Franco Clarke

In Search of Smugglers |Franco Clarke| Oleon Stone and Pancake |Franco Clarke| Oleon

A nice neat little moc, I especially like the roof you made for the house on the left

A truly excellent model, the wonderful ship, the realistic wave and the sea monster to link it together

Thanks, you're sure doing a great job of registering all the ships people build! I think I might try and make a larger ship soon to move on from the mostly small ones which I have been doing up till now.

Wow that scene perfectly captures the appearance of mangroves, something not commonly seen on the pirate forums.

Thank you for all your replies and suggestions, I have now updated her slightly. As she is, there will be a full gundeck (except the front gun which have false cannon flaps. The remaining space in the cabin and prow will be full of bricks to hold the deck up, hold the stern together etc. On my previous heavy brig, these areas were also filled with junk to hold the ship together. Thanks for such a detailed reply, and that tumble-home method looks intriguing, although I think I'll stick with slopes for this one. As for the cannon flaps, the colour scheme was already set out by the previous generations of this ship, and I would like to stay true to the original vision. It also contrasts with my Corrington ships which are dull and colourless. Thank you for correcting me on my terminology, I did indeed mean the waist, just didn't know the correct term. There will be brickbuilt guns on the top deck, and I could replace a few on the main deck, it would certainly give me some space and be cheaper. I have now tried that and it does look a lot better, what do you think? As of yet the masts are just stumps so I can build the deck around them. I will mess around with the rigging once the hull is more complete. Thank you. Sorry that I wasn't that specific. I have re jigged the stern slightly (ignore the brown part, that will turn yellow when I find it) and it is now more of the shape I like. The main problem I have now is that I would prefer a more fancy ornate stern and also that the transition between the black part and the yellow looks wrong somehow, perhaps it's too square. I hope that makes a little more sense.

Thanks, I was quite pleased with the stern of the larger one too

You certainly nailed the classic look, well done. I will look forward to further developments.

Ship's Log Day 18 Having left Breshaun in such high hopes, by day 18, moral was running low. Having had to return for resupply, since the Hareng was not well set up for long patrols, we were still no closer to to finding the smugglers which had been reported to have been operating in this area. I was beginning to doubt that they even existed. The sea raged and clawed against the now-familiar rocks which jutted from the sea in an uninspiring random pattern. The only positive outcome of the mission so far had been that we had been able to update the charts of this area of coastline, which is something at least. Ship's Log Day 24 Still no sign of the smugglers, although when we docked for supplies at Eltina, we did hear that the smugglers were apparently operating a few vessels with white hulls. If this was true, than the smugglers had not managed to evade our searches, for we hadn't seen any white ships during our patrols. Ship's Log Day 27 What was originally identified as a pair of merchant vessels sailing to Etlina became a more exciting sight when the ships were seen to have white hulls! The crew rushed into action, putting up the main sail and soon we were racing through the choppy seas towards the pair of ships. As the ships drew into sight from the deck, their black flags were visible through the telescope- surely these were our prey? As if to confirm our suspicions, they pulled a sharp turn and put up full sails, making good speed away from us in the opposite direction. Why would they flee from us unless they had something to conceal? The larger of the two vessels was slower than the Hareng, and since the smaller ship was also keeping pace with it's larger companion, we began to close up the distance. As if we needed any more proof that the ships were hostile, the smaller boat began to fire at us as puff of smoke followed by a plume of water of the starboard bow announced the arrival of the first shot. Their shooting was pretty poor as the waves were causing their small hull to rock quite alarmingly. Private Collins move up to the bow with his rifle, and began to return fire, but at this long range, his chances of hitting them were very low. With a sound of splintering wood and exploding gun powder, the smugglers final found their mark. The shot destroyed part of the front railing and blew Private Collins to the deck. Thankfully, apart from some bruising and a scorched uniform, he was ok. We had now closed the distance to under 200m, and the smaller ship, obviously deciding that a long stay in Breshaun jail was not worth sticking with their friends, broke off and accelerated away. This ship was obviously much faster than the Hareng, so I decided to let them go and focus on the larger ship. We came up alongside the large smuggling ship and charged aboard, swords and pistols at the ready. The fight was brief as the smugglers soon surrendered when they realised that they were outnumbered 2 to 1. I announced that the ship had been taken for the glory of Oleon and call three cheers for the king. We used the anchor cable to tow the ship back to Breshaun by wrapping it around the mast. Private Collins and Gunner Perkins kept the prisoners under constant watch as we slowly made our way back down the coast. As we sailed into Breshaun harbour, we drew a lot of attention, since it had been a whilst since the Sea of Storms fleet had captured an enemy vessel. We docked in the imperial sector, and the prisoners were transferred to a secure carriage so that they could be taken to the court for their trial. The Hareng was quickly repaired, and it was determined that whilst the smuggled cargo of weapons were to be added to the arsenal, the ship, being of no use to the navy was officially my property. Since she was of little use to me either, being both slow and hard to convert to escort duty I decided that she be sold, and that the money could be used to buy a larger ship at a later date. The Fingernail Playing the role of the small smuggling ship, I present the Fingernail. Built using the same technique as the stone and the pancake, I tried a different method for the railings by attaching them to the sides of the ship. This is certainly stronger and worth further investigation. The Fingernail is well provisioned for a fight with a pair of swivel guns mounted at the stern, which were put to good use during the fight. The Sea-Fox The larger ship, now captured by the Oleons and up for sale. Built using the same technique as the Fingernail, with the railings attached to the hull, she was originally going to be Corrington merchant raider. However, once she was finished I decided she would look better as a sister ship for the Fingernail, and added more gold and a black deck. The Sea-Fox has a single cannon, making it more suitable for engagements at long range than the Fingernail. A large open deck provides lots of space for cargo or whatever the future owner wants to put aboard. Both boats will be for sale, although the Fingernail probably should stay as a Sea-Rat vessel. Postscript A few weeks later, Erwin boarded a small dinghy to be taken back to the Hareng, having had its refit completed. They bobbed around the harbour in between the large warships and merchantmen before finally approaching an odd little craft. Similar in size to the Hareng, its main mast was set in the centre of the vessel and it lacked the high prow. 'Excuse me, but I don't think this is my boat' Erwin said to one of the rowers. However, at that moment Private Collins called across from the deck of the vessel. 'This is indeed the Hareng, they've mucked it up well and proper and now she's called the Saler!' As Erwin stepped up onto his ship, he noticed it bucked and rocked in the waves far more than it had done before. The deck was also far more crowded, and as an enormous cannon filled the fore-deck. Private Collins handed Erwin a letter, which he opened and read. It was a message from local naval command informing him of the reasons for the Hareng's dis-figuration and the mission he was to undertake. Erwin turned and ordered the anchor raised and the ship sailed out from the harbour to begin it's assignment.

Nice ship, it fits perfectly with the larger one, and the colour scheme means there will be no questions over her heritage!

Thank you for all the kind comments As for sails and rigging, I would love to add some. However, I would rather use the same type of string and cloth that lego uses in it's sails. Do any of you know what it is called so I can buy some? I've searched but can't find it anywhere around me I hope you enjoyed your pancakes , the mast part is one of these https://alpha.bricklink.com/pages/clone/catalogitem.page?P=42445&idColor=8#T=S&C=8&O={"color":8}

Nice layout, it would be awesome if you could lay the large one you are planning out to represent the map!

Hello, no story this time, just a pair of ships I made recently. All my previous designs have been traditionally built, using either prefab hulls or other similar parts. However I decided to try and make my own hull, and use as few boat parts as possible. Without further ado, The Pierre Volante The Pierre Volante is a small simple vessel, seen here ferrying supplies to an Oleon Warship. The hardest part of the build was the railing around the top of the deck, and any suggestions on a better way of doing this would be appreciated. A view down at the deck, showing the stowed supplies. The Crepe Fruite Having finished the Pierre Volante, I decided to try the technique on a slightly larger boat. This ended up being the Crepe Fruite. The Crepe Fruite is about 2 studs wider and around 4 longer than the Pierre Volante, and is seen here sailing a mixed cargo in the merchant role. Like the Pierre Volante she is unarmed. A pair of close ups showing the cargo. Again the railings were the most troublesome part. To finish off, both of these boats could be put up for sale, as long as the owners wouldn't mind their ships appearing in the background of some of my photos.

A beautiful little home, with nice solid building techniques.

Thanks, and sorry, no I 'need' her for future stories. I do have a few ships in progress which will be able to be put up for sale if I buyer can be found though.

Wow, another interesting hull method! This must be one of the best full-hull ships I've yet seen.

A small, but neatly designed ship. Those curved sides and the complicated rigging really make it stand out! I look forward to seeing it completed.

Hello all, I would just like to share the beginning of a long awaited project. I have always wanted a blue coat ship that would be able to take on any official lego set and win, and over time, inspired by the models on this forum, I have started at least 6 different ships that fulfil that criteria, only for them to stall due to lack of parts Here is one from around 5 years ago, sitting half made next to my friend's imperial flagship. About 2 years ago I finally finished a version of said ship, only to be disappointed with colour and shape, hence it became my Redcoat heavy brig. But now, with the beginning of BOBS, I guess the Oleons need as many ships as possible so it was finally time to build a frigate. However, the appearance of the aforementioned redcoat brig upped the game slightly, since the new frigate would certainly have to beat this one too. Thus I settled on a 30 gun frigate, and set to work on a preliminary sketch. This laid down how I basically wanted the ship to look, and set out the colour scheme (unchanged from that original moc years ago). Taking inspiration from the build-a-frigate tutorial, I began construction in bricks and got this far: Shot from the more complete side, showing it's gun deck. The gaps in the rail at the top are where smaller guns will be situated. Eventually all the blue flaps will be replaced in red. The stern. I'm not best pleased with this and any advice would be much appreciated. A more flat on side view, with the sketch to show the aiming point. the little part of top deck, showing the 'hole' and boat. The black 2x2 is where the wheel will be situated. I am not currently sure how to support the top deck, again, any suggestions would be much appreciated. Finally the fully plated gun deck, awaiting all 20 guns of which I have sourced 6.... Any help would be very much appreciated.

A nice intricate ship, it looks very fancy with all the details! With that colour scheme it would be hard to forget who owns it!

Thank you all for your kind comments, however, I cannot claim credit for the design of the cannon, as they were both by the designer of the ship upon which the flea is based. Indeed, HMS Flea is a little pest, although at this stage, my ship isn't really able to squash it that effectively Also yes this is my second freebuild of the the month.

Very nice, it most certainly has the classic pirate feel around it, especially with the palm tree on it's own little bit of sand!

Encounter with HMS Flea | Franco Clarke | Oleon

Ship's Log, Day 1 We put out from port, escorting just one ship this time, carrying an important imperial messenger. A light escort was decided upon on the initial part of the journey so not to attract any undue attention. To ensure we arrived in time for the rendezvous with the warship which would then take the messenger to the capital, we put up full sails, and were soon making good time. However, soon the lookout spotted another ship behind us. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a small Corrie Merchant raider. We couldn't let the important message fall in to the hands of Corrington, so I signalled to the other ship to proceed at maximum speed, whilst we manoeuvred ourselves in between the merchant ship and the hostile raider. Although we were going as fast as possible, we couldn't outrun the Corrie ship, and slowly, but surely it began gaining on us. Ship's Log, Day 2 Overnight we kept a constant watch on the Corrington ship, and when the sun rose it revealed that the hostile boat had halved the distance between us and itself. However, it was even more worrying to see the wind slacken, and then drop of entirely. Soon we had come to a complete stop, becalmed on the smooth sea. I watched our hunter through the telescope and was relieved to that he too had lost all wind was hopelessly stuck. But, as I watched, the crew of the vessel set about removing long rods from the sides of their ship. With a sickening sense of realisation, I recognised these rods as oars. The crew lowered them into the sea and began heaving their ship towards their helpless prey. The ship carved a neat line through the otherwise still water, straight at the merchant ship and it's valuable cargo. I watched as the ship crawled like some overgrown spider over the ocean, we needed to do something otherwise it would soon reach its target. I ordered the crew line up on deck and pass the heavy anchor to the back of the ship. Whilst we did this, Private Collins kept an eye on the Corrington ship. The anchor fell into the water with a load splash and the chain roared over the deck as it sank to the floor beneath. Then we all pulled on the capstan, slowly turning the ship with the shortening anchor cable. Slowly but surely the ship pivoted, and at last our single gun was pointing at the on-rushing boat. The Corrie ship had now closed the distance to well under a kilometre and had picked up quite a speed. The cannon was loaded, and carefully aimed at the rowers. If we could knock them out, they would lose the advantage of mobility, evening the playing field. The cannon roared, whilst the rest of the crew readied smaller fire arms so we could open up on the raider once it drew close enough. The shot fell short and the raider ploughed through the plume of water unharmed. The gun was reloaded, and once more fired. However the sights had been over compensated, and the shot flew long, passing low over the stern of the Corrington ship. Sweating with the continued exertion and the stress of the situation, the gun crew fumbled to load the cannon, almost dropping the cannon ball overboard. The gun spoke once again, and this time found its mark, raking through the rowers on one side of the ship. This slowed them down, as many of them had been injured by the cannon ball, or splinters from where it had punched through the railing at the front. Another shot was fired, which followed the first and inflicted further damage on the starboard side of the ship. A small fire broke out by the base of the mast, and the remaining rowers from the port side leapt to deal with it. At that moment a breeze sprung up, and the limp sails were once more filled with wind. The anchor was quickly raised and we decide to leave the Corries behind with their crippled ship, mindful of the deadline I had to keep. The rest of the journey was completed without event and we successfully met up with the frigate that was to take the messenger on the final leg of his journey. I later heard that he was carrying news of the new islands in the east. HMS Flea My latest ship, based once more on the good old imperial trading post ship, but drawing heavy inspiration from a similar boat that I found on Brickshelf. The colour scheme was designed to match the colour scheme of my larger redcoat brig, hence the dull colouring. HMS flea has two small cannons, and as seen in the story, features a set of oars which enable it to catch its prey even if there is no wind!

Thanks, the sun was originally a lamp behind the sheet, but it looked bad so I added a simple circle using Microsoft Powerpoint over the top Thanks, due to the sheet being too long, it was hard to eliminate the folds, Perhaps hanging it rather than draping it over a radiator might have helped. Thanks, I have already begun work on her spiritual successor, alongside an even larger vessel! Thanks I was originally going to make a steamer, until I remembered we weren't allowed steam boats Perhaps later we might be allowed them if they are 'invented'

Wow, she's coming along fine, and starting to look like a real boat. She has definitely crossed the line between lego looking ship to real looking ship, a hard line to cross, well done!