Captain Dee

And I have 1 freebuild to go with my signup, but have 45 DBs... Hmmmm.

I'm impressed that there's this much activity after 2 months! If it keeps up... this could get big. Big big. Real big! BIG! A few winners, and a few not-so-winners. Too bad for those caught in the hurricane... And the "Parakeet" just keeps springing leaks!

Thanks. Yes, finally. Fifty lashes? Argh!! Thanks. The number of pics I first posted was "crazy bad" but it was intended as a joke for everyone who was originally clamoring for "more pics!" I knew it was ridiculous, which is why I deleted most of them so quickly. You're not the only one who got tired of looking - I got bored too from all the redundant viewing angles. I took photos from just about every angle and posted them, but it was of course unnecessary. What's left is more than enough - in fact I've cut a few more, like the additional head-on views and one of the views minus the ship. I wouldn't say there are a lot of "great details" just because most of the components are pretty simple. But I'm glad you like it. Make no mistake, every one of these pics was shot from a tripod. It's a pretty good one - not professional grade, but reasonably heavy with 3-section legs and telescoping neck. For the elevated views I had the camera mounted well over my head and stood on a chair with my head about a foot from the ceiling. I'm fully aware of the need to keep that ISO number down. The camera goes all the way to 6400 but anything over 400 is useless. My exposures varied, and I believe the longer ones were slightly better. I've long wanted a remote shutter control but don't think they're available for my camera. I know all about shaking the camera despite being on a tripod - my brother and I used to shoot 8-sec exposures of Independence Day fireworks shows and quickly learned that the slightest touch almost always caused vibration which appeared in the form of tiny zigzags. My Nikon does pretty good in good outdoor lighting, but I've always noticed two things when editing/cropping pics: it's almost always too soft on contrast and the saturation of colors. From what I've seen, in person and otherwise, I think many mobile device cameras are better than my dedicated camera - but that's just a testament to how quickly things advance. My sister and brother-in-law have iphones and their cameras are, as you say, really good. Thanks for the input, and keep up the good work with your MOCs - they've all been really good. Thanks. See above comments regarding what was obviously an excessive number of pics. As for the details, I think it needs closer detailing throughout to be accurate but I'm saving that for later. And feel free to "steal away" because I've drawn inspiratiom from lots of sources as well. I appreciate your photography input too; see the prior comment for my response. Kurigan, my friend, I'm granting you the honor of "Top Comment" for your well-written reply. I'm going to have to dissect it piece-by-piece. You touched on a ticklish issue - due to the level of participation, it feels like bumping sometimes when the topic in question may not be more than a day or two old. Good members understand this, and obviously you care. Yeah, the pace can move too fast for me to keep up at times, too. The cranes indeed use some "inconvenient" parts. I don't mind the upper pieces, as they work reasonably well as mast tops, but the lower masts and shroud pieces are good for their intended purpose and... not much else. They work well here I think. I think the ship's boats under construction are kind of crude, but they were a last-minute addition to use up some extra parts. Otherwise I had planned to just use the official rowboats, but now I'm glad I didn't and I'm glad you like them. I should've used lots of narrow plates for the stacked lumber just to create a more realistic look but none of this project is strictly realistic! Yep, detail takes space, which I didn't have enough of despite the base dimensions. She'd be pretty crude if finished in this manner, but I'm convinced it could be done. I'm aware of the "legal" way of switching from studs down to studs up and how to address the gap; using the bricks with studs on two sides would also allow affixing external planking, but there are better ways of building the basic structure for that level of detail. It ain't perfect but overall I'm happy with how it turned out. Well said. My thoughts exactly. I find it surprising that you're the first person among all these comments to bring this up. I acquired these minifigs (2013 Dragon Knights) specifically for scenes like this, and I fully expected someone to question it. It may seem odd to use Castle-themed figs in armor for a colonial-era setting, but I wanted to build a scene with lots of workers and most of the Pirates-theme figs that have ever been released just don't do it for me. The best minifigs for civilian builds in this theme often come from the licensed sets - LotR, the Hobbit, PotC, etc. I have several of those but not enough to do this how I wanted, so I used the Castle figs instead. I envision them as members of a craftsman's guild with uniforms, and I just pretend the armor is silver-colored cloth of some sort! The matter of the wigs is pretty simple. Originally I planned to have every worker wear a black tricorne, but I wanted to use some of the Dragon Knight heads too - and most of them have back printing, which I can't stand. So I decided to use some wigs, which I really like, and then decided to split them 50-50 which is quite literal in this case. Again it isn't entirely realistic, because I suspect they'd ruin their wigs working in a shipyard, but they sure stand out! Kurigan, that's the type of input I'm looking for because it sparks a good conversation. Thanks! Thanks everyone for your comments. I've made a few small updates and will probably tinker with this a little while longer.

This helps, yes, but most people are giving some indication of where the build is located as well. I understand anyone can make a mistake and accidentally grant an approval, but reading the material and just paying attention helps a lot. Some builders are using phrases like "this is my third free build this month, so if you're not from [faction] then I'd appreciate your approval" which makes it easy for everyone while other people just say "this is my third free build this month" which could lend to the confusion. This is a great idea... except for the fact that I'm doing this mobile and unfortunately can't see anyone's signatures...

Just to be clear, I'm not advocating to change anything... except people granting contraband approvals...

Story time!! Oh no. That last possibility has me weeping... Nah, they must've been clueboats or even black. Har har!! Encore!! Fire another round!! Just think of the sinking souls, floating fearfully upon shattered shards of wasted wood, peeking pitifully at the perilous peak upon which their monstrous mem'ries will fore'er faint...

It would definitely make the accounting easier considering the number of same-faction approvals that have been granted lately. It would also mean more DBs for many of you - my observation is that numerous builds have been just short of reaching the next tier on the charts, and more votes would often mean more DBs. BUT I also understand that it could give an advantage to the bigger factions, which are currently at a disadvantage with the approval process - perhaps an intended consequence to help level out big disparities in membership and the resulting level of activity. So I'm on the fence.

Wow... so much going on! You really write up a serious story, and the build illustrates it well. Both buildings are unique but look nice and the tight spacing gives the scene an old feel. I really like the dock area and the textures of the street. Keep it up.

Lovely scene, good idea, well built and photographed, and nice posing of all the different elements. Pearl diving is a natural thing for the time period in question and this is a good portrayal. Approved! PLEASE DO NOT APPROVE builds from your own faction! Thanks everyone for complying.

Excellent build, presentation and story. The micro ship is beautiful and the elevated base and background are perfect for this. Good work.

Ooh, possibly another duel! And with a rather intriguing story to go with it... I really like the build and the way it's presented. I await the outcome...

This just might be the best Lego log cabin I've ever seen. The overall look is just about perfect and it would fit a wide variety of historic environments. Thanks for the technical explanation - I sure couldn't figure it out when you first posted it. It's a lovely addition to the growing Corrington empire. Excellent work. I'm sure glad that, despite being a fellow Corry, I'm authorized to say: Approved!

Interesting story and good job illustrating it. The vessel in question is pretty small and the sail plan isn't entirely realistic but it's a good start. Keep it up.

I like the story and that's a neat little interior, but I agree showing two walls would help considerably. Good to see you building again.

Beautiful little shop, inside and out. But loyalty cards? You mean they hooked people with them had them back then too? Looks great.

Now there's a unique vessel. The wings for sails work surprisingly well and the colorful decorated hull looks appropriate for that type. Interesting and nicely done.

Lovely vessel. That hull is beautiful and the rigging looks nice too. The unique colorscheme would make her easy to spot. The headrails use my favorite technique and your fleet looks nice. Keep it up.

RED!! Wow, that is one eye-popping color scheme. But not only that, the hull looks great overall despite the lack of tumblehome and that towering stern. The windows are lovely and I like the sail plan; too bad it's incomplete and not matching. Fix that up and she'll be a real beauty. For a basic design this turned out wonderfully well, and I wouldn't hesitate to put it on display (with matching sails of course). Good work. P.S. I'd love to relieve you of one of the complete RBR hulls... they can be beautiful as you've shown...

Yes, nice little vessel. I must get one of those big/wide rowboats for something like this. They look great with a sail, as you've done. I think the story is appropriate. Given that Oleon is hostile towards its superior neighbor, reaching for a gun at the sound of that awful name seems natural.

Beautiful. I dare say this is one of the best building exteriors yet. Good colors, lovely architectural elements, and another good all-around idea. The surgeon has a fine place to work. Edit: Oops, I forgot the most important part: Approved! PLEASE, everyone, to aid the accounting process, DO NOT grant approvals to your own faction unless you are a leader!

Cute little house. I love that roof, but the blue walls are a bit bright for my taste. The external details are pretty good too. Approved. PLEASE, everyone, do NOT grant approvals to your own faction unless you're a leader! It makes my accounting job difficult!

Interesting little vessel. Those small white hulls are cute and black is a good accent color. She's fearfully armed - difficult on those narrow hulls - and the crew looks up to task. Keep it up.

Neat little house. I always like white walls and the grey tiled roof is fantastic. Keep it up.

This is a fantastic vessel from the beautiful custom hull to the realistic rigging to the brick-built guns. I like the colorscheme and attention to detail throughout. The swivels look a little bulky but otherwise are an excellent design. The crew looks very fitting as well. It all adds up to a wonderful result. Excellent work!

Don't we all? Ah, the suspense. Who won it all? Who lost it all? Who's floating helplessly on a plank while fighting off sharks and cannibals? Who's going to be throwing a big celebratory party?......