Franco Clarke

Rising high over the crashing waves beneath them, a towering cliff marked the north facing edge of the Isle of Youth, where the Fountain of youth was recorded to be held. The Vif plunged through the waves and past jagged rocks jutting from the seas. Erwin sat in the bow feeling miserable whilst Private Collins guided the ship, using Tholeau's book for directions. 'Sir we are approaching the island, where should we land?' Erwin looked up, wearily stood up and stumbled to the stern of the ship. After inspecting the rough map for a while, he pointed at a secluded cove. 'There should do nicely, follow the coast a long, we might not be the only one who has made it this far' Collins nodded and directed the ship closer to the shore, past beaches of white sand, with not a soul in sight. 'Perhaps we are the first to arrive; that would improve Erwin's mood' Collins muttered beneath his breath. As they approached the headland which sheltered the cove, Collins noticed a mast sticking out from above the tree line, with a Corrington flag at the top! 'Ship spotted, prepare the gun for action, Captain you should probably take over now!' shouted Collins. Erwin ran to stern, grabbing the tiller. 'Get ready to fire the cannon on the starboard side if they want to fight' The Vif rounded the headland and it was clear to see that the Corries were not going to be fighting. The ship was one of the merchant hunters, however it posed no threat since it was high and dry, having obviously been sailed straight into the beach. The bowsprit had cracked and splintered on a rock and she was surrounded by a mess of planks and timbers. The Vif dropped anchor further out, and the crew began to prepare to go ashore. Erwin and Collins moved out ahead to inspect the Merchant raider. Her hull had been gouged and was obviously not going to sail again. Her crew were nowhere to be seen and had left the hull stocked with supplies and the two cannon. 'Well I guess the Corries must really want this Fountain, we better get going otherwise we'll be beaten too it.' Erwin said to Collins. 'Also have the men land the cannon, it might be handy in case we run into any other explorers' This is the first thing that came to mind when the challenge was announced and although it wouldn't really do in any of the categories, I still wanted to make it. Not much to see really except an Imperial flagship stuck on a beach!

Nice work, I really like the fat palm tree!

They are quite hard to make out. I have tried to brighten up the first without ruining the night time effect, is this any better? As to the third picture there isn't much to make out except the fire!

Wow that's such a sleek ship, with those huge sails, I'm sure it would have difficulty not taking off!

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=134962&hl= | Franco Clarke | Oleon

Londa bay was quiet in the early hours of the new day. The sea lapped at the hulls of the silent ships riding at anchor in the harbour. From a tavern on the shore came the sound of music permeating through the night and adding to calm of the scene. A small Oleon warship was moored near the flotilla of merchantmen it had escorted, silent except for the lone guard stood rigidly on the deck. The waves splashed on the hull, whilst the moon reflected off the water on the ship's white hull. As the guard turned to look toward the shore, someone climbed out of the water, crawling up the side of the ship and onto the deck. His black cloak made him all but invisible in the dark. He reached for his belt and grasped a knife, slightly glistening from the seawater still dripping from it. With a silent stride he came up behind the guard and plunged the blade through the man's heart. The guard slumped and the man dropped the knife and disappeared through the deck hatch. He reappeared a few minutes later stuffing a manuscript inside his cloak, and sprinted to the railings leaping into a dinghy which had pulled up alongside the warship. The dinghy nosed away from the larger ship and began to glide away across the water. Ten minutes later the calm of the bay was shattered as the Oleon ship was lifted from the sea and torn into three pieces as the power magazine detonated. Flames lit up the other ships as the burning wreckage slipped under the waves. This story mostly came about after I built a replacement for the Saler from its parts, which turned out pretty ugly. However, I decided it could be put to use, even if it had a rather short service life! I also wanted to do some night scenes since all the stuff I've done so far has been during the day, which is fine up to a point but I wanted a little variety! I'm not sure how the photos have come out, and I would appreciate some comments!

Thank you, that's one of the best things about Lego, being able to destroy things Thanks I'm glad you like my stories! I do try to rig ships which turn out nicely, but those which are more ugly (and hence are probably going to end up sunk!) are a waste of string.

Ship's Log Day 13 The sun rose above our battered flotilla, as we made the best possible speed to try and escape the Terrabanks before we encountered any more privateers. I stared over the stern of my ship, holding the tiller steady. I couldn't face those poor crew sitting in the bow. The lookout announced a sail had appeared astern, and with a leaden heart I turned my telescope on the position, sure enough a sloop was following us, with the same red banner as the one which had sunk the Sea Fox. TO make things worse, HMS Flea was sailing alongside. We signalled the rest of the fleet to close up and make best speed. Our slow merchantmen wouldn't stand a chance at outrunning the swifter raiders, but we might be able to convince them that we weren't worth the trouble. I moved the Vif up to point position, and the Saler slowly slipped to the rear. Even with half of the gun crew straining at oars, it was barely keeping up, and would soon fall behind as the rowers tired. The Saler signalled saying that they had spotting another small ship flying the redcoat flag, moving to link up with the other two. Despite the danger which these ships posed, most of the fleet still only had half sails up, so that the Saler could keep up. I ordered the cannon rolled to the back of the ship so we could fire at the Corries when they got within range. Keeping my telescope trained on the pursuing vessels, I noticed them split a bit. Perhaps they were going to use their superior mobility to come at us in a pincer movement. Then between the two groups a fourth sail appeared, emblazoned with the Corrington crest. It came up in line with the smaller vessels, its mast towing over the low decks of the other raiders. 'Oh that ain't fair' I muttered under my breath. The new pursuer was a Corrington Merchant Hunter, a type of ship I had heard about in tales from the Juniper wars, where their effect on Oleon's shipping had been lethal. Although not heavily armed, their speed was unmatched by any other ship which carried as much firepower, or could be crewed by so few men. The Hunter slipped into the lead, punching through the waves which marked where hills once rose over the long sunken Terrabank. The ships closed to within the range of their long guns, and then began weaving allowing their side mounted guns to fire forward at our ships. Soon my merchantmen were being pelted with cannonballs, thankfully most of which didn't hit. At the back, the Saler attracted the majority of the fire, and her sail was soon pierced through until the sun shone cleanly through it. The Saler was barely crawling along, although our tormenters seemed to be content to loiter on the edge of their cannon's range. The only gun we had which could match them was the long 12 bolted to the prow of the Saler. We were trapped, if we turned and fought we would be destroyed, and with the crippled Saler we would never be able to escape. It was hopeless; we had been defeated by a superior foe. Perhaps we might be able to call a truce so no-one more would have to die. Then I noticed Saler had altered course and was pulling a tight turn. A signal fluttered from the masthead; 'Engaging the enemy more closely, run, save yourself' I heaved on the tiller, perhaps if we were to both attack the pursuers we would be able to sink a few of them, allowing the merchantman to escape. Then I felt a hand on my arm, it was Private Collins. 'Pierre has sacrificed himself; the Vif might be needed later to protect against other threats' He was right, so reluctantly corrected our course, staring as the Saler sailed bravely towards its destruction. The 12 pounder fired giving off a huge cloud of smoke, and the bow lifted from the water before crashing back in. We put up full sail and the pace picked up quickly. I also had the flag lowered to half mast. Meanwhile the all the raiders had turned their guns on the Saler as it was the greatest threat. The ship was obscured by the plumes of water driven up. When the water settled between volleys, I could see fire licking around the cabin and occasionally a return shot emanating from the Saler's single remaining cannon. The Saler rolled over exposing her white underbelly, and the raiders closed in for the kill, pummelling the wreckage until the scene was hidden from view by the horizon. We had escaped, but at what cost? A continuation immediately after the previous story, I wanted to have some proper fighting, although I lack the ships to do a huge battle at the moment. Apart from the merchant hunter which is simply a modified imperial flagship, the new model was the second Corrington raider, again drawing inspiration from the imperial trading post ship. I am not that pleased with the design of this one, although I was running out of parts when I built it. In true classic pirate style, there is a small storage area in the stern.

Thank you for all of your replies, I am glad that you liked the burning ship. Thank you, I do try to focus on the story most of the time, and then build something to fit it, hence the rather dubious merchant ship here! As for the Corlanders, they seem to be very organised for pirates!

I am glad you liked it, I was not planning on licensing it, just a bit of 'fluff' to fill the sea of storms world with.

I love this ship, for me it has the perfect mix of classic pirate style and historical accuracy! It fits in with the imperial flagship really well, How did you get the pattern onto the sails?

Thank you I'm glad that you all like it! My favourite part is also the little beach around the back. As for the plain quay, I would like to break it up, its just very parts intensive, so for larger builds I will probably leave it plain.

Ship's Log Day 12 Having passed the halfway mark with a night's stop at Amicable Point, the flotilla left the harbour early in the morning. Since there had been a lot of pirate attacks reported along this route, we opted for a defensive stance, with the Saler at point, and the Vif covering the rear. Hopefully the Saler's forward cannon should be able to blast through anyone who should seek to impede our progress, whilst the Vif's speed would allow it to loop around and chase of any pursuers. Although the Saler's speed would limit our ability to outrun the enemy our combined firepower should be able to convince any pirate that our convoy isn't worth the effort. We are sailing over the Terrabank now, an area of shallow waters which are home to vast shoals of fish, very popular with fishermen. I could see that the large trader in our fleet already had a few improvised fishing rods dangling over the sides. At that moment, the Saler signalled, informing us that it had sighted a sail to the front. I climbed up the mast and trained my telescope at the ship. It was a small warship, with a black hull, a classic pirate vessel. I signalled the flotilla to tighten up and slow down. The Vif cut through the formation and took up a position next to the Saler at the front. Hopefully we could knock this pirate out of the way before it could attack our merchantmen. I trained my telescope on the closing vessel. I noticed a red flag flying at the top of its mast, that wasn't a pirate ship, it was a Corrie! As I examined the ship, I realised, it was very familiar, in fact we had met her before. It was HMS Flea, the ship which had pulled the oars trick on us all those years ago. I lowered the telescope and my eyes passed over the locker where we kept our oars. I wouldn't be caught by that trick again! 'Prepare the cannon; we might be in for a battle!' I said, and our lone gun was rolled up to the prow of the ship. It did feel much better to finally have something to shoot back with. We converged on the Corrington raider, and it carried on into our sights, seemingly unaware of our presence. Perhaps the crew was incapacitated? This was indeed strange behaviour. Suddenly the air was filled with the sound of a firing cannon, followed by the splintering of wood behind me. I spun around, to see the merchant ship in the rear had been hit by a cannon shot, which had smashed the mast and set the cargo on fire. Further behind a large sail loomed above a pirate sloop. The Sea fox was obviously a stricken ship and I watched as the crew leapt in the water to escape the flames. I signalled for the rest of the convoy to make a turn to the right, whilst turning to the left and swinging back around towards the sinking Sea Fox. I eyed the pirate vessel and noticed a red pendent flying alongside the skull and crossbones. These must be privateers working in conjunction with the Flea to attack convoys. I didn't feel like fighting that ship, as it was much larger and was probably heavily armed. We pulled up alongside the remains of the merchantmen and helped to pull the crew aboard the Vif, before moving to rejoin the rest of the flotilla. Then my memory triggered and I realised that we had also seen these pirates before, when we saved an Eslandolan ship from attack. It was indeed a small ocean. The two hunters converged on the Sea fox, now listing at a steep angle. As we sailed away from the scene I could just make out small figures plundering what was left of its cargo. I felt my heart sink deep in my chest looking at the bedraggled crew sitting dejectedly in the Vif's bow. They had trusted me and I had failed to protect them. The only new model in this story was the large white merchant vessel visible in the first shot. This was built as an attempt to use the wider bow pieces rather than my favourite 6 wide box pieces. I kept a similar build formula to my small imperial trading post based designs, just scaling it up slightly. I would be interested in your opinions as to how successful it is.

In the sea of storms lie many small islands, which are too small and low lying to be of any interest or use to any of the major powers. However, with the right attitude and a little bit of development they can be turned into valuable little properties. Most famous of these trading posts is Amicable Point. Bought and developed by a wealthy Corrington Nobleman, its neutral stance has allowed it to become a free port, where merchants and traders can stop off and trade, avoiding embargoes and disputes. Also the repair workshops can be a lifesaver for damaged ships limping out of storms. A small fort provides protection against pirates, for the flotillas of merchantmen would be a very inviting target. The garrison also help to run a ferry service to and from the island as many of the smaller ships cannot carry their own boat, and there is not much space for ships to tie up. This design was something I had built many times before in different forms this merely being the latest iteration, incorporating some of the best features of previous versions. Partially based on the imperial trading post, it also draws a lot from various models on this forum. The fort was planned to be simply an updated Sabre Island, but it didn't quite work, hence the longer version you see now.

Wow she looks perfect! She is exactly like the replica, a wit such good rigging and equipment I wouldn't be surprised if she could recreate the trans-Atlantic trip herself! You have definitely shown that there is no need for prefab hulls when making a lego ship!

Wow what a lovely brickbuilt ship, along with the exquisite rigging too! I really like the tubby appearance, which I'd guess is mostly because of it being a full hull rather than the waterline which I more used too.

A great simple, yet interesting build, I like the little tree around the back!

Thank you for taking the time to set this up, I'm sure it will be very useful!

Great ship, I love the flag built into the side

That is a delicious looking roof, it represents tiled roof really well.

A very nice vineyard, I like how you have made it sloped rather than flat!

What an excellent creation, I'm sure the other nations will keenly await for perhaps more practical versions of the ballhover!

Thank you, I'm glad you all liked her!

Nice build, I look forward to the story continuing!

Thank you, I am open to suggestions on my photography, I would really like to make it easier for people to view my creations. Thank you, I always try to aim to keep at least a little bit of lego's feeling as a toy in my images and models.