Franco Clarke

Shame it isn't available on pick a brick, it'd be a great rifleman torso.

This is quite an incredible model, definitely a must-buy.

The hull looks good and ship-shape now, having struggled to move large single part models to shows, I agree modularity is the way to go. The new door is lovely and compact, the sunken hinges are a great detail. Finally, I love the little sketch you've done to plan out the build, makes it look like such a normal ship without all the sea life and craggy pieces.

Nice to see a comparison between old and new, I like all the extra crew you've made. If you wanted to bulk out the crew further, you could add some East India Trading Company troops, who could be more uniform. The stary windows are a great look, not sure if they suit the Dutchman, but they are very pretty.

That's off to a superb start, looks even better in the bricks than the digital renders. I tend to focus on the external appearance of a model when building on Studio, structure is easier to do with real bricks.

Other than the old glory days, pirates have always been an intermittent theme unfortunately.

That does look promising, the trees can certainly be useful.

Those gunports are superb, looking forward to see the mechanism to go behind.

When I first got into building pirate models, the aim was always to build a classic sailing frigate. However, my first attempt didn't quite live up to my expectations, and over the years has suffered from pet damage and is in a sorry state. With that in mind, I picked up a cheap set of hull parts and set to work building a bigger 40 gun frigate. I took my inspiration from the ever-useful CGH build a frigate tutorial, and Perfectionist's Achille. For colours, I went with dark red, with dark blue highlights, inspired by Zcerberus' Phantom II and the Acheron from the Master and Commander film. I proudly present the 40 gun frigate Petit-Acheon. Unfortunately the dark colours don't photograph too well, but the blend works better in person I'll assure you. I was particularly taken by the technique of using headlight bricks to attach the cannon flaps, thus bringing everything flush in together, which I will take forward into future buildings. Which open to reveal a broadside of 14 heavy 24 pound cannons. The stern is a good opportunity for nice guilt details, with a pair of 9 pounders for chases. Up at the front are another pair of chasers, two anchors and heads behind the figurehead. The horse was originally just a placeholder, but as it fit the colourscheme, it ended up staying to the final design. Behind the foremast is the boatdeck and capstan. In a first for me, I went for a full tiled deck, which does gleam nicely. Tiling continues to the mast platforms. These were my first attempt at handmade ratlines, so they are still a bit wonky, but they give the masts a good level of stability. Finally, there is a lantern and a pair of carronades on the poop deck. I designed this ship digitally, and halfway through the build process I recoloured the model into the same scheme as my older ships. This was a mistake as I quite liked the resulting design, and felt compelled to build it in the flesh. Classes of ships do tend to have more than one member after all! Hence, I present the 40 gun frigate Glebe! Immediately, the bright colours come across better digitally, contrasting against one another. Whilst they are both sister ships, Glebe and Petit-Acheon do have some design differences, learning from the downsides of the first build. I split the broadside into smaller sections, lengthened the ship by a stud, and widened the stern by a stud. Although more awkward to build, the odd stud width allows for a more satisfying overall shape. Another notable difference is the Glebe carries lighter 18 pounder guns on her main deck. Naturally, she carries a different figurehead, and the anchors are attached differently. Finally, here are some shots of the pair together. I hope that you like the new sisters, it's been a long build (twice the rigging was certainly not twice as fun!), but I'm pleased to have them both finally done, and look forward to taking them to shows around the country next year. The next step is to finish off the ship of the line, and refit the old Pharaoh. Here's a bibliography of the amazing builds that I referenced in the text, for those not familiar, check out the true masters!

Thank you, it was one of your builds I saw this usage on first, a great combination of size and detail. Glad you have been enjoying the process. The doors were inspired by those on Victory, which are partially glazed. Due to the tight size, they've got to be undersized, so these are handy in that regard.

The ITMP ship is perhaps my favourite lego ship, and this upscaling is inspirational. I presume the brown spars are due to parts limitations? You've managed to capture the aesthetic of the hull parts with the brickbuilt design, which is commendable.

Always fun seeing the progression of the design, it currently feels like a halfway house between the first and second sets, but with a much superior sail and rig. Amusing how the monkey has flesh hands.

What a nice autumnal scheme for a ship, very seasonal, with the mix of old and current colours. I like all details on the decks, especially the brown grates. Finally, the stern decorations are wonderfully ornate as they should be!

As others have said, the dark brown deck compliments the design nicely, I prefer your design to Lego's. I like how you've made the most of the limited interior space, it evokes the interiors from the films well.

The bow is great, perfect shaping, how structurally sound is she?