Legostone

I suppose Bregir is right - this far, class 5 vessels pretty much paid for themselves with their first run. If I include losses the average class 5 merchant vessel I've built brought in 464 DBs/MRCA and got lost in 1/12th of the runs. Oddly enough, my average class 4 merchant brought in 461 DBs/MRCA and wasn't lost once. Also, is anyone or anything stopping me from licensing 60 class 0 vessels? (Upkeep 370 DBs, initial cost 1440 DBs) in this configuration: statpoints Range Maneuver Firepower Crew Cargo Hull 6 2 1 0 0 3 0 (I wish I would have the time )

I can understand you pretty well. Just imagine I would have licensed all the ships I've built this far... Given last months MRCA income for all of these I would be a couple hundred DBs in the negative. I'll keep on complaining about the high upkeep ;) ...And only using those ships I actually plan on using I'll be sitting at ~300-1060 DBs of upkeep.

@MKJoshA Have fun paying 890 DBs in Upkeep a month :D name class price upkeep (base) total upkeep 30 596 890 Freddys Rowboat 0 24 6 8.959731544 Golden Dragon 3 200 50 74.66442953 Viper 2 120 30 44.79865772 Darting Frog 5 420 105 156.795302 Morning Fog 7 700 175 261.3255034 Pineapple Revenge 3 200 50 74.66442953 Clearance 4 300 75 111.9966443 Tigerlily 2 120 30 44.79865772 Warped Wood 4 300 75 111.9966443 Update for the Eslandolan Fleet: Dread Treasure II 5HA -> 7 Maxim I topic Oscuridad 5HA -> 6 Legostone topic La Raya Venenosa 5HA -> 6 Legostone topic Golden Grasshopper 5HA -> 6 Gedren_y topic Stormbringer II 5HA -> 6 Capt Wolf topic Beluga II 5HA Maxim I topic Cannonball 5HA capture Logan's Nightmare 5A capture Victoria 5LA Legostone topic Firefly 5LA Gedren_y topic Argenta 5LA capture La Salamandra 4A Kabel topic Asesino II 4A Phadeout topic The Gallant 4A Captain Green Hair topic Maiden of the Deep 4A capture, mocced topic Blood Diamond 4A capture Plump Patty 4A capture Long Beard 4A capture Inflexible 4A capture @gedren_y I hope I fixed it ;)

While I can't check now, I remember the stingrays feeling slightly different from other Lego, a bit more flexible maybe.

Why shouldn't a bought ship that is already a sistership count towards the limit of the new owner? The moment you buy a ship from someone you technically also license it - so usual rules apply. The previous owner doesn't pay your upkeep either (although I think there are many who would wish that:P)

Yeah, those are certainly an option, but adding details to those while keeping the round shape could prove difficult. I think the Cross bone clipper was actually only available in America, I remember a friend of mine who has been collecting all Lego ships is also missing it because it isn't and wasn't available in Europe at all. If you really really want it I suggest messaging a couple of American and Canadian Sellers asking for the shipping for the specific parts, given how impractical they are in shape. Given how rare the hulls are they are surprisingly cheap in the US. For separating the small hull pieces I'll warn you right away - it is almost impossible to separate the bow without some damage. After the first few and asking around I was finally given a good hint by Captain Green Hair who told me to put the upper part of the hull on some supports and then mess with the connectors inside (knife or screwdriver, sorry poor part), and eventually. they will slide apart. Oh, and @Bregir - if you are considering buying prefabs, try getting a red one. Midsections are affordable, and you can get a full red stern or bow by combining the Red Beard Runner's parts with the Skull's Eye Schooner's ones. And red hulls are rarely seen :P White large hulls are also an option, but they are becoming more and more expensive now (well, you can't get a 6 midsection hull including end pieces for 10€ anymore), old brown has very expensive midsections, reddish brown is comparable to white, dark brown oddly enough has unfindable upper bow/sternparts - a whopping 3 available in Europe now, starting at 11€ a piece, and black - well, expect to pay much for that.

Thanks! I can't remember anyone using the lifebelts on a sailing ship before, but I would like to be proven wrong there. What other options are there anyways for round gunports? Yeah, I ordered 3 sets of the dark grey hulls a couple weeks back - they are quite cheap. You can also see it on the brown hull (which gives you a full dark grey hull - I'm sure someone has already found a good use for those. Sepearating the bowpieces is a nightmare though, good luck to anyone trying it.

The Shtandart was a Russian ship and actually has a replica sailing so not the most obscure ship possible :D Mast placement is very temporary at this point, so that's an easy fix, once I actually get to that point in the build I'll take care of that (before that I'll see about building the bow and forecastle - I think there are still some small issues that I'll have to fix there). But don't count on the gunports for other details - the ship has 11 on each broadside, which I can seem to manage with this spacing and these ports, given that they require a 3 stud wide area to be placed. For the yellow line - I don't think I'll be placing it, but if I would I would most likely replace the cheeseslopes below the hinged part with them - 2 birds with one stone basically.

I've recently been buying a couple of prefabs, mostly because I stumbled over them while buying other stuff. While I'm not planning on using all of them (don't worry, I'm not throwing the others away or anything, they already have new owners), I already started the build of a ship on one of them. Yes, I'm using the Shtandart as inspiration here - round gunports, yellow/green colourscheme, quite some tumblehome for such a small vessel etc. It's still quite early in the development, but I think I'll get there. Not sure where I'll store this one though... Running out of space and black plates now. I suppose I'll need to order a couple of parts get the other side to the state of this one. Quite happy with the upper headrails, the lower ones are very much temporary right now. I still need to get a good idea how to properly mount them. I'm also not quite sure if I should try to add the second yellow line below the gundeck - it would be a cool detail, but it would most likely cause a bunch of issues with the bow and stern. What do you think? As well as that - any criticism is welcome, I want this ship to be one of my better ones.

Congrats to the other winners! Especially to Corrington given their excellent results for this category!

Currently it doesn't make much sense to license ships, as the new ship licensing rules were just published and the new forms for licensing them haven't been finished yet as far as I can tell. Make sure to consider the upkeep while licensing them - with a class 6 and 8 (and no other ships licensed!) you can already expect 380 DBs in upkeep for every MRCA they are active. If I remember correctly, ships that aren't owned by you or your faction (as in: Marderian vessels; Eslandolan vessels; Garveyan vessels etc) in your entries will also need a story to explain how you have obtained them (I might be remembering the wrong thing there, but to me it certainly makes sense)

First off - the way you are widening the hull works much better than I had expected; the old dark grey isn't too noticeable either. Now, for a Carrack, let's take a look at a generic drawing of one(literally just put "Carrack" into google and you'll find tons of this type of image): Right now you have your stern overhanging quite far and angling towards a 2 wide centre point. The overhang isn't much of an issue, but I would recommend not going in nearly as far - you already have a couple of inverted slopes there, why not just use those as the base of your stern? For the stern - this is one of the few shiptypes which have a stern growing as tall; giving it a sterncastle isn't an option, it is a must! Same for the forecastle (you could use the part you are now using for the stern or, what I would love to see, try either angled and snotted plates with tile and clip based details or something with a few hinges. For placing the masts - the main mast (the center one) is the tallest and sits pretty central, if not a tiny bit back (both would work). Both Mizzen and Fore sit pretty far at their respective ends of the ship, just check the examples (or google - lots more there). (also something with a far overhanging stern - not sure if realistic, but given the age of these it isn't difficult to imagine this) Good to see those round parts in the back btw - these ships were quite curvy most of the time, so they are a good choice! Don't forget some angling inwards with slope bricks or hinges for the stern that it isn't the same width as the bottom of the ship!

@Sir Stig Check out all the entries for this category here: Captain B Kolonialbeamter Maxim I MKJoshA Faladrin dr spock Kai NRG Puvel France Clarke

Re Part 1, both sponsoring parties have retracted their proposals. But just in case they can't do that, the MAESTRO delegation will vote 3 Nays for both plans. Re Part 2, the MAESTRO delegation offers 2 Yeas and 1 Nay. (Ahhh, I love copy paste :D)

The privateer Cardinal was taken by the Blue Bonnet. -> at this time, Cardinal had been captured by the SR and Blue Bonnet was a former Marderian vessel which was in ESL hands at the time and captured Cardinal again. However, the repaired privateer Peregrine was able to take the ESL vessel Blue Bonnet at the end of their battle line, -> Blue Bonnet was taken by the SR while the Corporal Milton, back in the hands of the Sea Rats, was able to board and overtake the HMS Pendragon. The Sea Sweeper was taken by the Peregrine after minimal fighting, and the whole rear of the line was falling apart for the Eslandolans. -> no more mentions of the Cardinal I suppose Ska missed it, it was just pointed out to me that the ships current situation might not be 100% clear from the battle description:P

True pirate fashion - the moment someone else would get the gold you go and get it for yourself :D I especially like the animals and plants under water - and the use of the Nexo Knights bad guys. Is there any reason they have yellow eyes? Transparent rocks or weird plants? Or is the vulcano the reason once again?

Oh, that is great :D I guess I owe you a proper readthrough and a comment for messing that up ;)

I hope I didn't miss anyone this time around: For ESL For MAR Maxim I Bregir Faladrin Phred Capt Wolf Silentwolf Sir Stig Kolonialbeamter Professor Thaum Bodi Captain Braunsfeld Ayrlego MKJoshA Full Table: For ESL For MAR Cat A Bregir Silentwolf Mike S Gideon Silentwolf Blackdeathgr Ayrlego robinnilson Captain Braunsfeld Brandon Stark Maxim I Dr Spock Legostone MKJoshA Capt Wolf pombe Elostirion Sir Stig Kai NRG Kaiju Cat B Captain B Mesabi Faladrin dr spock Professor Thaum Kolonialbeamter Maxim I MKJoshA Legostone Bregir Sir Stig Ayrlego Capt Wolf Garmadon Kai NRG Cat C Captain B Kolonialbeamter Maxim I MKJoshA Faladrin dr spock Kai NRG Puvel France Clarke Cat D Professor Thaum Bodi Captain Braunsfeld MKJoshA Legostone Kolonialbeamter Garmadon Maxim I Cat E Maxim I Bregir Faladrin Phred Capt Wolf Silentwolf Sir Stig Kolonialbeamter Professor Thaum Bodi Captain Braunsfeld Ayrlego MKJoshA Total Entries by faction: Faction Total For ESL For MAR Totals 65 37 28 Corrington 10 4 6 Eslandola 28 28 0 Oleon 14 0 14 Sea Rats 13 5 8

I know I have already argued against this upkeep here before, but I'm just gonna post one more thing for this. Given that you limit yourself to 350 DBs in Upkeep, you basically have this choice (I know there are more classes in-between, but this shows the point): Do I a) license 23 class 1 vessels? 9 upgrade points each b) license 7 class 3 vessels? 15 upgrade points each c) license 2 class 7 vessels? 27 upgrade points each d) license 1 class 10 vessel? 39 upgrade points While I see the point of making these ships expensive, I still feel like this is way too much. I would really like to build bigger vessels, but given this system, there isn't much of a point given how much more expensive they are. I'd rather build 3 medium vessels than a large one if it goes like this. Also, can someone give a reason why the upkeep goes up this way? It doesn't make sense to me really. I see why it's there and why it doesn't need to be tiny, but 3/4s of a ships price in upkeep is just crazy. I don't mind 1/4, but any more than that is very limiting for those who want to set up their own fleet. And nobody here come with realism - if we want to go this route we take 1/4 of the price as default upkeep, and add some other sources of running costs to ships - lets say the ship runs into a storm and suddenly you would have to pay 1/2 the price to get it going again (and this wouldn't be an automatic cost - you would have to pay it once you want to use the ship again), or maybe even add the option of getting damaged in Battles (so ships that end up in battles have to pay something to remain fit for the next month).

Wait, does this mean that, in the end, the Cardinal was still in the hands of Eslandola? Blue Bonnet was ESL at the time, and the Cardinal was not taken again.

Fantastic idea and execution! I was hoping to see an Indiana Jones reference in this Challenge :D

@Sir Stig The given ships are just examples - you can place your points around however you want to. Theoretically you can put together a class 3: cargo barge with: 1range/1maneuver/0firepower/0crew/12cargo/1hull or a very maneuverable patrol craft: 1range/6maneuver/3firepower/2crew/3hull or a well rounded vessel: 3range/4maneuver/2firepower/2crew/2cargo/2hull or a merchant ready for escort: 4range/3maneuver/0firepower/1crew/5cargo/2hull

Another thing - upkeep is 1/4 of the license cost. Do SR pay full upkeep (would make sense to me) or do they also pay less? If so, do they also get the higher upkeep rules shifted apropriatly? edit: to add to @Maxim I shouldn't NPC nations also be limited to 110 max ships after paying the upgrade costs?

@Bregir The values I proposed for my vessels above was just to see how well they would fit their respective aimed class. I'm gonna work out something in the end. Right now I'm just glad that I finally managed to get a spreadsheet to work where I can enter the results for all ships, it automatically checks which where active and spreads out the upkeep among those who own shares in them. The flaws in having shares for each and every ship and having them spread out among multiple active owners... At least this means that we only pay ~1300DBs in Upkeep instead of ~4500. Btw, is there any reason you had to stay with 0 to 10 for the classes and not simply go with 11? Could have made the 6th-1st rate system a good comparision for the classes >5...

While I'm not an expert, I think a 2WR equivalent could be fitting as well: equivalent statpoints Range Maneuver Firepower Crew Cargo Hull sum 2WR 2 12 3 4 1 1 2 1 12