SteamSewnEmpire

Really cool. How does she handle curves with the skirting on the tender? I've always struggled with that on similar locomotives. Or... is the skirt itself a part of the trucks?

You didn't respond to anything I said, and continued to make it a personal attack. Welcome to ignore.

1) Many ships of this era were NOT that fancy. Not line ships, obviously, but, smaller vessels? No. (It also bears pointing out that almost no line ships had really ornate detail on their sides, where they could expect it to be pulverized every time they fought an action. Even Sovereign of the Seas - arguably the fanciest warship in history - had a clean beam face). 2) It really depends on where you perceive the model's waterline to be as to what the payoff is. Doing this further heightens the ship, making the place where the tumblehome turns further above the stock Lego ship keel parts, so there definitely is a tradeoff in terms of design. 3) Similar to 2), this technique obliges the builder to incorporate sheer into the setting of the gunports, which - in most cases - is exaggerated when compared to real world men-of-war. When you look at line drawings from the age of sail - even the 17th Century, when hull curvature was most pronounced - gun ports are in a fairly straight line down the length of a vessel. The hull is extremely curved, but the internal decking much less so. So, again, there is a give and take with this approach. 4) I praised the model. I will praise it a second time below. I'm getting really tired of the indignant attitudes of a vocal minority on this website. You cannot say anything - ANYTHING - without someone injecting ego into the matter. It's a great ship. It is undoubtedly a great ship, and better than anything I have ever done. But there are definitely things to consider with that design. And you don't have to get into a huff on the OP's behalf because I said that and only that. @Brickander Brickumnus asked a question. I answered honestly. It wasn't an attack; it was never intended to be an attack. It was - and remains - an observation. That's all. Cheers.

Just do a Google images search for 'pirate sloop.' I also find the New Vanguard books to be pretty helpful: https://www.amazon.com/Pirate-Ship-1660-1730-New-Vanguard/dp/1841764973

Somehow I missed this. I love it! One small bit of advice: make the mainmast about 1/3rd taller. It's *slightly* too short right now.

Thanks. It's definitely my favorite, too. Sadly, this one is pushing 5,000 bricks... but it's high on my to-do list should I ever have money.

Lol, well this is an old topic. Oddly enough, I was looking at this very thread only like 8 hours ago. He just SNOTted out some curved bricks, gaining about a stud's additional width on each side. Most people probably don't do it because it would dramatically increase the part count for only a modest payoff. It also fancies up the sides far more than a lot of people may want, potentially drawing the eyes away from more detailed parts of the build. On this particular model, though, it's amazing to look at.

I have a horrible headache now :(. This is loosely based on the real-world Dutch flagship Eendracht.

Thanks man. I didn't remember that it was a fullblown galleon. Very cool design, even 30 years on.

It runs like a dream.

Hi all, I'm nearly finished with a 17th Century play-scale 4th rate, and have run into a minor hitch. I'd like to draw inspiration for the stern from a piece of very old Lego artwork featuring a massive (MASSIVE) brick-built man-of-war. The photo I am talking about (probably) came from one of the Lego inspiration books in the late 80s or early 90s (although it might have been a one-off mini poster - I simply cannot remember), and the ship was an all-brick-built transitional galleon/1st rate in true minifig scale that was probably around 15,000 pieces, or so (similar to this, but more ornate). It was a stern-on shot, possibly with a sunset background. My guess is that someone knows what I'm talking about, because for a lot of us as kids at the time, it was just a WOW kind of picture. I was wondering if anyone had it available to upload? I've tried Googling a bunch of different phrases to see if it would come up, but have thus far had no luck... though I know it's out there, because I remember seeing it just a few years ago. Thanks.

I've never seen one of these in Lego before, so I may be (close to?) breaking some ground here. Initial fluyts had a lot in common with galleons, featuring the same bow form (a 'beak' prow and high forecastle), though with far more pronounced tumblehome sides, and characteristically (almost absurdly) rounded pear-shaped stern. Later ships dispensed with the first front-end entirely and went with more of a bluff bow boasting barely any increase in height (if at all) over the central rails. On the advice of my wife, I decided to go with the earlier version because it was more distinct. I'm not sure why fluyts aren't more popular in Lego. They were the design that essentially single-handedly allowed for the Dutch to become a maritime power, and gave several centuries of stirling trade service. While terrible warships at-face (they were one of the few purpose-built trade ships of the renaissance, and normally mounted few [if any] cannon), my guess is that a fair number of them found their way into the hands of pirates regardless. Traders-turned-buccaneers would have at least been extremely familiar with the ships, and probably found them easy sailers, that had a low risk-to-reward ratio when faced with battle (it's a fluyt, not a big brig or baby frigate - if it sank and you made money, who cares?)

Sadly, yes.

That's really first-rate stuff, man. Do you plan to use custom XXL wheels?

Like the bow a lot.

Thanks man. I may build it. It would be very difficult to choose between this and the Indefatigable I did last month. Totally different eras... different "loves" (Royal Navy vs. 17th Century piracy). Geesh. Tough call.

It's neat. I just don't know what I'd do with it.

Love it.

I like my Barracuda, but I'll be honest: I think the stern castle is really lazy - it's the one part of the model that I feel like Lego kind of phoned in. On the other hand, right off the bat I thought the core hull was just brilliantly designed, albeit better suited to serve as the base of a galleon than a kind of miniaturized line ship. With that in mind, I went to work this morning... Very little of the original ship remains - the sides, masts, and the lower stern, and that's it. I feel like it turned out *okay* - it's still kind of toy-like, but in a pleasing way that blends a reasonable part count (about 1,600) with some real-world influences. There's no sheer, but a lot of really successful galleons in this scale seem to eschew that characteristic, so it's probably passable.

I bet it wouldn't be that bad. For one thing, you could use the second wheelset to hide the power, thereby allowing you to do a smaller boiler. Now, if you're talking about making it run as intended... like... with the upper wheels powering the lower ones. Yeah... that would be horrific.

Thanks!

I really like that. I think you're doing an awesome job. Do you have more photos? I am intrigued.

This is worse: As is this: I know they look simpler than the Mallard, but there's really no way to accomplish that terrible shovel shape in a satisfactory way using Lego. Either you favor the downward slope at the expense of the rounding, or you wind up with a flat front (or a stepped approach, which, IMO, robs the loco of all its inherent sleekness) that nails the curve, but has no forward thrust as it goes downward. I've messed with multiple approaches over and over again with those two locomotives, and am still no nearer to a happy solution (at least happy for me). The Mallard is probably the most difficult British design, but it pales in comparison to some of the NA streamliners. And yes, I'll be the first to admit that I DO fail at builds, lest anyone think everything I try is at least a modest success :P. Anyway, apologies to the OP for the slight derail.

Mallards are a mess to build in Lego. If you want to get really accurate, you have to be aware of the strangely sloped front, the curves side sheeting, etc. I would consider it a master-level prototype. Perhaps hone your skills with something a bit simpler (and smaller) to start with before tackling something this ambitious?

It's great, but out of curiosity, why DBG for the color?