Captain Dee

That's a beautiful beach landing and jungle scene. I like the water technique and the little waves lapping at their feet. The edge of the jungle is fantastic with the different trees, vines and other plants and the big rock formation does make it all seem big and imposing. The beach is pretty good too - I assume the white rounds are supposed to be seashells? Very good take on the challenge, and good story with the native peaking out from the jungle. Aaand that's my 1000th post on Eurobricks.

Very nice vessel you've built there. Not using the prefabs allows you to build closer to the waterline and the for the smaller classes tumblehome sides aren't terribly important either. The overall shape is really good and while the colors don't quite fit my taste, they're certainly unique - and it shouldn't be too hard to find her at a crowded pier! The armament is nicely built, but the cargo would look better if it was dressed up with some tiles to hide the studs. Overall good work.

You've certainly mastered that type of design. Personally, I'm not quite that adventurous when it comes to cold weather. I hope she's smart enough to not touch the pole with her tongue...

For *some* reason I feel a magnetic attraction to this scene... ...and I'm curious as to exactly what type of work Lan is doing, as an engineer, with the prototypes. Tinkering with new designs, features, or construction methods I suppose? To the build: you picked one of the top subjects, in my opinion, and the custom guns look pretty good. The room itself is rather plain but if you were looking for a simple smooth stone design then it works well enough - textures can be overdone at times, although I suppose that's mostly just a way to try to work around the very limited number of useful Lego colors. I would also like to see a few more interior details, but that would be dependent on exactly what type of an environment this is supposed to be - dirty workshop, clean lab or something in between. The lighting could be a little better too. Good idea for an intro and nice story to match.

Actually, Captain, you had me with this one. My aging mental processor kept giving me an error: "There is not enough memory to complete this task. Please quit one or more programs and try again." So, I put to good use my PhD from Google University and came up with the "Black spirits and white, red spirits and grey/Mingle, mingle, mingle, you that mingle may" bit - which seemingly didn't originate with Shakespeare but apparently was perfomed in Macbeth in song (a witches chant?), barely noted, and largely lost to time. I'm not sure what gave you the idea that I know anything about pop culture reference... I'm actually quite bad with it, truth be told. But I do think the grey parrots make good statues, and not much else. EDIT: added full reference

Very good intro. The overall composition is great and I really like the textured wall and masonry pillars. The base is neat too and those windows look massive - I'm assuming each piece is anchored on one side and/or end to align them that way. It looks great as shown, as if illuminated by the rising or setting sun, but I think showing it under more conventional lighting would probably be better. Good work.

That's a very nice intro. The overall design is good - copy it many times over and you'd have the makings of a superb vessel - and I like that colorscheme. However, I also think the gunports are a bit low and would take in water on rough seas; raising them by a full brick (or more) would look better. I like the damage to the one gunport and the wreckage floating around looks fine with that water technique. The second pic shows really good posing, especially your sigfig - it matches the story perfectly. Good work.

Maxim - You can never have too much gold! It makes a lovely accent color and I think it works good here as a main color. Too bad Lego doesn't make more standard building parts in pearl gold; I'd buy them. As far as honoring the staff, I had the idea back before I joined EB. I'd like to do some more. Time will tell... Garmadon - Glad you like it. I have some close-up pics of the throne by itself (and the hanging baskets) that I really should upload and deeplink. As for the red diamonds/rubies, I like using those pieces as decorations, and the open studs of those decorated bricks they're sitting on were just begging for something flashy. I tried a couple different things but didn't like the look, and when I tried the gems I loved it. Thanks to you both... and I'm delighted to see that someone actually left Bob's big party to view and comment on this! Perhaps if Phred and I go rustle up some free rum to go with the chest o' gold we'll have more takers... I failed to mention in the initial topic that this is the first MOC I've ever displayed on Eurobricks - despite having about a thousand posts. Credit slow and unreliable internet for that. Thanks to you all and happy building :)

Uhhhh... Okay. The best I can come up with is: "Black backgrounds and white, red parrots and grey/Paint them, paint them, paint them, you that paint them may." (the song from "Macbrick"; "Shakespeare's Songbook") WHAT'S GOING ON???? Ahem. Well. Where were we? Oh, yes: very nice challenge scene you've built there, Captain Funnybone. I truly do like a family-oriented scene even if the setting is meant to be humorous. Good use of the islanders again, especially the face-painted boy. I also think the solid-red parrots are kind of... odd but you found a good use. I think a little more detail on the base would be helpful - some terrain variation, or covering the ground with the big 6x5 leaves to avoid the distraction you spoke of. Who needs monkeys when you have bright-colored birds anyway? Note to self: LOG IN before trying to post something, bozo!! Edit: added to parenthetic reference

Lovely interior, and unique idea with the exposed-studs cutaway. I love building in white (if you want proof, go take a look at the Pirate MOC forum...) and those gothic arches are beautiful anytime, anywhere. The interior corner concept is great for this type of scene, but I must confess that I envision something a bit... larger for a depiction of the king's study, cutaway or not! Still, you have some good details - the fireplace, bookcase, lamp/torch, the structural beam, etc. Interesting addition to this growing multi-player story, and good use of suspense at the end. I must confess that by now I'm already struggling to keep up with everything that's going on! This Bob really knows how to throw a party! Keep it up.

Very good challenge build. The beach and trees are fantastic and the water technique is an excellent way of showing the graduall change in depth. I also think it would look a little better if the edges of the lower plates were concealed but other than that this is a fine entry. Keep it up.

Aha... so you had a reason for the different color on the stern. Good idea then. And I stand corrected on the hull. For some reason the Renegade Runner left very little impression on me; I'm more familiar with the tiny Cross Bone Clipper even though I believe the RR is the better of the two.

Nice intro. The first pic looks great - beach, waves, rowboat full of men, wrecked ship - and the characters are good. I'm not sure of the helmet per se, but diving bells were used in that era (as Ska already mentioned) - the Spanish used a bell to salvage a significant amount of cargo, guns and treasure from the Santa Margarita after it sunk off the Florida Keys in 1622. Good concept and unique intro.

This works well enough for a first ship. I think the basics are in place for what I liken to a pre-Age of Exploration vessel - small, single mast, single big sail. The figurehead is unique, and I like the fact that you tried to match it with the flag, but I think it would look better mounted low, just above the tip of the prow - like this it reminds me of Blackbeard's severed head. As already mentioned, the aftcastle is a bit abrupt, but for me the bigger issue is the color. I firmly believe it would look better if it matched the rest of the color scheme somehow, or if that color was used elsewhere on the ship. As shown it really stands out, and not really in a good way. You've done well to use the faction colors, and the overall form is pretty good for the narrow-hull prefabs. My mental ship index isn't working at the moment - did that hull come with the old Time Cruisers set? Anyway, this is a good start. Here's to a successful voyage!

Thanks all. Captain Braunsfeld - Golden times indeed. I like working with the color as you can tell. I built the flower baskets in late 2014 (!) and didn't have any of the pieces like my sigfig is holding at the time. In retrospect they would look better with those pieces in the center. KlodsBrik - Yep, those three colors look great together. The height is in my opinion just about perfect for the base, although it's really accidental - I just kept adding to get the arches and columns right, and I wanted the main floor to have a really high ceiling. Staslegomaster - I've learned to really like the "inside corner" approach after seeing it here on EB. Yep, we're definitely celebrating our latest chest o' gold. Phred - Hmm. Where have I heard you say this before?? *wink* Glad you like it. Working "for the common gold"? You character, you! In this case, I suppose the keyboard is right... - Captain Dee

So... the beach party finally ended, aye? This is a fine little scene, and of course the islanders are a nice feature. The boat looks good and the forced perspective is cool, but I must admit the lone plant in front of Kahuka is distracting and I think another full-size tree would be nice. Other than that it's a fine build. You'd better keep an eye on that biographist. I have a sneaking suspicion that whenever no one is looking he's actually writing "Hamlet" or "Macbrick." Good work.

*GASP* How DARE you post such a thing?! I'm telling my mom! MOMMY!! Haha, just being silly. In all seriousness I think it's perfectly acceptable within this environment. Every major pirate establishment in the real world (plus lots of "civilized" establishments) eventually had numerous places like this. You're posting in a pirate faction in a pirate forum. If it doesn't fit here then I don't know where it would. The building is unique, maybe a little - I don't know - unusual, perhaps? It's not that I don't like it - far from it, I think it plays that role very well - buy it's an interesting design. I like the fact that most of it is open so we can see the interior details, and the throng of people really brings the setting to life. The balconette is a nice feature and from what I've read an accurate feature as well, from which the strumpets would solicit "business," just like you've shown. So... Corries and Oleonders can share a little space together, aye? Well, maybe as long as they don't want the same courtesan. That would probably spark an all-out war. Overall I think this is a fine example of a not-so-fine type of establishment. I'm sure glad history has left them behind. Oh, wait, it hasn't... Good work.

This is a neat concept and the build itself is fine; however some of the photos leave a little to be desired. But that's been covered already so I won't dwell on it. I do think a good overview pic with the minifigs and accessories would help the presentation tremendously, especially considering that the floor technique isn't highly visible in the first several photos. I don't often see the new-style plume used as a pen; I like it better than I thought I would. The desk and chair look pretty good but they're barely visible. You've used that wall technique several times now. Have you considered using all masonry brick pieces - maybe with a stripe in a different color somewhere, or with windows? This looks fine, but a little variety is nice and it would be pretty easy on this scale. The flagholder and steps both look nice but the front border looks unfinished against the smooth floor. I'm guessing you didn't want a tile layer protruding above the hardwood floor? The last pic of the couple looks nice - she especially looks adventurous - but he doesn't look at all happy (as the story indicates). I understand if you wanted to use a particular face for him, but still I think a happier exp<b></b>ression would be better! Show them kissing! Anyway, this is a pretty nice build that would benefit from a little tweaking of the presentation. Hope I'm not being too critical :) Best of luck for everyone as the story progresses!

Ahoy Mateys!! At last it is my pleasure to present to you a little MOC I built for the Pirates staff - Mister Phes, Capt. Stabbin, Phred, Captain Braunsfeld and (at the time, since retired) Kolonialbeamter. This is a downsized, peaceful version of what started as a Pillage the Village contest entry. I'm much happier with this version and intend to keep it on permanent display. I apologize to the recipients for not quite getting your sigfigs correct, especially Phred and Mister Phes. I'll get them right eventually. Without further ado, I present the "unofficial" Eurobricks Pirates Forum Captain's Corner. The guy on the bottom left, holding the flowers, is my official sigfig, although I only wear epaulettes on special occasions. Phred and I have just returned with another chest of gold and the girls seem pretty happy about it. Meanwhile Mister Phes sits on the polished marble-and-gold throne and contemplates which is mightier - the pen or the sword? On the balcony are (left to right) Captain Braunsfeld, his lovely color-matching wife, Kolonialbeamter as a bluecoat, a blue-dressed lass and her glass to accompany him, a blonde beauty in red and Capt. Stabbin in the powdered wig. The hanging baskets are my original design, contain about 43 parts each, and are my favorite part of this whole build. But the throne isn't half bad if I may say so myself. And the lanterns needed a little dressing up so I dug out a bunch of One Rings, ran a bar down the center of the discs and orange cones into the lantern bases, and voila! transformed the look. Those windows are annoying to handle (the frames are curved slightly - arghh!) and the columns of 1x1 pearl gold round plates don't quite stack to the same height as the other bricks, which proved aggravating while building. But I'm still happy with the final product. That's enough chatter. I hope you like it and let's all say a hearty "Thank You!" to the pirates staff. Edit: More Pics!! - Captain Dee Here is an update to this project: a bigger and slightly more detailed version that is closer to what I originally envisioned. Below the pic is a link to the main topic posted in Brethren of the Brick Seas. Link to topic - Captain Dee Edit: added pics 3 - 13 to original topic Edit 2: added pic and link to update immediately above

This is also an image-posting test to see how the mobile version works. Edit: It works! HOORAY!! Edit 2: removed image

If I'm not mistaken the head in question came in the Creator Fairground Mixer set.

It seems to me that there should be a "Captain" in there someplace... Very good bust. There's no questioning who it represents. I love the tricorn hat and the shirts are nice as Phred pointed out. Good work.

Viewing other builders' material and constructive criticism are how people learn to improve, and such input should be welcome I would think. I'm hesitant to be very critical but I try to provide some input on occasion. Unfortunately I often miss small details, and dark areas, due to the fact that the nearly useless dial-up connection on my PC forces me to view on my small-screen phone :( I also think that the initial "rush" will wear down after a while and things will look and feel a little different. Gideon, I think your comments have been very good.

Beautiful design. First of all, that's a very unique border, and I really like it. The tower and building are both superbly detailed, from the tiled walls and roof to the round corners. It's a fine build to start a story with and I'm curious to see where it goes from here. Nice work.

I agree that the forest floor looks great in such an overgrown state. The trees are really good as well and you've crammed a lot of action into a small space. This just might be my favorite of your small builds, and the overall design could be used for lots of different things. Good work.