Skipper

Thanks for the great review Whitefang! If I get one POTC set it'll be this. The design of both carriages are excellent. The minifigs are spectacular as well, I really want the King George's Officer's torso for my own army as well as the others for general uses (Gibbs! ). Only thing I don't like is the tavern, the fact that it's just a facade really ticks me off.

Took a minute to figure out what was going on. If only my sidewalk drawings had been like that . . . Found a pic from another angle here. I'm impressed.

Wow. Just the size is impressive enough, but it's also very finely done and represents real castles very well. To answer your question, I like the square tower more. The variation looks good. Can't wait to see more, looking great.

Thanks for doing this! Very well written and entertaining. Great to read in-depth about all these sets I missed. I'm intrigued by the alternate model pictures, where did you find them? Some of them are really excellent, and would be great sets on their own. Again, thanks. Can't wait for the next installment.

Another great find! We really are having an influx of galleons here recently, I swear I saw none in my year of lurking. The whole ship is amazing, the colorscheme is just beautiful. I love how "alive" this looks, I don't know if that makes any sense but I can just imagine the figs going to sea in it. Sometimes I wish I were a minifig, this is one of those times. Only thing I don't like is the technic axles for rigging, but that's a small complaint. Thanks for posting.

First time I've seen these and they're very impressive. Shows how much can be done with "just" pre-specialization LEGO. Some shots still look good by today's standards, I love this one: Some of the minifig substitutions were hilarious.

Original concept, and I think it's been executed very well. Ingenious use of the seed parts, most of all the "bat wings" for both smoke and fire. I've seen it a couple times before but it still looks great. He said he spent a lot of time on minifig posing and you can tell, they look very alive and you can feel the action. Thanks for finding.

And I thought the Imperial Flagship was big. My favorite part is the interior, it adds a lot to the build. Can't wait to see the place filled with cannons, crew, etc. Keep it up, she's looking wonderful.

Exciting story, it's been fun to read and I can't wait for the next installment. Poor pirates. "Go go go go go," I swear they say that in every Star Wars Episode. WIth regards to the MOC itself, I appreciate the classic style but I feel like the shape of the hill/cliff is too square. If you were going for a broken-down outpost that's fine but I thought it was meant to represent a cliff, in which case I think the curves should be more natural.

Looks great! You've captured the stance and comic look of the Pokemon very well. In particular I love the head, the facial expression is perfect. Only thing I might suggest is to try and achieve a higher degree of posability, if I remember correctly Blastoise usually is slightly crouched/leaning forward. Can't wait to see more! Charmander's always been a favorite of mine. Maybe you could build him next?

Looks great! A little too boxy and metallic for the Flying Dutchman in my opinion but the design itself is very clever. I'm amazed by how many different textures he achieved with "just" bricks, and the barnacles especially are amazing.

Great find! I don't usually think the Imperial Trading Post translates well with modern techniques (everything looks midiscale) but this looks quite good regardless. Lots of great techniques, I especially like the crane and that boat is quite clever as well using those curve pieces. I wonder why he doesn't post them himself, seeing as he's a member?

I like the idea of splitting the forum into discussion and MOC sections. I think that an master index thread like the Pirates one would be very useful as well. Here we could put Derfel Cardarn's Guide, Frogstudio's Black Falcon decals. inspiration/reference pictures, articles, etc. Just one huge resource for all things LEGO castle. I'm slightly confused as to how indexing MOCs based on location in the LEGO Castle world would work, because the location (or even existence) of factions in everyone's MOC world is entirely different. It's a cool idea though, and visually it'd be amazing. I'll be happy to do this, but it'll be a while until it's done.

Very cool. As others have said it looks shockingly real, and seeing the classic sets in their "natural setting" is awesome. This makes me want a LEGO Classic Pirate themed video game.

Wow, you build fast! Just wanted to say that she's looking great, your technique transitioned well and she's going to be a monster when done. Someone will probably correct me on this, but is the bow curve too gradual? I (think) it should be more blunt. Keep it up!

Deeplinking from your MOCpages works. Overall, she looks good. I have a few suggestions. I don't know if you're building a "waterline" model or the entire hull, but either way I think she looks too tall. Also for a merchant ship like this the curves should be really distended, both vertically and sideways. Finally I'm not so sure about your technique for curving the ship outwards, if you're set on it I think you should at least tile it. Just suggestions, keep it up! We need more VOC on these forums.

Soda crystals. Good luck with the project, I did something similar with my Black Seas Baraccuda, it feels great when you're done. Looking good, quite fun to read this topic.

These look great. I voted for B, I think it looks the most balanced color-wise and the checker makes it fit well with torsos of recent years.

Holy crap , those are some nice ships. I have nothing to say except great job, and I can't wait to see the rest of the fleet. And congrats on being fellowed, you deserve it especially with that guide.

Just looked through the whole BS folder and wow, that's amazing! I love the classic style, some great "everyday life" details in there as well. Cool that you incorporated the Eldorado Fortress into the layout. Great work.

Looks great! Technically she's not a frigate but it doesn't really matter. I love the United States black/white colorscheme as well as the interiors, great playability. I have two suggestions for V2. Make the gundeck stripe go down as opposed to up: and try to make the ship longer, as it looks kind of tubby right now. Keep it up!

Great project! Very inspiring, especially to a primarily LDD builder like myself. The first ship looks excellent so far. I'm especially looking forward to seeing your finished stern, if you can get the angles to work out I'll be forced to go rework mine. I had expected to see all the ships built using relatively the same aesthetics (since you'll probably want to "display" them together), but the keel/rib technique on the second ship should be interesting to see as well. Keep it up!

As far as I'm aware the stern gallery and gundeck should always at the same level, so if you're trying to emulate the original it should probably be lowered. The gallery shaping looks pretty good though, certainly better than I achieved on my frigate. Keep it up!

For those who haven't seen it yet: Like others have said, it looks like a great parts pack. However at $25 I'll pass, there's only so much of it I can use and I find the minifigs disturbing.

Honestly? I love 'em all. Like your "Pirate Stuff," they all seem to be based on reality but then have their own little twist, which is great. I've never been a fan of brickbuilt sails, but somehow yours just makes the ship pop. All those shields look great as well. That siege tower looks so brickin' menacing, I'd hate to be attacked by it. Keep it up! EDIT: That castle in your Brickshelf Gallery is excellent as well, but I'm wondering why it looks "ruined" almost.