Norrington

Very clever, and dare I say, cute as well. Well done!

Great design, very classy design. I like that it's a blend of more modern cars (front grille) and the classic auto-mobiles (the back, and the separate sort of "fenders" with the lights and trunk). And I'm really impressed with the snot, though I can see it having the potential to be wobbly in regards to the headlights/doors. Is it in real life? In any case, a really outstanding design and a wonderful display piece.

This is it in a nutshell, folks. It really is a silly thing to get too worked up about, as knock-offs aren't going away any time soon, and frankly they are a decent way for kids and adults who want a decent looking model to do what they like with inexpensively. Again, if you don't want 'em and you think they're gross, don't buy 'em, but realise that it is really, in a lot of ways, mostly a personal preference.

The painted dynamo torso and robes, I REEEEAAALLY like. You did it very well. As far as the ship goes, my main issue is the poly-chrome, it just sort of distracts from the design of the vessel, but definitely kudos to you for working the colours into sort of a colour scheme and design, the "mixing" not withstanding. You say this is related to Turtle-ships, (my first introduction to turtle-ships and this sort of vessel was some years back in the early 2000s, with games like "Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings" and its expansion, "The Conquerors"). Turtle Ship Elite Turtle Ship I think sitting it lower to the water would probably aid it's realism, if you're going more towards that design, but I think the 2-deck with a cabin atop it design could work very well if rendered a bit more realistically in it's design and style, even if the ship and it's actual form are a bit exaggerated and stylized. I hope to see more of this in the future :)

Frankly, I think most of the discussion here is missing this aspect. DISCLAIMER: THIS IS WHOLLY AND COMPLETELY MY OPINION AND I WILL NOT BE OFFENDED IF YOU DISAGREE. Most of the things presented here are based purely on opinion, rather on facts. I.e., "it's an ugly ship," without explaining why it is you think that, or, even, when it's a copy of a ship most would like if it were Lego. Of course, this is all very subjective and sometimes one cannot really offer a reason for not liking something except for not liking it, and that's fine. But I see a whole lot of "those minifigures are " even when they are virtually identical in design to Lego originals, save maybe some colour or face changes (which are generally not that attractive, but aren't completely horrible or difficult to change either). Some of the criticisms of rehashing effects/ideas from old sets into new ones or historical inaccuracy are a bit questionable too. Lego's done that too, in the past, make no mistake, but crucifying Enlighten for doing the same thing is a tad disingenuous, to say the least. In the knock-off of the Armada flagship, I think criticising them for including Comb-Morion helmets with the red-coats is a bit silly. It's not more silly than having them with Shakos, both are pretty inaccurate, as the uniforms are 18th century style but the Shako is a 19th century thing. Not to mention the whole "late 18th/early 19th century style soldiers fighting pirates, even though the piracy had largely died off by 1700" thing is pretty historically inaccurate. Or the "1960s cartoony pirates with hooks and peg-legs and eyepatches" concept at all. Honestly, the historic accuracy argument loses some credibility in that both these knock-offs and the Lego originals are children's playthings. They were never meant to be 100% accurate, just suggestive and evocative of a different time place and genre. What may be said for Lego is they took the historic accuracy a bit more seriously, but not so seriously that they're above criticism from the harsh-minded if one is really interested in pressing that point. While I will certainly say that the colours and construction quality of these sets are lower and less desirable than the Lego originals (leaving alone the ethical issues of copying the designs of the originals wholesale), not much else can really be said against them in terms of their design. They're either copies of extant Lego designs or are designs that frankly wouldn't be that out-of-place if Lego themselves had done them. Lego knock-offs aren't gonna stop existing any time soon, but in the greater scheme of things, they aren't that bad. Sure, some kid isn't going to be able to tell the difference, but they probably wouldn't care the same way we would anyway. But here's the bottom line, as I see it: they're marketed to a) children, and b) people who reeeeaaaaally want to have a BSB or Imperial Flagship or whatever, but don't want to pay the high prices. If you want a BSB to play with or to sit on a shelf and aren't too concerned with whether or not the bricks are exact color matches for the original or will stand up to the same wear as the original (and aren't interested in paying huge prices for originals either), well, you've probably found some of the best you can get. I mean, you'd pay maybe, what, $20 for a BSB knock-off of slightly lower quality, or close to $300-$500 for an original example. Unless you're a serious collector or plan on scavenging it for parts, I doubt it would really be a problem in any real way for anyone (though, if you were interested in scavenging it for parts, there are certainly cheaper ways of doing it, lol). I guess what it boils down to is: if you don't like it or want it, don't buy it. Feel free to flame or disagree.

Basically, only the early ships had them on actual wheels, the rest were either fixed or mounted on turntables (Imperial Flagship, Armada flagship) or mounted on sliding turntables (Redbeard Runner and Skulls Eye Schooner did that, right? My memory seems to fail me) to go from side to side. Personally, I think that if you want a realistic/"finished" look, that doing wheels on the carriages is usually the way to go, unless you can come up with another way to allow the gun to "recoil" (or at least look like it could). Turntables (or something like a rotating/sliding action) for fixed fort guns could work, as that was actually done on some of the heavier guns on certain mid-19th century steamships and forts, but as for whether it would look good or appropriate, your mileage may vary.

You are quite correct. I was more saying that I think that if a modelor would chose to upload the .lxf file to a public place to "share it", or let other people build/buy the design (particularly if it's a good one), that's a pretty admirable thing. That being said, it should only be at their discretion. I understand completely the notion of not wanting your work copied (particularly if it's a design of large scale and immense detail, like ToiletseatPhilosophy's). Some people (myself included) probably wouldn't mind other people using the digital design as a basis for their own improved versions, visualising it better, or even buying it from Lego. Of course I agree that if one were to do any of those things, credit and thanks should be given to the originator of the designs, as a matter of common courtesy. It's all a personal preference. But saying "it would be admirable if people shared .lxf designs" does not mean "everyone is entitled to someone's .lxf design, even if that means 'stealing' it." If you don't want to share a design, no biggie, there's no obligation to, it's just neat when people do. As far as templates go, it'd basically be impossible to do for very large, custom-hulled vessels. I imagined he meant brick built hulls (or, at least, simple stands) of same dimensions of the actual hull pieces that one could build a ship in LDD on top of, order, and then build and transplant onto a real hull (I would personally find those very useful). Ah thanks, and you're quite right. It's been a long time since I've been around but I know he posted it before I left a couple years back. Errorist's designs (esp. for his larger frigates) are the kind of thing I think quite a few people would like to buy for themselves if they had the money, so Errorist's sharing of the .lxf designs was a pretty neat thing for him to do, but again, if he didn't want to there's no obligation to.

The overall moc is quite good, and the translation of your steampunk AT-AT to micro-scale excedingly well done. My main objection would be the exhaust pipes on the back; having four with the ice-cream pieces atop, it seems to me, makes them look like they are entirely part of the design in that it took me a bit to realise that the ice cream pieces were smoke rather than part of the craft proper. Perhaps one smoke stack with a taller, 3-ice cream piece tall plume of smoke would be more clear, but that's just my opinion. Again, really great work. :)

Well, most of the ones I remember didn't, but I feel that at least one of two of the ships had wheels on the carriage. Historically speaking though, that would be the most realistic if you want to do the realistic look, though that's entirely up to you. I personally think gun carriages always look a bit odd without wheels of some sort. All the same, very good looking as it is :)

I agree with the assement of it needing wheels, and the carriage perhaps looking better with SNOT. Otherwise, I like it a lot. Very suggestive of a heaver cannon in a fort or something similar.

I wasn't suggesting that ToiletseatPhilosophy's designs be taken without permission, it was merely an illustration of what LDD is capable of and the sort of thing that some designers could put up if they wished to.

Excellent! You've really captured the romantic aspects of the fortified country house splendidly. Others have described it very well, but the mottling and mixing of the walls and landscape are brilliant. I particularly like the semi-gothic paired windows in the front facing oriel on the parapet. Lovely!

If you alter the pediment by making it less wide/tall like the example you gave, that will definitely give it a more Italianate type of character (much like the one you posted). I've never seen an Italianate house in white (well, not a stone or cast iron one, anyway), so my concern would be that the color scheme would look odd. Personally, I'd extend the pediment out more towards the street, making the pediment hang over the cornice by 1/2 or 1 stud, and make it more neo-classical/Greek revival looking. Like-a-so: That way it will continue to be a blend of sorts (i.e., with the thinner, single storey columns making up the front arcade, and things like that), but bring out the Neo-classical features in a more dignified fashion, I think.

As a fan of Victorian cast-iron storefronts, I really appreciate this. I get a sense of architectural blending here--the Greek revival sort of pediment, the first floor (ashlar?) and the sort of columns/posts on the front façade, sort of like a classical arcade. Very nice!

I very much liked the figure taking the siesta; that technique isn't one I've seen before, but it's very effective.

Personally, I think the thing that stood out for me the most was the autumnal tree (or perhaps I interpreted it all wrong and it's something else entirely, lol), and the turtle on the river bank which I barely noticed (it blended in very well). :) Everything else was extremely detailed, but some things just didn't feel right (the round snot plate roof, I imagine because they're too shiny, I feel), but I dunno. Ultimately, a very fine representation of this scene, very good.

I know some time back (before my recently ended dark ages), someone did some exceptionally good frigates and ships in true minifig scale on LDD. When I read the topic, that came immediately to mind. His Gallery He was almost certainly a member here. Personally, I'd like things like this to be available more freely on LDD, as "customizable" and alterable. I.e., rather than the frigate be red, black, and white, it be in Royal Naval colours, et cetera.

I ultimately think whether or not painting a piece is "acceptable" depends on, as others have said: a) the rarity of a piece. Some pieces exist in very limited quantities (and some common items exist in very rare colours), and as such, that should probably be the first thing considered. Though, I'll say, I doubt many people would 'get rid of' a rare piece of their own volition, but people have done stranger things, eh? b) what you hope to achieve. I think painting the plumes of shakoes or the edges of tricornes/bicornes/hats in or doing other "detail work" is perfectly acceptable, as you have done. Personally, it often seems like something that should have been done by Lego in the first place, but that's just me. Decals I think are very useful, but in many cases look very poor due to unsuitable colour matching and other such things. c) the item itself. Disregarding rarity, the piece itself should probably be considered. Painting bricks, for example, would be a bit silly, since with Lego, part of the point of the product is taking liberties and sometimes accepting "close enough." Doing additional detail, as I said, is good and fine. I think the best rule of thumb here would be, doing detail work (painting a design on a brick, painting a design on a torso, colouring in plumes or hilts of swords) is always preferable to painting large surfaces (i.e., painting an entire headpiece, brick, or plate). But almost anything can be done well, so go wild. :)

I'll say that it is a very interesting and new design, which I appreciate. That being said, although it is based on a historic example, it seems to me to be more akin to a more fantasy-type element (i.e., a land cannon moved about by a band of roving pirates or something similar), at least with the way most people approach the pirate theme. I think the end of the barrel coming off doesn't represent the breech loading very well, but that's just me. And, as Zenn said, a 1x1 round plate or an altered piece would fill the hole up splendidly. All in all, it's a great design, and I quite like it. I hope someone uses it to help create more "eclectic" vessels akin to Flyuts and Galleons and other ships of that genre.

It's the Abraham Lincoln from Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. This is the model version, used for long shots. There was a full sized version from the waterline up for deck scenes, though.

Oh yeah, it's for real. It came in the Sims 2 Apartment Life expansion pack, and I just noticed the othed day while building an antique store!

While playing the Sims 2 less than an hour ago, I found this interesting decor in the Decorative section of the buy catalog. Though you might find it as interesting as I do. Item description: Cap'n Green Hair Cereal Boxes - $25 Arr, mateys! Do you want to be like Cap'n Green Hair and have adventures with swashbuckling pirates, beautiful dames, and giant sea creatures? Eat Cap'n Green Hair Cereal as a part of a good breakfast, and prepare for adventure in the Seven Seas. $25 is a bit pricey for empty cereal boxes, eh?

Hooray! More steamships! I've always had a soft spot for steam ships, and this one is great! The size is good, and it looks very good! Steamship, ON!

Thank you! Any requests? I don't just do Victorian (I've done 1920's, Regency, Rococo, Pirates, etc.) Say, Greenie, could you change the title to "Norrington's Fine Minifigure Clothiers" and the description to "Decals from any time period. Requests welcomed" please? It would be much apreciated and the thread might get more traffic if it's more general.

An interesting Moc, to be sure. I'm no self-promoter, but perhaps you'd like to try some of my acclaimed Victorian Clothing decals? They're a Pirelli decal in there, about 2 pages in. http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?...mp;#entry249259