Admiral Blockbeard

Seems modding the CC and making it bigger in LDD is becoming a small trend on the forum! The ship certainly has a size upgrade! She's so big the name will have to change . I like how you have taken the modern sets and applied them to an old classic. I feel however it is more a conversion of the Imperial Flagship into a Blue Coats ship, and it is very striking and imposing! I do agree with some of the above posts, the colours seem somehow mixed. (an issue with all the great new colours we have!) If (and I stress IF) you want of the classic look I would avoid the use of tan and decrease the white on the cannon ports to one "level" of bricks and also add more blue to the cabin area replacing the use of most of the brown. Is there any plans to make this in real bricks? Looking forward to seeing your proposed updates! AB

Hard to say how we could get German market feedback (Seeing as I am in Aus). Online questionnaires distributed by people here aimed at parents with kids in the age group could be done. Although I would not expect a massive response. You could reach out to Lego and see if they have a database they could put the questions through. This obviously requires their ethics to approve the survey. This is something they may consider, and they may even get graphic artists behind it to make t more family fun. Anyway, the starting point is our interest and dedication. Following that a brainstorming of ideas. Once we find creative themes we can group them and test them against any research we do/ do not get from kids. When we have then narrowed the field and created some concepts we again test against kids opinions. Lego won't require these tests but as you say it would be nice to raise the bar. AB

Captain Becker, Thank you for the tie-breaker and the compliment. The CC is a very beautiful ship I almost didn't want to change a thing on it, just make it larger. Slowly however I have wanted small things so I feel I own it. I am sold on keeping the middle section black. Thank you all for feedback. Now for round three the troubling handrail. I have also done a quick rework on the stern. Still not overly happy with it. Hopefully it is a little more harmonious. Comments and opinions welcomed. AB

Thank you for your feedback and nice comments. Yes I agree, my Stern is a little off. It was a first draft and I was never sold on it. Will have another go at it. Hmm the telescopes got under my radar. I had been checking most elements on brinklink. I might have to make the telescope gold or brown. The flower is a good idea will look at using it, and will revisit the BSB's Stern. I will post a comparison of the midsection railing, white, yellow and black. My feeling was as yellow it was too much. (Door frame only comes in White Red and Yellow. No Black) The gun deck stripe is white. Looking at the pictures looks a tinge grey. I agree they should on this boat be white. Haha, conflicting advice on the black v blue! Glad it isn't just me that found it hard to decide. Hopefully someone else voices an opinion and breaks the dead lock. I think I am leaning toward Black as from a distance it adds to the cabin being a "cabin". Dark blue is beautifull. I would do the whole ship in it if I could. But I still want the early set look. When I do a different ship, you can expect Dark Blue to feature. AB

Thank you for your nice words! I had a go at the switch like you suggested. (I would have the sail going the other diagonal, except it was too much effort to swap the colours.) Here is the results below. At this stage however the sails themselves are not my main concern. I want to order bricks soon so need to beside on the hull and cabin.I am unsure which of the following looks better, the black or the blue. (slopes leading to cabin) Any opinions appreciated. AB

Amazing and very ambitious project, you are very skilled at building in detail on the computer. I find it so frustrating at times to find and position the pieces I need! Beautiful brick built sails. One question, how have you made those lanterns on the back? Can they work in real bricks? AB

Well I am sure Lego will appreciate any form of external benchmarking beyond the forums. Issue is ethics if we do any primary research, i.e do a survey for kids etc... not sure if we need to meet any standards for Lego to use our research. (what it seems you are taking about though is sales tracking or pretest via focus groups etc) My thoughts were more along the lines of product development enabling public surveys to 1) source ideas (We are AFOL experts not current market experts) 2) test ideas and 3) refine product choices. When the development gets ready for submission I think it would be wise to also have an advertising/marketing plan set out to some extent. What is the "story" we use to sell the sets/ spark the imagination in the kids. Speaking for myself, the 80/90's pirates had an appeal that was missed in the modern line. Could just be nostalgia, or it could be more serious in that the core value of "imagination and design" were lost through the "kid"-ification of sets. Compare the brick amounts in the sets. There should also be a review on the competitive market, but that might be getting to serious?? Research and kids is a slippery slope. You want to be very very careful. Parents do not like strangers asking kids questions without full knowledge and permission. I would suggest a parent down approach. "Do you have kids that would like Pirate Lego, big ships and adventure on the seas? We are looking into producing a new line and want to get it right! Sit down with your children and fill out the following questionnaire and have your say in what we should design for you!" -Parent is in control, you approached them not the kid, you are empowering their voice etc etc etc. Also careful in the kindergarten, don't want Billy going home and saying he took part in market research..."OMG my child is a corporate slave"... worse yet that reflecting back onto Lego. My two cents. - The alternative is to only trust ourselves. In the end however that is the unique perspective we can provide Lego. Make no mistake they listen! I went thorough the past reports we delivered. So many of the requested items have been delivered through PotC and Collectable Minifigures. This is a very interesting idea and is pretty much a dream job for me so count me in, at the least it provides me with some good experience. AB

4th times a charm. :p I am in Market Research so this is something I would like to get involved in. I hope I would be able to bring some good analysis and business ideas to the table. Only credentials I can offer is my Degree, Honours and part way through my Masters. AB

Thank you again, Sebeus. Was it Black flag? I don't recall the skylight in the game. But it might have entered my subconscious... . Could I be so bold as to ask what edges you think are the roughest. >this goes for all reading. In the meantime, another update. Main difference to be seen here was the reduction of yellow. We see some more cabin work and the flag added. Different angle of the cabin fencing and other small changes. I added the ladder and changed the poop deck a little to make this area more interesting. Also modified the doors and surrounding area. Potential for cabin interior. I think the bow/stem is missing something still, don't know what yet. One more modification in LDD and then it will be time to place some of the first orders for the extra pieces. AB

I'm the one honoured for your reply. I love your ships and plan to (hope to) build a more complex ship like yours and CGH, (or is the CBlueH, CRedH... he needs to put the dye away) in the future. The LDD has the masts only 12 studs apart. I think three masts was always going to look a little squashed. Seeing your example above it makes me want to add the extra mid section and have only two masts. But might get by with the two mid-sections and two masts. This is nearly exactly what I want, only less cannon and the "Lego stripe side". The way you have the cabin is ideal. I don't think it will look to much like a Galleon. Will be interesting to try and blend the two looks and if it will come out okay. I also would want part or all of the gun deck open. Thank you for the advice so far. EDIT: Had a quick go based on the examples. Here is the result. Still only two mid-sections. Position of the masts are a little better than I had expected. I feel the third (mizzen?) is a little close to the main. I am rather happy with the level of the Cabin, I tried to keep it a similar hight of CC and of Sebeus examples. Not sure if too much yellow? I changed my mind about the blue cabin, it grew on me. Something I really like is the blue storage doors. (windows) This shows the sky light for the cabin. Not sure how historically correct. Also note the "2x6 shell" over the window. I think it gives a little more shape to the cabin area. Not very happy with the doors. I am currently using a 2x4x5 door. You can also see here the front of the cabin area is currently only 4 slopes. I do want to make that area more interesting. Folder with very big pictures when public. C&C welcome. AB

Amazingly well done! Love the attention to detail. What a brilliant first MOC. Well done! AB

Hello All, I think we all agree that on these forums there are plenty of breath taking ships that use and create some of the most amazing Lego techniques to create some very awe inspiring ships. My ambitions are not of the same glory or grandeur and I am humbled posting this WIP. Before I begin I want to thank all the builders on this forum over many years who inspire and captivate my passion for Lego and its special relationship to naval and maritime themes. My goal is simple. Ultimately I want to set up a (rather large) display of my favourite Lego sets. That is likely a future post, and will be much more ambitious than this. A part of this display however will include a ship of my own creation. A blue coats ship capable of besting the Black Seas Barracuda (BSB). To me the Caribbean Clipper or CC (Sea Hawk to some) never stood much of a chance. I have been fortunate enough to acquire 3 sets of the CC during my years of collecting. In the display I intend to have one built to instructions and combine two others to make a better challenger for the BSB. While I am blown away by the techniques and stunning ships that builders here create, I am looking to maintain the look of official Lego sets, this means the ship will be using the same kind of techniques as the BSB and CC. The ship will be the blending of the two. Imagine if you will, the child of the BSB and CC. I have decided the ship will use the two mid-sections from the two sets, making it shorter than the BSB, however I would still like all four sails used, making the design a little squashed and challenging. I have so far used LDD to get an idea of the basic construction as can be seen here. I reiterate, this WILL be in REAL BRICKS. Much larger pics when public - HERE A few notes. Working in LDD has limits, and I know I could have used MLCAD, but I felt like using easy "snap and click" building. This is why the new masts are being used in the example, and why I brick Built the Hull. Those familiar with the 1989 sets will recognise a blend in the stem/bow of the ship. I do plan on giving the smaller ship more fire-power (three a side). I did this as I feel the navy would be more capable of having ships designed for pure warfare and the pirates with the BSB has a good blend of storage, size for crew, and fire power. Now my main issues and what I am looking for advice on is the position of the three masts. She will be a Bark, with the first two masts square rigged, and the last being a gaff. Very much like so... but not quite. My next issue is the construction and design of the cabin. While I want to have the Lego feel, I do not want to over use blue like the CC does, yet do not want the ship looking like a Galleon or Carrack. I also like the idea of having a sun roof as part of the poop deck. I have currently been using the following as inspiration. Great example - just a bit bigger... I am in love, but again too big, and not the "Lego" look. Any comments, help and criticisms welcome.

Great little ship. I must ask is this inspired by AC. Black Flag at all? Looking at some of the details put me right into the world of the JackDaw from that game. Great work, look forward to hopefully seeing more from you. AB.

I agree, would love those sets. However do not think it likely. I Think the likelihood of getting those other really nice torso's is slim. You likely already know this, but there are some reasonably close to your examples. and the other figs not in POTC (Judge torso) I do hope however that as this is the 25th aniversary of pirates. Something special comes along. AB

I enjoyed reading this so much I found myself wishing it was longer. One quick note, the Lego Cannons might be too big, BUT you also have to remember and keep in mind 1) it is Lego, so it has to fit 1x1 round bricks 2) minifigs are not the right width/ height and makes everything else hard to make the right size. As for helpful input to the above, I notice in the below picture you say, "first major war involving battle", I think you mean to say "first major war involving cannon"? Again thank you for the interesting read. I like your Lego created examples, it brings the discussion to life. AB.

Hello All, I recently spent a weekend in Melbourne Australia, a hop-skip and jump from my home town. While there I paid a small visit to the 1800's coal transporter the "Polly Woodside". In the reception area I found a pleasant surprise. I remember seeing these as a kid in the 90's, but never thought to find one here by chance. I don't know if it was a requested build or if they simply got a hold of an old display. Has any one else visited and know its story? When I went the entry was closed. I did search the forum for any other hints but found none. In the least I hope you enjoy the statue. Thank you.

Near a month late but it may not be known. This link will get you many more angles but small photos. This is a bigger version better angle.

Sorry if late, haven't read other posts. In Adelaide Harbor Town, there is a toy world, was discounted. I am thinking it was a fair deal around $150 but my memory is fuzzy.

Tiger... David Jones THIS WEEKEND 20% off Lego.

You might forget that Kmart is owned by Wesfarmers, who also own Target. So it kind of, maybe, makes sence from that percpective. Would still prefer to see sales from both of them though. AB

Can you specify what prices will stay the same? Normal cut under retail? Surely its not 20% off till December AB

First of all I love all the small details, especially in the cabin. Nice little bookcase and great to see the globe in there too. Some other things I find really neat about this over the original other than the obvious size. Is how the cannons have a nice line to them, a sloped grey deck, (not sure about grey brown would be nice but see why you have gone with it). Im not to sure about the blue, I never have liked that seemingly random splash of blue at the back. If you want to stay true to original colours again I understand. Love the replaced ladder with stairs. Looks great. Really nice ships, you have an impressive collection. AB

And last years sets . Should have made it clearer, SORRY! Will edit to make it clear. From what I can tell however 2011, and 2012 both started on the 21st and had 20% off Lego. I had used it as a reference for expected 20% off. Can't wait for the sales! I also don't want my post to "kill off" the general discussion, but just want a way to spot the actual sales! AB

Thanks for your help and input... I was thinking more along the lines that this forum doesn't communicate clearly the sales. So what I propose is this. Either; 1) We BOLD AND UNDERLINE the sales and make them clear with all info we have... store, dates (end start), expected savings... etc. As below. 2) We start a shared calendar online that we jointly update. 1 seems easiest... Big W big toy sale 27th of June, Guess Approx 20% Target toy sale 21st of June, 20%, as previously 2012's - Catalogue TRU June 5th, UPTO 33% off, (lasts a week?) Myer big toy sale 20th of June Approx 15-20% off. Hope this helps clear things out for people who don't want to read 4 pages of chit-chat, and the small edits taken into consideration for future. Also Shopforme.com has got some new sets up, including the Horizon Express at $199. LR sets are mostly 20% off and the MMV is back up for $135 this time. Some new LOTR sets up at full price. ONGOING, Lego.com Shop has free shipping for orders over $150, Via Frumpy AB

Can someone, compile a list of locations, % of savings and dates of the upcoming months. Even if incomplete? For example... When is was Myers buy 2 get one free sale? Was until Sunday.