Mr. Townsend

Not Philly Brick Fest but Brickfiesta 2014 in San Antonio, TX. Display your ships with mine in the warm south Kurigan.

Your new technique is so spectacular Kurigan. I'm excited to see this, and that dark green looks great. Its that technique... It looks sooo good. It has tumblehome too...

She is certainly coming along nicely Done! I like that the rudder and the capstan will be functional in the end and I also enjoy the colors you've used. You might find the book Anatomy of the Ship: The 74 Gun Ship Bellona by Brian Lavery. DPW had this ship for his 64 gun build I believe and that lead me to buy it. Its about $25 dollars on ebay. There are a number in the series and each is very informative. I've build the newest version of the Matterhorn off the HMS Pandora edition. I've bought the USS Essex as well, so I definitely suggest them.

Thanks Kolonialbeamter. I really think Perfectionist nailed it with his NextGen but after I saw DPW's ships I couldn't resist my desire for waterline ships and NextGen transferred so well to fit my new goal. I'm excited to expand into a fleet of waterline ships that hopefully will all get combined into a large layout.(I have grand schemes in mind ) I had originally gone for the trans clear window panes on the stern and had to file down only one pane. With this small lack in purity, stepping up to butchering 11 lattices didn't seem that big of a deal. I think if its just something purely aesthetic its forgivable. But now I'm morally compromised. My poor bricks... I'm glad you like it Captain Becker. I did the photo shoot outside for this after having difficulty getting even lighting in my makeshift light box. It happened to be a cloudy windy day, and I was very excited when the wind started to blow the flag and streamer! I too am a big fan of a good brig. When I saw the model of Duke of Bedford it had everything I was looking for in my next project. I really liked the raised quarterdeck and the tiller rather then a wheel. The windows were a "pane" to get right. Each side of the frame had to be shaved down to fit the dimensions and then part had to be chopped out and the framing bit glued back on. They took a few hours but I think that is the fun part of going into so much detail. I had hours of fun for the price of a few latices. Thanks Swan Dutchman. I used a stiffening spray to get the shape I wanted out of the sails and flags. It worked well to make them look like they are catching wind, but it makes the ship a static model. On my next large ship I'm excited to experiment with the wires through the sails as your doing. I hadn't heard of the superstition over the name change but I'm not sure it would have stopped me. Pinnacle seemed to fit so well after so many countless hours of correcting each flaw I could find. It also still fit into my theme of mountains for names. The figurehead I had decided to be white long before I had a color scheme for the ship. The Matterhorn was white to match her angel of a figurehead. This figurehead is the ships guardian angel as well, and angels are always white. Its funny that you recognize she is a snow, as it was something of an afterthought. I hadn't planned to add that small mast until I realized I couldn't attach the driver with the booms set as they are. The way you did the chains on the Ram Cat didn't escape my when first I saw your pictures. It really is a clever way to do it, and though its too late to work through here I will keep it in mind in the future. That capstan too...

Off to a good start Kabel. I agree that 2x2 rounds will end too thick. The prefab masts would work well though. I had thought about using those on my schooner but I would have had to pull from my Imperial Flagship. I think that the yellow line sags too far in the middle. I think if the lowest yellow 1x8 was black it might look more sleek. Have you ever contemplated building waterline off the prefabs? I saw your port on flicker and it would be awesome to have your ships sit perfectly in your display. Brick on Kabel!

Thank you all very much for all the kind feedback Haha! I've definitely clocked in some overtime on that machine. The flag's emblem is printed. I got the emblem's template from this flag used in a TOR : . I've photo-shopped it to represent my Revolutionary America faction which I hope to expand on. Maybe Pirates of the Brick Seas would work well for this. Thank you Admiral! That picture is awesome. I plan on photo shopping a few myself and its impressive how quickly you do it! This has become my screensaver. Thank you for the blog Yys4u! It is very exciting to be blogged on classic-pirates. I was crossing my fingers the whole procedure of removing the prefabs. For the chains there is already a wire that goes inside the flex tube. I put the tubes on to make the clips less obtrusive. Thanks Frank!

[pid][/pid] 160D After one and a half years of effort I would like to present the 14 gun brig-of-war, Pinnacle. Pinnacle is made up of about 3200 LEGO bits. I've used yards and yards of five different types of string to simulate the vast array of rigging you would find on a sailing man-of-war. To make the sails I've used painting canvas dyed with tea, and with a sewing machine I've added the reefing lines. She was originally built on prefab hulls utilizing Imperial Shipyard's next-gen design, but evolved into a waterline model after seeing DPW's Ship-of-the-Line. She now has a technic brick frame to keep her from hogging, or falling to bits. Many pictures of the build can be found in the WIP thread. Credit goes out to many builders who's techniques have been included in this model, and to the community for the feedback given to bring this ship to its fullest potential. I'm quite happy with the stern in the end. I carved up and pieced together the lattices from the larger window latices. They really make the stern pop! I've used wheels to create the various blocks and tackle found throughout the standing and running rigging. The "chains' are made of a wire that holds each block to the hull passed through a technic flex tube. Building them in this way has made the masts extremely stable. Here you can see a few of the 14 brick built cannon purchased direct from the D.P. Wesley Foundry in Bricksburg. I've tried to include as much detail on the deck as I could. The capstan is shown though at the moment it doesn't function. The captain's cozy cabin. Captain Townsend inspecting the newest addition to his expanding fleet.

Roger Redbeard wins again! Great film!

This sounds exciting! I would be interested in joining the Pirate Guilds. I've often wished to build in GoH but couldn't pull my attention away from my pirate era MOCs and so never started. I think the guild breakdown would be Red Coats, Blue Coats, and Pirates. These groups could have sub-themes like the Dark Blue Coats under the Reds, Armada with Blue, and of course Islanders with Pirates for Sebeus. Limiting the number of factions would keep more participants working together, and I believe these three factions have sufficient fan bases.

Oh Kurigan! It is simply the most detailed rigging I've seen. 26 pins to make it work! The love you've put into each detail shows. How well do you like the using yarn for the running lines? It seems you didn't use any glue. I find it hard to get the nylon string to stick around my belaying pins and I always use glue inside each knot. The capstan design is rather slick looking as well. I'm excited for more of this my friend!

What a spectacular build you two! The ship really looks beautiful. The interior to the cabin is eye-cathching, especially that gold to a pirates eye. The fort is awesome as well. I has everything you would want in a system fort with such a clean updated look. Brick on!

Frank Brick Wright and Mr. Townsend: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=93528

[pid][/pid] 248B The Miss Elizabeth and the Cliffs of Bricksburg The Governor has sent his payroll gold down to Colonel Brickburns for safekeeping before being shipped off in an Imperial Guard's Man-of-War. The villainous Captain Quincy Jones has come to town in his Schooner the Miss Elizabeth to level the house and claim the Governor's gold for himself. Now a battle rages between the red coat garrison and Captain Quincy's buccaneers. The Miss Elizabeth of Marblehead: The dread captain Quincy Jones has set his sights on the Governor's payroll being held in the Colonel's personal home, leaving First Mate William Gears in command of the Schooner Miss Elizabeth. Armed with her two six pounders and four swivel guns she is a force to be reckoned with for sure! Do you drop anchor and bombard the town, or spread all sail, put rudder to wind, and leave the captain to his own fates in redcoat prison? The ship is yours! you decide! Miss Elizabeth features fully modular sails. The Cliffs of Bricksburg: The Cliffs of Bricksburg are an ominous view for any mariner who might have the towering rocks on their lee. Captain Quincy Jones however, is leading a raid on nun-other than the Colonel's mansion with his eyes fixated on the Governor's payroll gold! Will the Redcoat sentry react in time to sink the captains dingy before he can reach the dock? Can the Captain wrestle the gold away from the Governor's henchman and the brave Redcoat soldiers or will the gallows be in his near future? You decide! I wanted to thank Bonaparte and Eurobricks for putting on this competition that I have greatly enjoyed. To Frank Brick Wright as well for competing with me and becoming a great friend.

This is a very cool entry gentlemen! I like Sebeus's small boat, a must for an pirate set. The bones outside the cave entrance are ominous but I think the gold bits littered about would draw me in regardless. Great collaboration!

I have to beg for more time myself Bonaparte. Two weeks would seem a lifetime! I've had a bricklink order tied up for a month.

That's awesome Kurigan! From the pictures you've posted here I couldn't tell how beautifully curved you've build this model but your photobucket shows it all! Its so smooth running to the stern with a hint of tumblehome. You've captured the ship well and I'm excited to see the progress.

I wouldn't worry too much about your gun count Moomin. I think the spacing isn't going to be a big problem and its not a bad thing to boast a few extra guns. It would be a large overhaul at this point and would set you back. Especially if your low on bits. In the end your would end up like me never finishing a project. About the Godwin-Austin: I finally finished a project! She's been sitting on my mantle for about a month now waiting to be photographed. There is a WIP thread: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=76991

Your update really looks good Moomin! The bow looks much better now and the cabin looks very nice too. I like how big it is. The cannons look good now I think though if you wante to reduce again I would suggest resizing out the ports. Normally on a ship of this size I would put four studs between guns and you've put three in the front and maybe four between you back few cannons. Make this uniform I think and it will drop a pair of guns and likely look nicer. On concern I do have and you will want to fix it is your spanker booms. The lowest one is about two bricks too high and the top boom needs to be on the lower mast. It might not seem too big of an issue but it won't work when you try to make a sail. This picture should illustrate though the spanker booms aren't the focal point. Godwin-Austin WIP by Mr. Townsend, on Flickr Keep the updates coming!

That is a nice WIP you've got going Moomin. You've started a very clean looking ship and it will certainly end with a quality product. You have done a great job keeping the ship low. This is impressive with the old style hulls which I find usually result in too tall and awkward of a ship. I do think it is odd having the back half of the ship two plates lower then the front half. Is there a reason for this? The cannons fit very well. I've seen similar designs but this variation is new to me. I do think you overarmed her quite a bit. This is most apparent at the bow where you've extended the bow past the prefab hull to fit the two chasers into the bridle ports. Normally the two fore most guns would be brought forward and re-tackled to operate in that location. I think eliminating that pair and the white port covers would allow you to have the bow better align with the hull and result in a finer final result. You've left out a tumblehome and I read your post. I think you've chosen correctly to neglect it. On an open deck ship like this I think its unnecessary and farther cramps a minifig illusion ship. You have a great project going so far and I look forward to seeing what becomes. -W.T.

That's a pretty slick ship you've built for yourself. I think the stern is well executed from design to the connection with the technic bits at the bottom. The sails are also something that it shows you've put a lot of effort into. Well done here. I do think that some more proper headrails would compliment the ship nicely and maybe some smaller brick build carronades to replace the massive cannon on your gundeck. Brick on my friend!

Frank Brick Wright and I will be competing together.

This is a pretty cool build. My favorite part is the torso sunk into the stern. I think with the limited bits you had for sails you should have run out the top sails rather than the main. It's more of a fighting position and I think a more common configuration.

She really is a spectacle. It looks so much like a wooden model those curves. -sums it up

I've made some progress in the past month and would like to share it with you. Currently I have added chains to the channels, backstays and forestays are in place, and the staysails and spanker are set. I tried and tried on that sewing machine and I'm pretty confident in the quality of all my new work. I made each sail two or three times each... Mr. Townsend, on Flickr

You've really outdone yourself with this ship DPW! Persephone sets a high standard for a ship of the line whether it be in minifig illusion or minifig scale. The amount of detail you have included is very impressive and a technique that hadn't been used before. The presentation of your project has been very inspirational. A story illustrated by high quality pictures with a nice dose of history. -W.T.