Frank Brick Wright

This is a really nice build, I like the idea a lot, the water looks just fantastic and all the details and stuff on the seabed just make it great for me

It is really too early to say anything and I've found by personal experience that in large ships it is extremely hard to predict the end shape from prototypes because it can turn very different, as the build is in fact rather unpredictable (and I was following precise plans!). Looks like you have a nice start in here but to my eyes it appears that she will get way too high, although again it is hard to say. I'm certainly looking forward to this.

I thinking this is a terrific idea and it really can be done with the help of this fantastic community. I'm willing to participate in this!

Indeed, that is the idea! However, that part is still a bit far away… Now, I've finished the lower stern, as promised. This is a very technical post but I think this technique is interesting enough to deserve attention. In fact, I believe the building method employed is flexible and strong enough to allow for any stern, whatever its shape, but specially appropriate if it is similar to the stern of a frigate or a ship of the line. I also suggest, to anyone interested in building something of this complexity, to make a clean build and to build by independent components. This will only help you all the way through. We start by making an independent module for the aftmost hull. Notice a couple of things: i) the rudder is tilled in every direction, ii) both the rudder and this component get steps to simulate an angled shape. In the original topic of cb4's there was a discussion around the rudder, which was quite gappy. I know it was fairly more angled but I believe the technique employed here is general enough to build any rudder at any angle. We then build another component: Let us look at the ship herself. Notice the small framework supporting the captain's cabin and also the complex shape of the hull to meet the galleries graciously. We place the upper part on its position and we get 6 points of connection to the rudder-section (it is not clear in this image but the captain's cabin section has another 2 pins joining the rudder-section): And finally, everything is in its place and we get a very accurate shape: The stern is almost gapless I don't think I can do much better here. On a later stage, when the higher stern has been finished, there will be photos from other angles to prove that everything is tight and closed, as it is supposed to be

What a wonderful tutorial this is! I had a great deal of pleasure reading it, thank you! Perhaps you can find something of interest here: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/sail-armament.htm . There is various information of interest and perhaps the table with the lengths of the various guns can be useful to any historical-accurate builder.

I have two questions: Do we really have to attach our builds through technic pins or is another kind of connection allowed? I'm thinking more specifically about a stud connection. Does the no minifig limit mean that we can build something with ~700 parts and then place something like 12 minifigs without caring about the fact that no ~75€ would have that many figures?

I obviously don't mind you playing with this design--in fact, this WIP topic is made so that people can follow the progress. There aren't many full-hull ships built in real bricks and finished (in fact, perhaps 3 or 4 at most, as I recall) but there is no such thing as a 'tutorial' for brickbuilding a full ship. This topic, however, does not pretend to be a "full tutorial" but just a detailed log of what is happening and of the new techniques developed, so that anyone interested can use them without having to go through a lot of trouble. This is why there are some more technical posts around here. This is one of those. I believe the construction of the bow is interesting enough to require some pictures. Since the lower bow is empty it is required a very strong framework to support the base of the bowsprit and the entire bow structure. Moreover the bricks placed perpendicular to the vertical of the ship are fully attached and have to form a cohere structure to support the deck above it: After building the framework we can place the plates directly above and complement the section between the hull and prow-fig with wedges: The tiles are in fact placed to allow for the classic bow technique, with hinges, which is then possible and offers a rather smooth shape: I've made a BL order to finish her and there will be pictures of the lower stern soon. In fact, that section has an interesting technique and has been an authentic nightmare but is just waiting for the right bricks to be finished.

Just ignore it, in fact they don't look bad at all, it is just a small detail of shape, rather unimportant. I prefer the second version since it seems much more sophisticated, but I think that is natural as it was me who suggested it The thing with building sterns is really a matter of personal preference. It depends mostly wether you want an austere stern, like the one you have and which was--I believe-- the most common around this period, or in fact something more ornated. I like what you have here a lot. Other combinations you could try, to see if you prefer any of them, would be painting the latticed windows in white for more colour or/and changing the balconies for golden (with telescopes or whatnot) but I'm just throwing ideas here, she looks fantastic as she is

Great work again! There's nothing new I haven't said already in other posts but this one looks fantastic. I can't agree with the others on the stern shape as two studs-wide seems way too large and gross to me--in fact the round shape looks a bit unfinished IMO. Besides the slopes in the middle of the tumblehome of which I've said something earlier, everything looks pretty perfect to me.

I don't know that much about ships of the line and certainly not about first raters but she looks terrific to me. I don't really see what you mean there with a "pursuit of perfection". I personally never had any sort of interest for anything larger than a 74-gunner, since they all get, to my eyes, way too large, clumsy and bulky. But in fact your model is tremendously gracious for something of this sort. The bow, for instance, is just as good as it can get, I had never seen anything like it before. Overall perhaps she could do a slight refining on the connections between the different sections and on the joints between the different angles of the tumblehome, but certainly nothing more than a polishment. She is really there, and if not perfect, fantastically near. What a job you have done in here. Still I perfectly understand your not wanting to build her, specially if she is not that dear to you. A project of this magnitude requires enormous effort, dedication and preservation. I'm actually curious to what are your plans or if you would share them with us. Are you planning on building something in real bricks one day (I suspect so) and if this is the case, what?

Thank you all for your most kind support and feedback! I believe it is the angle, as they look fine to me and I recall measuring them a good while ago from the original plans. You will excuse the poor photo quality but I believe this angle makes it clearer: They have and inwards curving to meet the tumblehome in a perfectly accurate and smooth way Sure! You can count on that! Well, I'll take this as a compliment In fact you are right about the capstan, I'd love to but as you can see it is way too far away from the catheads and running technic beams and whatnot across the hull would not only be a nightmare but also look rather ugly when the tumblehome is removed -- the capstan is more than 50 studs away from the bow!! Now about the bow, I see what you mean but I'm glad you agree the shape is good I've spent countless time building and rebuilding the bow to get a perfect shape--or as close as possible! I'd say perhaps about 10 hours building the bow but in the end I think the result is nice. The alternatives would be using slopes or jumpers and it would look rather odd. Still, just for comparison, though they are in a completely different scale, we have (http://www.mocpages.com/image_zoom.php?mocid=356786&id=/user_images/70118/1364013683m) Which are as far as I recall the only full-hull lego ships, besides cb4's. I think you agree that both versions are pretty abnormal at the bow although CGH's Prince is so large that it gets to be pretty smooth after all With better and different photos I'll later convince you that the bow doesn't look so bad after all

It has been a fair while since I last updated this thread. I have been way too busy to make real progress on her but now looking at the last update I see that she has gone through a great deal of change. At this moment the lower deck is basically done. There are perhaps a few bricks missing here and there but all the details are there: beds, lamps, the oven, the pump, the grilles, cargo and the sickbay. There will be photos of this part in the end since it is a bit dark and I'll need proper lightning to photograph it. Then I have also finished the lower portions of the bow and its connection with the hull. I am fairly pleased with its shape overall. The guns deck runs from stern to bow and the stern is already in its final position, supported by a provisory framework. The lower stern is already there but I miss bricks in the right colours. At this point I am in need of the framework which will support the remaining main deck, which will be my next step. As a final note regarding tiling: I fully understand those who strongly suggest tiling. But due to modularity a lot of planks would have to be broken to keep each section independent. This would mean vertical rows of 1x1 tiles across the hull, thus losing the planked look one can imagine. Moreover, I like it this way

You certainly can't go much farther with prefab hulls what you have here is quite in the limit of what is possible in terms of shape, I'd say. Congrats for these ships! I like what you did here since you get very convincing waterline models. It is also remarkable how polished the models are all-through and how smooth their lines are. Especially the middle sections are quite smooth and have a perfect shape. Anubis is your best ship in my opinion, she is really close to perfection. I'm not sure wether the scale allows it but you could use a bit of inwards curve in the galleries, to meet the tumblehome more graciously, but then I understand this is hard to manage in such a small space. Overall I think you could try to smooth a bit the transitions to the bow in all the ships but again I'm not sure to which extent that is doable. The connection with the galleries in the spartiate is very clever and perfectly smooth and I don't think you can have a better shape at the stern without removing the prefab hull! What definitely looks off to me are the slopes used in the middle of the tumblehome of the spartiate, whose purpose I don't really understand. I look forward to see more ships from you!, this is a terrific start already

Confirmation: I'm in with Mr. Townsend

I have been too busy to barely visit this forum but now, seeing this, I can't avoid commenting I dare to say this is probably one of your best ships so far! I really like the deck view, this has to be one of my favourite photos: I'm stunned with the amount of details you managed to put in such a small space. Although I agree with AC on the sails I think they look very good and the rigging is simple but very clean overall, great job The only thing actually bothering me are the galleries, they look a bit like a cube popping out of the ship, don't they?

I don't think I've mentioned this before but I appreciate your attempt at a vertical deck curvature. I think that the height difference is actually correct at this scale but it looks more like a step than something else, I'm not sure wether it wouldn't look better without such thing I'm curious about how you split the ship. Are you using some sort of hooks at the end of the strings to render them modular? I wonder wether you are untying them, that sounds like a lot of work. Also, and if I understood correctly the principle you are using for the tumblehome, perhaps it would be easier to access the lower decks by removing the hull by pulling the tumblehome from the hinges? I think a ship this big and as realistic as this would look better, in an exhibition or in a museum, with one side open to reveal the interior, if that is possible of course. Sure, vertical sections are fantastic for transporting her but I don't think they are too efficient for deck access. This is all said I'm getting more and more amazed of how realistic this ship is! For me Lego equals yellow faces always but your fleshy ones look so realistic on her that it gets to a point where I'm not sure I'm seeing lego anymore. Is that good? Keep posting photos!!

Oh wow, this is certainly a nice tutorial! Your mechanisms are very clever and efficient, ingenious! However, you must agree that your capstan mechanism for two anchors takes pretty space nonetheless Although in a prefab ship I'm sure that bottom of the hull is generally of no use at all. I think you could include a few capstan designs from other people in a final note or so, just to give an idea to readers of the different sizes, shapes and etc they can incorporate in their ships I'm really looking forward to a continuation of this!

I'm quite content to see this ship presented in its full grandeur but even more to see that this project is not over yet!! There are quite some things I would like to say and I hope this post won't be too long. First of all I must praise your dedication, artfulness and commitment to this project. 2,5 years is a long time but surely it was worth it! What you have in here is--IMO--the most impressive lego (sailing) ship ever finished to this date, and that's quite something All the details you put into her, the perfect accuracy of shape, the exquisite rigging, the overwhelming bow view, the perfect joint of galleries and stern. It's not just a matter of size: it is a matter of detail and shape--you excelled in this build There is nothing which I don't really like in the ship but I'd still like to point out a couple of things. I've discovered a little interesting fact this holidays (applicable to french ships for sure, I do not know how far this extends to british ones, but after all you are the expert here ). Usually larger ships (from superfrigates upwards) had names of kings, Gods or of the more "powerful" heroes. Of course there were exceptions to this rule and as I said I don't know if this is true for the Royal Navy but I still think Persephone, although a really beautiful name as it is, would be more appropriate for a frigate or a smaller ship Still, I have to complains regarding the stern . The shape is really nice, the hoses, the balcony, etc, and so are the details, except --I think so-- the green heads and arms! You kept a consistent colourscheme of yellow, black, blue and brown all through and the pale-green really stands out in a not-so-good way. I think yellow heads would blend-in in a better way, but of course this is just a matter of taste. For me the bigger problem are the sails. You've done such a great job that I think it is a pity to let this pass. Of course the pencil lines and the colour are perfect but the problem is the shape they get. A ship under sail would be pushed through the sails and they would accordingly get a rounded shape, like in here. Your sails are parallel to your masts, giving the impression that there is no wind blowing at all--alright, they do have a small bulge in the lower part but it is pretty small nevertheless. Or perhaps this is just of the photos you took and we are awaiting different shots? I don't think we can have too much of them! Another thing I don't quite get is the use of the long black pieces to make the lower shrouds' deadeyes and then the small wheels for the top ones. I like both of them separately but since the same structure was used, historically speaking, wouldn't it be better to do so in lego too? It doesn't really stand out but I think it is a small inconsistency. It certainly is a true pleasure to see all this work come to an end (at least the major part of it). And what an end! What a masterpiece! Fantastic job DPW, this build brought ship-building in lego to a next dimension! I'm looking forward to see the continuation of this project

This is a wonderful work you have here The shape is really sweet and all the tiling gives an extra smooth effect. I love all the details and especially the really small capstan, well done! I don't really have anything else to add since you've followed Perfectionist's steps quite far and you've clearly studied the subject - about the lamp, though, I suggest you take a look at the ones Perfectionist used in his latest ships, I believe they can quite fit the scale you are using.

After a long hiatus in the building due to my studying to high-school finals, I'm back into her. I'm posting this update just to let you all know the present state of affairs of the construction and to promise more updates in the next month or so. At the present moment she looks like this: I've been designing several details, such as the capstan (which is an improved version of DPW's amazing capstan, notice the correct shape, size and ability of being removed of the bars) The cannons, respectively 18 powders and 12 powders, Now on the techniques employed. This may get a bit technical so if you are just looking for the "update" pictures, you should probably stop here. I'll now describe the construction. I've run a frame lengthwise, which serves as support to the gun-deck. This frame is most important to be correctly build, both to assure overall consistency and strength and to provide strong support for the gun-deck, which ideally is supported in almost every point. Of course this isn't possible, but thus the frame must be build as wide as possible. Due to my lack of the required bricks I've started to work on the gun-deck before finishing the details in the lower deck. This is far from ideal but since the ship is so modular it will not be a trouble to add gratings, lamps, pumps, containers and beds to the lower deck. We must then finish the gun-deck. This is both a long and tedious process. At this point you either build something like this: (cb4's current WIP), which has the advantage of providing an ultra-accurate hull-shape, but at the price of extremely hard modularity, no galleries whatsoever (at least with a clean connection) and some sort of stability issues. My approach is a bit different and is based upon this principle: which consists in the adaptation of a full-hull to something where we can apply the conventional CGH tumble-home building technique. Now I admit this isn't perfect because it leaves a gap between the connection of the deck and the hull, as you can see here: However, the gap is rather small and for the moment I am happy with this solution, in a future project I'll work this area around. Therefore what must be done is to match the deck to the hull as close as possible, to make this gap as close as possible. Notice also the panels used, which make it possible to detach the tumblehome and to leave it in almost any desired angle. The tumblehome is detached in a way inspired by Perfectionist (credit to him!! he's a true inspiration to this project) but fairly simpler and more efficient, mostly because the connections I use are much more weaker (these round plates will eventually be substituted by normal ones, when I get my hands on those). Now here is where I stopped, due to my lack of bricks. To build the top deck we must run another frame, lengthwise, and similar in every aspect to the frame built for the lower deck. This frame provides full support and is attached directly to the main deck:

Thanks! I totally understand why you haven't placed many decorations in LDD, but I'd still agree with the others: adding some more colour could make the stern more interesting. If not yellow, at least some dark blue (?). Keep it up!

Now this is fantastic I can't open the lxf file because I'm on a mac, do we get to have a picture of the stern please? I love her all the way through. A small idea which I think that can be interesting is this (I'm think about using it on my ship though): if the walls near the captain's cabin (covering the last two guns) are irrelevant to the structure, which is hard to say from the pictures, you could make them modular so that the ship could assume "fighting position", since those walls were usually removed to clear the deck

My apologies, perhaps I haven't been clear enough. I meant the shrouds should be like this:

I don't see why this doesn't have any comments! The ship looks really great to me: it has a polished, finished look with a sweet shape which I really like. The view from the stern is specially nice - you've outdone yourself there. Now for a couple of points for improvement - points which I think such a fine craft deserves. The middle shrouds' platform is really good, but I wonder, why have you built the others turned to the inside of the ship? I don't think that is very accurate. As I said before, the castle ought to be a little higher. I like what you did there, but why making such a low breastwork?I would keep the angle at the slopes, increasing the height by 1 or 2 bricks, and I think it would be perfect Keep building these old vessels! I promise my next ship will be classical portuguese caravel

This is great, I love the shape