Peanuts Posted May 22, 2011 Wow, your brick-built hull looks amazing. It beats every LEGO by far. Can't wait to see the finished ship. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjornu Posted May 22, 2011 Yeah the chaloupe looks a bit small for minifigs, but on the other hand this is probably the right size compared to the xebec. Still, it might also be too small for this technique as Capt. Becker said, although I think it looks quite good. It's a hard choice because the LEGO boats are so short and wide IMO..I leave it up to you Well it's a bit Offtopic but I would like to know what IMO and SNOT means. because Snot is in dutch really diffrent than I expect here Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Horry Posted May 22, 2011 Well it's a bit Offtopic but I would like to know what IMO and SNOT means. because Snot is in dutch really diffrent than I expect here Both are abbreviations. IMO stands for "in my opinion" and is a very common thing in the internet. SNOT stands for studs not on top and is considered to be an advanced building technique. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cb4 Posted June 9, 2011 It's been some time since I've been able to do any work on this, but I decided that before proceeding any further I should figure out where the masts and guns should go as they have structural implications. Pierced for 24 guns. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CMP Posted June 9, 2011 Not a very conventional ship, but looking good so far nonetheless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gahrian Posted June 9, 2011 Looks great. Can't wait for the next update. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capn Frank Posted June 10, 2011 CB4, your Xebec is looking great so far. I am very impressed how similar the construction of this vessel appears to an actual ship. The only comment I have is that I believe there are too many cannons and a spacing of 3 studs between gun ports is too small in my opinion. Will you be covering up the studs with tiles with the finished product? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Blackmoor Posted June 10, 2011 I really, really like where this is going! The framework is amazing, and it looks quite secure too. You have made a splendid start, and I'm sure the final result will be stunning. Keep it up! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cb4 Posted June 10, 2011 CB4, your Xebec is looking great so far. I am very impressed how similar the construction of this vessel appears to an actual ship. The only comment I have is that I believe there are too many cannons and a spacing of 3 studs between gun ports is too small in my opinion. Will you be covering up the studs with tiles with the finished product? Yes, the guns are a bit tight, however I wanted to retain the number and positioning of the guns from the plans, without making the ship 30 percent bigger than it is already. I'd prefer my gunports to be 1.5 studs wide, but that really isn't practical, so here we are. They won't be full sized lego cannons, so it shouldn't be too crowded in there. As you can imagine, most of my new piece requests for lego would be for things with interesting dimensions and offsets I may cover part of the ship with tiles, however they do have their drawbacks - cost, and extra space taken up since they cannot be attached together the way that plates can be. I'll have to see how it looks when it's more complete. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capn Frank Posted June 10, 2011 They won't be full sized lego cannons, so it shouldn't be too crowded in there. Do you have a MOC cannon design that you'll be using? My two favorite small MOC cannon designs include: and a similar one that uses to hold the barrel instead of a 1x1 technic brick. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kurigan Posted June 11, 2011 this method you've devised is amazing, it makes everyone else seem like they're doing things "the wrong way". can you tell me though, how stable is the frame work, can you push a brick into place with out it misshaping or bracing the opposite side? all in all this looks awesome and if i had the supply of bricks, would have had to adopt it my self by now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cb4 Posted June 12, 2011 Do you have a MOC cannon design that you'll be using? Prototype, with some incorrect tan bricks. this method you've devised is amazing, it makes everyone else seem like they're doing things "the wrong way". can you tell me though, how stable is the frame work, can you push a brick into place with out it misshaping or bracing the opposite side? all in all this looks awesome and if i had the supply of bricks, would have had to adopt it my self by now. A rib won't bear the weight of the whole ship without planking, but there's no problem attaching and removing stuff. The ribs are rigidly attached to the keel and to the deck, which are also attached to each other, so it forms a nice strong truss. In fact, the ship can be balanced on a single point with minimal hogging. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kurigan Posted June 12, 2011 excellent! thanks for the pics, color me impressed :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Admiral Croissant Posted June 12, 2011 I'm impressed! I knew your technique was clever but now I see how solid it is I think it's just brilliant. And your cannon design is also great. Perhaps I'll use it on my own future ships if I may do so (of course with credit). I can't wait to see the finished product. Keep it up! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Green Hair Posted June 12, 2011 This is beautiful, great cannon design as well! My only nitpick would be: tile it!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cb4 Posted June 13, 2011 (edited) I'm impressed! I knew your technique was clever but now I see how solid it is I think it's just brilliant. And your cannon design is also great. Perhaps I'll use it on my own future ships if I may do so (of course with credit). I can't wait to see the finished product. Keep it up! By all means, I make no claims as to the originality or particular notability of the cannon design. I'm sure it's derivative of something I've seen elsewhere. I just really wanted to have elevation while still having a carriage low enough that I'd be able to point out my gunports. And I wanted to use the minifig head since I think it does a good job of evoking the breech and cascabel of a carriage gun. I'm also seriously considering reducing the armament to 20 guns - that would give me another stud between each gunport and make things look much less crowded. Edited June 13, 2011 by cb4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cb4 Posted June 17, 2011 Quick update - gunports reduced from 24 to 20, first pass at bow planking, and cleaned up the frame to be cleaner and less overbuilt at the bottom. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dread Pirate Wesley Posted June 18, 2011 Really like how the bow planking turned out, especially in the second picture I think it will be much easier to fit 20 cannon on it than 24 too. 4 stud spacing is plenty in my experience. Keep it up! DPW Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dockmaster Brickington Posted June 18, 2011 Prototype, with some incorrect tan bricks. I don't think i could do all that frame work, but I think I am going to steel your canon design! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cb4 Posted July 5, 2011 Apologies for the long delay between updates - I was forced to wait for parts. I've now (mostly) planked one side of the ship. I don't think the ship will end up entirely white, but I had to make a first attempt at her lines. The masts have been unstepped so that work can proceed. The bag of bricks is ballast as one side of the ship is much heavier right now Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kurigan Posted July 5, 2011 Looking good! As I studied these latest images I found myself wondering what methods you used to plan out the design. Are you using MLCAD, LDD or the like or is this genuinely off the cuff? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cb4 Posted July 5, 2011 Well, I'm mostly just using the plans I found (which I measure for general proportions) and a lot of iteration. I've found I don't really have the patience for LDD - mostly I'll just prototype stuff on the model or separately. I'll do one side and if I like it I'll do the other side. One of the nice things is that I can pretty easily pop pieces off and change the underlying framework as necessary (which it often is when the planking overlaps on a frame) since there's relatively little stacking. Sometimes I need to deviate from the original framework simply because it's the only way to get an acceptable curve (lego not having 2.5 stud pieces ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RocketSeason Posted July 5, 2011 Stunningly good work! You make it look easy. (even though we all know it isn't) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bart Posted July 6, 2011 Looking good! I really like that everything seems to curve, including the gun ports Bart Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sebeus I Posted July 6, 2011 Incredibly nice already, never saw a ship being built this way, very interesting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
