Capt Wolf

Great story (love the opening quote), builds, and challenge! I especially like the sails! And the forced perspective with the microships is well done. You need to get cracking on a BoBS character. This contribution is so good, I'm anxious to see what you do with a sigfig. Please, give us more!

Nice build. I like the cobblestone technique, especially that you didn't push all the tiles down flush. Nice effect!

Yes he did! I rejected a couple of pictures I really liked and adjusted the minifigs because you could read it too easily.

Thanks. I figured the glasses were right on the edge for being correct for the period. I wanted to emphasize the manager as someone who spends a lot of time with maps and ledgers and other written material, so if anyone would have glasses, he would.

Thanks! If there's a way to coordinate our efforts in the MCRA, let me know. A free build and license application for the Lady of Madrice is just waiting on a few pieces from Bricklink.

First Command | Capt Wolf | Eslandola

Philip Janszen hurriedly made his way from the docks to the local offfice of the Merchant’s Colonial Trading Company. His presence had been requested by the regional trade manager, Willem Guilder. Philip’s mind raced as he tried to figure out what this was all about. Was he in trouble? He couldn’t think of anything out of line. He’d served faithfully for years. Maybe he was being assigned to a new ship, he thought. The shipyards were busy as the discovery of islands to the east had the interest of all merchant factions. Maybe he was being assigned to one of the MCTC’s big class 5 trade ships. What captain would he serve under this time? What would his specific assignment be? Not all ship assignments were created equal… Philip snapped back to the real world as he reached Guilder’s office, a small but meticulously kept white stone building with ubiquitous red tile roof. Guilder’s door was closed but ajar. Philip knocked sharply on the door and it drifted open, revealing Guilder behind his desk. “Ah, Janszen, come in.” Philip strode in confidently, hiding the whirlwind of thoughts that flooded his mind. He had come straight from the dock; he hadn’t even stopped by the boarding house to put on his coat or hat. He hoped he was appropriately dressed for a meeting with the regional manager. “Janszen, I’ve been looking over your record with us. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you from Captain Reyngout.” Relief filled Philip. He had served with Captain Reyngout on several successful voyages. “As I’m sure you know,” Gulder continued, “we’re scrambling to put as many ships into service as we can. We want to beat the ETWC, not to mention those Oleon and Corrington scoundrels, to the new riches in the east. As such, I have new orders for you, assigning you the Lady of Madrice.” Gulder handed the officially signed and stamped papers to Philip. Philip’s heart sank. The Lady of Madrice was a class 2 sloop, one of the smallest ships in the MCTC’s fleet of trading vessels. Although it was consistently praised by its captains as having excellent sailing qualities, it was an aged vessel. And because it was such a small ship, the crew would be few in number, and in cramped quarters. If you drew some troublemakers in the crew, such an assignment could be aggravating. Then the light bulb went on over Philip’s head. “Sir, did you say you were assigning me to the ship, or assigning me the ship?” Guilder stepped out in front of his desk. “I am assigning you command of the Lady of Madrice. You are to see to her outfitting and fill out her crew. There are a few men assigned to her already, but you will need to find a first mate. Have her ready to sail this month. Refer to the orders for details.” Philip stood there dumbstruck for a moment, then regained his senses. “Thank you, sir!” Guilder reached out and shook Philip’s hand. “A successful voyage will be thanks enough for now. Congratulations, CAPTAIN Janszen.”

May I introduce Philip "Pip" Janszen, citizen of Eslandola. Philip was born in Oleon, and his grandfather fought in the 49 Years War, but his family did not believe in "The Faith." Because of this, when he was a very young child, his family fled to Eslandola to escape persecution. Philip has only faint memories of Oleon, and when he was only 10, his parents succumbed to an outbreak of the Halosian Flu and Philip was orphaned. He survived on the docks until a ship captain with the Merchant's Colonial Trading Company took him under his wing. Philip has been at sea with the MCTC ever since. Now 25, the sea life is all he knows, and he dreams of discovering new lands to the east. He wears his grandfather's blue coat, but the plume in his hat is green as a sign of his allegiance to Eslandola and the MCTC.

Difficult decisions across the board! There are a lot of good entries. Large A-1 D-1 G-1 Small J-1 K-2 Digital B-3

So much detail -- incredible! Very inspiring! And you did a great job with the general structure itself. I like your weathered/aged stone effect.

Love it! Ol' Ben always had a way with the ladies.

I love the concept of this series of builds! Part 2 might actually be my favorite, but I saw this one first so decided to post here. But they're all good. Good stories for each evolution. You've got me thinking if there's another set I could do this with. Well done! Inspiring!

Captain Dee sums up my feelings exactly. For what it's worth, I'm very interested in the potential game play aspect of BoBS. I'm also very anxious to get started!

If we do add some complexity, I think Phred has a good formula. Some challenges might have special rules, but things would revert to normal after that challenge.

I think we need to do everything we can to keep this inviting to newcomers. If we add on complexitiy after the start, we'll just be discouraging new members to dive in later.

Washington's torso is a sticker from BrickForge.

I like your ship a lot! You've captured the feel of this type of merchant vessel well. Nice detail in a small amount of space. I like the visible cargo hold, the working windlass, and the design of the swivel guns is very interesting; I may borrow that! The custom flag is a nice finishing touch!

Nicely done. I really like those waves!

I just sort of assumed the Corrington and Oleon flags would like these:

They all look good, but the third is my fave as well, because it uses the crossed anchors and barrel logo from the old Imperial Trading Post set. I was already making plans for that logo to show up in my models of the Eslandola Trading Company.

I did too. think it's because of the fortresses and big ships in the description for Oleon and missing from the Corrington description. Even though Corrington will have fortresses and big ships too, I think the presence or absence of those words in the descriptions has had a powerful effect.

Brasso and a Q-tip. You have to be careful not to erase part of the collar, but it's not that hard. Only took me a few minutes to get it.

It is dark tan, and it's the Star Wars Crix Madine torso (although I've erased a badge on his chest). It was the best thing I could come up with to do some Thirty Years War era soldiers. If you like your pirates more 1600s than 1700s, it works pretty well, I think.

It's possible to make the green Imperial armada torso look like a non-officer... And Capt B, I'm surprised you didn't go this route for your greencoats (check the headgear):

My hope is that Eslandola is not strictly influenced by the Spanish-inspired Imperial Armada, but gives us the flexibiliy to explore something inspired by the golden age of Dutch traders. Perhaps the local militia at a trading post might sport this look: (Note the morion.) And perhaps the frontier trading post is on an island that allows the agents of Eslandola to trade for monkey pelts from the natives! I think there are a lot of ways to make merchants interesting. And skewing toward the 17th century, some chaps from Corrington might look like this: My point is, I'd certainly hope that there's enough flexibility in BoBS for us to explore different esthetics in the factions.