Kolonialbeamter

I agree! Lovely built, except for it being a Redcoat fort, I like everything about it! And I see promising technic pins !!! Brick on!

Oui, mon capitaine! And check out the big new flag, it's even more sophisticated than the smaller one!

[pid][/pid]158 C Ahoy! I'm proud to present to you my biggest project so far, the 120-gun Ship of the Line Sans Pareil. Construction began in January 2012, even before that of Vengeur, and I had finished her basic looks way before I finished any of my prefab hull ships. I started out in real bricks, but every budget has limits, so LDD had to do the rest. It did, and here she floats: Poor Redcoats. She is a modular build, as you can see here. And can hold a full interior. You can't really see it in this picture, but using some string the ship's wheel can actually be connected to the tiller, creating a working rudder (at least I hope so ). Furthermore, all the (brown) walls in the officers' areas are made to be removed to create a realistic battle environment. The key elements to her structure are these (old style) hinges. They are – unlike the new ones – completely flat and have hollow studs, which means they can be placed in half-stud distances, great for shaping, especially for that transition between the middle and upper gundeck. She's been my main project for a long time. However, she has always felt strange to me in a way, never was a true love-child. I can't really put my finger on it, maybe it's due to her obscure scale. Her waterline measures 116 studs in length (equaling around 90cm), length overall is 180 studs (1,40m), the lower gundeck is 30 studs wide. I guess that's roughly 2/3 minifig scale. So she doesn't qualify for that. But neither does she qualify for minifig illusion scale. I wouldn't even put her in the same category as Dread Pirate Wesley's excellent HMS Persephone. The relative height of her hull does bother me. But maybe it's mostly the SNOT technique I used for the hull but never really grew fond of, because it doesn't allow for adjustments nor to be fiddled around with... At least in LDD it is extremely frustrating ... Like for example I know the waterline clearly needs reworking, she's got to be lower and should enter the water at an angle of almost 90°. But in order to achieve this, I would have to change the entire base structure, not to mention all the hinges... It'd be an unbelievably time consuming act. I don't know if I'll ever update her. Anyway, she is a Behemoth, a monstrosity in some sense. She will always be a unique shape in my fleet, forever 'sans pareil'. 11700+ parts (Lego structure only) HighRes. pictures @mybrickshelf Thanks for watching, C&C as always welcome! If you have questions, please ask! Regards

Yes, I think I pretty much maxed out prefab hulls with these builds. The (black) slopes you mean are these here and are part of the tumblehome. In reality this tumbling home would be much smoother and more gracious. But they allow me not having to stick to a straight wall, but “show some curves”, while the entire wall itself is only 2 studs thick and the only hinges in it are at it's base on the lower gun deck. They are a compromise between looks and stability. In fact I also use them on the frigates (in yellow/brown), to achieve the same effect. To be honest, Némésis and Vengeur are borderline tall. Even my opinion about them changes from time to time. But I'm proud that you can place minifigs (with hats!) onto each deck, means you can have a full interior! It's all about making the waterline as wide as possible. If you look here you'll find a LDD screenshot where you can see the lower gun deck and the way these curved slopes are excessively (ab)used... I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you for I'm not going to build any of them in real bricks. It's a bit of a shame and waste, but my current WIP looks much more promising to me... I'm pretty proud of this flag. In fact you'd have to see it in LDD to fully appreciate it, since no single brick is connected to any other... This is all of my prefab hull based fleet. One or another ship will receive an update, but the next ships I'll present feature brick built hulls. Here's a little teaser of what's ahead. Regards

Hi, I have to say your WIP-thread to me has been both an adventurous journey where I couldn't wait for the next chapter being written, and a more than informative tutorial on so many aspects of ship building. And now, having watched the finished model for like the 100th time, I still can't help but to applaud continuously, while drooling all over my keyboard... again. Persephone undoubtedly is among the very finest ships ever presented here. But what makes her divine in my eyes is the way you present her. Both story-wise and by pictures. This last line-of-battle shot is just glorious! Great teaser! One question: Have you thought about using a ventilator to create a billowing effect for the sails? Since you're using very thin cloth for them a little breeze could be enough. But only if you consider the masts and rigging stable enough! Don't risk “blowing” her to pieces! So, I'm going to return to drooling now. PS. Concerning your question, I'd prefer you posted every story related to her in this thread. I think this would make for a much more intense experience! And no post would go overboard. Regards

Hi there, my two cents: If your ship features a single open gun deck (like the Parrot), I don't deem it necessary. On my brig Belle Poule I applied a hinged design, but it's marginal. Regards

[pid][/pid] LDD 11C Thank you for your comments. I have to say that I gave up working on my IFS-Mod altogether shortly after having discovered CGH's Frigate Tutorial. The SNOT technique that I had used before proved inferior to a regular SOT design in terms of stability, shaping and coloring, especially considering prefab hull based ships with more than one gun deck. Here are some results. The frigate is HMS Sawfish. She carries 38 guns and is a ship that I first considered building in real bricks. But then I thought the same about the next ship, and then the next, and so on... The next one is HMS Phoenix, a 62 gun ship of the line. Here a longer version of the two-decker, the 74 gun Spartiate. And a smaller frigate, the Anubis. This was the supposed flagship of the Blue fraction, Némésis, a 120 gun 1st rate (Here next to the puny IFS-Mod). Being the result of firepower hubris, evil laughter and lightning, she features a fourth continuous gun deck à la Santissima Trinidad, putting her on top of the maritime pecking order. She's also my first ship to have two stern balconies, and entry ports. The last ship is a little brig named Belle Poule. Design credits for her go to Imperial Shipyards. Concerning the color-design: I aimed at creating two fractions, Red- and Bluecoats (of course), that would have no relations to historical accuracy, but be rather Lego-ish in style. I found my results to be quite disappointing. Whereas for the Reds I managed to create a loose resemblance to the IFS' color-scheme (brown, black, red, gold; minus the blue), I didn't succeed at all to create something visually 'opposing' this, that I liked. Here's an overview of my Redcoat fleet. So eventually I ditched this idea and turned to a black and yellow pattern, focusing on making ships for the Bluecoats. Here are Spartiate and Anubis in new colors. HighRes. pictures @ my brickshelf I hope you'll enjoy! C&C as always welcome, Regards

Hi, Really nice work! Compact and decent! You found a clever way to integrate the stern galleries into the tumblehome! And great parts usage on using white plates clipped to the black fences as rolled-up hammocks! Lots of awesome details to be found here. The crew's busy, and I adore the look on the captain's face! Definitely British! Great improvement and addition to your fleet! Keep it up!

Hi there, I, too, think she's coming together quite nicely! I'm especially fond of her dark grey/bley and yellow color-scheme, and the old two-color prefabs work out really well. However, there's always room for improvement. I agree with what Matteo1130 said and, since you're reworking the stern, I'd like to add the idea of lengthening her even more. So, if you have, add another midsection, or expand the stern further backwards over the rudder, maybe using some wedge plates. That could give her an even sleeker appearance. For smaller ships Sebeus I.'s work can always offer some great inspiration. Apart from that, have you thought about using these hinges to create a tumblehome? Hope this may help a little, love to see her finished. Regards

Hi, I like your work over at the History forum. But seeing you having arrived here at the Pirates' makes me cherish your creations even more. Particularly since your building skills are getting better and better! Great landscaping work. And in terms of detailing, I'm very fond of the earth you show underneath the rocks. The covering foliage works very well, but if you happen to have more of those parts I'd suggest to just use them to smudge the transitions of the ridge. Don't know if I express myself correctly... If you can (and agree) go for MORE jungle, more impenetrability, an even more desperate place to be! Anyway, it's great to have you here as a builder and story teller, and sentences like this: will grant you much sympathy here! I can only encourage you to 'go Pirates', for the Lands of Old have told many great stories. But if it's new adventures you seek, to new horizons you must travel! Plenty of untouched shores full of secrets are only waiting here to be discovered! Can't wait for the story to continue! Brick on! BTW, I really like the golden rapier your sigfig is carrying!

Here's a little comparison shot, showing Mk.I's prefab expansion technique on a two decker and - slightly altered - on a frigate. HR pic here As Admiral Croissant anticipated, it works quite well on a frigate. As for the two decker, I'm not so sure. What do you think? Anyway, I hope this works as a teaser, so watch the horizon for more ships! Regards

Thanks for your comments. Yeah, these curved slopes really come in handy for designing a brick hull. And they are available in a lot of colors! In fact I once tried to lenghten her as I wanted to transform her into a frigate, but somehow the IFS-'feeling' got lost. Then I got bored and abandoned this plan. Here's a WIP shot.

Hi, You're right, since a classic frigate is most commonly described as a ship, carrying it's armament on a single continuous gun deck, she doesn't qualify for that designation. But here's good news! 50 guns make up for a fourth-rate ship of the line, as you can see here. Congratulations! She looks great to me. In fact, she isn't too far from a true ship of the line design. The overall dimensions feel right, she's got two gun decks, proper stern galleries, the sail plan is about right. True, the bow could need a touch of reality, and you should definitely change the gun pattern to a quincunx-design. But in terms of a fantasy-ish ship she is marvelous! I like the figure head and her colors. But I love the impressive stern decorations! She would make a worthy predator for ships like for example Hass Kabal's Scorpion's Soul. Next to your Fortress Redband she looks really majestic and matching in style, they're a fine combination. I remember seeing your fortress some years ago, and even now I'm not less impressed by it's size and strength. Looking forward to your future projects, a brick built hull will be quite challenging but all the more rewarding! Welcome back!

[pid][/pid] 157C Ahoy again! As I mentioned before, I have a few more ships to present to you. And since I don't think each of them deserves their own post, I'm just going to use this one as a stage. For starters, here's a MOD of 2010's Imperial Flagship. For this built I tried to enlarge the IFS to a modular two-decker, keeping as much of the original design unaltered as possible. In fact, this was the first ship I built after the Pirates' revival of 2009. I was fascinated by the way the bow was designed using curved slopes, so I kind of got obsessed with this part and... that's one reason that got me into ship building. For the upper gun deck instead of curved slopes I should have used tiles to create a better looking tumblehome. Here's what she would look like had I thought twice before ordering parts. HighRes. here Overall I think she looks too clunky. I thought of removing the lower gun deck, making her a frigate. But then I'd have to change the captain's cabin, and I'm too lazy to do so... C&C as always welcome! Thanks for watching, Regards

Hi, I've always cherished your enthusiasm for smaller warships and am a huge fan of your building techniques and inventive talent, especially when it comes to giving those underrepresented types of ships a voice here on the forum. Although my favorite creation of yours is Farore's Wind (especially for her eye-candy-like blue and yellow color-scheme), this one's truly is a magnificent beauty, as well! Keep it up!

Thank you for your excellent review of what I consider to be one of best Pirates' sets ever made! I really like your analytic approach to this set and it's time, in fact I can't disagree with anything you say. “Solid Bluecoats vs. hollow Redcoats”... hilarious... and obvious! Anyway, great set (three Bluecoats, big flag, cannon, palm-tree, rowboat, no nasty pirates, stand-alone playability), awesome review! Brought back a lot of memories. @Matthias130182: I own three of them, two more to go! Looking forward for more! Regards PS. sealed Harbor Sentry!!

Hi and ahoy! My name is Jens, I'm an AFOL from Southern Germany and after having browsed Eurobricks for quite some time now, I finally seem to have come up with some creations that I consider worth presenting. As some of you might have judged from my user-name and/or profile picture, you're most likely to find me on the Pirates' forum, where I'll help to bring about the Imperial Crown's law and order to those scurvy savages! The Pirates' theme has always been my preferred one. I remember the 1989 Lego-catalog and how I was in love with the setting and these sets from day one up to this very date. Even throughout my dark ages, which were in fact merely sort of a 'light bley-ish' kind of years, I never really lost track of Lego. The 2009 revival of Pirates then brought me back for good. I soon stumbled upon Eurobricks and found out there were more adults that – strangely enough – still 'played' with Lego, that there even was a term for those poor souls! And then I discovered a mystical world called 'MOCing'! And now it's 2014. This platform truly is a great place, glad to be (finally) here! Happy new bricks to everyone! Regards

Vengeur Mk.II (now under sails) Thank you for your warm welcome here on the forum and for your interest in this project. Since there're still plenty of ships left to show, I'll jump right into presenting my next (and last) version of Vengeur. HR pics @ here. Mk.II's piece count went up to 7070. She is another six studs longer, now carrying a broadside of 53 guns, bow and stern were tweaked, the poop deck is now angled... and I made a flag! My thoughts exactly! So after a lot of derping around I came up with a technique that marks my first step towards a brick-built hull and therefore waves a long goodbye to prefabs in my creations. As you can see Mk.II features no midsections any more, in fact all that's left are the upper prefab bow / stern elements, acting as width-limiters. Advantages of this technique are that the ship rides lower, I gain an additional plus four studs increase in width, as you can see in this poor comparison montage: And last but not least I'm no longer bound to the midsection's length of plus eight studs when I want to lengthen the hull, which makes for more flexibility in designing. Hurray! On the downside you need way more parts (=money) than you would using prefabs, since the ship's structure requires strength and support, that prefabs supply easily. But since this is all digital I tend to close my eyes over this issue... Here's a shot of the parts that I think create a smooth waterline underneath the bow / stern elements: In fact the larger part of my fleet features this technique (pics soon, even including 'giant' minifigs), and it works really well on every kind of ship, from brigs to ships of the line. But again, more money will be involved, so if you want to build ships up to a frigate, Imperial Shipyard's awesome NextGen technique is a much better choice! @Captain Becker, Alamai Unfortunately I lack the possibilities to do so at the moment, the file is quite large. But given time, I'll figure something out. @Marquis Taking pictures isn't done that quickly, each render takes my computer about 1,5h, often enough much more. But if you'd like to see something in particular, just go ahead and ask! I'll provide! Thanks for watching! Regards

[pid][/pid] LDD 11B Hello Eurobricks Community. Beeing a long time lurker I felt that with the new year having arrived it was about time to give back a little after I've received so much from you over the last years. To start with I present to you Vengeur. Originally starting as a little side project for something a bit larger (which I will present to you asap), meaning to function merely as a try and error platform for ideas and techniques, she kept developing more or less "by herself" and at some point I couldn't resist the idea of finishing her any longer. The original question in my head was, how many cannons fit on a prefab hull based model, without for the ship to look too odd. In this state she can carry 100 guns, plus each two bow- and stern chasers. I had a lot of inspiration from you here, especially thanks to the splendid Pirates' Index. But I kept missing a true prefab hull based, minifig illusion scale First Rate. As you might imagine, an acceptable tumblehome and developing techniques to create an "as wide as possible"-effect were my top concerns, as on a prefab hull everything always tends to be a compromise. The lower gundeck is 20 studs wide, whereas the quarterdeck measures 14. That is still very steep but the best I could come up with at the time. I have to say that by now she is almost two years old, has undergone major updating and transformed into what is now my main WIP. The main reason I first present her to you in this state though is to show you that from the start she was destined to be Bluecoat! Therefore have a look at this LDD Screenshot: Those that speak of coincidence shall be keelhauled! I hope you understand that I find it difficult to find words to express my thanks to you guys at Eurobricks, for I don't want anyone to feel offended by me using their techniques without giving credits in a proper manner. But it's really hard not to forget anyone, so I appologize in advance. Most noteably I'd like to mention Imperial Shipyards for his ingenious head rail technique, his stern designs and overall perfectionist-ic solutions to all ship related challenges. Furthermore probably still green-haired Commander Red Hat for his amazingly educational and inspiring frigate tutorial, Dread Pirate Wesley for his superb HMS Persephone, providing tons of info and I-could-try-it-like-this moments, Admiral Croissant for his Vesta, which got me into ship building in the first place, and Horry for his tutorials, especially concerning rudders and of course. I hope you enjoy, updates and new material will follow. C&C welcome! Regards