[ENTRY] [LARGE] - The Crimson Raider (Pirate Brigantine)

[Andy-Roo]

This story explains how Steve went from his small merchant cutter, to becoming Captain Remington, of the The Crimson Raider. 

*For those who don't want to read you can listen / watch here:

___________________________________________

What drives a man to piracy?

Profit?
Defiance? 
Rebellion?
Perhaps it is freedom?

Steve was a cunning merchant, at heart. His time as a privateer led to some business with Captain Red Beard.

Word travels fast and The Imperials do not take piracy lightly. Steve's Merchant cutter was confiscated while at port.

Steve was determined to make his mark and became a quartermaster, as his knowledge of trade routes made him very useful. 

After many months at sea Steve helped capture a lone Brigantine and he was awarded the ship to captain as he pleased. At this point, Captain Remington was born. 

The Crimson Raider  was a fast and agile ship. Exactly what was needed to hunt down high value targets.

Unlike the more savage pirates, Remington maintain a strict code of conduct and vetted his crew closely.
One could say they were men of honor, navigating an dishonorable trade. 

For years the ship stayed strong and true as Remington and the crew accumulated more and more prizes... but bigger problems loomed on the horizon.

The pirate captains banded together with the dream of a pirate nation, a free island for free men, without the oppressive boot of the imperials.

Fortunately, there are those in power who are easily persuaded by a little bit of gold. 

These bribes helped clear his name, and Steve dropped his pirate persona. With a new and improve cutter he bought his way back into the merchant trade. Steve was tasked with establishing key trade routes and harbors where stolen goods could be sold back into the market.

Without this trade, the new pirate nation would slowly bleed out. 

Will Steve's efforts pay off? Will the Imperials destroy any attempts at a pirate nation?
Only time will tell.

All that is clear is that the drive for Freedom, is strong, especially in the outcasts, misfits and those who want to craft their own destiny.

______________________________________
*If you want to learn more about Steve's Upgraded Cutter, check out my first entry here. Both of these stories are linked, and I made them fit. The only difference is Steve's Upgraded Cutter is told from the perspective of the Imperials.

*Note I transformed old box art and posters into the historic looking photos. I used Photoshop AI Generation to create a plate for some of the scenes, this removed some of the other "action" and gave me a clean slate. Mostly just replacing things with rocks and water. 
*The bribe scene was from my other entry and was shot on the deck of The Triton Warship By Marooned_Marin . It is an amazing build and I would highly recommend.

*I used a combination of greenscreen and practical photography using my TV as a background and a water theme table cloth as the water. For larger shots I needed to greenscreen.

*First time using cloth sails. It was a really fun experience to try to figure this all out. I used untreated canvas.

*In addition to the voice over, I also composed the music for this. I wanted something more rhythmic and upbeat as this was a more inspirational story. Not sure if anyone is interested but I used Cubase 12.5 as a DAW, CSS for strings, East West Stormdrum 2 for percussion, EW RA for Hurdy Gurdy, Cineharps for Harp. Wish I had more time to do another pass but that's how it all turned out.

*Boat hull is from the original Imperial Flagship with 1 added mid section. I thought this was a good sized hull for a brigantine.

Let me know your thoughts and feedback on this!

Edited August 18 by Andy-Roo
Spelling, Grammar, Formatting

[Mister Phes]

A last minute entry!

The Crimson Raider has been incorporated into the Entries Index.

[Andy-Roo]

3 minutes ago, Mister Phes said:

A last minute entry!

The Crimson Raider has been incorporated into the Entries Index.

It was very last minute! I never thought that countdown clock would be so useful haha
You encouraged me to create another small entry... but I had ideas for this ship brewing, so I pushed a bit to make it happen!

Hope people enjoy it!

[Mister Phes]

1 hour ago, Andy-Roo said:

I never thought that countdown clock would be so useful haha

The ticking time bomb worked!

[Horation]

Lovely entry, good work, I guess there's no need for feedback as the deadline is fone for, but I wanted to praise the clour scheme and all the greebling, as well as the full crew compliment,

But I must suggest lowering the gun emplacements, since they look a little high relative to the hull (or at least making the bottom of the side panel grey so that said panel stands out less).

[Andy-Roo]

2 hours ago, Horation said:

Lovely entry, good work, I guess there's no need for feedback as the deadline is fone for, but I wanted to praise the clour scheme and all the greebling, as well as the full crew compliment,

But I must suggest lowering the gun emplacements, since they look a little high relative to the hull (or at least making the bottom of the side panel grey so that said panel stands out less).

I appreciate the feedback! I like the dark red and was really trying to find a balance of how much to use, and how much black the ship should have. As for the gun emplacements, that height was based on what height would give me the most space on the deck (any lower and boat hull forces you to move inward. I can see how covering the grey would be good as well. I will keep that in mind for future builds.

[Math Wizard]

Ahoy Matey!

You know me by now- It’s Captain Crit, back with another criticism sandwhich for ye polly! [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 excellently written, with the  pictures to tell the whole tale. I loved the edited photos from the original set as well. Your build was also photographed excellently- the presentation really makes this build stand out. The water looks quite realistic, no matter what scene, and the views through the telescope add a nice touch. 

This build is quite good and it was real tough to come up with a critique. The only thing I can possibly think of is that the figurehead looks a wee bit confusing. I can’t tell if the chicken and frogs are the focal point, or if they are supposed to be forming somethig else.

Me favorite part o’ the build is the detail. Everything is perfect! I thought you’re last entry was good, but this one just blew me away, for it is far better! Highlights include the cannons, the rigging, the lanterns, and the deck as a whole!

Fair Winds Matey!

[Andy-Roo]

On 8/24/2024 at 7:04 AM, Math Wizard said:

Ahoy Matey!

You know me by now- It’s Captain Crit, back with another criticism sandwhich for ye polly! [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 excellently written, with the  pictures to tell the whole tale. I loved the edited photos from the original set as well. Your build was also photographed excellently- the presentation really makes this build stand out. The water looks quite realistic, no matter what scene, and the views through the telescope add a nice touch. 

This build is quite good and it was real tough to come up with a critique. The only thing I can possibly think of is that the figurehead looks a wee bit confusing. I can’t tell if the chicken and frogs are the focal point, or if they are supposed to be forming somethig else.

Me favorite part o’ the build is the detail. Everything is perfect! I thought you’re last entry was good, but this one just blew me away, for it is far better! Highlights include the cannons, the rigging, the lanterns, and the deck as a whole!

Fair Winds Matey!

Thank you for your insightful feedback! This was a fun build and was my first original ship MOC so I wanted to push myself to go beyond modifying an existing design. It was a good challenge to balance out the proportions, detail, as well create the sails!

The "figurehead" was meant as greebling. I use the chicken and frogs to give that front of the ship shape, I thought of it more as a carving, or the kind of details you'd get in crown molding. Just wanted something to match the end of the ship and with the limited pieces I had in gold, that's what I went with. I liked what it did to the profile of the ship at a distance, but unfortunately up close, most people will spot the chicken and the frogs.