Ayrlego

Thank you all for the comments! To be honest I rushed both vessels to get the entry in by the deadline - neither I am really happy with and I hope to revisit the Oak before it is licensed. The galleon I am especially disappointed with, one day I will try again with hopefully better results! However the most disappointing part for me was the photography. I really struggle with a setup (especially decent lighting) for larger builds! Negatives aside, as for the story the intent was to finish with the Ironsides successfully taking both the galleon and frigate, with a little help from Dirk and the Corlander prisoners on-board. We had hoped to MOC this result but with things heating up here now I doubt it will be possible. Also I'd be quite happy not to work on another ship for a while! As legitimate prizes, Corrington will press both vessels into service. The Alejandro de Vargas will become the Alexander Keith and be registered privately as a 5T (I hesitated between 4WR and 5T - happy to hear any thoughts on this ideally she'd be a 5WR I think... I do have a tendency to build ships that don't fit into the existing categories - Lady Jacqueline should have been a 4F!!!). The Black Oak will be offered to the Royal Navy as HMS Royal Oak (5HA or 5HA+ depending on MRCA2.0). The figures are my favourite part! Was it you who made them the cover photo for the BoBS group on flickr? If so thank you, it's an honour! In all honesty it was a time thing. The bowsprit was the last thing to do on the Galleon and my orginal design didn't work - so in a panic I copied the design from the frigate. Thanks, they are white cloth soaked for a few hours in a combination of black tea and coffee. I totally agree, the sails look wrong! Ideally I would have sought your advice before posting but.... *sigh* time again!

I'm good with all the original names. 'Fort something' is a great idea for Garma's Key - but how about we reserve it for the settlement. Fort George on Garma's Key or something like that. Although I'm not ready to establish it yet, I'd like the settlement on Celestia to be called Port Vanilla or just Vanilla.

A great looking turtle ship - instantly recognisable. I love the yellow spikes! Great job!

Thanks, I'll plan a build on the island sometime later when you've got the settlement up and running!

Nice! Like Kai says the soil colour and tree are great and it will be interesting to see what your prospectors find. The Autumn Isle was a very close second choice when I was choosing my first pick of the new islands - should make for some very interesting builds!

Nice little build and story Kai. However I'm a little confused if it's a veiled dig at MAEST... wait maestro (don't want to incur the wrath of Guy's uncle, especially if he's turning pirate) or a 'Look at how united us Eslandolans are now!' (joke!) Either way a nice little war is a clever strategy to unite the crown and feuding trade companies, and your faction's efforts in building up your new acquisition have truly been impressive to watch (11 quality properties in less than a week - and counting! Wow!) That is of course unless your enemies react in a way you don't expect.....

Two nice little buildings! I especially like the details inside the barber's shop and the use of the cloth piece as a curtain. Nice one!

A very impressive fort and nice looking company of troops to guard Eslandola's new ah... acquisition... in the Prio Sea! Surely enough to give potential foes second thoughts. As mentioned above the size and shape are particularly good, especially the round bastions with the large calibre cannons. Great work!

Well despite my non-purist solution I was relatively happy with my banana trees.... that is until I saw this! It would be no exaggeration to say my jaw dropped on seeing those beautiful trees. I'd love a detailed shot if you have one, they are gorgeous! Overall a great plantation, fantastic job - well done!

As I think I mentioned elsewhere, the waves and positioning of the ship really make this scene come alive. It is superbly done and makes my battle scene look depressingly flat and dull! The Ironsides herself is a beautiful looking ship and a fine addition to our glorious navy. Possibly my fault! I was late getting my ships done and we felt my story needed to be posted before this section so that the overall story made sense. Also I think the waves took alot of time to perfect (time well spent IMHO!! )

Fantastic looking little ship. The overall shape and the colours are very nice. I especially like the reversed dark tan masonry pieces you've used for the hull. Great job!

Thanks, the story will be continued in Bregir's Ch4B entry

Thanks for the comments everyone. A few things I should have mentioned up top, The pirate ship is my clone attempted at CGH's build a frigate tutorial, so all credit to it's awesomeness is his! The galleon uses the same technique but is my design - hence why it is definitely not as cool! At the conclusion of our story both vessels will be licensed for the EGS. Also here are pictures of the crew of the two vessels - I've already posted the Eslandolans in their thread, but felt I better take a picture of the pirates with the three stowaways as well! Thanks Kai! It's not that I wanted to fight against Eslandola, but who could resist a challenge to plunder a treasure fleet!! We (Bregir and I) went through several different ideas so I could do this without (hopefully) upsetting any greenies!

Prior builds: In the Captains Cabin (Bregir) Pieces Of A Puzzle (Ayrlego) Arriving at Mooreton Bay (Bregir) Dirk, Davy and Sergeant Gowan weren’t the only new crewman the Black Oak had taken on of late, and soon after boarding they were assigned various tasks and duties. It was not long before they turned up good intelligence on the privateer either. The crew were more than willing to talk of the rumoured Eslandolan treasure fleet they were going after and there was much speculation on how they would take prizes from the fleet. Dirk also discovered that on the way to Leopoldis the Oak had taken a Corlander merchantman and that deep in the hold approximately half a dozen Corlander prisoners were being kept in captivity. In Dirk’s mind, this fact, more than any other made the Oak a legitimate target for Captain Cooke and the Ironsides. Further evidence was uncovered when a ship named Shareka arrived in the bay with supplies for the Oak. The captain of the Shareka, Corvus Rohgert, came aboard briefly with a load of cannonballs for the frigate. He disappeared into the Captain's cabin with the Captain of the Black Oak, Hendrick Janszoon and the quartermaster. The trio emerged after an hour or so and Rohgert returned to his vessel. Of course the plan upon boarding the Oak had always been to conduct a quick reconnaissance, gather any information they could glean, and then sneak off as soon as possible. Unfortunately however that wasn’t quite how it worked out… Janszoon, now fully re-crewed and resupplied, had decided to quietly slip out of Leopoldis that very night. With no chance to sneak ashore, Dirk and his companions had little choice but to put to sea with the privateer with the hope that the Ironsides would catch up with them before too long. The three meet on the upper decks to conduct a whispered conversation. “Well a fine pickle we find ourselves in now isn’t it” declared Davy “Indeed.” answered Dirk, “The plan was always going to be for Cooke and the Ironsides to intercept the Oak after she left Leopoldis… of course we were supposed to be aboard the Ironsides and not the Oak!” “Aye well, when the Ironsides turns up we’ll swap sides I imagine” injected the Sergeant Gowan nonchalantly . “Yes, and if we can free the prisoners in the hold it will bolster our force – hopefully we can give Cooke the advantage he needs.” continued Dirk. "Some gossip you may be interested in Major, it appears that Rohgert bought the Captain some interesting news" said Davy. Apparently a portion of the greenback treasure will be disguised as cannonballs...." “Oi, you three, back to work you lubbers” screamed the quartermaster, spying the trio talking. With that the three men went back to their tasking. After three days sailing the Oak had spotted the sails of the treasure fleet on the horizon, but there was still no sign of the Ironsides. The next days were spent stalking the fleet from a distance. Janszoon was confident that a chance would arrive to pick off vessels one at a time. On the forth day cannon shot could be heard over the horizon, and it was assumed that the fleet had engaged other pirates somewhere to the north. The Oak’s chance came shortly thereafter. During a small squall that night, one of the fleet’s galleons became separated from the rest of the fleet and lagged behind. Janszoon took his chance and pounced, at full sail the Oak surged through the waves and gave chase. Dirk and Davy observed the Galleon from the deck. “Rather old fashioned looking” commented Dirk “An older galleon” stated Davy. “The greenbacks have been using them to transport their wealth back to the mainland since men first sailed out here.” “So the pirate’s confidence in taking her easily is well founded?” asked Dirk. “Nay,” answered Davy, “Don’t be fooled by her gaudy colours and stubby old fashioned appearance, the greenbacks still use them for a reason – they are strong and extremely tough and well armed for a merchantman. Also her decks are higher than ours, which makes her less manoeuvrable, but also means we will be at a disadvantage when boarding.” Davy pondered the situation some more. “This crew we find ourselves part of is new and has been hastily thrown together. Most of the men have never worked together before, although there are a sprinkling of old salts through the crew and most have had individual experience at sea actions.” “The notable expectation being me of course” quipped Dirk. Although an experienced army officer he had never fought on the high seas before. “Aye, except for you and the good Sergeant, landlubbers you are” replied Davy. “If we catch her it will be a close thing I predict. Her crew will be good and they know there will be no mercy from pirates – they’ll fight hard. I suspect that the Captain knows it too, that’s why he beefed up the crew in Leopoldis. The question I have for you Major Allcock, is what do we do in a boarding action” Both men pondered that for a while. While Dirk was still silent Davy added, “If things don’t go well for us we’ll never convince the greenbacks we are Corrie spies, they’ll execute us as pirates – if they even allow us to surrender… and even if the Oak gets away, the pirates here will know we didn’t fight and we will probably meet the same fate… or worse…” Dirk look up. “Then we hope that we don’t catch her… but if we do….” This next part came hard for the usually law abiding Major. “… then I guess we fight as pirates and hope Cooke catches up with us soon.” There really wasn’t any other alternative. Unfortunately for Dirk, a few hours later it seemed inevitable they would catch the smaller vessel. As the first cannon crashed out Dirk found himself crewing one of the cannons on the gun deck of the frigate. Thus Major Dirk Allcock, temporary military commander of the Corlander colony of Alicentia and Secretary of the Royal Society of Natural Philosophy reluctantly became a pirate. The two ships exchanged fire for only a short time. Janszoon closed in on the galleon, who was revealed to have the name Alejandro de Vargas. The approach was made as fast as possible as to not overly damage his potential prize. A lucky cannon ball from the Oak knocked out the Alejandro’s rudder meaning the Oak was able to rapidly approach alongside for boarding. The men abandoned the cannons and Dirk found himself with Davy and Sergeant Gowan forming up with the aft attack party on the main deck. Small arms fire began to ring out as the Eslandolan Marines opened fire with their muskets. Sharp shooters from both ships masts began their own deadly duel. Sergeant Gowan, the best shot of the trio, joined in the shooting, and to the delight of the nearby pirates managed to hit a marine perched in the galleon’s main mast. The first grappling hooks were thrown across from the Oak and men heaved the two ships closer together. It was now, with the two vessels locked in a deadly embrace that disaster struck for the pirates. Just as the men were about to surge forward and leap onto the galleon, a wave lifted her out of the water enough to give one of her forward guns a clear shot of the deck. The Eslandolans manning the gun had been waiting for just such an opportunity, and had charged the gun with a musket balls and metal scraps. The deadly grape shot crashed across the forecastle of the Oak, cutting down most of the waiting forward boarding party, including the ship’s Quartermaster. Before Dirk had time to fully comprehend this event, the ships crashed together with a terrifying crack of timber and Dirk stumbled and was pushed forward with the rest of the aft boarding party. He leaped up onto the deck of the galleon and had barely scrambled to his feet before being knocked back down by the body of the pirate before him. A group of Eslandolan marines, led by a Sergeant in an old fashioned breastplate, polished to a gleaming silver and carrying a wicked looking poleaxe. The marines charged. Dirk just had time to lift his pistol and dispatch one before the lines crashed together. Hastily discarding the pistol, his sword came up desperately to parry an attack from an Eslandolan sailor. In those first minutes of the melee, the greater numbers of pirates began to slowly overcome the defenders. However this ended when a party of Eslandolan marines and sailors who were stationed forward to repel boarders rushed aft to join the battle. They were no longer required forward due to the fact the survivors of the Oak’s forward boarding party remained onboard the Oak. Now evenly matched, things were becoming desperate for the attacking pirates. Dirk found himself alongside his trusted Sergeant and the two fought together as they had many times on land. Dirk found himself facing the Marine Sergeant with the breastplate and poleaxe. He was able to somehow parry the first two crushing blows, but was completely off balance for the third. It was then a pistol ball struck the marine’s breast plate and deflected up, lodging in the man’s jaw. Dirk glanced behind to see Davy holding a smoking pistol. “Was saving that one” he commented laconically. Eventually the Eslandolan defence collapsed due to the greater numbers of pirates and sheer ferocity of their attack. The survivors, including the trio of Corlanders, stood exhausted on the blood soaked deck. The casualties were enormous however, far greater than anticipated – almost half the Oak’s crew were dead or maimed to the point where they were useless. Not a single Eslandolan survived. Night was fast approaching, and to make things worse it seems so was another squall. Desperate repairs began on both ships. Dirk could never recall much of what happened in the next few hours, the men feverishly worked in a state of trance to repair the ships in order to get underway. It was clear that they would need to return to a safe harbour with their prize before attempting another attack on the fleet. Janszoon was furious. Soon both ships were limping forward, a skeleton prize crew including Davy aboard the Alejandro. Dirk and Sergeant Gowan remained aboard the Oak. Then as the last light was quickly fading on the western horizon, a cry from the lookout alerted the crew to sails on the southern horizon… -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An extra shot

Yes... well let's just say it's an interesting choice of colour!! Works really well with the white! She is indeed a clean, sleek and quick looking vessel, although her triangular/teardrop shape seems a bit odd... nothing bad just a bit odd! The pipe is pure genus, and genus that I will be definitely borrowing at some stage!

I admit to seeing this when you posted but somehow never got around to commenting, so my apologies! I really love the effort you put in to explaining the process that is occurring in your builds and this is a classic example of that. The sawn logs look really good and the water wheel itself is well done - like Captain Braunsfeld says, something to copy (one day!)

I really do love Xebecs, and this one is great - she looks very slick and fast! As mentioned the dark red sails are a particularly good touch, great job!

A great looking facade and I actually like the lime green, a tricky colour to use but I think it works here. The story is great as well and things definitely seem to be picking up after a relatively quiet period! I hope with recent developments no Eslandolans will ever call me a war monger again!

Great fort, as mentioned the whitewashing is a good touch. Things are definitely starting to happen in the brick seas!

Great building SilentWolf, you seem to have a real talent for the wooden construction look! Some favourite features, of which there are many include: the minifig posing throughout the story - you've seemingly got them all spot on!, The small tower on top of the roof (unsure of the technical name) with the weather vane and the yellow bricks with grille as hay bales. Great entry that I think will be difficult to beat!

A very impressive galleon! 60 guns! That is one huge warship!

Nice camp, are they just rubber bands around the torsos of the soldiers?

I'm looking forward to this story! Nice simple scene to show the landing. Sorting those round 1x1's is going to be fun!

Nice little interior scene Capt Wolf - the use of the small rocket piece as a stand for the globe is genus! The colouring works really well, what colour are the floor tiles? Medium dark flesh? I can't quite work it out!

The Mooreton Bay link appears to work in my post but not your index post at the start. Let me know if you need me to do anything further, thanks!