SkaForHire

WOW!!!!!! My first impression was that this was much like the Morocco Pavilion at Epcot in Disney World. It twists and winds, and there are many small structures that look small from far away, but really magnify themselves when you get up close. I love that you made a whole section of the city, and this is exactly how I imagine our capital looking like as an ancient city that continues to grow. A street thug in a sewer in that hill area would have been awesome... but still, I really love this build. I think this should win your guild many points - and you guys already have some really fabulous entries already. Blah, I am kind of ashamed of what I am going present after seeing stuff like this. However, you did convert me to a believer in flat panels... I will have to invest in a lot more I think.

I don't want to fight over semantics with the group here, but your portion about netiquette is dead on - we often don't know how our words will be interpreted when it comes to tone. So I apologize if my writing was in any way offensive - I did not mean it that way. I did not see the original comment you quoted, but after rereading the first page of the thread I do see what you are talking about. I think he was kidding when he suggested that Napoleonics should go to Historical. Still, maybe we should refocus this thread towards the promotion of a wider range of building instead of one that feels like we are talking about exclusion. With that being said, I would like to see challenges in both categories some day. As for what I said about a community build in a similar fashion to Historica, I don't think such a thing would divide the forum. It seems that it is pretty much uniting a lot of different builders over in Historical. I would suggest to keep it in a separate MOC forum so that people have the choice to read it or not when looking at MOCs. Historica was a mess when it was in the normal Historical forum. I am also not proposing an exact copy of what they have going over there - I am just saying we should take a lot of the same ideas. 1) A long term community build. 2) Some competition 3) freedom of expression in the community build to keep everyone interested. I understand that is not everyone's cup of tea, since many like to stick to historical accuracy - and we just really couldn't run a simulation based on history (right?) because of the complicated matters of slavery, indigenous population destruction, and the Eurocentric values of the age. So I am really just throwing ideas out here to get a little more permanent action going in here. I will leave these thoughts on this note - I have noticed that there have been quite a few people who joined Eurobricks just to participate in Historica. They seemed to range from long term lurker to friends of friends or just people who heard about it on other sites. If we can pull 20 new pirate builders into the forum, would that not be a boon to the community? As the good Admiral said, man hours are hard to come by on these projects (and money in some cases!) So contests and promotions take a lot of effort and time to develop. I look forward to seeing what comes next. And if help is needed, well sir, I am here to do my duty if need be. Just let me know.

Ok, within the month I promise to reveal the mysterious Dugal. I really needed to make a decision on that anyway.

I don't think anyone ever shot down historical accuracy here. I think that is pretty much what the thread was about, just the accuracy of a different era than Napoleonics. Actually, I don't even know if much was said about creating MOCs outside of the realistic. No one said don't build historically accurate models - the OP just said he wanted to see more from another era. As for exclusive, I don't know why you would think that - anyone can discuss about the history of the genre and MOCing more Golden Age ships (circa 1680s to 1730s.) No one was left out. BTW, to the post by Captain Green Hair - That is one smooth looking hull. I really like it, the lines really catch the eye, and it flows very nice. However, This thing really needs some topsails. Against my better judgement here, I am going to say a few more things - your point about what I said about off topic is exactly my point in the last post. Sometimes we will stray a bit. I don't think that should be unacceptable if it is related to the topic. That is what I meant about posts in the last year being closed, moved, or just shut down. It is a bit tight on the control, that is all. However, I appreciate that you recognized that your approach might not be the best way to tell us to get back on topic. Like I said, I KNOW this is a hard volunteer duty. I am not criticizing your work, just wanted the mods in general to allow more slack. I don't think one or two historical conversations over the course of a month is going to send anyone packing from the forum - it brings context to the site. And We could point out that there have been plenty of topics about certain styles of architecture or fortifications that actually had no Lego content in them at all until much later in the conversations. Or worse in my mind, one of those awful speculation threads that goes on forever about which sets we think they are going to release. Although related to Lego those go on forever and are just repetitive. I definitely enjoy reading what some forum members have said about the types of uniforms and troops used during the Napoleonics. This has been helpful, but in the end they were not very Lego related until someone tried to replicate them with a minifig torso. I think these types of conversations enhance the site, not hinder it. But again, not everyone will see eye to eye on this kind of topic. I thank you and the other staff for their work here, it is better to have a forum than not have forum, and we all appreciate that. And lastly about contests, just let me know if you want help - I, and I am sure others, are willing to put some man-hours in to make this forum even better.

Hmmm, I must have missed the islander guide when it was posted. Funny story though! I was going to say that it has been discussed a few times here that even though Islanders seem to represent Polynesian culture the most, that like the other pirates factions, they are entirely made up. So with that in mind, they can be pretty much whatever you want them to be. If you were going to be historical, then no horses, yes to pigs and some fowl, yes to stone buildings, and larger catamarans would be common for long distance sea travel. As for cannibals - there are not really many records of full blown cannibalism ever existing. However, ritual cannibalism still takes place in some parts of the world today. When a warrior kills an enemy he may ingest a small portion of his body - usually cooked or prepared in some sort of portion, cake, powder, or something else ; but almost always something mixed with other ingredients. As I said, other than dire extremes, cannibalism as a dietary measure is pretty much taboo everywhere in the world that we know of, historically and at the present.

Great find, Would have never thought to look in Ninjago to build a Napoleonic army. However, I don't know about the purple sashes, unless I am thinking of a different type of rifleman.

Yes, but the whole conversation is related to what type of MOCs are relevant to the Golden age, and the perception of the Golden age. If you don't allow for some off topic, then we are really going to spin our wheels here. Again, I am not sure why the pirates forum staff as of late have been clamping down when something strays the slightest bit. Yes, it is a Lego pirate forum, but doesn't heavy censorship really hinder creativity - besides, it is not like we are talking about something completely random here, it IS related to pirate history. The point of community is that we build friendships, this isn't just a place where we post pics of what we are working on - we can do that on Brickshelf. We communicate with one another here and enjoy the hobby with others. I mean, most of us have been talking to one another for years (I can't believe it has been 6 for me) in these forums, we are bound to say stuff not necessarily on topic, but still related to the topic. I just don't see why things have gotten so strict over the last couple years - this forum never really got that off topic to begin with. There was a point early on in my Eurobricks career, that I never loaded another forum than this one. It just seems as of late the camaraderie has broken down. Now I am not blaming the moderators (it is a tough job to moderate forums, I know that), but this post may really show a few reasons why this is so. For example the OP wants to see more Golden Age stuff, he didn't understand why there was not more. Is this a fundamental problem with the Pirates genre, are we slowly losing those interested in the core? Are most people using this forum primarily interested in Napoleonics instead? I don't think that is necessarily true, but it does seem like things are a bit slower around here nowadays. (Or maybe just a bit repetitive?) Lastly, telling people basically to shut up doesn't solve anything. That was a rude way to put that. We can sit around and post only set reviews and MOCs, or we can have a little bit of discussion, posts our MOCs, and set reviews, and hopes of new pirates to come. I personally think a multidimensional, alive forum that gets slightly off topic once in a while is better than one that seems stale and cold. But that is my two cents. But... Back to another thing I posted a few posts back, and slightly a tangent off that rant - what about a community build? Bluecoats V. Redcoats was a great event, and it really livened the forum. Or how about something somewhat like Historica over in the History forum? Heck, I will gladly help run it after May 15 if there is enough interest. There might be close to 100 people participating over there, think of the influx of building and stories we could have in here with that kind of interest boost? To bring it full circle to the OP's first post, something like this could result in an influx of building classic Golden Age ships and architecture. in the end, we can all take our Lego and go build by ourselves - we don't need a forum, but we do choose to be here. A forum needs members just like it needs rules. Maybe not everyone sees the same situation I see - I do have a longer exposure to the forums than a lot of people it seems, and nostalgic memories of something are always sweeter. Still, I would love to help run a real kick-butt community build set in the Golden Age of Piracy, and I think there are some of you who would bite on this. Ok, I will end rant and won't say anything more about the off topic smack downs of the recent past - it has just been something that has irked me for a while now and wanted to get off my chest.

If I have enough white, my embassy in Mitgardia will probably be squeezed in before the deadline. It is not an embassy in traditional sense. Historically, countries did not have embassies in remote nations or city states, and they didn't have them in remote parts of a kingdom, even if the kingdom was large enough to merit a full ambassador and a ministerial staff. They would often build consulates, with the consul being the main dignitary. And for those places so remote, or so unimportant, a ship was sent with a captain acting as the dignitary to the country / city / territory. My Mitgardian embassy is going to be located in the far reaches of the North, where only small tribes and the fur trade thrive. The scene is going to be a ship shuttered up for winter, with the ice frozen in around it. It is going to be docked, and I am building a trading house to act as the "consulate" while the ship is locked in the ice. I know it is not the traditional definition that we are thinking about for this contest, but I thought about what would suit the far north the best, and I think this is it. I was going to do a Nocturnus embassy too, but unfortunately, I probably won't have the time. So why did I post this - because I wanted to ask what you all use as an alternative for the white tree branches in order to create trees that look like they have snow on them? The white branches are awesome, but also cost like a dollar each.

OK, so I know you said it is resting on a box back there, but is it possible to tilt the roof like that? That would be kind of creepy cool... Like the building had sunk in on itself - pretty fitting for a Nocturnus embassy. Anyway, just a thought. Looks really great though, and I love the neighbor.

I am doing similar with GEAR Co. I think it is fine to create a "cast." I actually have not put my main character in a MOC yet... Actually, I was playing at people dislike him enough to throw assassins at him, that he never shows his face in public - thus I don't have a sig fig. On the other hand, I have yet to be happy with a fig enough to make him Dugal... So I just throw Dugal's brother Petera and his buddies in my MOCs. I think as long as characters are in the same guild, a person should be OK just creating another member of their "cast"

You are absolutely right, I teach college history - I have a hard enough time trying to get them to remember the dates of the Revolution or Civil War, let alone anything else. That stands at a rich major private or at community college, Americans are ignorant of their history. I was saying that if you asked them to name a pirate, they would give you a splattering of different names (or attempts at a name) from different eras. I once got an essay about how Captain Morgan was a great rum producer from North Carolina during the Civil War, and the owner of a blockade runner that saved General Robert E. Lee. I thought the kid was kidding, I wrote on his test, "Good story, better than leaving it blank, I can throw you a few points for creativity." He came to me the next semester (it was a final) and told me that he was totally serious and he did not like that I thought he made it up on purpose. I told him to take the points and run then. ha. I don't know where he got his information from, maybe someone was having fun changing the wikipedia page the night before the test while he was cramming. Or maybe he spent the night before cramming Captain down his gullet.

Are you kidding me? I almost don't believe that is Lego... Wow, just beautiful.

Great idea. I might offer to mod the Kaliphlin equivalent if DaMaximus isn't already doing so. One of the many free builds I plan on doing for Historica is great historic battles where I depict battles between forces of old, and then probably render a few of the pictures as paintings or tapestries. If I do any that happens on land in present day Avalonia, I will make sure to post it.

I beg to differ. For example in the US, if you were talking to someone in Louisiana about pirates, they are probably thinking Lafitte. Additionally, most people don't understand the historical context of piracy (And I am not saying you don't, just talking here). The perception of piracy portrayed in classic Hollywood is really what people are thinking about. If you look at the movies that made this image, most of them are actually about English privateers in the buccaneering age, not pirates in the Golden Age! (The Sea Hawk, Captain Blood) The whole black legend that revolves around the Spanish colonial period to this day is an English representation that is repeated over and over again in film and in books. That is why most pirates in these movies are actually Spanish, as you know it was most often everyone but the Spanish plundering the Spanish. Anyway, on the topic of the forum, perhaps we need a competition to get some "Golden Age" MOCs going? Seems to be working over in Historical with Historica.

Evil Stevies is decently realistic... Although a bit complicated. But, I think it is the best of all the lego wargames. I have been working on a wargame for years, but we have not really moved to specialized water rules yet (where we account for fleet movement, different types of soldiers, etc...) or else I would just release the Alpha rules for people to tinker with. Although, some day it will be glorious... haha. We are building a game you can play with three figs or three thousand figs, with ease of play being slightly harder than brickwars. (for the more advanced gamer, where brickwars is pretty basic) I would like to see what others have come up with over the years.

I feel your collection is worth well over 2000... if piecemealed. That might be a little bit of me thinking about what my own is worth, but I am pretty sure that you could get 2k if you sold individually - but of course that would take a long time. ANyway, I hope you find a buyer... I already have most / all that - although those soldiers are tempting hehe. But again, as you said, you have over 400 bucks in bluecoats alone... someone on here would get this collection for a steal at only $900. LOLS to the Craigslist soccer moms.

Now enters Florbad the Mighty. gladiator by princeofska, on Flickr Commander of the GEAR 2nd Desert "Hotknives" Battalion, Champion of the Pretarian Games, Last Chief of the Stoneslaughter clan, and freed orc. Florbad started his life as chiefs son within the Stoneslaughter Clan. When he was 16 his whole clan was slaughtered or enslaved by a Nocturnus Slaving Party. He was taken to be a gladiator, and eventually he was trained and sold to Kaliphlin merchant. He fought in the Pretarian games, and eventually won his freedom. Since then, he has been employed as a body guard for Petera MacLean and commanded his own battalion - the Hotknives - a desert patrol put together by the Greater Eastgate Articles and Rations Company. He has offered to be the representative from the city of Eastgate, and he fights for the honor of Kaliphlin.

The dissertation I am writing right now says otherwise... The Golden Age was just the largest wave of piracy. The Napoleonic period was the second in the Caribbean area at least. These are not truly privateers either. These are a bunch of guys sailing around with different flags, and saying that they had permissions from new Latin American countries, or from France, but in reality very few had any legitimate papers. Additionally, many of those new nations that issued the letters didn't exist very long at all, where you have some of the pirates roaming around the Gulf of Mexico claiming they had a letter of marque from a place that had not existed (the Spanish stamped them out in counter revolution) for five or more years. These people were surely pirates. Back to the Golden Age, if you want to get "historical" then you are not going to have too many MOCs of navies attacking pirates. In the early part, this would be the job of pirate hunters (privateers) and when Queen Annes War ends (1715), finally the Royal Navy would start entering the fray (post 1720s). And in that case, you would need to make a bunch of large ships against a few pirate dinghies and sloops... I think as MOCing goes, you are going to see waves. Napoleonics traditionally have a large fan base that is going to be steady, where the "hotness" of pirates is circular. We are probably approaching a down period in popular culture when it comes to piracy - even with a fifth PoC coming out. Pirates, like Ninjas, can't stay "sexy" (a term we academics like to use for a briefly hot topic) forever. I think this applies to Lego and MOCing too.

We would be honored to have you in our town!

Robuko: The mosaic looks awesome. This embassy looks like it is going to be great. I can't wait to see it completed. So, after catching up on some of the other guilds threads, I think I have a better understanding of the free build points - So if I understand this correctly, SI is going to pick five free builds at the end of the month and we can get points for these? Are those free builds only eligible the month they appear? If so I might run out and get a white table cloth in the next day or so and take new pictures of my oasis town. Unless, of course, it isn't even being considered at all... Then I will just wait to do it when I have more time. IF there is a possibility we want to use my MOC (not saying mine is better than anyone else's) then I don't want us to lose points on photography. Afterall, I used to be a professional photographer, I should be able to produce some decent pictures LOL.

Wow. I love your elf designs, and I personally really dislike elves in general, so that is saying a lot. I was hoping you would have made top 5 with your tower, I think this is just as quality. Your uniqueness has no equal so far in these competition. Keep up the great work. I love how the scene is set up! On another note, this creation is well worth my 500th all-time post! :)

That will be interesting... sort of a "guide to the continent" There are a lot of clans, races, and cultures in this new world - you may want some help. Also, sorry, I know the conversation is over a week old, but I just got to it - I hope that Historica continues as an event for more than the designated year. I think it has a lot of potential to keep people involved. For example, as I suggested a long time ago in one of the general threads, a new continent or island with a new faction or two could open up to keep adding life - almost like an expansion pack. I won't bog down the mitgardia thread with my ideas, but if we need some I have plenty - I think about the event and ways to add to it, I just don't seem to have the time this semester to sit and build! Also, I guess I feel a little left out as no one is building a embassy in my Kaliphlin town of Eastgate! If any of you Mitgardians need a home, we have a spot. It was offered to my brother who is in your guild - but he has seemed to have gone dormant. :(

I second that theory... Man, I spent a lot of money on Bricklink the last few months. Alas, I might not have one embassy done in time (I was planning two back at new years..,) The main bricklink order I placed in December has still not come in yet and teaching 9 classes is sapping any thought of free time I have. I am enjoying looking at all the entries so far, and I promise to get at least something small up so we can get some overall points - just probably won't be too ground breaking.

Haha! What a fun MOC indeed! Great job. I like the inner detail a lot. The outside, where the ship was boarded over, I feel could have been done better with something else. The logs just look kind of funny. Ships are usually boarded over horizontally rather than vertically. But, that is just my opinion. Inside in brilliant though!

That is the only thing I can think of too. The function-ability of the embassy. However, this is so cool looking, I don't think it matters. Wow! Actually, it kind of reminds me of elf land in WoW. There are so many good embassies being created, I am intimidated!