Kwatchi

I'm Captain Meloche, and I approve this message. Except for cap lock title; RL ridicule incoming. :p

Hehe. You got a smile out of me and a belly laugh out of 5 yo.

Gorgeous build. I look forward to sinking her. :) I approve

Looks nice and I like the flag detail. I look forwarded to boarding and/or sinking her. :) I approve

Welcome aboard, ya minx! :)

Very imaginative the way you depicted the barrel staves. Nice job!

Thanks for the welcome all. Garmandon, you're spot on about using tiles instead of regular plates. I'll have to rummage to see what I have in my bins. I should be able to at least manage the railing I think. Bregir and Captain Dee, thanks for the tips. I already have pictures for another "scene" taken, but should the Donatus come through the next round of MCRA afloat I've already got modification plans in my head to extend the main sale both back and up, and rework the jib and fore sail. Frankly, I have only attempted square rigged ships in the past, and I got it in my head that the sail aft of the mast was a stay sail hence I kept it small. Things make far more sense to me now.

The Donatus | Kwatchi | Sea Rats

Thanks for the help. Turns out I just needed to refresh my web browser's cache in order to see the changes I kept making. In slightly less embarrassing news, my Armed Sloop freebuild has been posted: http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=122147

The first ship Captain Meloche commandeered when he turned his hand to piracy was the Oleon packet ship Chevalier Neuve. Soon afterwards, he renamed it after an infamous heretic as a further affront to the Church of the Patheon on which he wishes his revenge. While slightly altered by painting and a replacement of the figurehead, the Donatus takes to the seas appearing much the same as it did before, and had been known to fly a false flag in order to close on its unsuspecting prey. ==== Here's my build of a Class 2 Armed Sloop. I am pleased with the hull and masthead, which I attempted to build in a "official set" style similar to the original pirate series (BSB and CC serving as inspiration). My sails and rigging did not come out as well as I hoped, but they did prove a learning experience so the next MOC should prove better. The Donatus cruising my $1 dollar store cardboard ocean :) While I liked the look of a black hull, it certainly does not take to showing detail well in a picture This view looks better in RL for some reason, as you don't get a sense of the angle the rear window is on. My 8 pounder cannon "standins" Makeshift-anchor away!

That grinding wheel is genius. Nice job.

Nice clean hull lines and a great sail/rigging set-up.

I find myself looking forward to these "episodes". You have a good story line going, and the builds have been well done.

I d think the QAR would be the better choice, simply because is expect a re-do of the Black Pearl if Lego gets PotC 5 license. But frankly, the price is beyond me ATM for either these days.

I'm using photobucket. Don't ask; I'm archaic. I'll try playing with it some more tonight. It looks like Merloc... erm... Meloche had crooked epaulettes, so it gives an excuse to retake the pic.

Thanks. My first free build should follow tonight; nothing spectacular mind you. I have been burning the midnight oil during my free time (i.e. Once the wife and kids are in bed) the last few weeks, and I'm real happy to finally get some MOCs built and posted. PS: can someone direct me to instructions on how to shrink posted pictures on this forum? I couldn't figure out to reduce mine to a more appropriate size in this interface, and they keep 'ballooning' regardless of their original dimensions.

Emil Meloche now sails for the Sea Rats Emil Meloche was friar in the Oleon church of the Patheon. His life's work had been the illuminating of texts at the Monastery of Acre, which was famed for its extensive library. Emil's one true failing was his curiosity, and one fateful evening he ventured into the deeper vaults to read one of the oldest sacrementary tomes that had been collecting dust on the shelf. But unbeknownst to him this text had been declared heretical by the church and his indiscretion was brought to the attention of the local cardinal by a colleague looking for self aggrandizement. The church's response was shift and merciless. That the book had been simply lost rather than destroyed was of no consequence. Emil was immediately placed in chains by the inquisitional guard, excommunicated, and sentenced to be burned at the stake at dawn. Some of his brother monks were outraged at his unfair treatment and freed him that night. Previously a man of peace, Emil Meloche had been changed by both what he had learned from the proscribed book and his treatment by his fellow clergymen. Upon release, he and his band stalked the halls of the monastery slaughtering his former brethren, the cardinal, and his entourage. His last act before firing the building was to strangle the monk who had condemned him using the manacles of his former confinement. Fleeing the monastery, Emil and his acolytes escaped to the coastal town of Le Havre where they commandeered the Olean navy packet ship Chevalier Neuve. The friar self-appointed himself Captain and to slake his anger at the church, began to raid along the Oleon coast, always with an eye for church property to pillage. For though revenge is a sweet dish, Captain Meloche seeks knowledge of the gods and their whims above all else, having gleaned what power might be gained to one able to properly call upon them. Some call him wizard or warlock, but he sees himself as nothing less than the Bishop of the Dark Seas and the chosen of Hades (patron of revenge) himself. And he now finds himself sailing eastward, chasing tales of mysteries and forbidden knowledge to be plundered. Over time, many of his monk brethren have left or died, and these have been replaced by wayward souls looking for a berth. Today, his inner crew stands at six and a more desperate band of miscreants you will not find. From left to right: Lancel Montriche - this cruel, vainglorious son of a minor Olean earl fights for the pleasure of seeing his foes begging for mercy before being dispatched, as well as constantly seeking ways to increase his reputation for debauchery while in port. Brother Axel - the last of Meloche's monk followers and still pious by his own thinking, his great size and limited capacity for independent thought has proven useful time and again. He serves both as the captain's enforcer and cook. Robin the cabin boy - the captain's dogsbody and personal spy, he maintains his master's gun blades and other mechanical devices. Captain Meloche - Bishop of the Dark Seas. Quartermaster Clarence Moore - a Corrington army deserter, his obsession is to become a captain himself one day, and feels he can achieve this by sticking fanatically to the "Pirate Code". Master Gunner Fox - his keen eye and good humour masks a man who is free of any fear or morality. Maicy Nitoni - a former member of a minor Eslondian duke's court, she abandoned the life of a courtesan in order to freely explore the darker side of her passions.

I own both and somewhat lean towards the Rumbleblade. The fortrex is an iconic piece, but the piece count was inflated by the tracks and the numerous 1x1 trans orange ammo bits. Of the three main "good" vehicle sets, the Rumbleblade comes first for me, then Fortrex, then Lance's horse-bike. Ofc, the 'evil' sets rate much higher so take this with a grain of salt. :). Infernox Captures the Queen is a must have imho.

Honestly, the infatuation with labeling on this forum (e.g. Flama = he/she? Castle vs Space vs Action) can astound me, but it helps pass the time. A little sprinkling of the ignore function helped my enjoyment as well. ;) Actual question: who is the publisher of the Ninjago, Chima, and upcoming NK magazines? I've never seen them here in Canada and I think my 5 yo might enjoy a subscription (he feels slighted about rately getting mail addressed to him).

In the app, as the armor pieces upgrade levels, they get colored black and have have progressively brighter glowing bits. My kids have not got the armor above level 3 yet though, so take this with a grain of salt

The shield does not have to be that straight forward in my limited experience with the app.

I went by the Walmart near my office yesterday (Kanata,ON) at lunch. The Lego shelf looked like a soviet grocery, with hardly anything left. So it doesn't shock me that these are being put out early; stores need something to sell. No luck yet, but I'm working from home today so I may take a quick recon tour at some point. Update Dec 16 - SO I CAN CONFIRM: Nabbed a Lance's Robo-Horse from Walmart (in Canada) late this morning (TY Nexo Santa!). They also had Moltor's Lava Launcher(s) and the Blade Cruiser(s) on the shelf. Didn't see the Chariot. During a chat with an asst. manager who was stocking the aisle at the time, she mentionend two things of interest. 1) They were knowlingly putting it out early and as soon as they arrived, and 2) they had received one case that contained these three sets and had put the entire content out. If you are a Canadian AFOL with interest buying these a few weeks early, I'd go in the next day or so.

True, but Santa is semi-retired so he has a lot of free time on his hands in the summer. He's not like NEXO SANTA! Nexo Santa shows up at 3am on New Year's Day is his rocket powered sled pulled by his two cyborg reindeer Crockett and Tubbs. Rapelling head first down the chimney Mission Impossible style, he sneaks into the children's bedrooms only to wake them up with a massive guitar rift. Then, pulling out his electro candy cane nunchucks, he wacks a piece of coal and it miraculously turns into whatever the kid wants most in the world! Most of us think Nexo Santa is great, but some Christmas purists nail plywood boards across their fireplaces so he can't get in. They annoyingly tell all who'll listen how much they dislike everything about him because he's not exactly the same as the St. Nick from the 1950s Coca Cola adverts. That is except for his giant skull & antler belt buckle that, while not in the classic yuletide aesthetic, they'll accept because it looks historic to them.

Thanks for the advice (well most of it... "He said Santa died" sounds like a future therapy session). I'm not overly concerned tbh; he is 5 after all and will be happy regardless. But like any dad, I hate to disappoint my kids. And I do understand Lego marketing's need to create product demand prior to release. The timing has simply made my life... inconvenient. But a First World problem really. On the bright side, I came up with my own solution over lunch. I am going put together a 'special Nk mini' using a Black Falcon and my space collection. Necessity is the mother of invention and all that. :)

That isn't the half of it. My 5 yo wrote his letter to Santa and this is all he wanted. He's over the moon excited for something he can't get for Xmas. My own fault for showing him the teaser site I guess. I still haven't figured out a way to explain to him that elves will be unable to make his toy before January, even though it already exists in his eyes. The joys of parenting. :( Regardless, it's great marketing by Lego, but poorly timed for me. A January media blitz followed by Feb release would have been more helpful.