greg3

Stunning looking harbour!! It's great to see ships/harbours from the good old days (the black tug was my favourite set as a kid!!) Nice work!!

Excellent MOD... now I need to find myself one of those baseplates!!

They are brilliant!! Much as I love the modular buildings my lack of space means that I find that they're just too big to use for other than displaying individually on a shelf... your versions are perfect for incorporating them into a city/town display (especially the Fire Brigade and Grand Emporium) I think I may have to try something similar... very inspirational...

Hi Here's a quick, small MOC I've put together. It's based on a breech loading ship's gun recovered from the wreck of the Tudor warship Mary Rose. Breech loading guns of this type had a removable chamber which was filled with powder, and often the projectile too, before being wedged in place at the rear of the barrel. It was then fired like a muzzle loader. The advantages of this type of gun were speed (each gun could have several chambers so a loaded one was always ready) and space (the gun didn't have to be fully retracted to load). The drawbacks however were a reduction in range caused by gasses escaping from the chamber/barrel join and an increased potential for the gun to explode if a chamber was damaged or fitted incorrectly. Despite this, the guns were considered effective at short range and used throughout the Tudor period and smaller swivel versions were used as anti-personel weapons long after that. Reference Side view - the black handles I added to make it look more interesting (I was going to use clips to represent eye bolts but they didn't look right) Top view - not keen on the hole on top of the barrel!! Chamber removed

I came across this site while looking for info on how to do rigging... it's VERY detailed but gives an idea of what goes where and is connected to what... I think it'll be useful in making my rig look more realistic and hopefully others might find it useful too... (apologies if it's already been posted here) Rigging link

That looks great... love the chandelier and the drunken knife throwers!! Nice job!

Absolutely fantastic!! Love the rigging/sails and the decoration at the stern especially. Nice work!!

That is a stunning piece of work... the amount of detail you've packed in is incredible. Even the display base is fantastic!! The whole thing really does look like a "proper" model and shows just how great Lego is in the hands of a talented builder... well done!! Can't wait to see the Armada!!

A quick update... As mentioned in the first post I've started changing the sail layout to a square rig. I've also lengthened the hull to give it the correct proportions (in fact if you take 1 stud = 1 ft it's almost exactly right) I've also removed the leeboards and slightly altered the bow. Next is to make the sails and add some more cannon!! Thanks for looking...

Great competition with some excellent and imaginative ideas... Here are my votes... 03 - George G. - bee hovering a flower 3 points 11 - the last chronicler - Red Faced Monkey-Lion: 2 points 24 - AndyC - The terrifying Sphinx, guarding his 'treasure' 1 point

Wow... 3rd place!! Thanks to everyone who voted for my story and congratulation to all the other winners all very deserved. And finally thanks to the organisers and everyone who entered - looking forward to the next competition!! Thanks Greg

Hi I've just started making my own sails too... I've just used an old shirt cut up and dyed in coffee/tea. If you want more complicated designs you can try using printable fabric such as the products from here My link Not sure what Lego use but I've seen "write on rain" type paper which is plastic type paper that you can write on/print from the computer. You can usually find it in outdoors/camping shops Hope some of that helps... looking forward to seeing your navy!!

Very nice!! I really like all the decoration (whips etc) Looking forward to seeing it with the sails... nice work!! (like your Lego storage system too... might have to get some of those boxes!!)

Excellent looking ship!! I especially like the stern and the masts/rigging... nice work!!

Here's my votes... 2 votes for Blackpyre's Jack Sparrow can't escape the Classics - As soon as I read this one I thought "What a great story... funny, well written just perfect!!". 2 votes for Duke's Brabossa's Ballad - A well written poem that still manages to tell a story. 1 vote for RocketSeason's The Compass - I really liked the dialogue and description in this one. 1 vote for my own entry The Veteran I have to say that I've really enjoyed reading all the entries so well done to everyone who took the time and effort to enter.

For some reason I've become quite taken with the Cars/Cars 2 theme. So I decided to make my own character, Douglas, loosely based on the Peel P50 - the worlds smallest production car and originally built here in the Isle of Man in the 1960's. Link to the real thing. BACKGROUND Douglas had spent years being teased by other cars because of his size. Then, one day, his life changed when he met top British spy Finn McMissile who was on a secret mission in the Isle of Man. The exact events are still classified but Douglas ended up saving Finn and in return was offered a place as a secret agent. He is determined, loyal and never backs down from danger*, this combined with his small size makes him ideal for reconnaissance/spy missions. *just as well, as the P50 has no reverse gear Spy Team This is my first ever attempt at MOCing a car (of any sort) and is the result of a bored rainy Sunday afternoon... the decals were done on the computer and printed off. Think he needs side/rear windows and I'm toying with the idea of giving him "proper" wheels somehow. Anyway, I hope you like him - comments are always welcome. Cheers

Brilliant stuff!! So many little details and clever ideas... I especially like the Hazmat guys and their cracked road, and the drive in!! Superb!!

Hi I'd like to claim my bonus point for being on the mailing list (email reply has been sent) Cheers Mailing List VERIFIED Total: 6 Points

My entry.... The ScorpoDuck MkIV Atmospheric fighter Extra pic On Patrol Hope I've done it right!! Thanks for running the comp and good luck to everyone who enters... Cheers scorpoduck.lxf

Thanks for the comments... I agree that the hull shape isn't quite right (I wanted to use prefab hull pieces as I don't have the parts/skill to brick build a hull... yet!) The mast/sail is based on the traditional cargo Gundalow and was designed to be lowered to pass under bridges or close to banks where overhanging trees can snag the sail (hence the short stump mast) Here's a link to pics showing a modern reproduction being rigged... It shows how the yard is attached to the mast. My link

The yard has a halyard tied around it that runs through the groove in the top of the mast which raises it up. The bottom of the yard is attached to the winch which is used to tilt the sail to the right angle (if that makes sense?) Link to pics of the Philadelphia (eventually my version will look more like this!!)

A gundalow was a flat bottomed cargo vessel commonly seen on the rivers and lakes of New England and Maine. They usually relied on tidal currents for propulsion and a lateen sail in favourable weather. During the American War of Independence, armed gundalows were used by privateers to attack British supply boats and purpose built gunboat versions (rigged with square sails and carrying 3 guns) took part in the Battle of Valcour Island in 1776. My version is a hybrid, with the sail layout and leeboards of the cargo version but the hull layout of a gunboat (based on photos of the Philadelphia, a raised wreck from the 1776 battle). I eventually intend to make it more like the original Philadelphia with the cargo replaced by more guns, square rigged sails and a wooden frame to hold fascines to protect the gun crews. At the moment I imagine it to be a private vessel fitted out with guns and given Naval training to act as part of a sort of floating militia (similar to the British River Fencibles during the Napoleonic Wars) The owner still wants to make money though, hence the cargo!! I intend to take some more/better pics once I've made some improvements. Bow Gun (a 12 pounder in the original) Cargo of pig iron, swivel guns and fireplace. You can also see the working rigging - the sail can be furled and the yard raised and lowered. Helm Sail furled using the working brail line (I think that's what it's called!!) Yard lowered and using the sweeps. As this is my first MOC sailing vessel all comments are welcome!! Cheers

That's a nice looking vessel... I agree about the stern looking a bit low in the water although it does look similar to This (a paper model I found of HMS Thunderer a 14 gun Ketch rigged Radeau from the American War of Independence and a vessel I'm in the process of MOCing...) so I may be "borrowing" some of your ideas (If you don't mind)

Thanks to everyone for the comments/suggestions... I've definitely struggled more with the pic than the story!! But had another go at the photo, taking on board some of CC's suggestions... a definite improvement I think!! Cheers

I've had another attempt at the pic.... think it's slightly better this time but comments are more than welcome (I wanted the effect of the sarge emerging from the mist towards the firelit sentry post) I've also tweaked the layout/punctuation here and there Cheers