Franco Clarke

It's been a while since I updated this thread, but I have not been idle in the meantime. I apologise in advance for the gloomy photographs. She's now looking rather more shipshape, with the hull on this side nearly complete. It took some fiddling to get the guns all spaced nicely, and to close the gaps where the tumblehome meets the main deck, but it isn't far off now. The masts have also grown up to the first platform level. The other side isn't so well progressed, but as she's awkward to turn around, I've not included any shots of that this time. Another new addition is the stern has been completed. This is always my favourite part of the build, and a ship of this size gives plenty of space for fancywork. Looking from the bow, where the rails still to be added around the fore deck. She now has a suitably grand figurehead and some rather fragile headrails. I'll need to find space for catheads and anchors still in this area. In the centre and quarter decks, a lot of the detail is now in place, alongside the first sets of guns, these being 12 pounders. Finally, here's the area around the wheel more detailed up, with further windows, binnacle and sweeping staircases added. As might be apparent from the pictures, she's gotten quite large and awkward to photograph, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to fit everything after the next stage, which will be extending the masts and bowsprit ready for rigging. Has anyone got any advice on the best ways to photograph large models?

Thank you all, I apologise for the poor photographs, it's been horribly dull inside recently, I will try and take some better once the weather improves.

I like this a lot, feels like an updated Caribbean clipper to match the new remake sets. The curved windows for the stern galleries works especially well at this scale.

That makes sense, ships tend to have billowing sails to lighten the top a little, which isn't really an option with the designer's program, a good solution then.

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?

Hopefully the torso is available from bricks and pieces, looks useful for merchants and such.

Will be very welcome having more of the black hull parts back into circulation, they are useful for all kinds of models.

Progress continues to go well, on the ship, with both main decks extending the full length of the ship, with all of the support frames in place. An unfortunate side affect is it is really too big to fit on my table now, so I will have to seek out an alternate backdrop for next month's update. The hull sides at the bow have started to be installed, with the first gunports in place. The beak is complete, aside from the figurehead, with ornamentation around the bow also added. I'm going to hold off on installing the headrails until later in the build, as they are likely to be fragile. I've extended the centre section back to the end of the gundeck, and started to build up the sides here too. All three masts have been installed up to platform height. The installation of the deck has allowed the first deck details to be added, here is the all important bell. Behind the main mast is a staircase for entering the lower decks. Finally, the beginnings of the cabins has started. The holes in the deck are wheel will be fitted. The plan next is to finish the poop deck and hopefully top out the masts, so that I can also begin to add the rigging.

The structure is mercifully simple, being a basic frame of bricks with plates on the bottom and the deck on the top locking everything together. To form the ship-shape, the hull steps in half stud sections, which is achieved by using 'odd' and 'even' technic bricks. Hope this makes sense, let me know if you would like any more details. In the last month I have made some further progress on the ship. The hull has been lengthened to accept another gunport, which has had the unfortunate side affect of making the ship too long for my table. I have started building up the bow, with the first few gunports now formed on the lower deck. The beakhead is mostly constructed, ready for the headrails and figurehead. The blue archway is where the bowsprit will fit. In the centre the main and upper gundecks are framed and laid down, although I need a few more specific tan plates to finish the top deck. I think I need to step the top deck in a stud so that a good tumblehome can be accommodated. Finally a view along the gundecks, with plenty of space for lots of cannons. The 2x2 columns used for the frame ensures this module is solid, feeling more like a fort than a ship. The next step will be finishing the bow up to top deck level like the centre section, and to figure out the attachment for the ratlines.

This is an impressive monster of ship, the framing of the hold feels accurate already, capturing the claustrophobic spaces below the waterline. I'm looking forward to seeing this build grow and progress.

As others have stated, this has some ingenious parts usage, using up bits which are otherwise not much seen in pirate builds. I like the gentle curve of the bridge, how stable is it?

Having tried my hand at numerous frigates and smaller ships, I decided it was high time to begin work on something a touch larger. To this end, here is the first steps of the construction of a ship of the line. I started at the bottom, quickly mocking up the design up to the bottom of the first gun deck and the start of the tumblehome, figuring out where the hull would step in and out to create a pleasing ship shape. Here's some overviews of the lower hull at this point, got a large expanse of deck space for lots of big guns, just a ship of the line should. Having learnt from taking models to shows in the past, I wanted this to be modular, which allows a closer look at the bow section. At the stern there's a rudder post and the beginnings of the ports for the four chasers. The next step was to map out where the gun ports would go. I wanted to avoid having ports on the joints between the sections, so planning this out was a helpful step to reduce rebuilds later on. I also positioned the mast stumps too for the same reason. The net result of this was that it is actually 1 gunport too short for the plan, and the grating would need to move. This will require a lengthening of 6 studs, which will be the next step. I'm planning to periodically post updates as the ship grows, with an aim to launch her before the end of the year.

The ship was unique enough with the innovative selection of colours, but the fact it drives around and lights up too makes this truly one of a kind. I'm impressed by how well the lighting wires blend into the intricate detail of the stern.

That is a deceptively large ship, the attention to detail on the interior is especially commendable, don't see many ships with full decks like this.

What a great action packed build, reminds me of the similar scene from the television series Black Sails.

I love the classic Redcoat colour palette, and this ship utilises it really well. The fence/arch detail on the stern is ingenious, and suits the classic aesthetic too. How'd you make the sails, the pattern looks a good match for the official sails.

This is a good size for a ship to build on hull parts, much beyond this and the proportions tend to suffer. They do help a lot with rigidity and usability.

She's a fine looking ship, the quarter galleries are especially well realised. how sturdy do think it'll be with the interior detail?

Thank you, once it became clear that that stretch of beach would be secluded from the rest of the island, I had to recreate that scene. I'm sure they were just patiently waiting for their involuntary dinner guest too arrive before starting. Nothing sinister here.