[ENTRY][LARGE] Steve's youth at the Imperial Manor by the Sea

[Brickshipyard]

Hello Eurobricks community, this is my submission for the Infamous Steve contest and it depicts a very young and impressionable Steve in his teen years. I present Steve without a beard or much to do with seafaring and pirating really because he works as servant at the Imperial Manor by the Sea, a Redcoat fortress owned by Admiral Foxby (the lead Imperial Officer on the horse). Steve has his usual, distinctive brown coat and a pitchfork.

The story goes that Steve serves Admiral Foxby and his lady by keeping the grounds clean, tending to his horse, and by fishing and preparing meals or fetching water from the well. Foxby treats Steve generally well for a house servant and he is able to earn a very modest amount of coin for his labors. Foxby also teaches Steve lessons about the sea and how to read and write.  They have a good relationship, akin to an adopted son.

However, the Lady of the Manor (Foxby's wife) is demanding and bossy to Steve, plus held in low esteem by the soldiers. Worse yet is the conniving  Lieutenant Knave who assumes control of the Manor whenever Admiral Foxby has to leave for his Navy duties. He has the lady's ear and cleverly twists and subverts the Admiral's instructions to his benefit. Knave is particularly cruel to Steve through withholding his pay at times, creating extra messes throughout the Manor for Steve to clean, and sometimes playing pranks on Steve for his amusement. Knave absolutely despises the affection Foxby gives to Steve and that's a strong motive for his ill temperament, besides his superiority complex. Steve resents this treatment and vows one day to get revenge, but for now he has to earn enough coin to buy his way out of the manor and he also doesn't want to upset Foxby by escaping.

One day a captured Blue Coat soldier and pirate are thrown in the jail below the manor. Steve is an expert at sneaking around the Manor and decides to speak with them in low whispers one night to learn of their adventures. The captured Bluecoat tells him of many naval engagements on the high seas and how his ship was damaged in a great battle with the Redcoats. The pirate recounts similar stories, although he adds that the Pirates are led by the legendary Capt Redbeard who is so bold that he sneaks into the Imperial Shipyard to steal treasure and goods from the merchant ships under protection. The intrigued Steve can hardly believe these incredible adventures exist beyond the Manor and decides he must find a way out to the high seas to experience them himself.... for now he must endure and dream until the right moment.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I hope you enjoyed the tale. I built this Manor because I always wanted a Fortress for the RedCoats and believed this would have made an excellent set for classic pirates. You can think of it like official Imperial Outpost set, but with more architecture and some castle influence. Plus I have always loved the raised baseplates so that was a must. The back of the fort features special fold away walls for playability access. You see where the Officers sit for a meal next to the fireplace. The top room is quite cramped and is where Foxby sleeps. Just a simple bed and desk. Above his room is the treasure tower. The ground floor has wine barrels, a courtyard, and a stable area for Foxby's horse. Outside through the smaller doors you can see a fenced in garden with a canon mount and well. Underneath the foundation is where the jail cell sits. It can only be accessed via removing the ground plate. The last major detail I wanted to add was the long bridge which reaches land. I had a lot of fun building the manor and want to build it in real life at some point. Maybe I could add a small dock and sail boat in future additions, although I am quite happy with how the set looks now. A few modern pieces were used, but I worked to keep the build mostly classic. Typically I always build in real bricks first, but this time was a flip. I am considering making instructions, but will see what the interest is first. 

Thanks for reading and hopefully you could envision Steve in a different way through my build and story! Best of luck to the other participants in the contest.

- thebrickshipyard

Edit: per the great suggestion, I made an action scene featuring the prisoners of my story being escorted into the Manor.

You can find more photos here:

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBDAY6

 

 

Edited August 17 by Brickshipyard

[SevenDeadlyStreamers]

I like the inclusion of the horse and poor young Steve holding the pitchfork. It is clear he worked hard his whole life to get where he is as an adult. 
My critique for you is, it appears you are using BrickLink Studio so I suggest you turn on the “collision” feature. I may be mistaken, but a couple parts seem like they may be clipping into each other. 
Also, bonus points for including the classic monkey!

[Brickshipyard]

57 minutes ago, SevenDeadlyStreamers said:

I like the inclusion of the horse and poor young Steve holding the pitchfork. It is clear he worked hard his whole life to get where he is as an adult. 
My critique for you is, it appears you are using BrickLink Studio so I suggest you turn on the “collision” feature. I may be mistaken, but a couple parts seem like they may be clipping into each other. 
Also, bonus points for including the classic monkey!

Hello SevenDeadlyStreamers and thanks for checking out my entry. I can confirm your suspicion that some parts are clipping, mostly with the bridge plates. Something I would address before moving towards instruction making, you are right. Hah - yep, I couldn't miss including the classic monkey :).

[Horation]

 Finally, someone makes a vintage-style set with some proper colours!

I feel like this is a proper build which doesn't look bland, and good on you for using panels with red decorations rather than merely bricks like so many others are. There are ladders and a proper interior, I particularly like the little stables you've built. I also appreciate the mixing of old and new parts, with ingot pieces and masonry bricks doing much to add texture where regular parts would have failed. 

But I have to suggest an improvement or two. First, use a background of a different colour than the build, you have such a pic on your flickr ("Redcoat Imperial Manor by the sea with a Young Infamous Steve Render with Fix"). I'd fix that pronto to improve my odds of winning if I were you, since people will mostly see the top picture in the entry database, and it makes the build pop out more when the background is different.

I can also suggest maybe showing an action shot, or at least a picture of the pirates being put in jail, it would make the scene look more alive.

Other than that, a nice build with lots of minifigures in it!

 

[Mister Phes]

3 hours ago, Brickshipyard said:

Was this inspired by Black Falcon's Fortress with some Wolfpack Tower thrown in for good measure?

It makes a mighty fine Imperial Fortress!

Steve's Youth at the Imperial Manor by the Sea has been incorporated into the Entries Index.

[SevenDeadlyStreamers]

1 hour ago, Mister Phes said:

Was this inspired by Black Falcon's Fortress with some Wolfpack Tower thrown in for good measure?

It makes a mighty fine Imperial Fortress!

Steve's Youth at the Imperial Manor by the Sea has been incorporated into the Entries Index.

I definitely see the Wolfpack influence as well!

[Brickshipyard]

2 hours ago, Horation said:

 Finally, someone makes a vintage-style set with some proper colours!

I feel like this is a proper build which doesn't look bland, and good on you for using panels with red decorations rather than merely bricks like so many others are. There are ladders and a proper interior, I particularly like the little stables you've built. I also appreciate the mixing of old and new parts, with ingot pieces and masonry bricks doing much to add texture where regular parts would have failed. 

But I have to suggest an improvement or two. First, use a background of a different colour than the build, you have such a pic on your flickr ("Redcoat Imperial Manor by the sea with a Young Infamous Steve Render with Fix"). I'd fix that pronto to improve my odds of winning if I were you, since people will mostly see the top picture in the entry database, and it makes the build pop out more when the background is different.

I can also suggest maybe showing an action shot, or at least a picture of the pirates being put in jail, it would make the scene look more alive.

Other than that, a nice build with lots of minifigures in it!

 

Hello Horation and thanks for noticing my attempt at the brick colors. I am glad you like the masonry effect and the other small details. Yes I was aiming for a proper build with stairways and ladders to almost all locations, save for the prison cell which is inside the pit.

Alright, I will see what I can do about the background in a different color. I went through a range and that's because I was trying 10 different times unsuccessfully to use Apple's outlining feature to grab the image to be placed on a tropical setting background. Each time I tried to transpose it would cut off some parts no matter which color I tried. But I'll see what I can do.

Hmmmm I like your "to the brig!" suggestion for the captured sailors. Could be a very good action shot! I will give that an attempt with an improved background. Thanks for the detailed suggestions.

1 hour ago, Mister Phes said:

Was this inspired by Black Falcon's Fortress with some Wolfpack Tower thrown in for good measure?

It makes a mighty fine Imperial Fortress!

Steve's Youth at the Imperial Manor by the Sea has been incorporated into the Entries Index.

To answer your question Mister Phes, yes a bit of influence from the Black Falcon Fortress because I love that robust, dual tower - castle look and I had never thought about the Wolfpack Tower, but I can see it now with the bridge. Funny you say that because I have made a theme swapped Wolfpack Tower in the Blacktron 1 color scheme before for a space contest. Certainly you can make an argument for a hybrid of both sets influencing the Imperial Manor. One really obscure influence was from the old 1980s Lego catalogue depicting a colonial village and in that village was a manor like house with a similar fortification structure and roofs to what I created. I mean this was some preliminary Lego designs that predated the release of even some Pirate sets. I will try to post a picture to show everyone. Thank you for helping to make this contest possible and for adding my entry to the index.

[Math Wizard]

Ahoy Matey @Brickshipyard!

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) [I know the contest is officially over and voting has begun, but I’ve been busy of late and didn’t get to post crits of all the last builds so I’m just starting now]

Ye did a great job buildin’ this and writin’ a story to go along with it. The story is quite robust in explaining what happened to Steve, and is very well thought out. I love how while the story comes before Steve is at the trading post or the pirate ship, it hints at how both of these are yet to come.

The build itself looks real good, but I do have a bit of an issue with some of the photos. The second one is probably the best- I would suggest rarranging them to make it first. And the final two appear to just be screenshots from Stud.io, which makes it feel very unfinished. I would render those as well if I were ye. 

Me favorite part o' this build is the playability. The way the back and roof hinge open gives a great view of the interior. I can see many a child wanting this to play with! I love how many details you were able to put in as well, from the stables to the upper rooms.

Fair Winds Matey!

[Brickshipyard]

On 8/24/2024 at 2:41 PM, Math Wizard said:

Ahoy Matey @Brickshipyard!

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) [I know the contest is officially over and voting has begun, but I’ve been busy of late and didn’t get to post crits of all the last builds so I’m just starting now]

Ye did a great job buildin’ this and writin’ a story to go along with it. The story is quite robust in explaining what happened to Steve, and is very well thought out. I love how while the story comes before Steve is at the trading post or the pirate ship, it hints at how both of these are yet to come.

The build itself looks real good, but I do have a bit of an issue with some of the photos. The second one is probably the best- I would suggest rarranging them to make it first. And the final two appear to just be screenshots from Stud.io, which makes it feel very unfinished. I would render those as well if I were ye. 

Me favorite part o' this build is the playability. The way the back and roof hinge open gives a great view of the interior. I can see many a child wanting this to play with! I love how many details you were able to put in as well, from the stables to the upper rooms.

Fair Winds Matey!

Hello Captain Crit and thanks for taking the time to analyze my submission. I am pleased you took note of the story I drafted because I did spend some quality time creating an origin story. You are correct the story reflects Steve's life at a young chapter, before the trading post or pirate days.

I can investigate rendering the other photos, although the model is quite finished in them, but I understand the point.

Yes! Playability was a primary driver of how I built this Manor. I designed the model as if I were marketing it to a Lego Pirate fan and the value they would expect.

[Math Wizard]

Ahoy Matey @Brickshipyard!

Looks like ye haven’t voted yet- just a reminder that voting ends soon. If ye vote for a critic ye gain +5 points on each entry you have submitted, and another +5 if ye vote for other builds. That’s an extra ten (10) 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!