Gilded Crow - 22 Gun Galleon

[ummester]

I have a variety of figurehead parts en-route AB, so can try some different designs but am sure I will settle with one of the crows.

The crew is starting to assemble also - mainly a mish-mash of POTC and Prince of Persia minifigs. Seeing as the Crow is so dark, I wanted the crew to look quite colorful, piratical and ethnically diverse.

I have started building but there is far too little fully assembled to photograph yet. Hopefully some more big orders will arrive next week.

Out of lack of LEGO boredom, in the interim, I started mucking around with a Black Pearl design. Mrs ummester thinks 2 ships will look nice on display together. The Pearl set seems really expensive now though - anyone have any tips on a good price for it? I'm not too interested in the minifigs but would like all the other parts.

Edited April 20, 2014 by ummester

[ummester]

Just a quick shot to show that the brick construction of the Gilded Crow is very well underway.

I've lined the crew up at the front, so you can she how large she is. It surprised me - I know I ordered a lot of bricks but I wasn't prepared for how big she would build up to be.

It has been quite a long build, with some areas that were more difficult than they looked in LDD.

I really like how the color scheme turned out - it does have the look of a Galleon model that I was aiming for.

The bow and stern color detail is relatively delicate, it doesn't randomly fall off or anything but you can't move the 5000 part construction by holding them. I'm not sure if I will strengthen or alter these sections in some way.

if you notice there are still gaps in the bricks and colors missing here and there - the final parts are on order and I will post more detailed shots of the build, from various angles, once they are attached.

Waiting for these parts to arrive, I'll set up some detailed shots of the crew and post them soon.

Edited May 14, 2014 by ummester

[Hesedguy]

Man! That IS big. I'll bet it weigh's several tons, too. I know my IFS was much heavier than I was expecting and that's got to be at least twice as much plastic. Looks good though, can't wait to see the detail shots when it's done!

[ummester]

Man! That IS big.

The thing is I looked at some galleon schematics and dimensions as I was designing and took into account that 2.75 studs = 1m, so I'm pretty sure the Crow is reasonably accurate (for an average to small galleon) to minifg scale. The Crow is about 35m long, or 1:35 scale. TLG just builds them too small :)

Here is another shot across the bow, which shows the height a bit better. The masts aren't finished yet, which is why bits look tacked on.

[Kolonialbeamter]

Wow, she looked stunning as a digital model, but in real bricks now... so big and even more impressive!

Great work, looking forward to see more detailed pics soon

Regards

[Hook]

WWooooowwww....!!! :pir-oh:

I've seen this topic from the begining and i'm absolutely spechless, this ship is amazing!! The colours, the shape, everything!!

I'm also building a galleon, and one of the major problems i'm having at the moment is to do the hull like the Crow on that part of the cabins, i suppose you couldn't get me a photo of the that part of the ship, could you??

Once again, congratulations for the magnificent work and i apologize for my english, i'm portuguese and it has been a while since the last time i writed in english

[Swan Dutchman]

Stunning galleon! Good to see you beeld it in real too. The variety in brown colours and black works really well and the coloured parts make this ship look very neat. Congratulations!

[kabel]

uh wow, didn't know you were going to do her in bricks, sure must have cost a lot to get all those bricks! However, I think it was worth every cent as she looks just amazing! What a great ship!

[ummester]

Thanks for the comments.

Hook, do you mean where the stern hull meats the cabins? Or the railing on the side of the cabins? I'll take some shots from various angles regardless.

There is an LDD file, which I updated as a built but I separated the single file into the 3 modular parts - hull, midships and cabins. Now I cant get all 3 section back together in LDD :) Also, there are quite a few attachments that work in the brick model and are needed for strength that are illegal in LDD.

Kabel,

The exact cost in bricks is difficult to work out, because I completed 2 smaller models and gathered missing parts for selling old sets at the same time (I had to fund it somehow :) ). All up there was around $850 US in orders, though approximately $150 was postage (the postal services from all over the world must have loved me in the last couple of months). I'd say $50 US on parts for the other models, which I will post in the Sci-Fi section eventually, $50 in parts for the sold sets and another $60 to get all the Crow's minifig parts - that leaves almost $500 in bricks for the Crow.

The biggest issue with gathering the bricks was that they were not all in any single store and the stores that did stock high percentages (none had everything) were charging substantially more for the bricks - some parts, like small Earth brown plates and tiles, black window frames and copper lattices were in very few stores - but once I started ordering for the chosen color scheme, I had to continue.

I should give a shout out to the stores I dealt with on Bricklink - There were very few incorrect parts sent (all stores have remedied these issues quickly) and even less damaged used parts.

Edited May 17, 2014 by ummester

[Sebeus I]

Magnificent!

I'm very happy to see it in real bricks.

The digital renders where pretty good and showed a design I liked very much.

Yet somehow it looks so much better now that it's built in real bricks.

Maybe it's just the thought of this ship being a real physical thing that makes my mind like it even more .

I know all about delicate details, in my opinion it's just something you have to live with,

especially when they're tiny you can't easely reinforce them as they will look different.

Anyway, be sure to take some great pictures when finished .

[Hook]

Thanks for the comments.

Hook, do you mean where the stern hull meats the cabins? Or the railing on the side of the cabins? I'll take some shots from various angles regardless.

There is an LDD file, which I updated as a built but I separated the single file into the 3 modular parts - hull, midships and cabins. Now I cant get put all 3 section back together in LDD :) Also, there are quite a few attachments that work in the brick model and are needed for strength that are illegal in LDD.

Hi,

I meant to say the hull part where the cabin windows are... That's what i wanted to know, how did you bent that section...

Is there any possibilities you could send me that file to see how did you do it, i'm interested in the cabins... If you want, we can discuss this matter by Private Messages

[ummester]

This hook?

There are hinges everywhere for angles - I have hidden them behind other bricks for the most part. The LDD file(s) are a bit of a mess ATM - I don't know whether to try and fix them, or just generate instructions. It's something I'll sort out after I have done the sails and water effects on the base plates.

Edited May 17, 2014 by ummester

[ummester]

Here are the crew

They are meant to be a ragtag bunch, from all over the place. Some were assembled on character ideas - like the Guybrush Threepwood or boy who wants to be a pirate type, the Imperial defector who stresses about his choice, the one who is having a beard competition with the Captain and the Jamaican cook that carries his own special mix of herbs and spices to lighten the mood on long voyages. I'm open to any back story, character type or name suggestions anyone has for the others.

[Hook]

This hook?

There are hinges everywhere for angles - I have hidden them behind other bricks for the most part. The LDD file(s) are a bit of a mess ATM - I don't know whether to try and fix them, or just generate instructions. It's something I'll sort out after I have done the sails and water effects on the base plates.

It's exactly that...!!

This is the system that i was building on my ship, but never found out how to avoid the pieces (like your windows) to bent to right position... now i know a solution to that problem

If you could get more photos from other angles of that hull section i would apreciate it

Once again many thanks

Edited May 17, 2014 by Hook

[ummester]

Bottom Hull is angled out like this

Ends are angled in like this:

I think the hull shape came out pretty good - but it's not perfect. I'm working on a Black Pearl that doesn't use prefab hulls and trying different techniques in LDD to get the shape as close to perfect as possible. Good thing about LDD is you don't start spending the $$$ until you are happy with the design :)

Edited May 17, 2014 by ummester

[Hook]

Absolutely perfect...!!

But the hull part i meant was the cabins, like the photo you posted before these...

Maybe i'll post a photo of my ship, so you can see where i'm stuck...

Thanks again...

[Mr. Townsend]

That looks pretty slick Ummester. I'm a sucker for a good galleon and this one is very well designed. I'm impressed how quickly you turned this from LDD to brick, and excited for a proper photo shoot.

[ummester]

Cheers Mr Townsend.

When I was planning in LDD, I was also selling old sets to fund the build, so I got to turn the bulk of the project around quickly. It's the largest LEGO project I have ever undertaken and the first boat I have designed - it was actually my first major LDD design. Before this I only modded TLG sets and ordered with far less planning.

I'm not exactly sure how to make the sails yet - I would really like some kind of stiff material, similar to the material in the TLG sets, so that the sails can look billowed. Someone suggested treating standard material to me but that may make them too stiff. I really love the look of the sails in your Brig: Pinnacle and would like to design something that looks like that, with a little more stiffness.

EDIT - I found this thread

http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=87124

This seems to be exactly what I am looking for. I can design sail detail in photoshop, print it onto calico and then stiffen the sails with gesso.

Edited May 18, 2014 by ummester

[Norro]

Also not normally a fan of LDD, but this is a beautiful build. I like the color balance, scale, and was especially taken with the name.

Thanks for sharing and God bless,

Nathan

[ummester]

Cheers Norro - I really don't know how I would have tracked the parts for a build of this size if it wasn't for LDD.

Edited May 21, 2014 by ummester

[ummester]

Been working on designs for the Fore Course and Main Course. Am trying to keep a look that is a mix of LEGO and model. Should be able to try printing these onto material re STUDDLES method soon. Can't really try the higher sails until the final mast parts arrive.

Edited May 23, 2014 by ummester

[Admiral Blockbeard]

Amazing progress, just amazing.

Looks beautiful in real bricks. Also love the sails.

Bricktopia was a huge success last weekend, hope you were able to make it in! I think you should definitely consider exhibiting this next year. It is very impressive and a brilliant design. Would love to see it in real life! In addition to the local shows, Melbourne's Brickvention is coming up as well. I know a group of us plan to go over (exhibitors and visitors)!

As for back stories and names I think you have already captured it with your selections. I would let peoples imaginations run on your already well thought out designs.

I have loved being able to see this in development. Thank you so much for sharing.

AB

[Israel Hands]

Great looking ship so far. The price is a little bit to sleep for my purse though

A thought about the sails. (Just to be pedantic BTW, the process is to treat the calico with gesso and then print, not the other way round like you posted earlier. Also minor nit, but if you check it out, the sails that you posted are not symmetrical.)

Printing Sails

I was inspired by Struddles' technique for sails making but I ran into a couple of issues. First, calico is a bugger to work with; it wrinkles at the drop of a hat and required heavy washing and ironing to start to get it to a workable state. In addition, the painting process takes a while to complete. Paint one side, hang to dry, paint the other, dry. Repeat.

Someone here suggested using pretreated artist canvas. Apparently you can buy them in artists shops in books of A4. I haven't found any, but canvas paper specifically designed for injets worked well for me. Your nearest major stationary store may have some. I bought mine from Cartridge World.

The first set I bought was True Canvas (100% cotton canvas) 226gsm (170gm2), 5 sheets for £5.95. The texture was very good but it felt thicker then the material used by Lego. Thicker then calico but very much similar in appearance and colour. It worked well for sails but I think it would be too thick for smaller items, like capes

Using the True Canvas set I made replacement BSB sails and I'm happy enough with them

Close-up, you might be able to make out the weave

The other set I tried was again from Cartridge World. Canvas, 220gsm, 20 sheets for £6.99. Less impressed with these. Very bright white, lighter then True Canvas, and has a plastic feel to it.

Here is a quick test print I made of your sails on the lighter canvas.

And again, here is a close up. The darker canvas at the top of the picture is a scrap of the heavier True canvas

Making Holes

I originally used a standard paper hole punch for, well, making the holes, but they were too big. However my Eyelet plier kit (Wilkinsons) made holes that were the perfect size.

I am happy to send you a couple of pieces of off-cut canvas for you to take a look at if you want.

[ummester]

Cheers AB. I didn't get to Bricktopia, didn't get organised in time and too much gardening to do seeing I spent the whole weekend before building the Crow :) Were there some nice MOCs there?

Israel - thanks for the advice. The calico is starting to irritate me - doesn't print smoothly and frays too easily. It looks nice but is way too finicky for my liking. Oh, I did mean give it a second coat of gesso, to stiffen it up even more, after the printing.

Unless you are in Australia, it's probably easier for me to find some canvas paper - but thanks for offering to send some.

I also like the look of the True Canvas more. 5 sheets may do the Crow - but I think I'll need more.

The Main Course is really annoying me - it's just a little wider than A4 if you want to clip the bottom ends in and I don't want to make the sail any more narrow, otherwise I don't think it will look wide enough for the hull.

I'm also changing the mast position for the mizzen sail.

[Israel Hands]

er no, UK based. I did wonder if my offer would come back to bite me in the bum. :)

As for your larger sail, it's going to be expensive, but if you could find the canvas in A3 you could cut it down so that it's A4 width, but longer. Then set the printer to custom paper size.