[ENTRY] [LARGE] Caught by the Armada Coast Guard

[Quotenotto]

The factions are at war! The imperial bluecoats try to establish a strong base in the new world, but get constantly into conflicts with the armada, who were the first to discover these rich new shores. Therefore, the bluecoats have declared war against the armada. Amidst this chaos ly great opportunities for all kinds of shady entepreneurs, like corsairs, privateers or pirates. One of them is Steve, smugler by trade, who has been tasked to deliver weapons to rebel islanders. But will he be stopped by the ever vigilant gunboats of the armada coast guard? Steve is flying the same colours as the armada, but is that going to be enough to slip by them or are they going to fire a warning shot and stop him to come aboard and inspect his cargo? When is the moment, Steve decides to act? What does he take into account? The enemy has him outgunned by their caliber, they have the larger crew, are more maneuverable and they even have the weather gauge, so what are Steves options? He might try to uphold the facade, try to talk his way out of this situation or surprise them, when they board him. Or is he going to change his course and flee, as his sloop is faster with the wind? But would he then be able to make his delivery in time?

Caught by the Armada Coast Guard

Lego Bermuda Sloop and Gunboat

Steves Ship is my interpreation of the classic small merchant vessel as a bermuda sloop. The color scheme of the armada gunboat is inspired by the original armada flagship.
I only used original Lego sails, down the line I'd like to create some better fitting custom ones, but I don't have enough time for that before the contest ends. For those sails, the armada one will have blue stripes instead of the red ones. There are some play features to those ships, Steves sloop has to stud shooters as swivel guns and the sails of both ships are fully posable. The cabin canopy of the sloop can easily be removed for access and the rudder is moved by the tillar. The mast of the gunboat can be foldet down, maybe it was hit by a luck canon shot or it is just for passing under a bridge?

Here are a few more photos of the two ships:

Lego Bermuda Sloop and Gunboat

Lego Bermuda Sloop and Gunboat

Lego Bermuda Sloop and Gunboat

Lego Bermuda Sloop and Gunboat

Lego Bermuda Sloop and Gunboat

Lego Bermuda Sloop and Gunboat

Lego Bermuda Sloop and Gunboat

I am going to try to edit a presentation picture with a better background, but I won't be able to make changes to the build before the contest ends.

Edited August 17 by Quotenotto
added a new image and some more description

[Horation]

I feel like these boats are quite interesting, but obviously the background is lacking, add a a few sheets of paper on every side and add a strong light, in this case white light would do fine.

And I know you won't change the build, but there are too many studs on the sides of the small ship, I'd add something there to cover those studs up, like a few white tiles, or add a little detailing there.

I also have to say it doesn't look like a battle, more like someone took two ships and put them side to side, make them point their guns at each other, maybe even add battle damage! , presentation is half the work in a contest, and I feel like that's what's lacking here.

[Mister Phes]

I've been wondering when the Imperial Armada would enter Steve's story - and now it's finally happened!

Caught by the Armada Coast Guard along with Modern Pirate Steve has been incorporated into the Entries Index.

[Quotenotto]

2 hours ago, Horation said:

I feel like these boats are quite interesting, but obviously the background is lacking, add a a few sheets of paper on every side and add a strong light, in this case white light would do fine.

And I know you won't change the build, but there are too many studs on the sides of the small ship, I'd add something there to cover those studs up, like a few white tiles, or add a little detailing there.

I also have to say it doesn't look like a battle, more like someone took two ships and put them side to side, make them point their guns at each other, maybe even add battle damage! , presentation is half the work in a contest, and I feel like that's what's lacking here.

Thanks for your comment, unfortunately I can't take more pictures because I am traveling for the week, but I'm trying to edit it into something nice. I am no photographer and honestly not really interested in getting into that kind of stuff, but I'm gonna keep your advice in mind. As for the scene I chose, I wanted to depict the moment before a potential battle breaks out, because in my opinion there is more tention in a standoff, then in the fight itself. Steve is flying the same colours as the armada, but will that be enough to slip by them or are they going to fire a warning shot and stop him to come aboard and inspect his cargo? When is the moment, Steve decides to act? What does he take into account? The enemy has him outgunned by their caliber, they have the larger crew, are more maneuverable and if you look closely at the sails and flags position, you can see that they even have the weather gauge, so what are Steves options? He might try to uphold the facade, try to talk his way out of this situation or surprise them, when they board him. Or is he going to change his course and flee them, as his sloop is faster with the wind? But would he then be able to make his delivery in time? So there is some thought put into the position of the ships, but you are right, a battle scene might have more spectacle. In the past years, i have mostly build larger ships with more masts, sails, decks and guns, so this time, I wanted to focus on something smaller and a lot more common to the period, than large ships fighting.

[Autumn]

Those are some nice ships, I especially like the larger one and how you made the hull. Honestly can't find anything to critique here. The angles and curves all look very meticulous. I also like how you did the mast and bowsprit together, it gives the mast a neat angle even if it is not realistic.

[Quotenotto]

24 minutes ago, Autumn said:

Those are some nice ships, I especially like the larger one and how you made the hull. Honestly can't find anything to critique here. The angles and curves all look very meticulous. I also like how you did the mast and bowsprit together, it gives the mast a neat angle even if it is not realistic.

Thanks! This is the rerference I used (Figure 6 from this article):

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Cedar-on-the-reef-%3A-archaeological-and-historical-Southerly/c14a71f9e3acea56879180cf7fb554bbc3772720

Some sloops were actually rigged this way, the bowsprit is attached to the mast in a 90° angle. Because the mast is raked backwards, the bowsprit angles up. This attachement point is usually below deck near the base of the mast, but that wasn't possible for this model.

I got he idea for this hull construction originally from 76208 The goat boat, wich uses the same shell pieces in the front. Lego used them for the new Harry Potter Durmstrang ship aswell and I think they fit quite well for ships of a certain size. Starting with those pieces I tinkered with the hull to get a shape where it tapers towards the back. I used a similar construction for those ships:

 

 

 

[Math Wizard]

Ahoy Matey!

They call me Captain Crit in these parts and I heard that polly wants a sandwich (They’re fed up with crackers apparently) - a criticism sandwich that is! (For you landlubbers, that’s 3 seas [Cs]- Compliment, Constructive Criticism, and another Compliment).

Ye did a great job buildin’ this and writin’ a story to go along with it. I ike the suspense of the story, we don’t know exactly what is going to happen next. 

Me biggest critique here is really just the studs on the sides of the boats near the back. It would be nice if they could be hidden. Also, the sloop needs a monkey. If it has bananas, it must have a monkey

Me favorite part of this build is the shaping of the boats. It is really well done and captures the types of ships well. The mast and rigging is also quite well done. I love the nostalgia from the original sails and the posing of the crooked mast adds to the story. 

Fair Winds Matey!

[Elephant Knight]

Lovely take on the sloop. 

I didn't realize there was a 3x3 macaroni brick now. I knew the tile existed, but was unaware of the brick.

EKnight

[Autumn]

14 hours ago, Quotenotto said:

Thanks! This is the rerference I used (Figure 6 from this article):

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Cedar-on-the-reef-%3A-archaeological-and-historical-Southerly/c14a71f9e3acea56879180cf7fb554bbc3772720

Some sloops were actually rigged this way, the bowsprit is attached to the mast in a 90° angle. Because the mast is raked backwards, the bowsprit angles up. This attachement point is usually below deck near the base of the mast, but that wasn't possible for this model.

Well I learned something new today! Bonus points for taking inspiration from something somewhat obscure.

[Christophh]

Hey! I think this is a great MOC, I like to see the imperial flags used for a pirate ship, they work really well. But I like the other ship, too! Too bad Lego don't produce them on a regular basis anymore!

[Quotenotto]

Here is the final update, I edited my post and added a new presentation picture.

[Sebeus I]

Lovely hull,much better than the set!

[Quotenotto]

1 minute ago, Sebeus I said:

Lovely hull,much better than the set!

Thanks! My biggest problem with the new lego hull pieces is that they don't get narrower towards the stern as the old ones did. The problem with constructions like these is that you loose a lot of cargo space because of the place needed for the curved and sloped bricks and plates.

[Horation]

@Quotenotto I quite like the new background, it looks much nicer and is nearly at the level of Lego's box designs, great job!

[Quotenotto]

2 hours ago, Horation said:

@Quotenotto I quite like the new background, it looks much nicer and is nearly at the level of Lego's box designs, great job!

Thanks, I tried to get a similar look like the Eldorado Fortress background art. The hardest part was actually getting a clean edge on the models, it might be easier with a greenscreen in the future.

[Andy-Roo]

Great merchant ship! It's great to see more boat of this slightly upsize scale from the official lego sets.
The smooth accent lines of the red and yellow work well, and you used the curved slopes very skillfully here. It's great that you were able to fit in a place for canons that didn't feel out of place. I thought that worked well!
I like the shape of this and it still feels true to the original. A great interpretation of the merchant ship!

The coast guard ship itself is nice in how the hull is constructed, but that canon feels a bit massive for that size of the ship. It is obviously more threatening but it would be interesting to see the smaller ship with a few fixed brick built cannons or some swivel guns.

[Math Wizard]

Ahoy Matey @Quotenotto!

Looks like ye haven’t voted for a critic yet- just a reminder that voting ends soon. If ye vote for a critic ye gain +5 points on each entry you have submitted. That’s an extra five (5) votes that yer missing out on by not voting! Yer also gonna be entered in a raffle for a $25 set, just for voting! So raise the anchor, hoist yer sails, and go vote, before it’s too late! Fair Winds!

[Quotenotto]

On 8/29/2024 at 7:54 AM, Andy-Roo said:

Great merchant ship! It's great to see more boat of this slightly upsize scale from the official lego sets.
The smooth accent lines of the red and yellow work well, and you used the curved slopes very skillfully here. It's great that you were able to fit in a place for canons that didn't feel out of place. I thought that worked well!
I like the shape of this and it still feels true to the original. A great interpretation of the merchant ship!

The coast guard ship itself is nice in how the hull is constructed, but that canon feels a bit massive for that size of the ship. It is obviously more threatening but it would be interesting to see the smaller ship with a few fixed brick built cannons or some swivel guns.

Thanks for your thoughts! The coast guard vessel is supposed to be a gunboat and would carry a rather large caliber for its small size. They would act in fleets to secure coastal waters, but are not build for the open ocean.

But you are right, for more realistic proportions I should have used a brickbuild cannon. And it should be fixed in a forward facing position. I opted for the Lego cannon and swivel mount simply because of its play value and to emphasize how this vessel poses a threat towards the bigger sloop.

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Congratulations! 

I like the two custom-hull ships and the way you have posed them for the picture. Great job!

[Quotenotto]

On 9/4/2024 at 10:01 AM, Captain Braunsfeld said:

Congratulations! 

I like the two custom-hull ships and the way you have posed them for the picture. Great job!

Thanks a lot!