steele

That monorail is actually quite similar in operation to most real monorails, including Disney's----they all use rubber-tired wheels on top of a smooth beam way. Lego's monorails operate like a rack railway--this version is almost identical: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rack_railway#Locher Hmmn---those pics give me a LOT of ideas. (While I'd love a new monorail above most anything else, a *Disney* Lego monorail would be even better---but that seems very unlikely so I'd have to make it myself----but getting the smooth-yet-pointed noses would be so critical to looking right, I think nothing but a unique and newly-molded piece would do---plus all the trapezoid and triangle windows)

Maybe not Pirate specific, but for "basic" parts I've wanted: Inverted cheese! Always annoying to try to make symmetrical things, when cheese can only go on top of parts, and not underneath. IMHO, every slope piece should have a matching inverted slope. The things I could make with inverted cheese slopes... I'll second the request for 1x3 tiles---how else can you bridge a 1-stud gap with tiles? Macaroni plate. I've wanted this for years---is there a technical reason it can't be made? Macaroni bricks have poor grip--would a plate have almost no grip? 3x3 plate. Just last night I found myself needing it. New parts for making railing! Both pirate and train people need something besides those robot arms to make vertical stanchions Basically something like a lightsaber with a clip on the end...

So 2 of these as well? http://peeron.com/inv/parts/6067 I need to order one more of those then, and another column. (I already have 3 from Vladek's Fortress)

Could you go over what mast pieces are needed? It looks like the aft one is a "tall mast base" with a mast center section on top, while the mid one is 2 "tall columns" stacked on top of each other. Bow sprit is the old bow sprit piece with a "mast top" on top of that. My current guess of parts needed: http://peeron.com/inv/parts/4844 x1 http://peeron.com/inv/parts/2537 x2 http://peeron.com/inv/parts/2538 x4 http://peeron.com/inv/parts/30047 x1 http://peeron.com/inv/parts/6168a x2 Are any of these needed? http://peeron.com/inv/parts/6067

Was the TIE Defender black and grey or black and blue? Also--would you say it's a bit more or bit less complex than the Interceptor? (I hope it has a higher price point, as it has 50% more wings---if they try to do 3 wings for the same price, it'll be over-simplified) I'd love a $40 TIE Defender done well.

You have 2 mast bases installed---is it going to be a 2-masted ship? I thought it'd have more, being a 5-center-section design. Also, the prow looks like it's been extended forward, compared to step 4. You asked for comments on the stern design in the building thread-- (I just ordered the last hull piece I needed yesterday, so I shoud be able to start mine as soon as I make another Bricklink order or two for the hinges and "striping" parts) I think it's a bit "flat" on the back (I'd like to see more of the tall, steep slope pieces---like 4460, 2449, and 3684). And maybe some arches. Also, I'm not very fond of hinges/plates used like this, to "fill in" areas at an angle:

Couldn't find this mentioned anywhere: I just got my first chain links ever, and there's supposed to be 39 of them for the model. Box has 40 inside. But while assembling them, I found that a few are different, and lead to a visual "gap" between links. Assembling all the rest, I have 34 normal ones, and 6 "other" ones. The normal ones are all marked "10-19" or "3-19" or "14-19" etc. The other ones have a "C" in a circle. (not a copyright symbol, the C is in Lego's font). Here's two photos I took--normal links on top, other ones on bottom. The "gap" between links is more apparent in the 2nd photo. At first I was very worried that there might be a mistake, or that the links were longer in some way---but actually the length and function is identical---they just LOOK different.

It was a brand-new sealed set. Newbie-to-chains question: Sometimes the chain won't "mesh" with the teeth properly (lays kind of on top of the teeth instead of down inbetween them), and the chain jerkily snaps back into position as the gears continue to revolve. Normal? (honestly I think it's just a function of the chain length of that model---39 links is too loose IMHO, but 38 is much too short/tight--it really needs to be 38.5 links for proper tension) The "feeling" of linking and unlinking the 2 parts is identical. (though experimenting more tonight, I do think the "jumping" of the chain is more likely when the "bottom style" of link encounters the gear)

Never did I imagine there'd be a Trask Ulgo mini-fig. I'm waiting for Yuthura Ban to show up. :)

I'd like to add one more request to my previous post: Bluecoats! If not integrated into the main line, then at least make them available as a minifig pack or pick-a-brick at Shop At Home or something.

That's a lot more cannons than I have... (I'm kind of surprised the prices for cannons haven't gone down much compared to a couple years ago, despite cannons being back on the shelves again--metallic, firing ones at that)

Both the actual bins and the sorting method are scarily similar to my own. :)

I rebuilt my BSB, but mine was about 90-95% complete so I had a much easier job. Compared to most pirate ships, the BSB is a little bit easier to acquire parts for IMHO, as being the first, it has the fewest unique pieces. Masts themselves are pretty easy, but the spars will be the hardest---you'll need quite a few "towball" pieces and fairly uncommon fingered hinges. Plus the sails---you may seriously want to consider making your own replacement sails from patterns, rather than paying what it'd cost to acquire a set of original sails. But honestly, the cost of acquiring minifigs, sails and cannons will be an issue---save them for last, rebuild the rest of the ship first. And yes, buying a bucket of generic bricks will be almost worthless for a BSB repair due to what you need and what they usually have in them. Better to spend the money on bricklink and buy EXACTLY the parts you need. Best way to do it would be to sign up on bricklink, then go here: http://www.bricklink.com/wantedSet.asp?ite...p;itemNo=6285-1 This will add all the parts required to build a whole BSB into your want list. Then manually remove the parts you already have--see the illustrated list here: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemInv.asp?S=6285-1. Then go to this page, http://www.bricklink.com/wantedShop.asp which will show you which shops have the most parts you need, so you can buy from as few shops as possible (instead of buying 10 parts each from 50 different stores)

I'll second that--especially with regards to black plates. I'd hate to order another 75 2x3s, only to find out that I really needed 1x6s...

De-lurking, but long-time Pirates fan (still have my original BSB) and I have just a few wishes: More parrot colors! Red+blue, blue+yellow, etc. I'd love a "parrot pack" full of different colors. (I always wonder why the original parrot with printing was never molded in blue or green, just the red) A really big military ship. Don't really care which nation. I've always thought a military should be able to acquire bigger, better-armed ships than pirates. At least 3 center-sections, preferably 4. Lots of cannons of course. Detailed cabin/sterncastle---put the parts count into there, not making gimmicks/action-features. Sails everywhere, as many as possible--and please make them "generic" sails---no logo/insignia, just simple broad stripes like the BSB or Caribbean Clipper, so they could easily be used on any other ship. And along the same lines as above-----a sail pack, including sails in the common shapes and sizes found on the BSB, SES, etc, with generic decoration that could be used on any ship---no logos, just stripes, or plain white/canvas color. Finally---if skulls and crossbones are to be used on sails and flags---make them more detailed/realistic, not so "cartoony".

Hi, long-time lurker de-lurking (just signed up tonight---this project is the reason why). I've always wanted a "bigger" pirate ship, but frankly, I've never been good at MOC---99% of my stuff is purely from LEGOs own instructions or slight modifications---but a step-by-step guide is exactly what I can work from! Don't have the parts required yet, but I have a good start----my original BSB (the only set saved from my childhood, 95% original parts), plus enough parts to "convert" my BSB to the SES (I thought that'd be cheaper than getting an original SES---wasn't really), some extra mast/rigging bits as spares for my BSB just in case, and 1 extra mid-section. If it's still "available" I'd like to do my version in a Caribbean Clipper-esque scheme. Need to buy a lot of brown plates and cannons. For the latest step, what exactly makes up the tan deck planking? I have Vladek's dark fortress, so that should provide at least some of the tan plates.