Dread Pirate Wesley

I really like the tumblehome and wall design of this ship. I am curious though do the walls hold the top deck up or are you planning on putting supports between the decks along with the walls? Would love to see this technique in real life! Dread Pirate Wesley

As much as I love the IF it seems like they planned to do things but never really did them, or left them to us to decide. For example the helm has two wheel hubs but only one wheel, so the side that faces forward looks a little odd. By simply adding another wheel I think it makes a big improvement like this: Same with adding swivel guns, theres lots of places they look like they could logically go on the quarterdeck and forcastle but didnt include them like on BBB. I suppose this is to save cost, but its fun to add little things like this to make the ship seem more complete! Dread Pirate Wesley

My brickshelf folder seems to be having problems, so here's a link to the same photos on MOC pages: HMS Pratorian Gallery Im new to all three websites so maybe I did something wrong Im learning though! Dread Pirate Wesley

Thank you all for the warm welcome! To answer some of the questions, the masts and spars I eventually plan to make all reddish brown, once the price of reddish brown supports goes down on bricklink. Once that is complete I will do full sails and stays and other rigging. The top gallants are the same size as the mainsails on the imperial flagship, there is one in some of the photos I used to get this shot. The rest I would like to do in the same pattern to keep it Lego-esque but they will need to be much larger. She used to have the same spar style as BBB as you can see in the photo below, but after I got the Imperial Flagship I had to use that method for all my ships, it really is brilliant! As far as building technique, there are some interesting and extremely frustrating techniques I developed to make the bow look correct. I will try and take some photos or write a basic tutorial if that's desired. Unfortunately I didnt take too many pictures in development since it kept changing almost everyday, but thats another great thing about Lego, you can disassemble without destroying! Glad it inspired you, come on you Reds! DPW

The HMS Praetorian is a 5th rate 32 gun frigate whose sole purpose is escorting important persons through dangerous waters. She is well armed and extremely fast with an unusually high number of soldiers for boarding actions. On this particular voyage, her cargoes include a governor and his lovely daughter, accompanied to his new dominion by an admiral and a colonel in command of the contigent of marines. The ship itself started out life as Brickbeards Bounty. I had never before owned a lego ship and couldnt pass one up on sale at a local store. Needless to say shes grown a little since then. She is now 8 hull sections long, 14 studs wide on deck at the bow and 12 at the stern. Like most frigates of the day, she has a 5 to 1 length to beam ratio. It is a different building technique than Ive mostly seen on here, such as Captain Green Hair's excellent technique. Mainly this ship was built for strength, and despite her length can be held in one hand without any flex in the hull. It has a full interior including a spacious cabin for the captain, or in this case the governors daughter. As well as a stove to serve up grog to the hungry crew. Her main armament is twenty-four 18 pounders on the main gun deck. Quite formidable especially when facing the four gun broadside of the Imperial Flagship. She also carries up to eight 6 pounders on the quarter deck, two in the forecastle, and two 12 pound bowchasers. Besides the marines, there are also 4 swivel guns to sweep the enemy decks. But a ship is nothing without a brave crew to put her to sea! Hope you enjoy this ship, comments are always welcome. More images can be seen here: Brickshelf Gallery The Dread Pirate Wesley