Ayrlego

Thanks Dukesc! I had experimented with fitting a mast for the photo, but I don't think it looked very good, so I removed it and cheated by simply mentioning it in the text! Thanks Drunknok, and thanks for picking up I had the rowers around the wrong way - I have no idea why I did that.... that's what you get for rushing I guess! Thanks Bregir. I think the Petty Officer must have been rolling his eyes at the young officers mistake! I was intending that this would be firmly a class 1 gunboat, I have something else in mind for a class 2 (although my preliminarily build is looking more like a class 3....) Thanks Kai, I find the trans light blue water always brightens up an otherwise dull MOC! Thanks Bodi Thanks Captain Dee. I wasn't sure about the white at first but the curves were much cheaper and more readily available than any other colour. Having said that the white has really grown on me! I agree, I think it should be a Class 1. Thanks BD!

Yes, that is exactly what I had in mind - a focus on building where the outcome is not predetermined Lets take this to the Icarus PM and we'll discuss it there. I think we definitely have scope for a hybrid that is somewhere in between the two concepts.

@Mesabi just hold on a bit, Bregir and I are discussing how to handle this. We are thinking maybe a court case similar to the ones we ran in the early MRCAs were a team of three builders builds for each side, and BoBS members vote

Like Silentwolf and BD I've admired this on flickr for a while now, good to see it finished and posted. I like the contrast the lime green building makes to the sheering tower. The sheer (pun intended! ) size of the tower itself is impressive, but that crane design at the top is genius! Blazer looks as nice as ever, great to have her sailing in company with Lady Jacqueline for the last couple of MRCAs!

Great step by step instructions - a valuable resource! Thanks for sharing.

The new Colonial Gunboat 1 - offered to the Crown without condition or need for compensation. Long Live the Queen!

Commander Matthew Allcock RN, current Mayor of Port Woodhouse, has modified one of the settlement's whalers for the Gunboats for the Colonies incentive. The Royal Navy operates a number of these whalers throughout the Paradise Isles, and Commander Allcock deemed them perfect for conversion to a gunboat. In the new configuration, a set of oars has been sacrificed to make way for the cannon, reducing the number of oars from ten to eight, which together with the weight of the cannon, reduces the maximum speed. A makeshift mast can be attached for longer coastal journeys. The crew consists of a Royal Navy Midshipman, a Petty Officer coxswain, eight sailors on the oars and three Royal Marines manning the cannon. Commander Allcock, with full approval of his cousin the Governor, Colonel Dirk Allcock, offers the gunboat to Her Majesties Terra Novan Navy without conditions, and without the need for compensation. Long Live the Queen! ---------- Some of you will recognise the hull here, which I have had around for sometime. I never had any intentions of licensing it, but the faction is in need, so the Allcocks have responded! Full credit for the design of the hull goes to Lego Monster (Ed Diment) whose original design you can see below: US Navy Whaler secrets of the build by Ed Diment EDIT: Replaced the pictures with ones with the rowers facing the correct way! Thanks @Drunknok

Part Two posted here: Mooreton Bay, 9 December 617AE Rear Admiral Fletcher, I write this quick note to inform you that yesterday Crown troops seized the WTC Icarus Returning. After some initial resistance, in which two of our soldiers were lightly wounded and a WTC sailor killed, Captain Herman Tyrell was taken under arrest and is currently being held in the town gaol. I have in my possession the ships log, although I do not believe it to be of any help to the investigation. The crew have not been detained for now, although they have been confined to a tavern in town are are under constant watch from men of the militia. All are under strict orders not to leave the settlement. The Icarus Returning remains under guard in the harbour. I await your further instructions on the matter. Yours sincerely, James Hume Mayor of Mooreton Bay ------------ An alternate view of the cell: @Mesabi, I didn't have the SW torso for your WTC Captains, so I hope my approximate solution is ok! You'll be pleased to know however that I have ordered some Tusken raider torsos for the continuation of our Mesabi Landing arc!

Mooreton Bay, 9 December 617AE Rear Admiral Fletcher, I write this quick note to inform you that yesterday Crown troops seized the WTC Icarus Returning. After some initial resistance, in which two of our soldiers were lightly wounded and a WTC sailor killed, Captain Herman Tyrell was taken under arrest and is currently being held in the town gaol. I have in my possession the ships log, although I do not believe it to be of any help to the investigation. The crew have not been detained for now, although they have been confined to a tavern in town are are under constant watch from men of the militia. All are under strict orders not to leave the settlement. The Icarus Returning remains under guard in the harbour. I await your further instructions on the matter. Yours sincerely, James Hume Mayor of Mooreton Bay

Cool vignette, I especially like the way you have done the hanging blue flags, I haven't seen them done like that before. Nice job!

Excellent choice of subject and very well presented - I like pretty much everything about this MOC! The lock gates, canal railing and roof texture are all worth special mention, fantastic job!

The Twin Palms Inn, a medium artisan for the settlement.

Dramatis Personae Part One It was just before dawn and the settlement was calm. Jessica Campell stood on the front step of the inn and surveyed what she could see of the settlement. In the pre-dawn light the settlement appeared calm. The smell of stale alcohol mingled in the air with what Jessica swore smelled like roast horse. In her pocket was her report for Governor Allcock. Carefully transcribed into a cipher known only to her and the governor, she went through the contents in her head. Mesabi Landing, 6 December 617AE As you instructed I arrived in the settlement of Mesabi Landing a month ago and it is indeed as bad as you feared. Soon after arriving I was able to find work as a bar keep in a small inn run by one of the few honest men I have met in this wretched place. Samuel Morris financed the 'Twin Palms' inn with one of your grants, with the hope that Mesabi Landing's reputation of heavy drinking would turn a neat profit. And indeed it would, were it not for the fact that the settlement is virtually lawless, and the WTC troops here come and take what they want, without the inconvenience of actually paying for anything. Indeed the entire settlement is characterised by drunken behaviour, throughout both day and night. Count Mesabi, the mayor, is absent - rumour has it that he is leading an expedition to the far south of Halos, his exit from the settlement hastened by rumours of debtors chasing him. His wife Agnes was assuming his duties, although it is said the majority of the actual management was done by a WTC officer named Pete Zanzibar, although both have apparently left for Jameston around the same time I arrived. So no one is appears in charge and the WTC troops have filled the void, their remaining officers either encouraging their behaviour or too weak to prevent it. The WTC troops are almost always drunk, and as mentioned make life impossible for honest citizens by their thievery and extortion. Rumours are that criminals of all kinds, including pirates, are free to use the settlement as long as the WTC is paid off and the WTC troops receive their cut. You may well at this point ask about the Corlander garrison under Major Mason. I have managed to befriend one of his junior officers, an officer by the name of Lieutenant Billsby. A young and impressionable officer, he paints a picture of a garrison with extremely low morale, frustrated by their apparent powerlessness to act. Major Mason has confined his men to the fort and spends most of his time muttering about blowing the settlement to Hades and beyond. Lieutenant Billsby is allowed out to buy supplies from the WTC, who of course charge exorbitant rates. I will await your instructions, although I must advise you that I am unable to intervene on my own. To restore Corlander order you will need to send a senior officer to deal with Major Mason, and I would go as far to recommend you back him with regular troops to handle the WTC. J ------------------------------------------------------- A quick build for Mesabi Landing - Governor Allcock has been worried about rumours from the settlement for sometime. I've tried to use the style Mesabi uses in most of his builds in the settlement but merged with my own. It's only a façade with no interior though! Part Two will be added to this thread soon, the build is just about finished and only the story needs writing.

Actually I don’t think it is. (Wow I’m actually going to defend the WTC here.... strange times!) yes you made a mistake and your orders to attack went against our faction plan, but let us not forget that we were attacked last MRCA, and the Rats immediately cried “you can’t tar us all with the same brush” well now the shoe is on the other foot ( lots of idioms this morning!) and they are outraged - yet apparently we are the hypocrites. Anyway no hard feelings from me, it’s a game after all, but I can’t just sit back and let Mesabi take all the blame - to me that’s just not fair.

Drunknok, you need to calm down a bit. Please understand that we all have lives outside of BoBS and sometimes something gets missed. I know it can be frustrating to post something and receive no feedback, but it has only been (as you say) two days. Bregir and the rest of leadership are probably devoting all of their BoBS time to getting MRCA reports out and we have had a relatively high volume of builds in the last week. Personally I know that I saw this one, but when I finally got some time to commenting on builds it had dropped down and I ran out of time before I got to it. Having a tantrum is definitely not a good way to receive feedback and I respectfully suggest you adjust your attitude, both here and in the Corrington PM. Enough said. As for the build, it is quite nice and I like how you made the sides SNOT and not regular brickwork. The shaping is good as well, although maybe a little angular - although I'm not sure how it could be improved with this technique. All in all a nice, neat little gunboat with good clean lines, hopefully the WTC gets good use out of her and she is as lucky as another of our class one gunboats was this MRCA!

Nice work Mesabi, I like the red ground level and how you have incorporated in the light bley masonry bricks and your interior is packed with detail as usual (if you were truly imitating my style there is no way you would put that much work into an interior!). The cart is a nice touch and I like all the troops sitting around on the first level of the interior. Nice work all round and it fits nicely into Jameston. Now that the WTC has multiple members, multiple ships (even if some are currently held by pirates Sea Rats) and a couple of warehouses at different locations (not to mention factories etc.) maybe you need to build a HQ and apply for TC status!

Really fantastic MOC Titus, great to have you back! As usual your landscaping is superb and the woodwork on the inn is outstanding. Really great job!

Great artisan - like Drunknok mentioned, excellent reproduction of the glass blowing process, really well done! Great job!

Dark Bley: poc039 Light Bley: poc041 and poc040

Thanks! From the new PotC line: poc038 on Bricklink. You can also get a very similar torso in Light and Dark Bley

I like this one a lot. The way the dark tan masonry bricks are broken up with normal bricks works well, gives a more natural look. The blue shutters and door make for a nice highlight, and the log first floor looks great. Great job!

Nice little house. I like the inset windows and the line of dark bley cheese slopes above the ground floor.

The Paradise Isles Regiment of Colonial Militia By Order of the Colonial Governor, a Regiment of Colonial Militia is to be raised for the defence of the Paradise Isles. This Regiment will initially consist of two companies, one stationed at Myzectlan or Camp Isaac on Cascadia and the other at Jameston, Celestia. Incorporating lessons learnt from the observations of the Eslandolan-Mardierian conflict on the Isle de Medio, the training of these troops will not focus on fighting as part of the line. Rather they will be trained for operations in the wild environment of Celestia and Cascadia with a focus on independent skirmishing and marksmanship. Long live the Queen! ------ OOC: just some troops I'm playing with!

Problem is I don't have any Tusken Raiders! So I'm trying to find a substitute...

I like the walls here, the extra colour really adds to the scene. Im planning of a couple of story based builds in Mesabi Landing, I’ve been experimenting with approximations of WTC soldiers but still have yet to find something I’m happy with! Hope to have them up soonish.