mccoyed

(GNAR) The Hold Fast

Recommended Posts

Somewhere off the Southern coast of Varlyrio...

The Hold Fast, a Mitgardian Privateer sails away from its latest spot of pirating.

14105812854_53aea59535_o.jpg

Captained by a Mitgardian of unknown origins, called One-Eye.

14102317232_dae35d2ea4_o.jpg

The ship is a large, but fast caravel that preys the waters of West Historica, particularly the Tradewind Bay, the waters north of the Mystic Isles, and the coast of Varlyrio. Varlyrians are a favorite target of One-Eye's.

14105811684_b0b9a2cd67_o.jpg

The Hold Fast's crew comes from all across Historica. Here we see a Lupine from the Wither Woods, Mr. Crowls and he is looking on the most recent prize taken by One-Eye and his crew with some degree of trepidation. Noticing this, Legs Al-Bara, a Kaliphlin sailor and master swordsman, approaches to reassure him that The Hold Fast will make a clean getaway with their treasure.

14105812074_6082f409a4_o.jpg

Deirdre, an Avalonian girl who has an adventurous streak and joined One-Eye's crew some months back, leafs through the decoy flags on the forecastle. The crew uses these to buy time when chased by hostile ships. If they can convince an enemy that they're friendly by flying the right flag, it might give them the breathing room they need to make off before they're caught. These flags have also gotten The Hold Fast into some ports that otherwise wouldn't have been all that hospitable. Since she made them herself, Deirdre takes special pride in them.

14102179351_92c8480b66_o.jpg

Still a bit shaken from their last fight, assistant quartermaster Timmermans, hides out in the rowboat to sort himself out away from the rest of the crew. An orphan from a cave-dwelling clan of Southern Mitgardia, Timmermans was adopted by Big Bald Barrington, One-Eye's closest confidant and the ship's quartermaster. Usually Timmermans stays out of the fighting when The Hold Fast takes a prize. Last time, though, he got a little too close and probably saw some unpleasant things.

14105813554_6c7750e97e_o.jpg

Speaking of which, Big Bald Barrington (also Mitgardian) shares Mr. Crowls' concerns about their latest exploits. He is showing One-Eye a map of coastal Varlyrio, cross-checking directions given by their best lookout, Mr. Samjacks, who hails from the untamed regions of Varlyrio.

Behind BB Barrington and One-Eye, Colin, the cabin boy and brother of Deirdre, looks out on the water with Black Holly, fierce fighter and archer from Nocturnus.

14105810484_f1d39fb5f8_o.jpg

Colin's not the type to let anything bother him for long and he loves the sea. Black Holly is less easily impressed, but she has a soft spot for Colin and his boyish enthusiasm.

14125481453_552960ca0b_o.jpg

Up in the crow's nest and amidst the masts and rigging of the ship, Mr. Samjacks is looking out for a hidden cove that he remembers from his youth, perhaps a good place to hide in case they've attracted too much attention from the Varlyrian navy. On the foremast, Willy enjoys a snack in his favorite spot. A consummate sailor, Willy is more at home here than he ever could be on land.

14125479723_50b8841ac1_o.jpg

The Hold Fast has seen its share of scrapes and close calls. Let's hope our buccaneering heroes get away from those pesky Varlyrians with their big score!

Notes:

There's a lot more pictures on my Flickr. Including many detail shots normally found in ship builds. There's also a few more crew members and stuff like that. I didn't want to post too many pics here as I'm not sure if there's a limit or not. Please have a look at the flickr album here: https://www.flickr.c...157644511685285

I'd also like to claim the following UoP Credits:

Architecture: Advanced Windows (Half stud offset)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice work. The sails and overall design of the ship looks good, but the front of the ship looks a little ramshackle. Overall nice work with this (I withheld UoP credits because there wasn't any photos that show your advanced windows)

Edited by Scaevola

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thats a lot of action going on the ship :) Nice one mate... I like the way you have the sails and the "front" statue of the ship!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wow! This is great! I love the ship and I really love the characters you have in your crew! The chima heads really fits well!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks everybody. I obsessed over this project for a solid 2 weeks and scoured many craft stores for appropriate sail material. And I hope those of you who wanted to see more of the ship itself checked out the Flickr. There's a lot more in there. I'm nervous and excited to see what Kabel has to say about it as I drew a lot of inspiration from his ships and advice (and lots from other ships too!).

Nice work. The sails and overall design of the ship looks good, but the front of the ship looks a little ramshackle. Overall nice work with this (I withheld UoP credits because there wasn't any photos that show your advanced windows)

Can you elaborate a bit on the front? Just wondering about specifics because I may fix it next month when I return from Europe. I have a few stories planned with The Hold Fast and her crew before I move on. :D

Overall I'd say I'm like 75% satisfied with this ship. It'd be more like 60% if it wasn't my very first. I think we would agree about the front and it is the most fragile part of the ship by far. Even more than the masts.

And for the UoP... totally my bad. The GNAR thread has the pic of the stern. I will put it here:

13918795890_9b756868e3_o.jpg

Another angle to show the extent of the offset:

14102316452_db22c7c965_o.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sorry, iPhone screwed up and double posted! Argh. Nice boat though!

Edited by Lord Vladivus

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Mean looking ship, I love the ballista and the ram! A medieval-age ship isn't a ship without a ram! The figs and story are great too!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks all. @MassEditor: I agree totally and look for more story in a few weeks when I get back from Europe (won't be able to build til then).

My big plan is to tell the story of how The Hold Fast got all that loot in the first place and why it's so dangerous. It's heavily implied already but there's a story in there.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

+ 1 UoP DoH for the windows

The front of the ship kind of grew on me (and I can't remember what I meant by ramshackle now, as it looks pretty sturdy and practical) so you can disregard my critique in my previous comment

Edited by Scaevola

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks. Did you have a look at the Flickr pics for the ship?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I did. I would have given the credits for the flickr pics, but a lack of evidence probably would have resulted in a veto by other Kaliphlinites

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

No worries. I'm never sure which pics to post. Is there a limit on how many we can do per post?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Good job on the ship, the details and minifig poses add a lot to it! :thumbup:

+1 credit for the windows.

No worries. I'm never sure which pics to post. Is there a limit on how many we can do per post?

No limit (unless it's for a contest that specifies it's on limit) though obviously within reason.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Very good ship for your first. The ram and tilted sides are neat and the characters on board are interesting :thumbup: The 'decoy' flags are a clever trick :classic:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice to see some big ships in the GNAR challenge - she's a beauty mccoyed! Congrats on building your first as well. The profile looks great and i really like your crew members and all the detail you've managed to put on the deck. The sails look really nice too. :thumbup: I think the weakest parts of the build would have to be the blocky stern (really noticable when seen from the back) and some of the steps in the bow hull as you are trying to get that curve. The big curved wedge parts hide a lot, but it is still a bit gappy. One thing you could try to do to avoid that next time is to make an entirely brick-built bow, although that approach can turn out to be quite parts intensive. :classic:

I'll have to pass this time on the advanced windows credit for UoP - i'd like to see more than you've done here for that. (For clarification, i would be looking more for windows that are built out of parts that are not purpose specific, ie. without the use of the Lego window frame elements - SNOT, NPU or offsets in your brick built window frames are also highly encouraged)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the tips, Gabe. I live in awe of your ships! And I understand about the DOP although I don't know if 2 +1's overrules your pass? Is it majority? I actually think I'd defer it either way until I can make something with better windows. I still have a lot to learn.

Kabel hasn't commented? I hope it's not cuz he didn't like this ship!

Anyway. I think I may redesign it into a smaller and sleeker vessel. In Dublin I boarded a 19th Cent. reproduction famine ship (sailing ship) more like the size and shape of The Hold Fast as is but I also boarded the Golden Hind II in London and liked that better (it's more like Kabel's Rose of Asgard, for reference). I feel like The Hold Fast should be a smaller and sleeker vessel.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Really nice ship!! Congratz with the many nice details!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

@odidoma

If you mean the girl with the flags, I think it's Wild Stylez from The Lego Movie.

@Damaximus

Thanks!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

sorry for having missed this so far as I'm trying to comment on most Mitgardian mocs, but life is kinda strenous these days ... :wink:

Anyway, I'm seeing a lot of cool stuff, like the rigging or the general layout. Am I spotting some of my ideas there and there? to sum it up. it's a tad too much on the fantasy side of things for my taste. But hey, this is GoH and for a first ship, this is really cool. My first ships looked like crap! :thumbup:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.