kurigan

Nonsense, don't change me because I pointed them out.like I said they look sharp, and proud sailors would do all kinds of things to decorate their ships on that time period. Your explanation of painter iron sits well with me. I get the windows now, that pretty clever. Is that your own idea? Thanks for the response.

Alright gentleman, it's inappropriate to insult my intelligence. I've explained several times through my own threads that my methods is not exactly a conventional "water line" technique but is ment to be something very much like it. By breaking with convention I find I get the best of both worlds. Much like Rapscallion is displayed, to get the full effect the lower portion of my hulls need to be obscured by some medium, like brick built ocean, but the working theory generates options which is why I offered it here. Now that this has gotten away from being of any use to Horatio, I suggest we gat back on topic. My input doesn't change. Water line models tend to be more stable, particularly when built with prefab sections. By this I only reference the satbility of the sheer hulk it's self; considerations for rigging or other parts of the vessel not withstanding. Full hulls tend to be less stable regardless of their size because their member parts are smaller and more numerous, they almost necessarily being brick built. To most you'll find venturing upon a project of the full hull type, stability isn't a key issue as they tend to be intended as models, not toys or play sets. Water line tends to be favored for playable constructionsn to better simulate a ship at sea. As for perfectionist's point that larger vessels become less stabe as they grow; this is usally true for any build, prefab hulls aside. What you'll notice about most of the prefab hull builds, larger ones espically, is that they are usually built out wider a mid ship then the prefab sections. Exceptions to the "rules": Super link attempted upon a full with his Rapscallion still based on prefab sections. It wasn't terrible, but he decided to go with the water line after all. Cb4's full hull technique is well know to be quit stable, images of his Xebec propped up on a single point proving it, can be see on his thread.

I am really likening her so far. For some reason I'm particularly fond of her color scheme On that issue I have a concern though. Those white bands on the masts don't seem quite period even if they are stylish. Most tall ships did have some sort of bands on the masts, made either of rope or iron, which discouraged splitting as the pole flexed under wind pressure. Your's being white seem to be neither. Were you attempting to model such bands with those white prices or are they something else? Perhaps you are just short on bricks and making the best of what you have, a situation I can fully understand. I wouldn't suggest changing them for style, they look kind of sharp, withe on black. If I noticed this however, you can bet someone else will too. Your stern gallery is also quite acctractive and I like how you've given it a tilt of it's own, following the tumble home. I don't recall seeing another Lego ship successfully simulate that particular feature before. The single pane windows on the sides, look rather precarious though and I wonder how you have them secured. Are they locked in place in any way and do you find it a particularly convenient method to work with? Thanks for sharing and keep building!

No, none at all. Didyou look at my ships? See the links below.

Well that's not true at all. Mine are all water line an have solid keels as well are fairly stable. It really depends on how your approach it. Brick built is always more challenging to make stable as to opposed to using prefab Lego hulls. Both have draw backs but stability is one of the hall marks of the prefab method.

That' a neat lil boat. I like the shape from the bottom, would make a nice prop on deck for a mini fig illusion scale vessel, but I don't know about the internal space. Seems more like a gig or a jolly boat than a long boat.i suggest you submit this to Wesley's topic and check out some of the alternatives over there. Your oar locks are quite clever and for a quick project she's pretty good. http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=70017

But Anders didn't ask for your feed back, did he? This was posted in his stead by Crossant. What's more is I make the argument that your points are invalid and still you argue that you're doing him a favor. Ya know sometimes, things really are that great and contending excellence for the sake of being negative lends our group a bad reputation. If your going to point out flaws (as you see them any way) I'd suggest getting in the habit of knowing the solution, other wise you're really just being rude. I'll also submit that it's foolish to assume that the builder is unaware of what you find so obvious. If the defects are so apperent isn't It just indecent to call them out in public? Do not assume that every builder shares your sentiment, time table, method or goals. If you must address flaws, as such, do it with respect for that builder's idiom. In short; there's a difference betweening being critical and being a jerk.

Frank, do you ever have anything positive to say? This is some of the best Lego modeling I’ve ever seen. I’d be hard pressed to pick between Ander’s technique and CB4’s for most accurate ever. As for fragility, I cannot fathom what you mean, it’s up there on that stand holding fast on its own, seem pretty stable to me. What’s more is this, and his other ships, are models, not toys. It seem fairly obvious to me that those masts were designed to be supported by rope rigging, much like the real thing, so I wouldn’t be too worried about it. Anders, if you check in on this, my congratulations on developing and proving the viability of a spectacular technique! I love the orange to simulate copper plating, thought of doing something like that myself on my own technique but shied away from the cost of so many bricks in that color. Thanks, Admiral for sharing this here. Anders T, great job keep building!

The flag you’ve chosen is indeed nice; I did the same thing myself. The one you’ve chosen indicates your ship is attached to a squadron under command of an admiral of the white after 1801. Your frigate is rather nice as well, though it does seem the shrouds reach a bit far back. I have no reference for this, so I’ll present it as a suggestion in the hopes that someone with appropriate ligature can chime in and clear things up. I remember reading before that not only did the color of the ensign denote seniority of the commanding admiral, but the operational location of the squadron in the world.

I was interrupted before finishing my last entry but posted it in my haste any way. I do have a design of my own to submit and find it interesting the Legonardo chimed in as mine is based on his as it appeared in “Close Encounters”. This is a Dhow (a kind of lateen rigged sea boat, originating in either the Persian Gulf or Indian Ocean and migrate to the Mediterranean later.) It’s not exactly a launch, though they are a sort of Arabic version, of what Europeans call a pinnace. Using smaller parts to shrink the scale a bit might work well. Keep in mind though that ships boats (long boats, pinnace, even gigs) tend to be larger than expected, seating as many as four across.

Another WIP, this is a Dhow, a kind of lateen rigged sea boat, originating in either the Persian Gulf or Indian Ocean, which migrate to the Mediterranean later. I’m building mine for my Barbary pirates and is the project for which I’ve been developing my swivel guns. The term Dhow is rather general referring to many different sized and style vessels from the world over and is often applied to most any lateen rig as such. On this scale mine is very much like a European pinnace and will be applied to inshore work. These otherwise land based pirates would use their Dhow to sail out to raid passing merchantmen or travel down coast to attack other ports and settlements. This is very much a WIP and though I’ve played around with a paper sail template and some pirates I didn’t really intended to reveal it yet. I only brought it out as I wanted to submit it to “Ships Boats“. Though the hull is about what it will be, there is so much more work to be done. Comment if you are so inspired, but keep in mind just how incomplete the model is. As always more images on my Photobucket.

Well that a very limited image of what I hope is a far from comlete model. I have to ask, by what standard are you planning this to be accurate?

I love the idea, I even like what you have so far, but would you hate me if I suggested they look a bit more like zodiacs then long boats? it might be the colors, which you suggested you'd change o later models, but i think they are a bot shallow and come to a point at the keel rather abruptly. like a larger ship, long boats seemed to be more "horse shoe" shaped in the cross section.

Before anyone else takes the opportunity to point out my folly, I’ll make a correction. I see, looking back over the board that you indeed have a WIP thread, which I even looked over with interest several time, but simply slipped my mind. Apologies, and she is still a great ship.

Wow, simply amazing. Truly a lovely and unique ship. You might have shared some bit of her as a WIP though. I, and I'm sure many others, would like to make inquiries or comments on certain elements of her. At this stage however, I'd feel quite guilty, what with you the "proud father" so to speak and her so far along as to hinder any significant modification. That bit aside, I do rather like much of what you have, and with all that brown and gold she must have cost you a fortune in bricks. She's truly a regal and intimidating ship. Thanks for sharing her!

Here is my swivel gun version 2. On this model I went and marked out portions to leave thick as reinforcing bands which were absent on the previous version. I also added two trunions in lieu of the single swivel of the previous iteration. Like the real thing this gun can now be mounted either in a swivel or a carriage. I did attempt upon a Lego built swivel but found it too bulky to really look good. Instead I went and mounted this one as a field piece. Small 3 or 4 pound pieces like this were popular during the American War for Independence on the rebel side for their relatively inexpensive nature, and ease of mobility due to small carriages and light weight. The trunions needed to be two pieces so I went ahead with my plan to mount them as mortis and tenon joints; the mortis being a single hole straight through the barrel as to keep both pieces aligned. I find, it again worked out well and like the result so far. A further iteration of this concept will likely involve a wooden swivel mount that will look much better and remain compatible with the Lego system.

The kit in question doesn't look like "the real" constellation, as the one in Baltimore harbor is not the one being modeled. As explained above, the set is a rendering of the original, 18th century frigate, which played a role in the American war for Independence. The ship you see in all those photos is an entirely different vessel; a whole new construction from the keel up, built during the 19th century.

Well, that’s a nice bit of “one-ups-manship”, as we call where I grew up, but it seems you’ve entirely missed the point. I conceived this design for two important reasons. For one, the same old story applies, I have exactly zero budget for new parts, so I must make what I have work. The dowels are surplus from a previous venture and the tools are things I keep around as a policy. The other side of that is the size of the guns in terms of realism and scale. Raven is the intended recipient for some of these guns as well as two small craft projects I have planned for the future. Your design is fine and I even thought of the bucket pieces myself, moments before noticing your post. I don’t have those parts, however, and even if I did, it would make my swivel guns the same bore as the schooner’s carriage mounted artillery (or even bigger). If I had any money to order parts I’d likely forgo brick built guns any way and go for some of Woody’s designs off of shapeways. Using carefully sized parts and tools I can still construct appropriately sized guns to work with the Lego system, but make them more accurately scaled to my ship. My biggest trouble with the design is in making a better joint to hold the barrel to the trunnions. Since it was just a quick experiment I simply butt-jointed the barrel to the spindle with super glue, but it will necessarily be fragile and because of the taper, the muzzle points ever so slightly downward. Though I have no problem with improvised parts, compatible non-Lego bricks or other non-plastic parts, I do want to keep my guns system compatible. To suit this the trunnions must be mini-fig grip diameter as to fit into standard clips. This means that the trunnions are only slightly smaller than the barrels and too much material would be removed from the larger stock to allow the trunnion to pass through entirely without weakening the structure and ruining the look. I’m therefore thinking of drilling through with a smaller hole and using a mortiseand tenon joint with two trunnions, inserted from each side, rather than one all the way through. Sizing the tenon by hand, however, will be quite difficult as it will cause the barrel to hang crooked if not kept centered. In the end I had really only posted my prototype because I was amused with how well it went for so little effort. I figured I’d brag a bit, since I hadn’t had anything of significance to share is quite a while. I’m glad it got you hyped up though and I hope your design works out well for you in your own applications.

Bjornu: yeah, that's some of the detail I was talking about. That and also right now it's a more like a dalghrin gun than a napolonic swivel gun, in that it lacks any of the charistic bands of earlier artillery. Horatio: it is actually a bit too stiff in the clip. I should have spent another moment sanding down the spindle as at the moment it doesn't swivel very well at all. All in all, it's just a prototype and as a prototype it's working out well. Thanks for the comments!

[pid][/pid] 4B Swivel Gun I couldn’t sleep last night, so I decided to try an experiment I had been mulling over in my head throughout the day. I took a bass wood dowel and carved out the profile of a small cannon using a hobby knife and an emery board. I then took a second dowel of a smaller diameter, just the right size for a mini figure’s grip and cut off a short length. I colored the whole thing with permanent marker (fine point pen inside the mussel) and super glued the post to the barrel. The whole process took me just over an hour, and I’m quite pleased with the result. Guess I’ve taken away any excuses I’ve had, being short parts for nice guns. Apologies for the poor quality images, I’ll see about getting better shots later. I'll also keep working on the design, adding more detail and such.

I love this! What a great capture of a moment in time. Everything from the high seas, to the cannon blasts, to the burning wound on the larboard side of the brig looks great; like it’s still in motion. I really like that neat little sloop and the man-overboard, stage center, with his arms inverted as to hold on to drift wood. I rarely comment on scenes or vignettes, but this one really impressed me. It took a few times through your 360 video to notice, the slops mast is going by the board. What were they thinking engaging a man-of-war like that, silly pirates? Thanks for sharing!

I never replied, but I got the point from the good admiral that it was originally intended for one to simply submit a completed article. My hope was to inspire someone else to pick up the mantel where I cannot. Simply put I am way to busy. Essentially working three jobs these days, between Game Stop, my living history volunteering and my own business of blacksmithing/bladesmithing ( I won’t advertise here, but send me a message if anyone is curious.), I just don’t have the time. This posts is taking up what little free time I’ve managed to scratch up today before work. Perhaps sometime in the future my schedule will clear up, maybe in midsummer, and I can take it on , assuming no one else has. Even still, between spending my free time in front of the computer writing or working on my own projects, my own tend to win out. Mind you it’s not that I don’t care to contribute, but after a long day it’s just easier and far more relaxing to pull out my bricks and work on the models I look at every day, than to sit down and research, compile and draft articles. Indeed the index is quite useful; at least I’ve found it so. I do realize that it’s not all-inclusive for every sail driven, historic vessel in the world, but I still find Constellation an essential addition. In part because of her recent reconstruction, which provides a great deal of insight as to the construction of wooden vessels as such. She’s also in a convent location for us east coast Americans. I find there is nothing for planning a model, like witnessing the real thing, but if like me you can’t get as far away as Boston, let alone England, it’s good to know there’s a fine example “in your own back yard”. For the moment, I’ll leave the invitation open for anyone who wants to take up this cause, to use my photos, as liked above. I won’t move them about without warning. If no one else offers a draft by the time I can, I’ll author an article and submit it as instructed, sometime in the future. Sorry for the confusion.

I can't quite make it out from the photo offered. how did you do the privy windows on the stern in single panel like that? She's a lovely sip, do you have any close-up/detail shots you could share?

I meant to post something earlier, but I’m simply too busy these days to be half as active as I’d like to be. The issue with the gun ports, from my perspective is not so much visual, though I do wonder what’s inspired you to place them as such. The real problem is the space in-between, with which to operate the artillery. Cannons are not fired from behind by one man, but rather a crew of as many as 6 (or more for bigger guns) standing to either side. Your most aft ward ports just look wrong as they don’t account for that necessary space between; that is with reference to the more forward ports. Because all the guns of a broad side should be the same size, or similar enough, they would require the same crew and therefore the same amount of space to operate. I am very familiar, as you find most of the historic buffs around here are, with the image you offer as reference. I’ve studied over it, and many of its kind on countless a late nights, planning out my own designs. I really don’t see or understand what there in has inspired you to place your ports as such. It’s true, that every ship is different and in history many were modified into fighting vessels forsaking their original intent. In some cases you may find extra ports cut into a given hull to increase the ship’s broadside, however with Surprise this is not the case at all. The draft you’re working from is from the historic Surprise, formerly L’Unite, a purpose built frigate. Her broad side was planned into her structure and did not change in number throughout her life. If you are seeking to make a historic model I would strongly suggest revisiting your structure to address this problem. If I’ve misinterpreted and you’re going for fantastic design, then forgive my vehemence and press on at your own whim.

I’m surprised to see she isn’t listed; I was fairly certain she was, but USS Constellation isn’t here. Built in 1854 to replace the previous frigate of the same name, much of the wood from the earlier Constellation is believed to have been used in this later ship. The last all sail vessel commissioned by the USN she is built very much in the manner of the earlier part of that century. Though, due to treaty restrictions with England, she was classed as a Sloop of War, she is very much a frigate when compared to the standards of the Napoleonic era. In fact, she is even more powerful than any frigate of that era as she mounts parrot rifles and Dahlgren guns launching exploding shells. Though distinctly American with her smooth lined and flush deck, Constellation is entirely comparable to any 6th rate, the likes of Surprise or Trincomalee. In the last decade, Constellation underwent a historically accurate restoration, where in, a great deal of structural damage was repaired. Most of her structure is original while that which was replaced was done so with strict adherence to historic standards and methods. As a museum ship, she remains a fine example of seafaring and sea warfare in the age of sail. I recently took a trip to Baltimore, where Constellation is berthed but at the time, didn’t realize the void in this index. Had I known she was not yet included I would have been sure to get plenty of photos without random strangers, my lovely girlfriend of worst yet my goofy face, in the way. All the same, however, I do have a few images I grabbed on my trip, here. There is also plenty of pics on the internet. If I make it down that way again soon, I’ll be sure to grab some more and better images. I’d like to suggest that this fine ship be added to the historic ship’s register. I’m also planning a trip later this month down to Wilmington to visit Kalmar Nickel, a replica of a 17th century pinnace which carried settlers to the new world. She’s a replica, but as I understand it, a historically accurate, well built replica, which actually sails. I’ll make a point of providing some images of Kalmar Nickel and her finer points. I’d also like to suggest that Kalmar Nickel be added to the replica ship’s register.