Wellesley

@TomSkippy Well first, I like her very much as she is right now. Though I have some points, I would have done different. The most minor changes would be the height of the companionway and the shape of the deck. It gets a plate higher at the sides, while usually it would curve the opposite way. I don't know, if you are able to swap the hinges from white to black and drop them by a few plates and put the tiles underneath the middle part of the deck. If not, that wouldn't be a big displeasure, once looking at the finished result. The base of the companionway could be lowered one plate I think. Besides the door and the roof, I would try out all in tan. I would have done another step of diminution towards the stern. Probably right before the last gunport. The stern would then have either three studs between the astern gunports or five with only the one stud of the bulwark besides them. In comparison my brig is two studs wider at the widest part and their lenghts are nearly the same. Unfortunately the black bow part is three studs wide and abruptly ends the fine line of the bulwark. Maybe you could try to cover it with adding such a foredeck as well as little opened poopdeck: I was never a fan of those, but it could be a fitting solution for your ship. Your white stripe keeps it thickness astern, while getting narrower towards the bow. Though for the USS Niagara it seems to be the case, I would diminute it like on my brig. This shot looks great! Don't care so much about the waterline. Most of my ships show plenty of the hull beneath, yet never the full. For a diorama with water you could easily place them on different levels of heigth, so they would fit to each other. And the water covers the rest. I find it quite helpful to start a bit lower. Makes it easier to have a stabile base you can put all the above-water-stuff on.

Thanky you very much for that compliment, Bregir! Though I would not (yet) put my work above the rigging of the Revenge. Good thing overall, that this isn't a competition and everyone who puts effort in it, does a great job. I try to beat myself though:D Thank you @TomSkippy and @Professor Thaum! When rigging my frigate, I will take more pictures of the process and create a little turorial about it, if there is something new, that isn't already covered by one of the existing tutorials. For now I leave you with this guide. And thank you @Ayrlego for the approval!

@kurigan Once again thanks for the free informations. Changed the title and added a little story. Hope, I didn't accidentally added more stumbling blocks:P Yes, all rigging I included is functional in theory. But after belaying I used fabric glue and cut the lines. Even though they seem to hold quite well on their own, I was afraid they would loosen after time and I don't want to belay them again and again. If I find some time, I will maybe add some cioled up rope just to give a better impression. Like seen here: The Lipizzana and the Lydia are the only vessels so far with fully functional rigging as I have better access to the belaying pins and cleats and the amount of rope is manageable. Uh yeah, I use it as a mix of ergotherapy and meditation:D Think it is close meshed cotton, maybe with a small portion of synthetics. It once was a tablecloth. New pictures could take some more time than I thought, will not promise any date.

@kurigan Thank you! Thought, that one square sail (or more as long as they are above the gaff sail) on the main mast would classify her as a Brigantine and none would make her a Hermaphrodite Brig? At least according to how I came to understand the usage of the terminology back then. Or weren't you talking about the square sail? Would be nice, if you could share your insights on that. Would change it then. The name, not the rigging:D

Thank you @Roadmonkeytj and @Legonaut! I would most appreciate both the front page post and the Classic Pirates mention. I should be able to get some better pictures until sunday.

First of hopefully many entries.

This is my first entry for the Oaken Shield task "Sloops for the Royal Navy" of the GoC-challenge. The Ymir is the first warship leaving the Farrensman Shipyard. His long time experience and success with ship designs in general lately brought him the attention of the admiralty, which is always looking for ways to strengthen their fleet. For Jorin Farrensman thus the opportunity was created to gain insight in a slightly new field of work. To Rear-Admiral Fletcher Commander of the Royal Terra Novan Fleet with much pride I hereby report, that yesterday, on the 17th of July 619, the first ship ordered by the admiralty launched at the Farrensman shipyard. The 14 gun Brig HMS Ymir is completely armed and equipped, ready to take on voyage as soon as demanded. Your humble servant, Jorin Farrensman Shipwright of Hvalfanghimr A huge crowd of spectators gathers along the black pier of Hvalfanghimr. Many citizen don't want to let the chance pass to watch the moment she sets her sails for the very first time. Among them are a lot of children, holding little wooden ship toys and tin soldiers. "Daddy, look at that huge boat!", you can here a voice shouting. "That is not a boat my son, it is a ship! A Brigantine." answers a highly civilised banker from the rich part of the town. An old seablooded sailor witnesses the little chat and can't hold on to himself and turns to the father: "Listen fella, how dare you teach our precious young fake news!" He points towards the ship. "Do you see that square sail aloft the main mast over the gaff? Square sails on both ship make her a brig. She has a slightly modified rig with only two spars and less square sails on the main mast, making the gaff-sail bigger, yet she still is a brig." She was built to protect trading convoys, her sleek lines provide great manoeuvrability and mobility to reach any point of the convoy rapidly. Her specialised targets are corsairs. Next to escort duty, she surely could go on the hunt for smugglers. Though her armament of seven carronades each broadside plus two more astern were not meant for greater naval battles or situations, in which two ships fire at each other from a certain distance to damage rig and hull. But as a vessel, that comes in for the rescue, any Corrish or Altonian ship will be relieved to know of her support. From a short range her carronades will send their most devastating rain of iron chalazions and decimate the opponent crews. I built her as a Class IV ship. My stats suggestion: R M G C $ H 4 6 3 3 0 2 Some of her crew: I actually wanted to edit some of the pictures, but couldn't get decent background lighting for the greenscreen today.

The Unicorn is a nice entry. I just found this USS Niagara. Won't be necessary to add it to the Index due to it being expired in 2016. But I thought, some of you might want to see the ship:

Hey fellow Corries, is there an active trading fleet with protection? I will license two unarmed trading vessels soon. The free Class 2 license and the other one from the PA Cup. Both have zero firepower, but I would like to get started in the MCRA. Also, if there is someone who could give me some basic tricks or things, I should consider, I would appreciate a PM. Greetings, Wellesley

The Ymir is finally finished: My biggest disapproval are some of the reeflines. I had to change the rope after two sails and the second coil always faned out. It was only today, that I realized, one cord was missing, the first was made of four, the later only of three. It doesn't stand out that much where the rope is uner tension, but the reef lines are just hanging loose. Well, I can (should) live with that. The rest turned out quite to my liking. The next ship will have better backstays, though I made friends with the 3-lenght technic pins after all. Tomorrow I will make some more pictures, with sailors and background. As well as an official entry.

Thank you Professor! The lighthouse and the crane are my two favourites. After seeing pictures of curving the wall with help of the round bricks, I always wanted to build something similar. The lighthouse started as a medieval tower. That's nice to hear. Thank you! There is one black bird, a Capercaillie, which to 90% is a copy from this diorama. All other birds are my own creation, though the root idea behind them was using hands as beaks, like I have seen at flickr once. I'm especially happy with using the droid legs for the cranes and the heron. Thank you very much as well for the kind words.

Introducing my main Character: Nathaniel Stienhouwer

Oh wow, now I just realized you wrote shipS, as in plural. And the 4-5 referred to their amount, not their class rating. I must have been a bit confused to not decipher it yesterday:D Then I'm even more excited. I also have two new ships in mind, both copying designs and techniques from other builders. But it would be better to first finish the frigate and make sure, the Lydia is in a shape, I'm ok with. I was a bit stupid, all the time I was trying to add a third mast and extending the deck, but I could also just set one or more likely both masts a few studs astern.

Finally I took some time to write my introduction, it felt to be long overdue. ---------- Hvalfanghimr - A home to many Corries On the northern coast of the mainland, the glorious Empire of Corrington, there lies a city called Hvalfanghimr. It is the birthplace of some outstanding personalities and a key point for connection between the north and the south. Historically the people here, as in the entire north, were not that concerned about politics and the outside world. They cared more about harvesting what the land let grow, catching enough fish and whales during the three more pleasant seasons to endure the following unforgiving winters. Though that has changed, once the more traditional people of the north saw the benefits in scientific advancements, experimental research and new building techniques. Maybe some unsorted eccentric inventors never would have achieved to introduce those new ways, which could have seemed daunting, but the orderly, purpose driven manner of most people in Corrington acted as a gateway, aside of course similar languages and the common enmity towards the Kingdom of Blight, the Empire of Oleon. From this time on the way for the Corrington we now know was paved. Today we have communication and exchange at a rate, the northern forefathers could not have thought of. Slowly thatch and timberwork are replaced by tiled roofs and stone walls. Bigger ships with more complex rigs sail unto the horizon and the smoke above the cities does not solely stem from heating the quarters, but from tall brick chimneys of factories and on the market places you now can find goods and consumables from all over the known world. Hvalfanghimr of course underwent this drastical change as well. Some generations ago you would have found cottages, loosely placed along the shore, which back then was an actual beach. Miles of white and tan sand, only interrupted by cliffs. There was no need for a harbour, the small vessels were just dragged upon the sand. Bigger ports and docks were a rarity in the north. The mountain range made an exchange of goods via land a slow business. As the trade rapidly increased a need for another solution was obvious. In the far east of the country the distance between both shores is relatively short. Here one the roads was reconstructed into one main trading route, extending the network which already wrapped all the southern cities. This trading route leads to the Krossbølge-Bay, easy to identify on the map for its prominent hook in the north-east. Hvalfanghimr became the biggest transfer site for the north. The sandy beaches did not longer fit the needs of business cultivating men, so in a big undertaking massive loads of stone from the quarries were brought to the bay. Piers, moles, basin, cranes, light houses, shipyards and all kind of different infrastructures were raised in just a man's lifetime. The delivered stones from the mountain range quarries were of very dark colour, often pitch black, shaping the new look of Krossbølge-Bay, hence called Black-Pier-Bay by the locals. The northeners often tend to meticulously follow their principles and ideas. Some would call them stubborn. So the subject of their obstinacy may change over time, you can rely on it to still be a characteristic. Were they once willingly neglecting politics and events outside their little world, you can now bet on them to be utterly convinced followers of Queen Annetta. Outsiders were a little bit amused about such enthusiastic frowardness and the northeners even earned an idiom depicting this trait. "Going north with something" For example no matter how foolish an idea may be, if you are absolutely confident and set everything in motion to fulfill your plan, one might say that you "went north with it". Hvalfanghimr with its typical black pier: ---------- One of the families from Hvalfanghimr is the line of the Farrensmans. Naturally as far back into ancestry as the Farrensmans can remember, they were a family of whalers. Not really surprising, as the vast majority of men in the north fed on whaling. Jorin Farrensman however grew up in a time with a much broader spectrum of careers. Whaling no longer was a common matter of whole villages, but became a fulltime job for a few men on great tall ships, which could be at sea for several month. So Jorin enlisted in the naval forces, leaving behind his fiancé Luise Keapman. He proved himself clever and worthy in many skirmishes, thus earning the rank of a boatswain's mate, serving aboard the HMS Bulwark, a 74 gun ship of the line. During a great naval battle within the Fourty-Nine Years War he lost his right leg and was given shore leave for a while. This incident saved his life though, as the HMS Bulwark was sunken on her next voyage. He married Luise and established a boat building business. Over the years he became quite successful and the little business was turned into a big shipyard. They both are also very proud of their daughter, Annetta Farrensman, who studied botany in Belson. She then joined the pilgrims on their way into the colonies. The last letter from Arlinsport, where she worked in an inn, contained her plan to go further east, boarding a ship with destination Spudkirk. Jorin Farrensman boarding the HMS Bulwark with the grim and determinate look of a young, unexperienced soldier. Duty on board. The great battle at sea, in which a splinter took his right leg. Jorin and Luise Farrensman, years later. Jorin Farrensman is one of my first three minifigs, he will be responsible for most of the ships I post. Another family from the city of Hvalfanghimr is the line of the Stienhouwers. First being involved in whaling, an ancestor of Anselm Stienhouwer betrayed the sea for stonemasonry, a profession that should flourish just a few generations later as the country underwent the great adaption of the north. Anselm always was kind of a solitary person. No wonder he would once choose to become the lighthouse keeper of Hvalfanghimr. His nickname totally replaced his actual name and some of the youger generation only know him by the name of "Fjoertoer" Stienhouwer. Together with his wife Elisabeth Stienhouwer, born as Elisabeth Yarntale, he lives near the lighthouse in a small timberwork house. They have a son, Nathaniel Stienhouwer, who recently decided to enlist in the marine, having young dreams of adventure and luxurious life in the colonies. Maybe the monotonous work in one the storehouses helped as well with the decision. Anselm Stienhouwer loves to watch the stars taking over from the sun. The little timberhouse and its residents, the Stienhouwer family, from left to right: Elisabeth, Nathaniel and Anselm. Nathaniel proudly showing his friends his enlistment papers. After travelling to Belson he books a passage on board the HMS Lipizzana, which, after sailing through the Merlonic Sea for a few month, is now heading east. Nathaniel Stienhouwer will be my main minifig for storytelling in the new world, next to Annetta Farrensman, as soon as she reappears. ---------- The names are a mix of Frisian, Danish and Proto-Norse influence. Hvalfanghimr - whalerhome, Hvalfanger is whaler in Danish, himr is a Proto-Norse root of home Krossbølge - bølge is Danish for wave, k/cross is a prefix, describing the moody nature of the northern sea Keapman - merchant in Frisian Farrensman - seafarer/mariner in Frisian Yarntale - works perfectly in English Stienhouwer - stonemason in Frisian Fjoertoer - lighthouse in Frisian, fire tower would be the literal translation Influence from other builds: The home of the Stienhouwers is copied from @AxelE55's Redcoat caribbean port/town. The goat and the Capercaillie, the black bird next to the pumpkin plant, I first have seen at Brick to the Past. Sorry for the bad lighting at some pictures, if I'm able to get better pictures, I will switch them. Also I have discovered on the photos that a red tile on the hull of the Orion (she and the green fishing boat are just stage props and don't represent the other factions) is missing:) Greetings, Wellesley!

If you need detailed shots of a certain part, just tell me. Good luck with the build!

@TomSkippy Great to hear:) Looking forward to see it. Do you want to give any little hint or spoiler about what we can expect?:D

"mirroring the coloured stripe at the bow" Just a continuation of the stripe. I watched the ship with the red stripe from a distance and felt the urge to add a little bit of colour to the forepart. It looked "unbalanced". Though in any case just one plate thick, I wasn't happy with the results, I was best to leave the bow as it is. I then removed all colour together and am quite content. Hope, that was easier to understand, its always a struggle for me to come up with comprehensible depictions. As for the Lydia, I'm less concerned about adding a third mast, more so about how currently the deck extension turned out. But as I'm writing, I have another idea, maybe later I have time to try it out and post pictures.

@kurigan I'm sorry, if you read it this way. I had no intention to discount anyone, let alone you. I purposely wrote it that way, because I wanted to collect opinions with more attention to the colours alone, precisely because I thought a lot of people would give different advise with and without considering historical accuracy. Even if I cannot always incorporate it or decide against a suggestion, most times my questions involve a deep interest for accuracy. So this time I just stated that the question has another focus. If there was any second thought in the formulation, it was an early excuse for showing a picture of the green stripe. I really appreciate your responds in general, precisely for their informational value. Hope, we can rest the case, I admit that it was not the best phrasing. Anyways, I'm all back to black now for another reason, namely the problem of mirroring the coloured stripe at the bow.

As long as I have to wait for the missing bricks, I work a little bit on other ships. I would like to have few opinions on my frigate's colour scheme variations. Not so much about the historical accuracy, more about what you really prefer, shape and colour wise. The four versions of the colour scheme won't be the only choices I consider. The green scheme was just the quickest to achieve. I'm open for new suggestions (here you find the place for historical accuracy): Also I have to choose between two versions of davits. I'll probably got for the black version. the white looks nice, though it would fit the next century better. Looks more like a metal davit to me. And just as a little bonus a picture next to my SotL: And I finally made some pictures of the "Lydia". I tried to incorporate the suggestions, but I hesitate to cut the ropes. If I want to add a third mast, I will have to change the mast positions, but before that, I want to be sure about what I'm doing. I don't like the current version that much, the original was better in my opinion. Though I admit that she was front heavy. Maybe shrinking the foresails would do her justice as well.

Wow, I totally forgot about the new rendering. Incredible work! Tell me, when you are done building it in real bricks. Can't wait to see a video from Held der Steine about it:D I myself find it harder to build digitally. I would like to claim the missing haptic component to be the reason, but most likely it is just lack of practice.

Both your Spudkirk buildings are very clean. I really love the ramp going down into the water. Must be all my memories linked to such stone piers. Also a very neat little cannon. Unfortunately there is not that much contrast between its trail and the cobblestone. The only little negative critique would be the roof of your stone tower. As you say yourself.

I'm waiting for the last bricks to arrive, so I can build the belaying pin rails to then add brails, sheets, clewlines, braces etc. While attaching the travellers of the jib and the following staysail, I thought both yet especially the first to be too small. Now, that they are running without any auxiliary means, I'm a bit happier with their size and shape. Just the foot of both could be more horizontal. Would you recommend any changes? Speaking of horizontal, one mistake I always make is planning too much height for the yard sails. Therefore I was forced to set them as high as possible and the yard lifts are nearly horizontal, which just looks wrong. While I could just cut off a bit of the foot of every yard sail, it would change the proportions of the sails. So I just ignore it this time and hope to be smarter next time. As you can see here, I kept nearly all gunports. The reason was her later purpose to sit in a shelf or somewhere at eye level. So most times I will only see her outside and I find the full broadside most beautiful. For the BoBS, I consider reducing the gunports again though. As a future freebuild it won't matter anyways.

flickr-member James Pegrum also builds some nice ships. Here are a few examples, I'd recommend to look through his photostream, if you are interested in british history: The Mayflower: An early medieval ship: Various MOCs: The HMS Beagle with some phenomenal sceneries:

I really like the shape of the white bottom part and the black stripe above it. The bow looks a bit too much "bend inwards" for my taste. I'd go for a vertical solution. You could change the postions of the capstan to sit just in front of the main mast. Then you still could have a prefab rowboat sitting on deck between the foremast and the capstan. At first glance I thought, the masts were ok, but that would be a really huge gaff sail. Why not take a picture of a brig you like and roughly measure the proportions?

I'm still happy with the shape of the bow of my two-decker, after I rebuilt the entire construction, using the quarter saucer base. The part also exists in light gray, though I think, you would have to widen the foredeck a few studs.