[SR-Ch4B] The Piranha's Plunder

[MKJoshA]

UPDATE! I've added some more pictures that show the actual battle between the crews.

OoC: there are a lot of pictures, if you want the "poster shot" go here.

The White Wind was an Eslandolian warship tasked with defending the treasure being transported back to the mainland.



It had an able-bodied crew who was dead set on defending their cargo. With 10 canons, they knew they were not an easy prize.



The captain had received a special commendation for taking this commission and was determined to see it through.



Their sails were full and they were making excellent speed.



(more pictures of The White Wind)

 

But even though were going about 12 knots, another ship was coming up behind them and they were flying the black.



They were being pursued by The Jade Piranha. Led by the notorious captain Zheng, his crew of miscreants aboard The Jade Piranha were after the treasure they had heard about from Captain Li Fang after he learned about the information from a whaler.



They spied The White Wind and began their approach and assault. Having two forward guns, they began their attack long before a normal ship would be able to.



While The White Wind had 10 canons, The Jade Piranha had 12 side canons alone and was more than a match for the treasure laden ship.



The crew was a fearsome bunch.



And their captain was not known for his leniency.



(more pictures of The Jade Piranha)

 

Using their forward canons, The Jade Piranha disabled The White Wind's ruder. Without a ruder, it was easy for the pirates to close the rest of the gap between the two ships.

The crews prepared to face each other.

 

Cannons fired!

And then the crews clashed!

When all was said and done, The White Wind was captured, it's crew killed or enslaved, and the treasure now in the hands of pirates!

(more pictures!)

 

OoC: Sorry that there isn't more minifigure posing! I was struggling to keep these two ships within my poster board for pictures and editing was already going to be a nightmare without editing 50 of the same shot but with the minifigures in different position. In hindsight I could have done a little bit more with close ups, but too late now! For those who are wondering, the sand green clips were from a PaB in the Chicagoland area. I didn't buy them with this boat in mind, but I'm really happy with how it turned out and I'm glad I did! The Chinese Junk design is based on a number of Google imagines that show up when you search for "Chinese Junk," surprise, surprise. Lastly, these two ships barely fit within the size limits of 80x48. They fit in the 48 width restriction when they are side by side like they are in the pictures and the only overhang past the 80 length restriction is The White Wind's bowsprit which overhangs by about 5 studs. I asked and the rest of the BoBS leaders are okay with that much overhang for anyone else who might be interested. I hope you enjoyed my entry. I had a lot of fun making it!

[SilentWolf]

Nice job on doing challenge b with full size ships. The junk is definitely an interesting design and color. From the ships I saw while googling, I think the bow needs a little more curvature though the height is well done. Nice technique giving the slope to the sterns of both ships. It is nice to see more non European ships in BOBS.

Edited September 19, 2016 by SilentWolf

[Elostirion]

Absolutely incredible.

Taking all that effort to fully MOC two ships in that quality is amazing!

And the Piranha is definitely unique and fantastic in itself. Great.

My only criticism is that it doesn't look too much like a battlescene.

e.g. have some cannons firing (with some orange or sth. shooting from them), some wood splintering, some minifig posing.

The ships themselves, though: Stunning!

How much would an Eslandolan have to pay for the right to license that nice ship as his own?

[Kwatchi]

The Jade Piranha is visually stunning. It does seem little blocky at the bow (it must handle like a shopping cart) but the colouring is gorgeous and the hull scaling was well conceived.

How much would an Eslandolan have to pay for the right to license that nice ship as his own?

Do you grubby merchants ever stop?

[Maxim I]

Do you grubby merchants ever stop?

We need to keep supplying pirates with prey, don't we?

At MKJoshA: well, that are some heavy armed ships I really love the Piranha!
Great entry!

[Tezclatipoca]

Great entry !

You found the time and made the effort to build 2 big vessels and that piranha ship is something ! It seems like a heavy armed vessel !

I would agree with Elostirion that some cannon firing would add more to the action scene.

But, overall, Good job !

[TitusV]

That are huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge ships!

[blackdeathgr]

As previously said, it is great that we have a fully MOCed ship vs ship scene for the current Challenge! Also the junk's peculiar design is very clever (although it would benefit from some more sail imo). All in all an impressive entry! Neeeext!!!

[MKJoshA]

On 9/19/2016 at 3:41 PM, SilentWolf said:

Nice job on doing challenge b with full size ships. The junk is definitely an interesting design and color. From the ships I saw while googling, I think the bow needs a little more curvature though the height is well done. Nice technique giving the slope to the sterns of both ships. It is nice to see more non European ships in BOBS.

Thank you! I considered sloping the front of the Junk more, but to get that mouth the right size I really needed to keep it as flat as it is. Here's some of my inspiration.

 

On 9/19/2016 at 3:59 PM, Elostirion said:

Absolutely incredible.

Taking all that effort to fully MOC two ships in that quality is amazing!
And the Piranha is definitely unique and fantastic in itself. Great.


My only criticism is that it doesn't look too much like a battlescene.
e.g. have some cannons firing (with some orange or sth. shooting from them), some wood splintering, some minifig posing.

The ships themselves, though: Stunning!


How much would an Eslandolan have to pay for the right to license that nice ship as his own?

First, neither ship is for sale! I intend to license both of them myself

Second, I listened to your criticism (and others) and I have added battle scene pictures! Let me know what you think.

 

On 9/20/2016 at 0:57 PM, blackdeathgr said:

As previously said, it is great that we have a fully MOCed ship vs ship scene for the current Challenge! Also the junk's peculiar design is very clever (although it would benefit from some more sail imo). All in all an impressive entry! Neeeext!!!

Thank you! "More sail" would have been great, but a challenge for me. From the pictures I found, Junks seemed to carry less sail than European ships, but I do agree that at least a little more height would have been nice for mine.

As for your "neeeeext!" comment, if you think I'm going to spend the time building another ship this size any time soon, you'll be sorely disappointed

[SilentWolf]

Great job on the action scenes! You did really well on the posing. It definitely makes the battle come to life. 

[dr_spock]

All that sand green. The clip pieces give it a feel of dragon scales.  Good job on the junk and returning to add more action scenes to the story board. 

 

[Elostirion]

The action scenes are really a great addition and complete your entry ver well - amazing that you went the extra mile!

[Tezclatipoca]

Great to see you added firing cannons and great action scenes.

It adds a lot to your build !

Congrats on that !

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Fine crews you've got there.

And the strangest ship I have ever seen!!