[BDP] Imperial Frigate Minerva

[BrickPerfection]

Minerva is a fast frigate whose sole purpose is to keep the Oceans safe from those Pirates, and dare I may say a ship that has been sorely missing in the LEGO World. She comes with 12 Minifigures and one small cat to keep the food supplies safe from rats.

Please Vote Now () at BrickLink.com if you would like for her to be produced as part of the BrickLink Designer Program:

https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-4/1451/Imperial-Frigate-Minerva

 

Minerva is a highly efficient design, which is to say that it does a lot with its 4000 pieces. Although the design is ambitious, I have paid close attention to making it as buildable as possible. What I can definitely guarantee is that you’ll come across plenty of interesting techniques as well as those sweet moments where sections come together and fit just perfectly - just have a look at Minerva’s stern.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minerva has several features that make her highly playable and friendly to Minifigures, as demonstrated in this video:

 

Please Vote ():

https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-4/1451/Imperial-Frigate-Minerva

 

Thanks a lot! 

Edited February 7 by BrickPerfection

[NOD]

A very beautiful frigate built with many details!  The masts, some of which were built from barrels, are interesting. I like the good rigging, bow and stern. There are enough ladders to access the various ship decks.

[Justsomebrix]

Amazing work on this one! I used to scroll through your old fleet all the time, your ships have always been some of my favorites (The first version of Achille will always have a special place in my lego heart!)

 

Hope she wins 

[Stoertebricker]

Wow, thanks for both of your nice entrys for the BDP! I think this one is a bit superior to the Concordia because I prefer these masts and the addition of the brick build sails. Why you submitted both ships in one round? I would think to have higher chances when submitting one per round? Or dou you build each unsuccesful round an additional one?

I would buy each one but the Minerva has some better trim to make the race for me

I forgot: do you have some fotos from the assembly? Espcecially the technik frame underneath to create the subtle angles would be interesting!

Edited February 8 by Stoertebricker

[BrickPerfection]

On 2/8/2024 at 8:22 AM, NOD said:

A very beautiful frigate built with many details!  The masts, some of which were built from barrels, are interesting. I like the good rigging, bow and stern. There are enough ladders to access the various ship decks.

 

Thanks, NOD! The barrels actually increase stability because the 2x2 round bricks bend too easily on a 32L axle. Gosh, I miss my MOC Expert Tag - it was overwritten with the Ship Expert Tag more than 10 years ago, probably by accident as you have both! 
 

On 2/8/2024 at 12:22 PM, Justsomebrix said:

Amazing work on this one! I used to scroll through your old fleet all the time, your ships have always been some of my favorites (The first version of Achille will always have a special place in my lego heart!)

 

Hope she wins 

Thanks so much! It's very sweet to hear that you had a look at my fleet from 2013! Achille is older still, from 2010. I consider the first version rather unrefined, but I understand that the more modern rigging (USS Constitution era) and red hull had an appeal. I had major 'dark ages' from 2007-2009 and a much longer one from mid-2013 until early 2022. I would actually like to build something else than sailing frigates at some point (though they are beautiful!), however my mission is not finished yet, and I now consider it my mission to make one into a set! 

 

4 hours ago, Stoertebricker said:

Wow, thanks for both of your nice entrys for the BDP! I think this one is a bit superior to the Concordia because I prefer these masts and the addition of the brick build sails. Why you submitted both ships in one round? I would think to have higher chances when submitting one per round? Or dou you build each unsuccesful round an additional one?

I would buy each one but the Minerva has some better trim to make the race for me

I forgot: do you have some fotos from the assembly? Espcecially the technik frame underneath to create the subtle angles would be interesting!

I didn't intent for both ships to be in Series 4, but I was struggling greatly to get Minerva finished in time because I redesigned almost everything on her at least once; the technic frame is actually in it's fifth iteration. So not knowing whether I could get her ready, I submitted the unfinished Minerva and the unchanged Concordia from Series 3 during the submission window. When I did finish Minerva and knew I could re-submit her, I asked for Concordia to be withdrawn, but the BDP Design Team just didn't do it - the reply I got was that she had already been approved for crowd validation.

I'll do a direct comparison video with both Concordia and Minerva on the weekend. Apart from better functions and accessibility, Minerva is just a far more refined design and she comes together much more like a Lego set does - in sub-sections that pretty much fall into place. In contrast, Concordia has quite a few rough edges that are more or less inherent to the design; I also have some concerns about the rigging exerting too much force on the hull. On top of this, Concordia's hull eats too many parts, so there's not enough left for sails; her capstan also doesn't come with a string (loose strings are not in the palette). So overall, Concordia is rather unfinished as-is, making her much less likely to get past the review stage.
In contrast, Minerva has been built from the get-go to comply with a fairly conservative interpretation of design standards, is far more parts-efficient in how the hull is constructed, especially the sides, and has a build flow that is much more Lego-like if you will (interior colours are white, tan and grey, nothing weird!). On top of that, every part of the interior is easily accessible to fingers, which is a massive plus over most MOC designs and even some sets. Finally, I paid far greater attention to interior details - the captains chair is a novel design, as are the small stairs and galley - and to the crew composition - every character has a designated role, there's enough weapons in storage for the crew and some (4 or 5, depending how you count) crew members have female faces for role-play.

 

[Marooned Marin]

As a fellow ship lover, you got my support for both ships.

They both have great curves, the right amount of seriousness and plenty of playability packed inside. Best of luck!

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Fine ship. I feel inclined to build something like this. 

Congratulations!

[Justsomebrix]

Congrats on the frontpage!

On 2/9/2024 at 10:37 AM, BrickPerfection said:

 

 Thanks so much! It's very sweet to hear that you had a look at my fleet from 2013! Achille is older still, from 2010. I consider the first version rather unrefined, but I understand that the more modern rigging (USS Constitution era) and red hull had an appeal. I had major 'dark ages' from 2007-2009 and a much longer one from mid-2013 until early 2022. I would actually like to build something else than sailing frigates at some point (though they are beautiful!), however my mission is not finished yet, and I now consider it my mission to make one into a set! 

Looking forward to your future projects!

Whatever happened to your fleet? Did you keep them on display pr where they broken apart?

[BrickPerfection]

1 hour ago, Justsomebrix said:

Congrats on the frontpage!

Looking forward to your future projects!

Whatever happened to your fleet? Did you keep them on display pr where they broken apart?

Thanks! I hope it helps with a few last-minute votes... we haven't had an Imperial Ship since 2009 and probably never a realistic-looking ship that has play functions and fits Minifigures.

My old fleet is still in the same old basement in Germany.
I'm in Australia now, so have no access. I posted some pictures of how they're stored here.

 

 

Edited February 14 by BrickPerfection

[Yperio_Bricks]

7 hours ago, BrickPerfection said:

My old fleet is still in the same old basement in Germany.
I'm in Australia now, so have no access. I posted some pictures of how they're stored here.

What a fantastic fleet this is!

[bingowaldorf]

Wow! This design is stunning. The use of curved slopes for the boat hull looks so good. I also love all the pearl gold. If it were up to me every seafaring vessel would have a golden chicken as its figurehead. 

[kuzyabricks]

I want this to become the set so bad!!! Absolutely gorgeous!! 

[BrickPerfection]

On 2/9/2024 at 8:24 AM, Stoertebricker said:

I forgot: do you have some fotos from the assembly? Espcecially the technik frame underneath to create the subtle angles would be interesting!

I built a new frame from my instructions and posted a picture on my instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3UJA2OpDdi/

[Stoertebricker]

8 hours ago, BrickPerfection said:

I built a new frame from my instructions and posted a picture on my instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3UJA2OpDdi/

Thank you very much, I dont have Insta account but the small foto provides enough information! Looks really strurdy an the curves are archived mainly by standard hinging techniques, well done! I am thinking of building another motorized ship along my Dutchman and Pearl but I planned to use the hull pieces again, because they provide a simple base to build on. But the Motors also could fit in a completely build technik frame, therefore providing more freedom for the steering, rudder and driving functions. Probably resulting in 1-2 brick higher lower deck than your build, but that could work. Now I have probably to rethink my design decision...

[aluicahvs8472]

This question delves into the potential of LEGO as a tool for education and social change, encouraging us to think beyond traditional themes and embrace diversity and innovation in the world of building blocks.

[Stoertebricker]

Unfortunately, your ships did not make it

I am really curious why we are getting so many castle-styled sets... I think the Siege Encampment makes somehow sense but I thought your ship will fit perfectly in the gap of a "18+ set" vessel acompanying the Eldorado Fortress... And although i kind of like the western train we already get one in the next round (which looks way worse than the new one from Round 4).

Probably you have a chance in round 5, best of luck!

[iragm]

Unbelievable that this didn't make the cut.  I love castle stuff, but honestly the 3 castle designs accepted this round were pretty weak, and we've just gotten a ton of great castle stuff as official sets.  Please submit it again next round -- this is one of the best frigates I've seen and I would love to build a ship other than B-Bay with modern techniques.

[kuzyabricks]

2 hours ago, iragm said:

Unbelievable that this didn't make the cut.  I love castle stuff, but honestly the 3 castle designs accepted this round were pretty weak, and we've just gotten a ton of great castle stuff as official sets.  Please submit it again next round -- this is one of the best frigates I've seen and I would love to build a ship other than B-Bay with modern techniques.

Agree with this x10000 The only appealing castle set is the dock, it's a damn shame that your absolute gorgeous ship didn't make it. Please keep submitting it and we will keep voting for it, it's stunning!

[BrickPerfection]

On 3/19/2024 at 7:52 AM, Stoertebricker said:

Unfortunately, your ships did not make it

I am really curious why we are getting so many castle-styled sets... I think the Siege Encampment makes somehow sense but I thought your ship will fit perfectly in the gap of a "18+ set" vessel acompanying the Eldorado Fortress... And although i kind of like the western train we already get one in the next round (which looks way worse than the new one from Round 4).

Probably you have a chance in round 5, best of luck!

Thanks a lot for your kind words! Unfortunately the Imperial Soldiers torsos are not available in BDP Series 5, so I cannot simply re-run Minerva. The reason appears to be that the Eldorado Fortress is being retired early, reportedly by the end of 2024. Apparently it didn't sell too well -  I could get myself one for A$100 off at the main Sydney Lego Store and even with that 30% discount they didn't sell out.

On 3/19/2024 at 10:27 AM, iragm said:

Unbelievable that this didn't make the cut.  I love castle stuff, but honestly the 3 castle designs accepted this round were pretty weak, and we've just gotten a ton of great castle stuff as official sets.  Please submit it again next round -- this is one of the best frigates I've seen and I would love to build a ship other than B-Bay with modern techniques.

My own theory is that accelerating the retirement of the Eldorado Fortress also gutted Minerva's chances, as BDP Series 4 production / shipping is in mid-2025; i.e. after Eldorado is now set to retire. I might be wrong, but this explanation makes the most sense to me given what we know. Alternatively the piece count was too large - unfortunately I can't really get it down because of proportions: the width is determined by the cannons fitting with closed gunports, and the length follows from there with a 3.5-3.8 ratio (any less and she would look fat!). Keep in mind that BDP has a rule of keeping the average finalist part count at 2500; that alone can sink a 4000pcs design.

I might revise Minerva for a future series if I can make her work with the then-available torsos; but for now I need a break. I'll go with a few new designs into BDP Series 5 instead of pouring everything that I have into a single high difficulty, high-risk (& high-reward) design like Minerva. I won't give up on BDP so easily; many of the successful designers have been unsuccessful in ideas for years previously!

On 3/19/2024 at 7:52 AM, Stoertebricker said:

Unfortunately, your ships did not make it

I am really curious why we are getting so many castle-styled sets... I think the Siege Encampment makes somehow sense but I thought your ship will fit perfectly in the gap of a "18+ set" vessel acompanying the Eldorado Fortress... And although i kind of like the western train we already get one in the next round (which looks way worse than the new one from Round 4).

Probably you have a chance in round 5, best of luck!

The main reasons we are getting so many castle sets in BDP are:

1) Popularity:
     - There's lots of interest from fans; i.e. medieval sets always sell out (so far) which is a major incentive
     - There are many fan designers building medieval MOCs, and there's also a huge backlog in failed medieval ideas submissions coming to BDP

3) No standalone castle theme
     - Probably because it's mostly adults buying castle sets, the kids seem to have much less interest unfortunately

2) Minifigures:
     - There are many great torsos and utensils available from Lion Knight's castle and now even more with the Medieval Town Square
     - The torso selection for themes other than castle and town is pretty 'meh' to put it mildly and stickers on torsos are not allowed
     - Reviewers care a great deal about Minifigures that are included in a BDP set (just read / watch them)
     ->hence you cannot really make a Minifigure-scale set with the 'wrong' torsos and expect it to sell well

 

Should I re-run Minerva in a future BDP Series, I'll advertise it here on the forum! Still, I would appreciate if you could give my new designs for BDP Series 5 a look. They may not be on the same level as Minerva, but they won't disappoint for sure!