Andy-Roo

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I'm glad you think the photography and story help bring this build to life! My goal with the the upgrade and size increase was to get it to a point that was a little closer to scale of the large ships while still being a small vessel. I am conflicted with the use or disuse of studs. I know there are some builders that will always get rid of all studs. In other cases studs are kept in some areas of the build. For me I was concerned that adding a layer of tiles would make the front tapered deck actually feel more pixelated.. That was the balanced I was trying to make. Fill it with cargo but not to the max. I kept small 1 stud "walkways" beside the railings for this reason as I could have dropped this down and made it flush with the rest of the cargo deck. What some of this feedback is showing is the range of thoughts ideas and preferences which is a good thing in my opinion! Many talented builders here all with different approaches and styles. Thank you, I'm glad the photography is standing out. As for the design, my goal with the build was to take the existing merchant ship from the 10320 fortress and increase the scale and make it feel more at home beside some of the larger ships. I never approached this trying to make a 100% unique design or to completely depart from the feel of the original. In fact I kept many of the design cues to maintain the feel of both original ships. I started this build simply because I really liked the cutter and it was before knowing of this contest. While sharing my progress on the Classic Pirates Facebook group I was encouraged to submit this to the contest. From there I further revised the design and then crafted the story and took the photos.

Excellent ship! Great design and you captured the feel of the merchant ship while upscaling this to an actual larger vessel. Good to see the comparison to the originals as well. You have a good mastery of these larger ship building techniques and contouring and I hope I can one day build something to this caliber. I'm enjoying this competition exactly because it is bringing out some very talented builders such as yourself. Sails look great especially the print! Is that cloth or paper? How did you get the print on there? All around fantastic ship! Well done!

Excellent build, presentation and story! This is full of details. I love the curved corners of the walls and the brickwork as it really brings the buildings to life. Rock work and water detail also adds to the realism. Overall a very immersive result!

Thank you, I appreciate the warm words coming from such an accomplished builder as yourself! It took a bit of iterative work but I am happy with how it all came together. I'm glad people are enjoying the photos, the story, and the documentary!

Thank you! I feel like this is the largest size that this ship can go without the sails feeling off. Making custom sails was an option but the ship would lose the iconic feel of the original sails.

Thank you! I'm happy with how it all came together and it was fun to record the voice over and make the video to go with it! Yes it was a balance to try to maintain the feel of the original cutter, and I'm starting to really like this particular size for a merchant ship. I would also love to see a larger ship but that would have been a stretch for the timeframe of this contest. I do have the classic 12 wide boat hulls so I'm working on a medium sized brig with 2 mid sections. So not as big as the Skull's Eye but larger than this Merchant Ship.

Steve's Upgraded Cutter just came together as I had the vision for that brewing for a months. I did not consider the small entry but if I get any solid ideas I might give it a try. I will have to consider what sorts of pieces I have, and I have less pirate minifigures as I would like. Wish I had a bit more to work with for smaller scenes / details. Funny enough to finish the upgrades to the merchant ship I didn't want to wait for a PAB order. I looked at some parts lists and ended up buying the 40620 Cruella & Maleficent Brickheadz set to get a variety of slopes and other tiles. It was better than expected as it gave me a lot to work with.

Wonderful little build! I think you captured the details of the trading post well, even at that scale! The only thing I would love to see is a version of this physically built and next to the full sized trading post!

Great build! I think you've scaled the building well for this size of a diorama. I agree with the others that the dark blue water feels a bit heavy, but I wonder if part of it is the contrast or just the color ship within the camera. Often the colors we see when we build do not always translate completely to a camera. I still struggle to photograph anything with black bricks for this same reason. I like that you're able to connect both of Steve's lives in one scene! It does feel like he is in over his head.

Thank you! It was a lot of work but I enjoyed every minute if it. It was fun to bring this all to life and test out some new techniques as well! Thank you! It was a good project to test a few different skills. I agree that there wasn't as much of an overview of the interior / deck of the ship. Based on your feedback I have added a couple photos to the original post so that others can better see the ship. Steve's View

Why is Steve roaming the sea in a new, improved and larger Merchant Clipper? The story best explained in this letter from a curious Imperial Naval Officer. *For those who don't want to read you can listen / watch here: _______________________________________________________ I address thee, Governor, with a matter of utmost gravity. A tale unfolds concerning the notorious Steve the Merchant. For many a season, he frequented the company of the Imperials, and oft appeared at the Trading posts, ferrying rum and medicine for resupply. It appears Steve hath garnered a keen understanding of the workings of our Imperial fleet. His vessel, his hallmark. was a diminutive cutter equipped with 1 jib, 1 square mast, and 1 spanker sail. In time, Steve departed the merchant's trade to join privateers, yet whispers suggest not all his compatriots were of honorable ilk. Informants whisper of Steve's affiliations with the likes of Captain Red Beard—news most troubling. Upon this revelation, Steve's cutter was commandeered by Imperial forces whilst harbored in port. He was sought for interrogation, yet did not return for his vessel, vanishing for years. The Merchant Cutter has been refit and is now a part of the Imperial Fleet. Recent sightings, however, reveal Steve aboard a newly improved cutter, larger and more robust than the last. Steve was trading once more as if nothing had transpired. Perplexity gripped me until further intelligence surfaced: reports of under patrolled shipping lanes, vulnerable to piracy due to inadequate Imperial presence. Curiously, Steve navigates these very waters unimpeded. Might there be more to his story? A credible witness, in due course, described a singular encounter: Steve had in a mysterious exchange with Rear Admiral Brickmast. A fully loaded chest of gold, left to the admiral. It's apparent that certain officers may be susceptible to bribes from pirates, neglecting their sworn duties. It stands to reason that Steve's dual allegiance to both Imperials and pirates renders him a valuable asset. The pirates are amassing substantial wealth, yet struggling to convert it into goods. Thus arises the need for smugglers and unscrupulous merchants to launder their ill-gotten gains. I suspect Steve covertly aids in harboring, resupplying, repairing, and expanding these pirate operations to larger prey. I beseech you to initiate a formal inquiry into this affair and purge our seas of such corruption, so that we can be finished with this pirate menace for once and for all. Yours faithfully, Lieutenant Samuel Hawke _______________________________________________________ He's a couple more pics not featured in the story: Steve's View Hope you enjoyed this. This all started with me ordering the Eldorado Fortress. I fell in love with the merchant ship and wanted to find a way to upsize it so I shared it on the Classic Pirates FB Group. I appreciate everyone's feedback on my first version and for encouraging me to submit to the contest. While completing V2.0 of the build, I got inspired to play around with some practical photographic techniques. The water and sky is all done in camera (and edited in post). As well this was a good excuse to practice my story telling, voice over and video editing skills. For anyone interested: Full Flickr Album here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBzEYW *Note I transformed old box art into the historic looking photos. I felt that helped tell the story and set up the reveal of the upgraded cutter. Hope this is allowed for this contest. *The bribe scene was shot on the deck of The Triton Warship By Marooned_Marin . It is an amazing build and I would highly recommend. Look forward to all feedback on this as this is my first MOC in decades.