ShrikeArghast

If someone were to post instructions for one of these really large fantasy MOCs, I'd love to take a crack at it. This one is particularly appealing, given its basis being standard hull pieces. It looks very sturdy.

I think it's kind of sad that something like this gets made, when a way more cerebral (and, frankly, cool) set like Sherlock gets tossed in the gutter. As it stands, BBT has fallen into the 'Friends' trap where everyone is inevitably pairing up after only a couple of seasons... and I expect it will age just as poorly as Ross, Rachel and co.

So, this is sort of pirate-related. Like many people, I generally see the bluecoats as analogous to the French. I'd like to assemble a 'best possible' Napoleon figure to lead this faction, but I'm a bit stymied on the chest. Part of me wants to do a March on Moscow-style figure with a grey-themed torso of some sort, and then custom-cut a trench coat for him to wear. On the other hand, an earlier, pre/early-Imperial (say 1800-1805) figure could be equally cool (and might be a lot easier, considering the lack of custom cloth-making necessary). Either way, though, I just don't know what to do about that chest piece. The old Governor Broadside torso from the initial launch of the pirates launch seems to be the best fit for the younger Napoleon, but it's just SO blue. Are there any obvious alternatives that people could suggest (and I'd be open to face ideas, too -- I model exclusively with yellow minifigs, so the flesh color skins are out)?

It's this version of him: http://i.imgur.com/1Ew1OyK.jpg Honestly, I think Nappy is at his best when wearing a trench coat.

And he's finished: http://i.imgur.com/NPV65M4.jpg http://i.imgur.com/cxE88oM.jpg http://i.imgur.com/K13vp99.jpg http://i.imgur.com/LLUgaLz.jpg Really quite pleased with how this turned out. I'm also going to be doing a Napoleon in royal garb fig at some point, and will update this thread when its done.

Well, this crushed me :L

This Minecraft fad is really producing some lazy, ugly sets. I'm ready for Lego to stop devoting (admittedly, highly limited) effort to it.

Is that a custom torso on Washington? If not, where's it from?

I think if you did this as a smaller ship... or something similar (say, a wolf theme [my personal favorite], or a dolphin theme -- anything, really; redo the eagle for all I care), and maintained the same level of quality, it would have a very strong chance. Voters care about three general things: playability (IE, the more things the ship can do [does a hatch open? Does a mast fall over? Can you work a ship's crane? Is there a hidden compartment over here?]), nostalgia, and accessibility (in this case meaning, how complicated does something look? Is it within a normal builder's capabilities?). Lego, on the other hand, cares about two other, prevailing factors: how saleable an item is (can we sell this for a reasonable amount? What is the ratio of pieces to item size?), and how marketable it is (do we have to pay for licensing on this product (in this case, obviously no); does it fill a niche in our product line (smaller ship? check. Allied ship? check). If I were you, and if I did decide to rebuild as a smaller ship, I'd go back and look at some of the older pirate and allied vessels and draw inspiration. For example, you might note that the Blackseas Barracuda had what essentially amounted to an upper deck, built out of grey pieces, that ran around the main hold. That was an awesome play feature, because it turned the lower portion of the hull into a semi-realistic gun deck. To my knowledge, no Lego ship since then has attempted to incorporate a fairly simple feature like that. You might also note the design characteristics of the old allied ships -- they tended towards smaller cabins, single forward main masts, lower gun count. All of this helps to differentiate what you're building from the current product line, but establishes familiar connections to past boats that help forge connections both between your vessel and the public, and your vessel and Lego. Again, I'm not in any way, shape, or form trying to bag on what you've done here -- I think it's, frankly, fantastic. I just think you're tiptoeing around the edge of something that a TON of people want right now: a bluecoat flagship that Lego stands a chance of producing.

I gave you an upvote on Lego ideas. However, I'd like to hit you up with a suggestion, if I might: take this concept, tear it down, and rebuild something with an identical theme, but as a wholly different ship type/class. This project has an unbelievably high level of detail and overall 'polished' feel... but, at the same time, I can't help but note that it is a virtual clone of the last two pirate ships Lego has issued. I think, going forward, with any allied ship, they're going to want to do something to differentiate it with previous products... and my guess is that's going to come in the traditional form of a more compact, 'underdog' bluecoat flagship, on the order of a classic like the Caribbean Clipper. While I think the Admiral's Eagle is superb, I'd love to see your take on one of these mid-sized ships, not only because it would be awesome to see, but also because -- frankly -- I think it would stand a better chance of a 'yes' nod from Lego at the end of the day.

I'm actually assembling something I feel is fairly convincing. A couple of pieces are still on order, but I think, when all is said and done, I'll have as good a figure as can be crafted with current lego printing (which is to say, not using stickers). I'll post photos when the last few items arrive.

Thanks. I honestly don't know why Lego doesn't produce something like that ship as a stand-alone, $20-25 price range set. I always felt like the playability of that one little vessel was so high, and it's kind of a pity that -- lately -- the only way you can "get on the water" with the pirates theme is either to buy one of these immense, $100 show pieces, or self-build. Not only are smaller kits nonexistent, but Lego even seems to be abandoning their old pattern of designing less grand hull-based ships (both pirate and allied) for people who aren't really flush with cash. It's a shame.

This is a very minor improvement made to the little cutter from 6277. I don't have all of my Lego at my disposal (my parents apparently misplaced the bulk of it during a move several years ago), and realized about halfway through that I was missing the necessary pieces. Rather than stop, I endeavored to improve the stern section, raising it one full brick in height (so it can now be used as a legitimate cabin), and adding a small window to the rear, as well as a non-prototypical (at least in terms of placement) ship's wheel just beneath the mast. It's not much, but I do consider it a slight enhancement. http://i.imgur.com/FxGttgj.jpg http://i.imgur.com/abzG0Wo.jpg http://i.imgur.com/lxTSJLx.jpg

I'm going to buy like 10 of the cat girls. That's seriously the best figure in years.

Holy thread necro, batman!

Frigates :/. Somebody needs to rebuild a 74. ESPECIALLY in lieu of this tragedy: (Don't watch the video without first steeling yourself against imminent emotional scarring. The British may have been great about a lot of things, but their preservation track record in the 1940s and 50s is an international disgrace).

Unfortunately, while the minifigs are really cool, I feel like this is one of the weaker Lego pirate ship efforts of all time. The rear cabin is large, but lacks detail, and the stern is boxy and unlovely. Line this boat up to something like the Skulls Eye Schooner and there really is no comparison. Add on the physical defects -- something I find, frankly, appalling, given how Lego's only defense for its premium prices are supposed quality control (and branding) -- and you've got a real stinker.

Two questions: 1) Why do certain parts (monkeys; tricorns) seem to go out of vogue with Lego? Do the molds break? Do they revile certain pieces? I've always found parts attrition so confusing. 2) Has there been any word or whisper about a possible allied ship with this pirates revamp? I've always been a red coats person, myself, and 6271 the Imperial Flagship was -- despite my having owned many larger vessels -- probably the best 'pirate' themed item I ever bought (though 6277 get an honorable mention. The Imperial Trading Post was too cool).

The Playmobile ship had one great advantage -- it FLOATS! I used to take it to the beach and follow it as it actually sailed through the water... it was GLORIOUS. I think Legos are superior simply because, as Matthias said, Playmobile breaks, especially when you ride it hard and put it away wet(in this case, it could be taken literally). But that boat, and the fellow I have linked below, where the two greatest individual toys of my youth.

I didn't know whether to post this thread in the MOC forum or not because, A) it's simply a question of aesthetics, and B) it's not even my MOC design, instead being Eddy Redbeart's old (circa 2009) 'pocket' line ship. I'd like to build this fine vessel (thanks to his varied photos, I'm fairly certain I can come very close just by eyeballing it), but I see a number of problems right off the bat -- the most obvious being that there aren't any white hull pieces in the wider, 'old style,' much less any that feature black highlighting. While I think I can approximate the black banding (or come fairly close to it) by adding a single level of black studs onto the stern and bow sections, while raising the lower portion up slightly, the problem becomes: what color scheme do I use for the remainder of the hull (keeping in mind that all the lower white parts on the above picture will now be a somewhat ugly brown)? In my mind's eye, I don't see tan and brown marrying to each other very well. I'm tempted to say that the tan portions should instead be red... but what, then, do I do about the blue trim? Green? Orange? Maybe even grey? I'd welcome input, because, honestly, one of the strongest elements of Redbeart's original MOC was that it meshed stylistically very well, and I'd like to retain that same nice flow going forward, even with dramatically different colors.

I decided to muck around in paint for a bit and just throw colors together using the traditional all-brown hull. Considering the bottoms of many line ships were copper sheathed in kind of a chestnut-salmon, the brown base probably is not that 'off' in terms of prototypical accuracy. Here are a number of random variations on the theme I came up with: Very much leaning towards either the red or yellow, though the green could be considered a dark-horse contender.

Hmm. I wonder what it would cost to purchase those hull pieces. And you say they're the same width? That's intriguing. Does anyone, off the top of their head, know the part numbers for those hull sections? Also, out of curiosity, are the two brick high, four stud base, two stud top slanted pieces that compose the tumblehome (also used to make dresses for girl characters) available in tan? That would be the other major sticking point.

Are the greencoats even a real option, or just a concept?

So, how would one acquire this figure? Because I'd want a Revan. SHE is pretty badass (screw canon, Revan was a chick for me).

The Simpsons minifigures series is downright tragic. Aside from a few torso pieces (and I want to emphasize the word 'few,' as most of these are exceedingly bland), the set is essentially useless for the majority of Lego builders and collectors. What's more, it feels like Lego is grasping at straws with this entire theme. The Simpsons jumped the shark over a decade ago, and is now the antithesis of funny. I go out of my own way to avoid watching any episodes newer than 2000, and as far as I'm concerned the entire series has been tainted by what it has become. While there were some figures from the Lego Movie series that I wanted, I am really concerned that this 'theming' approach to the minifigs is going to now become the rule. Give us back our random assortment or end this. I won't buy a single one of these figs.