kurigan

This is neat, I partucurally like the front end. If I may suggest though: use the fin version here for a civilian model and make a cop car without. Also a wagon version for an ambulance would work out well too. It defiantly has a 50-60 vibe to it, which supports your classic concept.

Oh that is neat! am I too late for a free sample? bit of a rum enthusiast...

To my knowledge the only two builders here who have perused this method are cb4 (the likely originator) and Frank Brick Wright. Neither are regulars on the forum any longer nor was either trying to make a floating hull. Cb4’s “sea trial” seemed more of a curiosity after the fact. The success of it, however, was a direct result of the initial goal in the development of this method. That was: to recreate the metrics of the actual thing, to scale, in Lego, and there by produce a superior model. The end result was so effective that the thing would thing actually float and in the same manner as its real world inspiration. For my part I’ve always theorized that one could sandwich a sheet of plastic between the two or more layers of plates which make up the outside of the hull but foresee a few problems which would likely not make it an ideal solution for this proposal. For one, it would stress the bricks having that extra material smashed in-between studs. To some this is acceptable for the sake of pushing the limits of the system, but to others is an unacceptable abuse of Lego. You would also have to keep the sheet intact throughout with special attention paid to the amount of stress stretching it between plates would create. It seems it would be too delicate a process to trust to children. My best idea, though I’ve never put the bricks together to try it, would be ballast in the form of a steel rod (likely suspended below the keel like an RC model) and below deck cavities filled with closed cell foam. There would still be a bilge from the less than water tight connections but it might still work the same. Now as for the original proposal, I only came on with this because I think it’s a good idea. Personally I just don’t like, well… pre-fab anything (almost). I feel it limits scope and creativity, but for the kids, I suppose that’s another thing. It’s certainly something worth perusing, perhaps as a prototype for an actual Lego brand set in the future. I think the easiest way to prototype this would be with 3D printing. Get someone onboard who can model with the necessary skills and start hashing out a design. One suggestion, leave some provision in the design to add ballast outside the hull like the x149. Notes: AndersT’s method in fundamentally similar but with a different basis for the frame work. His employs a more gradual stepping out technique while the cb4 makes use of hinges.

Since you're talking about kids and play you may say this isn't what your looking for. However, cb4 did manage to brick build a hull which can float if the bricks can be sealed water-tight. Check it out: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=79732

Seems you could have used either the base plate or the table top for a better effect. It's a great scene, that bit is just distracting IMHO.

I like it! I like everything about it. Good over all design. Nothing not quite 18th century about it. Forgive me if i admit it makes me think of Pride and Prejudice. The doily as a carpet is brilliant. I love clever inclusion of non Lego parts just like that. Couple of questions though. For one, is it open or does it come apart for access inside? And how did you construct that stool with Will Turner hair? Thanks so much for sharing her. IMHO we just don't see enough of the gentler side of age-of-sail culture here in the pirates forum.

It's no surprise that there is a lot of great detail in her though I don't think any more swooning is required at this point. However, looking her over once more something note worthy grabbed my attention which it seems no one else has mentioned. She has reef points! Actual, functional reef points and on that scale. You sir may be mad as a hatter but I for one appreciate your particular brand of crazy. Great job!

Well she's a fine looking brig and a brig she is. No need for a new classification. Two masts square rigged makes a brig and her armament is fairly typical for brigs. Though a full stern gallery and spar deck on a brig is less and less common the later in history you go they are not uncommon. Why Sophie/Speedy was a 14 gun quarter deck brig. So be proud of her as a brig, nothing wrong with sloops/unrated vessels. Though I sided with the reds in the last tournament it's always nice to see the original Lego sailors get a new ship to play with. I always found the Blue Coat flag reminiscent of the Bourbon flag, so perhaps she's French? If so you could always call her a corvette if she had a few more guns. If you want some suggestions or advice just ask. Other wise, thanks for sharing!

Thank you so much for the quick response Phred. You’ve got some great photos and that video was just pleasant to watch. Friends Goodwill is a lovely ship I’ve admired for some time myself, but haven’t the opportunity to get out that way to visit her or any of the other great lakes tall ship, like Niagara. Though your images may help me on another project very similar, it would seem things are done very differently in “Pride”. The large majority of her control lines run to the pin rails to either side. Also I still can’t make out where “Friends” is actually belaying the line even though I can now see it set how I suspected. Alas, the search continues.

Alright everybody… Without lifting the veil just yet, I, going to admit that I’ve been quietly hard at work on a project for some time, which I hope will be a compelling reveal when the time comes. As the project progresses however, I’m having trouble finding certain bits of specific information “on the cheap”. I know a lot of basic, fundamental stuff about sailing ships, to be sure, but I need help in a few key areas specific to the rig I’m trying to replicate. My primary example for this build has been Pride of Baltimore II because, not only is she a lovely vessel you can’t help but appreciate, but she has been readily available to observe and record directly over the last few years. Because Philadelphia is a short sail from her home port in Baltimore she is something of a staple for “Tall Ship” based events here on the Delaware. So, I’ve been able to tour her deck, converse with the crew, take loads of photos and even enjoy a short sail on the river. As far as the standing rigging (and some of the running from that day cruise) goes, I’m fairly well founded. What I can’t find are elements I haven’t been able to see up close or in the works. For instance, I haven’t witnessed the working of the jib sails, since we cruised under fore and forestay sail on the river. Where then, are the sheets for the jibs belayed and are they passed through a block, like the forestay sail? I’ve wasted hours poring through Google images, trying to divine the mechanics of this from painfully low-res images to no avail. The best I can figure is they lead first to some point on the channels before running inboard. Weather that point is a block of some kind or just a ring bolt, I cannot tell. So does anyone here want to lend a hand? Can anyone fill in some of these blanks, perhaps with better images or even a sail plan on paper? I could of course, make an educated guess, figure out what works best on my model and may still. I’d prefer to know what’s actually being done before I make a change however. As with most any model, there are of course some such variances due to scaling or incompatibility issues already, but it just seems the higher calling to know for sure first. As every art teacher I’ve ever had always said “Know the rules before you break them”. Now I know all too well how expensive and hard found this information can be, so don’t think I ask lightly for what may have cost so dearly. I am not one to forget favors, or treat a friend with ingratitude. If you can and do help me, don’t think of it as mere charity. This build means the world to me as would any assistance offered.

There I go again, killing the buzz not at all my intention and I’m glad to see others jump back in anyway. That is my suggestion though. Just build it, put it out there and if the jury of your peers disagree with what you have, so be it. Get over it and get on with the game. For the very same reason that should work, I’m not personally interested in playing. If it were strictly historical/real-world my personal interest would have been piqued. I don’t want to see it fail though, on the contrary, and that’s where from my words of caution stem. A lot of my nautical education is owed to a burning frustration over constant contradictions, common misconceptions and holes in conventional information which begged for clarification if only for my own sake. I’m happy to be of service in these matters; where I don’t know I can find out. As for the 20 gun rule, it’s a bit of both actually. Where I found reference to it was in literature, fiction, first. There is a certain amount of reasoning or interpretation to fill in the blanks though. Thank you all for your understanding and kindly responses. It saddens me to say that I had not expected as much nor should I have at an earlier point in time. This exchange how ever does a lot to restore my confidence.

I’ve been taking a break from the site. When I came back I didn’t want to portray the same public face which I get the feeling is perceived as a known-it-all, sour-puss and/or buzzkill. I just can’ let misinformation go through; it’s an anathema to me. So, here it goes: *deep breath, heavy sigh* In maritime terms a sloop and a cutter are variations on the same rig; a single mast baring a fore aft sails. The difference being the number of sails employed. A sloop carries only one head sail while a cutter has multiple (sometimes up to 4) head sails and often an exaggerated mainsail. There are also topsail cutters though the distinction is rarely made. These, as the name suggests, employ sails above the main of varying types (gaff, lug, stay or square). The subject is also complicated when ships boats are brought into the picture. Often the largest of a ship’s smaller support craft, this big rowboat can be temporally rigged in a similar fashion, thus the same term is applied. Now in naval terms, though they are a bit anglocentric, a sloop is any commissioned vessel “under the rates” which therefore does not require a full “post captain” in command. The rating system was just a way of classifying ships by the number of guns. Other nations followed the same general standard but rarely referenced the RN’s rate structure. You see, the number of guns determines the number of crew that a ship requires. You might be surprised to find how few men, even a full rigged ship actually requires for sailing alone. Anything under 20 guns is going to have too few crewmen to warrant subdividing the command, thus nothing over a lieutenant is necessary. Once you cross that mark, you reach a point where the divisions of the crew are so numerous that multiple lieutenants under a captain are required to keep things in order. The idea that frigates are necessarily faster than ships of the line is a common misconception. Though SotL rarely actually traveled at their full potential for the sake of staying in formation, they have the same potential, if not more, for forward speed as their miniature counter parts. Yes they are bigger and heavier, but their hull to canvas ratio is the same or greater. Plus the sails of a SotL are higher up in the faster, cleaner wind and hung from stouter stuff. (Meaning; the rigging, masts and spars are proportionally larger as well.) Though the larger number of crew would make it a complicated undertaking, with a good crew and competent officers, a SotL could be brought to sail just as swiftly as any frigate. Historically there are cases of SotLs running frigates down for the capture. What you’ve asked for here is something of a promethean task in that it starts out with heroics and ends in eternal torture. Simply put, the need to catalog, classify and categorize everything is a (post) 20th century attitude. In their time, the people who incorporated this technology just understood how many factors were at play and didn’t care to have them all itemized. It wasn’t about what equipment you had, it was about what you did with it. Sure don’t expect a sloop to take a frigate on paper, but then go look up Speedy vs El Gamo. It’s exactly why RPGs based on sail driven naval combat rarely work out. There are just so many factors in question that these men had to be experts in multiple disciplines just to survive. My best suggestion is to not worry about it. Come up with your best guess and go with it. If you seek clarification or worry about historical accuracy, ask for it thereafter. It’s just a game, it’s not really going to matter any way and likely best left to develop organically, just like it did in the real world. Besides, there’s talk of your universe involving magic, which take all this off the table once you can so enhance the performance of your equipment as such. All that being said I know I’ll be brought to regret it through arguments, personal attacks, etc. I just can’t stand watching people fall victim to the same misconceptions over and over again. So weather or not you like/agree with me, there it is.

I couldn’t in good conscience let this go with no replies. It’s a good topic and I’m not convinced that there is no one else with something to offer here. I mean we were not born purists, right? Anyway, cocktail swords. Yes they are comically large to be used as a rapier in mini-fig scale, but nip off the knuckle bow and do a little bit of clever sharpie work and you have a handy lil zweihander. You can even get creative with other materials like I did here, snipping it short and using some tape to build up a handle.

Looks good, keeps the classic feel and seems do-able as a set. If I may make a suggestion though, add a villain. Include a cause for the intercom's breakage in the form of an alien, robot or monster.

I really like the look of this one and the way it transforms. The engins being hands, or writs is clever and you could even make hands that clip on when in robot form to be discarded when in vehicle form; as though they fold inside when not in use. I'm not too up on expanded universe for Transformers, but he looks more like Cyclonus form the '86 film to me.

It's a really vague question, and no one has been wrong or inappropriate with advice yet, but I don't know if you're getting the information you actually want. You see it depends on a host if factors like, who, when, where and what. Through out the 18th and 19th centuries yellow was a popular color for ships, especially British, for instance. Continentally speaking, though buildings were often painted colors to differentiate them from each other, really bold color didn't come into vogue till about mid 19th century. Once you started spreading out around the world things were very different though, especially in the West Indies. To my observation, it would seem, the more exotic the local the more vivid the color pallet. Yellow is most certainly a useful color in many Pirate related instances.

Ive been a member a long time now and I never knew about this thread. I only stumbled across it while re-reading over site guidelines and such. I'm bored and can't sleep and I imagine many have wondered about my chosen handle over the years so here it is by way of an explanation. Quite simply, it's made up. I've been using this handle for more than half my life now; it may as well be a given name. I ascribed it first to a fantastic character of mine when I was young, a sort of bad guy hunting, sword wielding, interstellar Mary-sue. Typical teenage-boy day dream stuff. I used it for my first and still primary, email address back when I was no older than 14 and stuck with it ever since. When I was first signing up here I didn't think I'd be stuck with it and just fell back on old habits. I figured at some point I'd come up with something more clever or, since I was primarily participating on Pirates, add a "captain" for a completed ship, or even "commodore or admiral" for a fleet. 500 posts is still a long way off for me, particularly since I tend to keep my mouth shut until I feel I have something truly worthwhile to offer, this little digression not withstanding. So I guess I'll just keep being that guy "kurigan" for a while longer.

These are pretty nice. I'm particurally fond of the Sabre, rather reminiscent of the A-wing, one of my favorites. I too am comming back to space/sci-Fi after a long time and am intrigued by the recent trends. What I'm finding is that "studless" is a lot less about "having the right parts" and more about being clever. Clearly that's something your used to and well practiced at.

This is my first offering here on the Sci-Fi forum. I've made several other MOCs in the same vane but waited to share until I felt I had something truly worth sharing. I suppose it's something like Neo-Classic, but I'm not really up on all the terms for this genera. What I was going for was studless and I think I did pretty well. The only exposed studs besides those in the cockpit, a necessary evil, are easily explained as maneuvering thrusters. This is my twin engine Blacktron interceptor. It's armed with four long range laser cannons and a self guiding anti ship missile. The pilot wears a integrated body suit which takes input directly off he's nervous system (hence the "robot" head instead of the typical helmet). This kind of fighter is ideal for patrolling in areas where capital ships are unavailable or impractical. more images here

Wow, that's intense! Nice work.

There's not enought here to criticize to be honest. Looks like your off to building a cutter or something like it, but with out some idea of your intentions I'd reserve any judgement lest we find that we've been heading in very different directions and are at a loss for the effort. If there is any sort of "general" advice I could offer it'd be to lower that gaff sail much further down the mast. That is, unless I misinterpreted an attempt at a gaff top sail or the like (one atop another). In any case, even on more fantastic builds convention would place the lower spar, much closer to the deck. I'm glad to see you figured out your deeplinking difficulties, I was rather intrigued by your choice of name and did wonder what we'd be missing out on. I'd be most ingratiated if you'd regale us with a few of the details, as such. As always, thanks for sharing.

Hey! We were watching that... Nice build. Imideatly recognizable (1984). Fantastic work all around. What are we, like a bus or something?