BrickPerfection

Thanks a lot for your kind words! Unfortunately the Imperial Soldiers torsos are not available in BDP Series 5, so I cannot simply re-run Minerva. The reason appears to be that the Eldorado Fortress is being retired early, reportedly by the end of 2024. Apparently it didn't sell too well - I could get myself one for A$100 off at the main Sydney Lego Store and even with that 30% discount they didn't sell out. My own theory is that accelerating the retirement of the Eldorado Fortress also gutted Minerva's chances, as BDP Series 4 production / shipping is in mid-2025; i.e. after Eldorado is now set to retire. I might be wrong, but this explanation makes the most sense to me given what we know. Alternatively the piece count was too large - unfortunately I can't really get it down because of proportions: the width is determined by the cannons fitting with closed gunports, and the length follows from there with a 3.5-3.8 ratio (any less and she would look fat!). Keep in mind that BDP has a rule of keeping the average finalist part count at 2500; that alone can sink a 4000pcs design. I might revise Minerva for a future series if I can make her work with the then-available torsos; but for now I need a break. I'll go with a few new designs into BDP Series 5 instead of pouring everything that I have into a single high difficulty, high-risk (& high-reward) design like Minerva. I won't give up on BDP so easily; many of the successful designers have been unsuccessful in ideas for years previously! The main reasons we are getting so many castle sets in BDP are: 1) Popularity: - There's lots of interest from fans; i.e. medieval sets always sell out (so far) which is a major incentive - There are many fan designers building medieval MOCs, and there's also a huge backlog in failed medieval ideas submissions coming to BDP 3) No standalone castle theme - Probably because it's mostly adults buying castle sets, the kids seem to have much less interest unfortunately 2) Minifigures: - There are many great torsos and utensils available from Lion Knight's castle and now even more with the Medieval Town Square - The torso selection for themes other than castle and town is pretty 'meh' to put it mildly and stickers on torsos are not allowed - Reviewers care a great deal about Minifigures that are included in a BDP set (just read / watch them) ->hence you cannot really make a Minifigure-scale set with the 'wrong' torsos and expect it to sell well Should I re-run Minerva in a future BDP Series, I'll advertise it here on the forum! Still, I would appreciate if you could give my new designs for BDP Series 5 a look. They may not be on the same level as Minerva, but they won't disappoint for sure!

Minerva is a fast frigate whose sole purpose is to keep the Oceans safe from those Pirates, and dare I may say a ship that has been sorely missing in the LEGO World. She comes with 12 Minifigures and one small cat to keep the food supplies safe from rats. Please Vote Now () at BrickLink.com if you would like for her to be produced as part of the BrickLink Designer Program: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-4/1451/Imperial-Frigate-Minerva Minerva is a highly efficient design, which is to say that it does a lot with its 4000 pieces. Although the design is ambitious, I have paid close attention to making it as buildable as possible. What I can definitely guarantee is that you’ll come across plenty of interesting techniques as well as those sweet moments where sections come together and fit just perfectly - just have a look at Minerva’s stern. Minerva has several features that make her highly playable and friendly to Minifigures, as demonstrated in this video: Please Vote (): https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-4/1451/Imperial-Frigate-Minerva Thanks a lot!

I built a new frame from my instructions and posted a picture on my instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C3UJA2OpDdi/

Thanks! I hope it helps with a few last-minute votes... we haven't had an Imperial Ship since 2009 and probably never a realistic-looking ship that has play functions and fits Minifigures. My old fleet is still in the same old basement in Germany. I'm in Australia now, so have no access. I posted some pictures of how they're stored here.

Thanks for making a poll for this! The Minifigures and details are certainly fantastic, I can think of many MOC ideas making use of them! There's also some very neat storytelling relating the town to the castle! The set itself excites me a lot less though; it looks too simple in terms of how it is built - more like a set designed for kids. On the other hand, the colours are rather realistic historically, but they sure aren't pretty! Even if historical accuracy had been a goal, more beautiful colour combinations could have been chosen! I am really not fond of the olive green, bright red and light blueish grey. Also, why have a stone castle tower inside of a village? As many others have pointed out, there's also a distinct lack of animals, not even a single cow! The 10193 Medieval Market Village had 2 cows, and those are really expensive on pick-a-brick! Overall, I voted 7/10 because I really like the Minifigures and small details.

Your design came out very faithful to the signal tower in your picture! Nice use of those curved liftarms for the supports!

Well, BDP cannot have two Pirate MOCs selected as finalists! We already have a pirate island from series 2. Time for a ship! There hasn't been an imperial ship since the 2009 Imperial Flagship!

Hi all, Minerva is a new MOC, designed purposely to fix any issues / criticism that I could gather from my effort for series 3, Concordia. I posted more here: I did not intend for Concordia to be in Series 4 also; the design was not withdrawn from Series 4 when I asked :( Because some people commented about preferring one or the other, I made a render comparison: I think Minerva clearly wins the comparison. In any case, please vote for Minerva as she is much more buildable - more like a set - and has overall much better chances! Thanks!

Nice to see that you also built it with real bricks! Looks really good! I am just wondering about the accessibility of the seats from the top, might be ok actually with taking out the balconies section.

Gosh, that's really impressive, mixing realistic looks and motorisation like that! I just thought you were building ships, but I guess it's a tribute to what you do for work? Well done!

Thanks, NOD! The barrels actually increase stability because the 2x2 round bricks bend too easily on a 32L axle. Gosh, I miss my MOC Expert Tag - it was overwritten with the Ship Expert Tag more than 10 years ago, probably by accident as you have both! Thanks so much! It's very sweet to hear that you had a look at my fleet from 2013! Achille is older still, from 2010. I consider the first version rather unrefined, but I understand that the more modern rigging (USS Constitution era) and red hull had an appeal. I had major 'dark ages' from 2007-2009 and a much longer one from mid-2013 until early 2022. I would actually like to build something else than sailing frigates at some point (though they are beautiful!), however my mission is not finished yet, and I now consider it my mission to make one into a set! I didn't intent for both ships to be in Series 4, but I was struggling greatly to get Minerva finished in time because I redesigned almost everything on her at least once; the technic frame is actually in it's fifth iteration. So not knowing whether I could get her ready, I submitted the unfinished Minerva and the unchanged Concordia from Series 3 during the submission window. When I did finish Minerva and knew I could re-submit her, I asked for Concordia to be withdrawn, but the BDP Design Team just didn't do it - the reply I got was that she had already been approved for crowd validation. I'll do a direct comparison video with both Concordia and Minerva on the weekend. Apart from better functions and accessibility, Minerva is just a far more refined design and she comes together much more like a Lego set does - in sub-sections that pretty much fall into place. In contrast, Concordia has quite a few rough edges that are more or less inherent to the design; I also have some concerns about the rigging exerting too much force on the hull. On top of this, Concordia's hull eats too many parts, so there's not enough left for sails; her capstan also doesn't come with a string (loose strings are not in the palette). So overall, Concordia is rather unfinished as-is, making her much less likely to get past the review stage. In contrast, Minerva has been built from the get-go to comply with a fairly conservative interpretation of design standards, is far more parts-efficient in how the hull is constructed, especially the sides, and has a build flow that is much more Lego-like if you will (interior colours are white, tan and grey, nothing weird!). On top of that, every part of the interior is easily accessible to fingers, which is a massive plus over most MOC designs and even some sets. Finally, I paid far greater attention to interior details - the captains chair is a novel design, as are the small stairs and galley - and to the crew composition - every character has a designated role, there's enough weapons in storage for the crew and some (4 or 5, depending how you count) crew members have female faces for role-play.

A 20-gun frigate assigned to hunting those pirates! Also carries a treasure chest, for those who dare... Or perhaps the appearance of a ship like this has forced the pirates into hiding? This is an extremely ambitious design with a smoothly curving hull built on a sturdy technic frame and a detailed, Minifigure-friendly, interior. I have built many sailing ships in LEGO before, and this is my best work so far, including all the techniques and features that I always wanted to include. Vote now if you want this design to be officially produced by LEGO as part of the BrickLink Designer Program: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-3/1167/Imperial-Frigate-Concordia The 16 brick-built cannons on the gun deck can individually slide back and forth and all the gun ports can be closed when the cannons are in the back position. The capstan is also attached to a string reel and can be made working. Further details below deck include the galley, storage compartment and captain's cabin. Most of the top deck can be removed to access the gun deck. Minifigures can stand below deck and all gaps in the hull are filled. I also made a video to show the building experience, including the entirely brick-built & smoothly curving hull: More pictures can be found on the BrickLink submission page: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-3/1167/Imperial-Frigate-Concordia VOTE NOW

Thanks! Wonderful! Thank you!

Concordia has now been built with real bricks and many improvements were made! Please vote and leave a comment: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-3/1167/Imperial-Frigate-Concordia

Thanks! It would be great if you could perhaps also state that it's for the BrickLink Designer Program?

6 studs wide Police Interceptor from the early 2000s as known from countless movie classics.Features: -Compatible with narrow new road plates -Fits 4 minifigures sitting side by side -Doors, engine hood, trunk open -Backbench separated by a divider wall -Spacious trunk that fits 2 helmets, 2 handcuffs & 2 batons -Rotatable searchlights -Police computer & shotgun After an almost decade-long hiatus, I got back into Lego in early 2022. Considering how much had changed in the meantime, I made it into my first major project to deliver something that to me appeared to be much wanted, yet not available: Minifigure-scale (or close) cars that fit minifigures side by side, are narrow enough for the new road plates and have full functionality (such as doors, engine hood, trunk). At the same time, I wanted them to be good-looking and stable enough to be handled easily. I'm very pleased at the results so far, please let me know what you think. Instructions are available on Rebrickable; they're quite detailed yet cheap (compared to the effort): https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-153012/Perfectionist/full-size-police-interceptor-6-wide/#details

[pid][/pid] 135C - 136D Dear all, I'm very exited about and that I like to refer to as NextGen. Among other things this means that I'm only using the lower parts of the new prefabs (all of which are black, thanks to PotC) combined with a brickbuild bow and stern. All ships are built inspired by plans and models; and are supposed to resemble French ships from roughly 1760-1780. Of course, concessions were made for minifigure illusion scale and playability, yet the colours, sail plan & size, and the gun count are historically accurate. 8 ships in total; 6 built in parallel with the new technique, and 2 were updated: Magicienne, a 38gun frigate built on 7 midsections more pictures on flickr (full resolution) Concorde, a 32gun frigate (6mids) more pictures on flickr (full resolution) Médée, a 18gun brig-of-war (4mids) more pictures on flickr (full resolution) Furieuse, a bomb ketch (4mids) more pictures on flickr (full resolution) Aigle, a 10gun Bermuda sloop (2mids) more pictures on flickr (full resolution) Sirène, another 10gun Bermuda sloop more pictures on flickr (full resolution) In addition, I have rebuilt the two original frigates of my fleet: Achille, a 28gun frigate (6mids) more pictures on flickr (full resolution) Guerrière, a 24gun frigate (5mids) more pictures on flickr (full resolution)

Hi everybody! This weekend, something quite exciting happened: for the first time I got to take my fleet to an exhibition, Brickmania Antwerpen. It was quite an amazing weekend, and I am sure a main post with many pictures of all the other exciting creations will follow suit! There were the impressive Flying Dutchman by Sebeus I along with smaller ships and an island, the frigate and stunning two-decker by Captain Green Hair alongside a brig and a fantastic sloop, two neat small vessels by Legostone and two more two-deckers by Maxim I (and much more!). I just focus on my vessels here, since the fleet looks like a fleet for the first time on this occasion! Thanks to Maxim I for inviting me to take part. An overview of the battle line. Battle sails at the front (Achille). (Concorde). Also gradually more studding sails in the back for catching up. Main engagement between the two fleets (blue vs. red, what else?). Looking down the battle line... And another ship portrait (Concorde). Still a few studding sails (on Guerrière), shielding the bomb ketch (Furieuse) from enemy fire. That is this vessel. Full sails at the back (Magicienne). And at the very back, guarding the rear of the frigate (Médée). This was also the first meeting between Captain Green Hair's famous tutorial frigate, and my equally sized (5 mids) interpretation inspired by it, Guerrière. It was nice to see some different styles used on the two ships, both of which were built around the same time (2010-2011). I forgot to mention this earlier, but I actually gave her Figurehead Captain Green Hair's face... My apologies for the super-late reply. There are no problems with structural integrity with my ships: I put them in the trunk of my car without any protection and there was virtually no damage in spite of Antwerp's cobblestone streets. Full resolution pictures will be available on my flickr.

Hello everybody! roughly 4 years (!) after completion, I finally took some nicer pictures of all ships. Still, these ships were built to last, and they are actually like new, and still up to date in terms of techniques. I've made a new topic for Concorde just recently, but now took new pictures of all ships, including her, they will all be posted here. Magicienne, a 38gun frigate built on 7 midsections more pictures on flickr (full resolution) Concorde, a 32gun frigate (6mids) more pictures on flickr (full resolution) Médée, a 18gun brig-of-war (4mids) more pictures on flickr (full resolution) Furieuse, a bomb ketch (4mids) more pictures on flickr (full resolution) Aigle, a 10gun Bermuda sloop (2mids) more pictures on flickr (full resolution) Sirène, another 10gun Bermuda sloop more pictures on flickr (full resolution) In addition, I have rebuilt the two original frigates of my fleet: Achille, a 28gun frigate (6mids) more pictures on flickr (full resolution) Guerrière, a 24gun frigate (5mids) more pictures on flickr (full resolution)

Hey folks, This creation was finished in 2012, among with the rest of my fleet of 8 vessels. 6 of these ships have been built in parallel using some exciting new techniques that I boldly labelled "nextgen" as it took build quality to a whole new level. Essential features are a innovative hull technique (that essentially show I could have done it without prefabs, retaining only the lower parts), complete accessible interior, and drastically improved sails and rigging. For some reasons I never posted any of these ships, so tonight I just took my smartphone and made a start. Concorde is a 32-gun Frigate which was modelled after French ships from roughly 1760-1780. The colour scheme, sail plan and size and gun count are roughly historically accurate. However, she still offers herself to all kinds of play and postures, because I believe a Lego creation should be good for more than just first looks. Enjoy!

Thanks guys, it is great to hear from you! I'll proof that I've got the rest of the fleet eventually Usually, the old ships had more than one capstan; smaller one on the topdeck would be used to lower the boats and move cargo, the bigger one on the gundeck (and below) to move the main anchor. Guns in captain's quarters were normal on every warship. 10% more firepower after all. Visit HMS Victory, for example. I used headlight bricks for the gunports; old trick that I've done for ages. It looks good, but is expensive partwise. I did this afterwards using a ruler. I was too lazy and not concetrated enough to make all knots. Admiral Croissant did though, on his "Vesta". Thank you! Soo good to hear from you :) Taking the pictures may take a while though, unfortunately. Thanks! You've inspired my frigate madness after all, though I suppose I could've started building more MOCs in different themes. But I wanted my ships to be better, and even better...

Wow, that is really cool! Factories are very rarely build as Mocs, though they had a major role in the early industrial revolution in England, especially textile factories; colonies would provide the raw materials, and the assembly was done in the home country. Of course you'd need ships and commanding the seas... Your details really look quite believable, I didn't think about implementing textiles in brick before, but you've done it

The vintage feel and sails really do give it an appeal. To me it feels like the flagship that Lego did never make back in the original, classic pirate days. Would be nice to compare to the comparatively smaller pirate ship maybe (which should really have been a sloop). Nice work!

I didn't know you could build a good-looking MOC frigate in just 18 hours, including custom rigging. Congrats on that! I really like the fact that you're building a fleet too :)

107D Building Achille began in October 2009 as a side project of what was then my main shipbuilding project, Superbe. At the beginning it was much inspired by CGH's Build a frigate tutorial since I just wanted to quickly figure out how his techniques look like. At that time, Achille wasn't supposed to feature any interior or much detail and i planned to finish her in less than a month so that I could practice rigging techniques for "Superbe". When I posted a WIP topic though, my plans turned upside down. Through much feedback, for which I am extremely grateful, and my ambition to challenge what is possible on prefabs to the maximum, Achille became my main project, "Guerrière", her sistership, my side project while "Superbe" was given up (for now). Finally, Achille took me some 13 months and almost 300 hours to build. It contains about 5200 Lego pieces of which most are small and some very rare. To make her 32 sails and rigging, 1,5 m2 of linen and some 220m of 6different types of string have been consumed. It weighs 4,6 kg and measures 76cm in height and 105cm in length (over all). It is completely modular; the deck can be taken of to show the full interior, also all sails can be removed. I would like to credit Captain Green Hair, Admiral Croissant, Admiral Bejaune and Captain Blackmoor for their building techniques (esspecially CGH!), much inspiration and their valuable help and assistance on MSN. Also there has been an important, keen competition with Admiral Croissant's project Vesta which was build during the same time and drove me to invest much more time for rigging and sails than what I would have oherwise. Thank you so much! Now it is time for some more pictures: A bird's eye shows all of Achille's 32 sails. Of course the studding sails can be easily removed, as all other sails can be too. As a vessel of the Ancien Régime she flies the royal standard of France, a plain white flag. As you may spot in this picture, I used metal hook and eyes for making the sails modular. The bow shows her very unique headrails technique. The stern has been rebuild several times: This one is for Captain Green Hair: Now let's show you some details. Here, you can see the bow with the massive Ancors. This is where the ship's bell is situated. You can also see the upper part of the galley. Here we have the two boats Achille is carrying for various tasks, one of them being to pull the ship when there is light wind. This is the capstan used for raising the anchor. This is one of the most vital places on a ship: the steering wheel! Now let's go and see what it's like below deck. (Nicely shows how the modularity works; notice the two-way curved deck and the golden flag tops.) Here you can see the galley, you may have seen the upper part in front of the bell. This is the storage compartment - hmm looks like we forgot a prisoner down there! Now let's go to a much nicer place: the captain's cabin! The bed for the captain is situated on the port side, while navigation equipment is starbord. Of course, Achille has a brave crew as well. With a neat little trick, placing minifigs on the tiled deck isn't so hard: FIRE! More pictures can be found on Flickr Now it is time for me to shut up and pay attention to your comments and reactions.