Captain Dee

Man... I understand that Eurobricks is a creative environment, but even so, there are some highly imaginative "Future Castle Sets" listed on this last page or so. And here dumb ol' me thought there was a seperate thread set up for all the Knexo Nighto stuffo. (Wait, I spelled it wrong - "Pepto-Bismol"? "Pep Boys"? "Fed-Ex"? "Hex Nuts"?) Huh! It won't come to me. Anyway, I apologize in advance for going way off topic way out in left field way out in the weeds and all, but... I'd like to see a remake of the Medieval Market Village concept - but with completely new, different buildings that would allow collectors to position the two sets together to create a bigger and more accurate-to-scale village. The building styles should have some differences as well and the minifigs and other accessories should compliment the first set - and everything should be built to look like they go together. It wouldn't be difficult - there are lots of options - and it would surely satisfy older (primarily adult) fans who might prefer more historic realism. A single large advanced village set (with a correspondingly higher price tag) sold Direct wouldn't clash with an oxymoronic futuristic-medieval theme full of sci-fantasy-action idiosyncrasies like the forthcoming Lepto Mutts. Again, my sincere apologies for going way off topic discussing "Future Castle Sets" but everywhere I looked to post this seemed inappropriate. P.S. The name finally came back to me: "Cocky-pocky...poppy!" Edit: Typo - just realized there's no such thing as an "idiosyncrasny" :P

Moderators, rude? Surely you jest. To quote the late, great Foster Brooks: "Cocky-pocky...poppy."

With regards to sails, I just wish they'd get over the stripes already and use plain ol' stuff like the big IFS - it's so much more versatile than big red & white stripes that don't look good on much of anything, including the sets they come with.

I think a few basic guidelines would be helpful to casual builders whose ship knowledge may be limited, but at this point I question how much technical info is really necessary. Take crew numbers as an example: I seriously doubt many participants will be building minifig-scale ships with realistic crew, and if past illusion-scale models are any indication, crew size will be pretty small regardless of the type of vessel. Obviously the experts won't need any info beyond what is required for the game. I think the biggest challenge is to neither oversimplify to the point of turning away serious shipbuilders nor to make things too complicated for casual builders. I'm a little like kurigan - the project hasn't even started and my interest just isn't there despite my love of tall ships. But I'm sure I could still enjoy it even if the ship categories aren't all historically correct. I will offer one word of caution: defining the different types of vessels by strict stud dimensions could stifle creativity. A barquentine hull could be as large as, say, a full-rigged ship and the different classes (if there are any) should be flexible enough to allow people to be creative regardless of how things are classified. Beam (width) could be tricky too - most serious Pirates fans have prefabs and aren't afraid to use them, but casual fans of the theme might go the custom-hull route just because they have to, and that approach will tolerate a far more diverse type of design than prefabs. Said another way, the ship classes (again, if there are any) must be centered around the standard prefab widths if the prefabs are to be useful. I agree with kurigan in thinking that it will be easier to just let people build and figure out the specifics as things progress. Trying to get it all "just right" at the start could prove nearly impossible, and I see no problem with everyone learning together as it goes along. Eventually it should all work out, if everyone cooperates. Inexperienced builders should be able to learn quickly, and if the seasoned veterans participate and bother with any technical specs then everyone could get a refresher course in the finer details that could otherwise prove cumbersome.

This is a neat little scene, and I like the contrast of colors (except the red flag which is almost lost in the background, but I do like that background color). The floor technique is nice even if somewhat parts intensive and the chairs/stools are cool. Unfortunately since I haven't participated in GoH I can't identify more than two or three sigfigs - would you be so kind as to name them all? Thanks and good work.

This is a very nice gesture. It's sad to see people consumed by such blind, mindless hatred. There can be no respect for humanity - or even appreciation of life - among people who are willing to kill themselves while killing random people around them. It's relatively easy to resort to violence. But working through issues takes real effort and courage. May their memory never fade.

That's a nice model considering the tiny scale. You've captured the basic look well. Good work.

I agree that games based on the age of sail often don't work well, due to the various complications involved. When you have a long list of ship types with unique real-world characteristics and widely differing armaments, gameplay can be tricky.

Kurigan, you raised some valid points, and I've modified my first post. To say that any class was faster than another is pretty vague and I was basing my frigate speed comments on the big Americans, which weren't exactly average frigates. With regards to the game, I think a good basic description to aid shipbuilders would seem adequate. Every detail shouldn't be expected from everyone all the time, but having a basic reference will make it easier for shipbuilders who want to learn. It's complicated, but the game probably should be simplified for ease of use, right? Oh, and don't be too hard on yourself. Knowing a lot about something isn't a bad thing.

Type: Carrack (also "nao" or "nau"; English sometimes called them "great ships") Origin: Genoese, 15th century; rapidly adapted by Portuguese and Spanish for exploration and long sea voyages; eventually adapted throughout Europe as the forerunner to most large sailing ship designs; eventually replaced by the galleon by mid-to-late 16th century Masts/Rigging: 3 or 4 masts, square rigged on the fore- and mainmast, lateen rigged on the mizzenmast and bonaventure mizzen (if present) Size: Varied greatly, from approx. 30-50 m long and anywhere from several hundred to 1000+ tons burthen Crew: varied by size and purpose (exploration, warship or trade) from less than 100 (exploration) to high triple digits (the largest warships); typically 200-500 for midsize warships Armament: varied greatly and spanned the entire range in terms of numbers and shot weights, although some carried incredible numbers of guns (well over 100) of many different shot weights, often on several decks; the English "great ships" had similar firepower to the largest ships-of-the-line from the late 18th century Distinguishing characteristics: high aftcastle, usually square stern, and very high forecastle that rose abruptly to a height similar to the stern; usually very tall ships and rather top-heavy compared to the longer, lower galleon; relatively slow and not quickly maneuvered due to their size and high wind resistance on the forecastle Type: Galleon, direct descendant of the carrack Origin: Venitian, early/mid-16th century; quickly adapted by Portuguese and throughout Europe and gradually replaced carracks by the early 17th century; most famous as Spanish treasure ships and warships of the 16th and 17th centuries Masts/rigging: same as carrack; 3 or 4 masts, square rigged on the fore- and mainmast, lateen rigged on the mizzenmast and bonaventure mizzen (if present) Size: similar to carrack; often 30-40 m long but some were substantially bigger; anywhere from several hundred tons burthen to 2000+ (the large Spanish galleons of the Manila trade route) Crew: similar to carrack, often 250-500 on midsize warships with very high numbers on largest warships Armament: similar to carrack, with many different numbers and shot weights; many prominent warships carried 40-60 guns but significantly higher numbers were possible; the largest were well over 2000 tons burthen and carried well over 100 guns Distinguishing characteristics: high sloping aftcastle that often featured squared galleries, square tuck stern, much lower forecastle than a carrack, somewhat longer length for a given displacement compared to a carrack, head/snout/beak protruding from the bow below the forecastle, slightly higher speed and much better maneuverability than a carrack due to lower overall design and much less wind resistance on the forecastle

Ska, this is a good idea, but it could be tricky considering the variation between countries and time periods. I'll give frigates a try. I'm fairly familiar but not an expert by any means, so this is condensed from Wiki... Type: Frigate - Name first applied based on warships built for speed and maneuverability; later adapted to ships similar in size (length) to larger warships but with lighter armament Size: from 1740s on, typically 135' (41 m) or longer; by late 1700s typically similar length to ships-of-the line Tons burthen: varied greatly, from several hundred (early frigates) to well over 1000 (later heavy frigates) Crew size: varied significantly (I'll try to find some specifics) Armament: varied by country; British rating of mid-1700s required at least 28 guns, up to 38, with a single continuous gun deck and others often mounted on the forecastle or quarterdeck; among all major naval powers, typically mid-20s to mid-30s although later (1797+) American "super-frigates" were rated for 44 and usually carried 50+ Number masts/type of rigging: 3 masts by most 17th-century definitions; always 3 by 18th century; square-rigged ("full-rigged") on all 3 masts. Speed: similar to ships-of-the line but dependent on sail area, crew skill, discipline etc. French frigates from 1740s on travelled up to 14 knots (26 km/h or 16 mph). Culture of origin: Mediteranean, 15th-century, referring to light galleass type employing oars, sails, and light armament, built for speed and maneuverability - Classic frigate based on French designs from 1740s onward, heavily copied by other nations, similar in appearance to large line-of-battle ships but with substantially less armament, again built for speed and often deployed for tasks other than heavy fleet actions/engagements and often sailed alone or in small groups The French "corvette" and British "post ship" were essentially smaller versions of the frigate classification and looked very similar. The British classification required at least 20 guns and most of the corvettes had 20 or more. These were typically the rank between frigates and the still-smaller sloop-of-war. Perhaps the best Lego corvette ever built was the white-hulled 20-gun "Beatrix" by Sebeus. I don't have any pics handy but frigates are sailing all throughout the pages of the Pirates forum. Hope this helps and someone please correct me if you see any mistakes.

This is a very good remake of what was too me a disappointing set. It has the basic look of an official set and is large enough to sit proudly by the classic BSB and SES. I probably wouldn't have used quite as many fence pieces, but still it's a nice design overall. It just looks more balanced overall than the last few ships released by Lego. Good work.

That is one impressive table. The assortment of knights, helmets, and swords is great, and you've done a really good job with all the different hairpieces, which is somewhat unusual among castle-themed material. The castle looks nice and classic - but a little small beside that huge table! Good work.

*Reads last page of posts* *Checks title* *Rechecks title* Ahem. Well, I'd like to see more civilian material, for a couple of reasons. For one, there just isn't much variety among medieval civilians in Lego form, or the settings you'd typically find them in, although the licensed themes have helped. And Lego has reused lots of typical castle ideas while barely scratching the surface of normal life during those times. But how many kids long for sawmills, ironworks, markets, etc? Not very many, I'm guessing. Action, fantasy, sci-fi etc seems to be the name of the game. And I strongly doubt I'll ever see my adult interests expressed in a child's toy market, so... I'll just have to build them myself, and do what I can with the minifigs.

The last of the classics hinted at what we'd eventually be getting - and that is, not much. Maybe more was originally planned for the Armada, but the biggest land-based sets from then on have been smaller. I'd love to see something like the old trading post - not a remake per se, but something similar. Of course it would look quite different since the baseplates aren't used anymore, but the concept would still be nice. With Lego's current approach to the theme I question if we'll ever see big sets again.

And another fine contest is concluded. Congratulations to the winners and also to everyone who participated. I would love to see (and help sponsor) another contest like the 2010 Community Build, but the conclusion of PtV probably means BotBS is near, so it may never happen. Anyway, a special thanks to everyone who helped put this on and for once again sparking interest in the theme.

Wow. That is one seriously impressive layout. You've got everything and lots of it. The town is nice, the forts are fine, and the overall attention to detail is excellent. I like the Armada section the most because it's rare to see something that big built for them. But you've also represented the Islanders really well, and the city of gold looks great. The volume of parts (especially vegetation) is just enormous. The texturing of the beaches is good vs just putting down a single layer of plates and calling it done. I'm also impressed that you actually bothered to use so many trans-clear parts to show movement of the water; most people would just use plain blue baseplates and this looks so much better. The only problem is the lack of photos in this post - something this good really needs to be showcased better than just a link to a gallery. For anyone reading this, do yourself a favor and look through the entire gallery. It's well worth it. I'm sure Benny would agree... Excellent work, especially considering the sheer size and the fact that two people did it all.

That's a cute little vessel, although I probably would've skipped the yellow highlights. The cabin is nice even if it's tight, and the furled sail looks pretty good. I might let that crew capture me - but only if they have good hygiene, and only if the captain brought some pizza with her...

I was referring to the Large category but yeah, that one leads the Digital entries by a pretty good margin, eh?

Well... it was a tough choice, but I had other commitments. And there were plenty of good entries without me. As for the voting, I think it's obvious who's going to win the top prize...

That's a neat little scene and you've captured the foggy look about as well as can be done with Lego bricks. It looks very good and it's obvious what it represents. Good work.

These historic battle scene collabs are fantastic. I'm impressed most of all by how something that focuses so heavily on the minifigs can still be made to look like a realistic setting. The attention to detail is superb, and the muddy field is well represented. That level of action has to rank among the most ever done in Lego form. I think a few more trees on the two sides would give it a more accurate dense forest look, but I understand it would require a huge number of leaf pieces and it's really a minor concern anyway. King Henry V is nicely represented too. This is just a splendid arrangement. How many of these historic battles have you done by now, counting both collabs and individual work? I'll take one of these accurate depictions over ten made-up battles any day. Excellent work as always.

You've made an excellent start and what you've completed is beautiful. The white looks great and the overall shape is superb. I'm guessing you could easily fit a couple thousand pieces of vegetation in that big a space. Keep it up. I think you'll love the final result - I know I will.

The queen looks fantastic; she's a good match for the king and it's about time they reused that wonderful hair! I'm glad it's not a hair/crown combo like the king just because it's hard to do anything decorative with a hairy crown, unlike the old style (but I do like the CMF king's headgear, no question). Naturally the new dress looks good from the front, but I'm going to reserve final judgement until I've seen it in person. I suspect I have the biggest collection of the previous style printed dresses of anyone on EB, and I like the fact that the design was simple enough to be used in lots of different time periods. This design looks more specialized, but I suspect I'll buy a couple dozen to add to the collection, because the complete figure is just too good to pass up. But I'm not excited in the least with anything else in this thread. Maybe the complete series will have something else that interests me. If not, it shouldn't be too hard to feel that big dress piece through the packaging!

This is a superb entry, if a bit modern and lacking in obvious violence. The use of so many CMFs is brilliant, the steamship is spectacular and the wheeled mechanisms on the cannon carriage look very correct for the time period. But it pains me to see my sigfig sprawled out behind said cannon with that needle/dart stuck in him... Ah well, that's what I get for wearing Brickbeard's attire! Excellent work.