kurigan

I’ve been working on my 3d modeling to make my own Lego compatible customs for some time. I finally got a production ready prototype back of my first model, my long talked about belaying pins. Well pardon the inherent promotion, but I had to take some real-world photos for my shapeways store and wound up having a bit too much fun with it. Here’s some images of a few mini-fig brigands making liberal use of my belaying pins to take it to a couple of marines who wouldn’t mind their own business. That guy at the bottom of the last frame, he was handsome before this

When I first looked at this I thought “now this isn’t up to snuff with what he’s been doing, what’s he about?” then I actually bothered to read. So, ok. For a mini scale this is pretty good. I do find the bow a bit awkward. The prow shouldn’t stoop where it does, at the red strip and it’s distracting. In general I’m rather impressed by the parts usage. I think a lot of these techniques look good for either a mini or mini-fig scale. Nice job.

not really sure but it looks as though the flex tube may be held on by string or rubber bands.

I cheated! Legostone has the right of it. It’s colored electrical tape. I cheat there as well. They are mounted, as on Ramcat and Nonesuch before, on a Mega Blox particularly well suited to the purpose. As pressure from the standing rigging increases friction increases inside the part and it holds it position. Before then I have infinite degrees of possibility all while keeping the base of the mast above the axis and, therefore the hole made in the deck for it. I tried so many Lego brand solutions, but none had both the ability to bent to any angle and hold fast once in place. Right now they slop around a bit and I pay only so much attention to that, until they fall over and scatter round bricks to the four winds. The rigging will be set to hold both masts at a rake. Less so on the fore than the main. As for the cheese slope, yes. I can’t find a clear picture of one, not even in my own catalog to illustrate what it’s supposed to represent. In actuality it’s a wedge mortised into the bow sprit against which the base of the jib boom rests. Being part of the sprit it’s painted with that member. The jib boom, like a top mast is somewhat disposable, and may be a different finish. In this case “black paint” versus “bare wood”. And ruin her looks by piercing her sides, I think not! Besides, how big and how many guns could I really cram on deck any way, a couple 3-4 pounders a side? Even if it’s just a 9 pounder, that single long gun on a swivel makes up a lot of teeth. Without the rigging in place I’m guessing at about a 70 degree arc of fire to either side. That means she can deliver her shot with extreme prejudice with far less concern for her position relative to the enemy than most any other ships. Perhaps it looks less impressive than a full broadside but underestimating her could be a die mistake.

lol, thanks! my ego certainly appreciates the praise, but how about something critical though? At least while she's at a stage where things can change.

I'm very excited about this. I was disappointed when you told me you gave it up. Cant wait to see some progress.

This lovely recreation of the replica of Cook’s HM Bark Endeavor was created by Ashley Bognar & Mitchell Kruik, who are members of Ryan McNaught's build team, as part of a Lego layout of Sidney Harbor at the Museum of Sidney. It shows some pretty advanced techniques and attention to detail. Mr. McNaught also provided some great sailing yachts for the same display worth checking out. We’d love to have him weigh in on his creation and perhaps join our community so if anyone know Mr. McNaught please help us get in contact with him. Thanks.

OK ,try these on instead. no ism not a particular fan of the black but it is a common practice to paint parts of the mast likely to see the most wear. Pride of Baltimore II, my primary inspiration, has the mast head painted like this so... yeah. Essentially there isn't a very good way to do cheeks with he bits I have handy. I liked the 2905 I used on Nonesuch but I just don't have any left. This way, with just the trestle and cross trees, it may not be entirely accurate, but I can get the gaff yoke higher up the mast for a better sail shape with out making the masts and taller. I also got the bowsprit mostly set and changed the unsightly configuration at the base near the prow CGH pointed out. This looks much better, and I'm glad i found the part, a 6037 instead of the 6042 I was using, to make it work. And here's a comparison shot with Nonesuch in the back ground. Just for fun, gives an idea what Blanid will look like rigged since I'll be using the same sail plan. More Images

That’s good feedback, I hate them too and needed someone else to as well. What I really wanted to use were 43723/43722 respectively, but I just couldn’t drum up two of each in a convenient color. It’s an old but familiar song and dance. Sorry every one I may just have to delay my tutorial once again while I find parts and rebuild, grumble-grumble. That one cross beam is shorter on the real thing too. It looks a bit awkward at the moment but once rigged won’t stand out so much.

I didn’t get to actually go, but I dispatched a couple of sloops, Nuisance and Bumblebee to make an appearance. They didn’t arrive in the best shape but Phred was able to cobble them back together for the show. Bumblebee even won a nomination, wo! It was great to have the chance to participate even from a distance and I’m already hatching plans for next year. Guess I caught the bug. 1,400 and some odd miles later (round trip) my well-traveled ladies are back home safe and sound. Thanks for the opportunity and thanks to everyone who participated to make up a great layout.

Ok I’m weak. After telling Photobucket to go… well you get the point. I broke down and gave them $3 for more storage space so here are those crosstrees. There are also more shots of the gun now. More Images Feedback, please.

I was, like everyone else, floored when I first looked at this. Honestly, there is so much thought and detail worked in, it really is a very convincing design. Yes, there is a "but" coming though . Keep in mind I can only have come up with such a question if so much else had already been thought of, so really it's a kudos to you for inspiring such an idea. That being said, how would the crew theoretically add additional shafts to the drill as it bore deeper or is the system limited to only the depth of a single section? I look at it and think of contemporary well drills.

Parts list: 1 - 518, x110c01 or bb39 1 – 2527 2 - 4600, 6157 or 11002 4 - 4624

All submissions must be given freely for reuse.

I was never really satisfied with the gun arrangement I had before. It would have really cluttered the deck with block and tackle and I couldn’t find reference for a track suspended above a hatch way the way I had it. Tracks built in to the deck, yes, but not high up like that. This new system does call for a smaller hatchway but will only require 2 tackles, is more realistic and still has a great arc of fire. I've been having trouble with Photobucket lately, so I could only get a few images up. When I rearrange things or move to a better service I’ll put up more/better pictures. For the moment here’s the new setup. I also, finally put cross trees up so I can begin my rigging tutorial, but there’s apparently no space for the images.

Other than this being another great example of your style, I really like this one because instead of trying to go bigger and grander as most Eldorado re-do's you went the other way and it works so well. Playing as a kid I always imagined "under dog" type stories around a run down, out-of-the way sort of place where Eldorado was concerned. To me it was sort of the "Meatballs" fort and yours makes me pleasantly reminiscent of that. Thanks for sharing.

Hey all! Thanks for that warm welcome. Gonna do my best to enrich things around here and keep things tidy as well. I appreciate the votes of confidence, and won't let you all down.

I can't say it better than Phred. This topic was nearly a year old and the originator hasn't been active since August of last year. Please show better judgement in the future where bumping old topics is concerned. That being said, perhaps I can help. If it's the guns on the top deck you refer to, the muzzles are technic pin connectors. if it's the main battery those are standard Lego cannons. We'll be starting a new artillery reference that may help with such things in the near future.

Scaling is never a fun topic where Lego and mini-figs are concerned. In short, it always comes down to this: mini-figs have the same basic proportions as human babies. When you have to account for them as adults they either have to be extremely wide or extremely short. What that means for ship building is that what often seems too big, really isn’t. The figures just look short on deck. This is where mini-fig illusion scale comes in. The basic idea there is to pick somewhere in between so that mini-figs appear to comfortably inhabit the environment even if the ship is a little small to true scale. It’s not to be confused with mini-fig scale where thing tend to windup a lot bigger, like Poseidon. Now what you have here, I don’t think is necessarily too big. If anything it’s just too narrow abeam for its length. It doesn’t look like a fishing sloop either. It’s more of a cutter what with a huge mainsail, square topsail and long bowsprit, handy for multiple headsails. The high gunwales and up-swept stern also suggest “merchant” to me. Nothing wrong with any of that and doesn’t mean it can’t be used however it’s owner’s desire. I always suggest starting on small vessels first anyway. If you’re trying to learn about ships through modeling there can just be too much to take in a full-sized/full rigged ship to completely understand. Working on smaller rigs and hulls and moving up in time makes everything so much easier to understand. Here’s what I suggest for the next build. Find one ship in particular to model. Doesn’t have to be an exact replica, just something inspirational. If say you wanted to make an armed cutter I’d suggest Le Renard as there is a popular full-size replica sailing out of Saint Malo today as well as several highly detailed models all over Google and the like. You don’t seem to have a lot of “round stock” so maybe go for something with less spars. If you want to stay with the fishing theme maybe try something like a Baltic Ketch. Google has actually gotten very smart over the years and now tracks your habits to better serve your needs. That’s probably why you can’t find the same pic again. (That or it’s been taken down) The more you search and click links of interest the keener it gets at finding what you're looking for. You'll learn a thing or two as well to help it along. Things like new terms and vocabulary. Personally I've also learned a lot by reading (sometimes listening) to nautical fiction and looking up what I don't know or doesn't make sense. You find yourself trying to picture the action and asking "what the heck does "off tacks and sheets" mean?” Or "what are bunt lines and futtox shrouds and can I bring them up in polite conversation?" Wow, that’s a book’s worth of ramblings, huh? Any of it helpful yet? I think the one key thing missing on this build is the channels. Those are the platform on the side of the ship next to the mast(s) up from which the shrouds extend to the top of the mast. Since you’re not doing any of the rigging yet, they aren’t mechanically necessary but would break up the side of the ship, perhaps making it look, not-so-long. There is also a distinct lack of a wheel or tiller, which I just chalked up to technical limitations; namely a lack of parts. Don’t be afraid of color either. We all like very marshal blacks and browns, but people of the past were possessed of paint and did make liberal use of it. If the parts you need seem to be in an inconvenient color, don’t be so quick to judge. Without modern materials like Polyurethane, it’s actually unwise to leave wood grain exposed at sea, so they painted everything, and often in bold colors. Alright I’ll leave off here. I think I sucked up enough space on your thread so far. Cousarmy0001: I appreciate that, thank you.

Welcome to the community! Always great to see new builders. When I look at a ship MOC I’m looking for 3 things. A certain scope or level of ambition, a concept of how a ship is shaped (even if it just superficial), and detail inclusion. You have all that here, even without sails and cordage. You used a fairly modern/unconventional technique, perhaps for lack of any “ship parts” but necessity is the mother of invention; and pre-fabs can be a crutch anyway. You used that technique to create real-world like profiles and shapes. Things like the paint job and the cabin sky light add depth to the whole thing. This is a good build in general, let alone for a first venture. Clever parts usage is a sign of a good builder, and can often hint at skills beguiled by a limited brick supply. On this front I feel your pain. One of the most expensive and parts consuming elements of Lego shipbuilding can be the masts and spars. This is where I see a lot of that clever parts usage on your ship. In particular I like the use of techic pins and antenna to make a smaller diameter on the bowsprit. Where sails and rigging are concerned: on the one hand you’ll want to practice before you try it on anything you plan to keep but on the other it’s not something you’ll relish destroying when you decide you’ll need another rendition before you’re satisfied. It’s a conundrum somewhat unique to ship builders. In this case, if she’s already bound for the knacker’s yard, I’d suggest saving the effort for a later build so you can plan for the specific structural needs of a more complete rig. I see no problem with your brick built sails though. I’m seeing a few things included that suggest to me that you did a bit of research before clicking bricks and don’t need an education in ships from the likes of me. However, everyone here, myself included, are always happy to help. Just ask if you want it otherwise most will be too polite to offer without prompting. Thanks for sharing! I hope to see more from you soon.

interesting and unique but ultimately satisfying approach. I like her!

Interesting build. I like how you use the sails from official sets, epically the old skull print raft sail as a topgallant. It is clearly a MOC though so I’m going to move it over to that forum. Thanks for sharing.

Neat! These are realy very clever and you picked the absolute most perfect expression for the guy in white. Have you considered trying to do something like the batpod from The Dark Knight with two forks?

That's awesome! Something about that dragon, it's not raging or intimidating, just curious. I guess those guys are right to be scared as that's not likely to last.