around, and with his own hands being so yellow, i'm not sure if gold would look good on him ;) Then again maybe there are other colors of hooks that could go along with it, diamond one or somesuch. 

The gun deck cave is an amazing idea! I'll certainly use it if I get around building the next part. The fence below the window is there for multiple reasons. First and foremost, necessity. it keeps the window at the proper height. Second, I went with the idea to include multiple of the same type of pieces if possible. The fence, round tiles, the 1x6 plates, etc. The reason for this decision is that the 3 wreck builds should make up an entire ship so you can rebuild it like a creator set. The last reason is purely a visual thing. it's why the entire deck is covered in sand. A shorter ladder would be better yeah, but I find it a bit too short. Sadly it doesn't free up any space up there either. The round plate has a hollow part, and the other two studs aren't usable because of the round yellow tiles. Yes,the entire backside would be able to open if the ladder wasn't keeping it in place. Diamondhook sounds like a really cool name!

5 hours ago, durazno33 said:

As has been said before, great color scheme. It looks sharp. 

Speaking of sharp, doesn't a pirate need a sword? I guess the question is, "What's more important to a pirate: an awesome mustache or a sword?"

Thank you! Certainly a sword would help, but I wouldn't trade the mustache for it. maybe the musket? on a build this small, every piece has it's own story. The musket was originally there to hold the jolly roger, but it wasn't very visible like that. So it kinda lost it's purpose. Currently it's just an aesthetic thing.

[Mazin]

5 minutes ago, nyugvo6 said:

(this is the ldd model don't worry about the textures.) I think it's entirely justified to include the plate like this, but it makes the build appear a lot less "grounded"? like a chess piece without a chess board.

I agree! it looks better like this, but I would have to sacrifice a piece somewhere. maybe the glass in the lantern...?

As for the ladder, it won't work for two reasons. It serves a structural purpose, has to keep the backside of the ship in place. it'd also take up all the space inside unfortunately.

Thank you! I planned to include at least a crab, it just didn't make it into the final build sadly.

Thank you so much for the kind words!

The gun deck cave is an amazing idea! I'll certainly use it if I get around building the next part. The fence below the window is there for multiple reasons. First and foremost, necessity. it keeps the window at the proper height. Second, I went with the idea to include multiple of the same type of pieces if possible. The fence, round tiles, the 1x6 plates, etc. The reason for this decision is that the 3 wreck builds should make up an entire ship so you can rebuild it like a creator set. The last reason is purely a visual thing. it's why the entire deck is covered in sand. A shorter ladder would be better yeah, but I find it a bit too short. Sadly it doesn't free up any space up there either. The round plate has a hollow part, and the other two studs aren't usable because of the round yellow tiles. Yes,the entire backside would be able to open if the ladder wasn't keeping it in place. Diamondhook sounds like a really cool name!

Thank you! Certainly a sword would help, but I wouldn't trade the mustache for it. maybe the musket? on a build this small, every piece has it's own story. The musket was originally there to hold the jolly roger, but it wasn't very visible like that. So it kinda lost it's purpose. Currently it's just an aesthetic thing.

Thanx for responding and thank You for all those explanations :) It's a lot more clear now and a very insight into the whole planning/engineering/building process as well designing with future sets in mind :) Very cool. And glad i could help. Realy looking forward to see Your upcoming mocs :) 

[Mister Phes]

On 8/24/2023 at 3:58 AM, nyugvo6 said:

This idea for a shipwreck has been with me for long years, only to be realized because of this contest.

Thank you for sharing your realisation!

It has been added to the Entries Index.

[MstrOfPppts]

On 8/25/2023 at 2:25 AM, nyugvo6 said:

I think it's entirely justified to include the plate like this, but it makes the build appear a lot less "grounded"?

I think that the background in that particular image has a lot to do with that feel. A nice photoshop into the old styled island background would make quite a lot of difference. I still think I'd go without the baseplate and switch it for a sword. It's kind of a cheat since such a big baseplates would not be used in the set of a targeted price point. Besides it's plain and empty since you've ran out of parts to add something significant to it rather than just a crab or a bush ... Anyway I think that the brown plate looks even better than the black one.

Also I must say that I do prefer the short ladder. It's something that was not in the original ship, but was built after using this part for a shelter. Therefor it makes no sense creating it too long but just long enough to reach it and climb to the balcony.

Also when you look at the build after a while, when you're not too focused on your initial idea, you can spot little things where you can save a part or two. For example the 1x1 brown plate and arch holding the leaves could be replaced by this piece sparing a part and having the exact same effect though a little bit different aesthetics. Or maybe the leaves could be switched to the other end and the 1x1 stud from the rope could be used instead of the 1x1 plate ... Optimization is a fun thing (:

[Rogue Redcoat]

On 8/23/2023 at 1:58 PM, nyugvo6 said:

I have extensive builder notes, LDD and Stud.io files, models of previous versions and even a bad ms paint concept art if you'd like some more insight.
I plan to extend this tiny island in the future with two more 50 piece/moc structures to expand the story.

Aye, a very nice build indeed, perhaps you could add a bit more to make it look like he has been here awhile, a place to sleep, a parrot to talk to, some other supplies, and I know what you're going to say "yes, but the piece count" perhaps you could get rid of the front railing so we can see the Minifigure more and reach your hand in there. Anyway, it's a lovely little model that does not need a lot of work so good job and happy building :)

Btw, I can't wait to see your other 50-piece Mocs :)