UCS Black Pearl

[gatorzip02]

[pid][/pid] 148A

Greetings!

UPDATE: 16 April 2013, She's finally done!

UPDATE: 18 March 2012

Like many others, I was rather disappointed with the Black Pearl set that Lego released a few months ago. I was hoping that Lego would give the central ship of the series a little bit better treatment. After playing the Pirates of the Caribbean Lego video game, I became enamored with the version of the ship in the game and was determined to bring it to life with actual bricks. The game version:

To my absolute elation, fellow Classic Pirates member "Captain" created an amazing LDD version of the Black Pearl that I used as a foundation for my model. (I can't thank you enough, your LDD skills blow me away) I started with two of the Lego Black Pearls:

I then make about eight Bricklink orders to get all of the remaining parts I would need:

As I was building it, I noticed that the video game and LDD versions have 5 center sections and look a bit "scrunched" I added a 6th center section and feel that it really helps balance the ship out. It allowed me to add an extra stud between every cannon port. This made me change my goal from copying the video game version to creating my interpretation of a UCS (Ultimate Collector Series) Black Pearl. I also had to completely redesign the stern, the LDD version just wasn't nearly strong enough. I made quite a few other modifications, most notably to the forecastle. I've finished the basic exterior of the ship now and wanted to share what I've got done so far:

Jack is ready for his ship to be finished:

Right now, I'd guess it is about 50-60% done, I still need to create the interior, masts rigging and sails and deck. The solid deck on there now is just temporary, I'll add hatches, grates etc later. Unfortunately, I'm going to be extremely busy for the next month so I doubt I'm going to have any time to work on it. I will post updates as work progresses. Comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome and appreciated. Thanks!

Joel

[bloggedcp][/bloggedcp]

Edited April 17, 2013 by Darkdragon
Blogged tag added

[Sebeus I]

Wow, looking great so far, I wonder how much it would have costed you in total (two black pearls and bricklink orders) to get it to the final result.

IMO the doors on the forecastle don't fit very well, maybe if you only take only one door piece instead of a pair so you have a door opening of 2 studs width instead of 4 on each side.

The stern looks great. Keep it up

[Hiawatha]

What a great thing to base your building off of. I do wish that a ship like your's was the officially released Black Pearl. It is amazing and I can't wait to see the finished product.

[Big Cam]

I think it looks kilter so far. It's much bigger than a regular set and that is something that I've always been disappointed with LEGO ships, they are so thin and real ships are never like that, well at least the PotC ones.

I look forward to this being completed.

[Horatio]

She looks great! I can't wait to see her headrails. I do however want to know where her main hatch is! Right now, the crew has no way to get to the gun deck. Other than that, she looks very neat and shipshape.

[Nightshroud99]

Dang you've done a great job so far!!!

[Skipper]

That looks amazing, and even with the expanded scale it still looks like something TLG would do.

The stern especially is right on. I'd never have thought to use a midsection for the stern, but the way you've done it with the arches is beautiful. I think the brown deck is too bright for the ship (maybe dark brown or grey?) but that's a matter of preference, it looks great already.

Keep it up!

Edited December 11, 2011 by Skipper

[gatorzip02]

Wow, looking great so far, I wonder how much it would have costed you in total (two black pearls and bricklink orders) to get it to the final result.

IMO the doors on the forecastle don't fit very well, maybe if you only take only one door piece instead of a pair so you have a door opening of 2 studs width instead of 4 on each side.

The stern looks great. Keep it up

Thanks for the kind words. Right now I would estimate I probably have about $500 into it. That is including all the interior pieces that I haven't installed yet. That would put it right in line with the UCS Millennium Falcon price wise.

I had a lot of trouble working with the front of the forecastle. I think a 2-stud door might seem too narrow. Once the headrails, rigging, anchors and a few more details are installed, the doors won't be so obvious. I think it will look better then. If not, I'll work on a re-design.

She looks great! I can't wait to see her headrails. I do however want to know where her main hatch is! Right now, the crew has no way to get to the gun deck. Other than that, she looks very neat and shipshape.

I'm glad you like it. I still need to order some flex-tubing for the headrails. I'm trying to decide if they would be better dark gray or brown. That deck is just temporary. I just wanted something to cover the giant void where the gun deck will be. The final deck will definately have hatches for the crew.

That looks amazing, and even with the expanded scale it still looks like something TLG would do.

The stern especially is right on. I'd never have thought to use a midsection for the stern, but the way you've done it with the arches is beautiful. I think the brown deck is too bright for the ship (maybe dark brown or grey?) but that's a matter of preference, it looks great already.

Keep it up!

Thanks again. I agree that the brown is too light. You can see that I did the deck in front of the forecastle in dark brown and it looks much better. My problem is that as far as I can tell, dark brown only comes in 1x2 and 1x4 tiles. I would definately need lots of 1x1s. Technically I guess it should be black, but I think that would be too much black. Maybe I'll see how much I can do in dark brown.

[MCNwakeboard]

Looks great! I really love the way the cannon ports are curved and the tiled deck. Looking forward to more progress pictures.

[AdmiralSilver]

That's a very nice MOC. I can't wait to see your results with the big black sails.

[SimWilliamSparrow]

Can you please post the list of what you ordered from Bricklink?...

[MstrOfPppts]

As usually instead of saying what all is great (a lot of things) I'll just state what I'd change. As mentioned I too am not fond of the front two doors. Don't even remember Pearl having any entrances to the front. Another thing is I find it too high. If you remove the front doors and lower the gun holes for one brick, I think it would look nicer. I do understand there might be some problems at the end with the arcs, but it's worth to try it. If it was intended so, that the bottom part is meant to be under the water, then it's not too high, but then the back arcs are too low ...

But all in all it's the best LEGO Pearl I've seen and I especially love the stern!!

edit: I also miss the hole in the deck to enter the gun deck.

Edited December 13, 2011 by MstrOfPppts

[Laura Beinbrech]

Now this is definitely more like it! This is what the official version should have looked like, IMO.

[Bart]

I really like the looks of this Black Pearl.

The thought of using the 'slide handle' as a block has crossed my mind ones or twice.

I haven't seen it done before, so I hope it works.

as stated before, I don't think the Black Pearl had doors in the forecastle bulkhead but they don't bother me that much because you build them well, and probably they will be taken out of few some more when you finish the headrails.

And the gun ports may seem a bit high, but if you think of the prefabs to be below the waterline it all works out. After having a look at some pictures the arcs can start directly above the water.

oh and don't forget the hawse holes, those small details make the ship ;)

Bart

[Lightning]

Wow another awesome looking pearl. In regards to the doors, technically the pearl had a door that was one of the detailed panels on the forecastle. I think its the third film you see it open plus im sure there are images of it online, would be cool if the detail could be incorperated with the door as it looks like its just part of the panelling.

Awesome job

[SuperSirLink]

Well done! I love the use of the arches on the forecastle...

[Lord Cutler Beckett]

this is seriously one of the most beautifull pearls I've seen!

I also played Lego pirates of the caribbean and tried to create the HMS Interceptor or Flying dutchman but I can never figure out how they built it .

[______]

This is a great project! Definitely my favourite LEGO Black Pearl!

[Captain Redbeard]

She is beautiful! It is by far the best Black Pearl I have seen so far. I cannot wait to see the finished product.

[gatorzip02]

Greetings,

It has been about four months since my first update. As predicted, work and life kept me from making much progress on this ship. In the last few weeks I have had some free time and managed to get some work done. Unfortunately, I was rushing through my initial build in the first post and didn't give much thought to the internal structure. I went back to put in an interior and had to rebuild a good part of the ship to make it work. The big challenge in the stern is the fact that all of the sides are hinged and none of the internal structure can connect to them. Here is a construction photo:

I really appreciate everyone's constructive criticism. As a result, I have made lots of changes which have greatly improved the ship. The deck is now dark brown which looks much better. It was difficult because dark brown only comes in 1x2 and 1x4 tiles. A 1x1 would have made my life a lot easier. In response to comments, I also added hatches, hawse holes, and changed the front doors in the forecastle. Here are a few photos of my progress so far:

One thing that has always annoyed me with Lego ships are the cannon hatches without cannons behind them. I was determined that every cannon hatch would have a cannon behind it. This Pearl packs a full broadside:

I've completed the majority of the interior. I don't have all the parts I need to finish the captain's cabin but here's the gun deck:

One comment that I gave a lot of thought to was the waterline of the ship. As others have said, the sides are too high if the waterline is intended to be the bottom of the prefab hulls. I have decided to build a display for the ship that will raise the waterline to the top of the middle prefabs. It will look something like this:

That's it for now. Now I need to make a few more bricklink orders and soon I'll get moving on the rigging. I'm still not sure exactly what to make the sails with. Guess its time for some experimenting.

Joel

[Sebeus I]

Very nice, for sails you could just use paper and paint it black, that cut out the wanted shape, and maybe make some holes in them if you liek the sppoky version more

it works pretty well (atleast it did in my black pearl.

Btw, are there cannons missing ?

18 on the gun deck and there should be 14 on the main deck... but that's just a detail anyway, the cabin's interior looks like there are lots of possibilities

[SuperSirLink]

Excellent update! It is looking really good!

[Yawgmoth]

This really looks amazing! ... lots of details, one can give a look everyday and discover something new :O !! I like it!

Now, I havent played or even seen the PotC video game, but if there cover of the game shows Blackbeard and Angelica, it should definetly brings a "oficial lego design" for the Queen Anne's Revenge, which I would love to check.. so I can "steal" some ideas but I did a little search and found nothing about it...so the question is: does the QAR shows up on the game?

Thanks again for sharing this one! I could be adding one or 2 details on my own ships based on nice stuff from yours

[Kookaburra Bomb]

Does the QAR shows up on the game?

It does indeed, however as the game lends itself to being a tie-in, only the Dutchman and Pearl are remade in a worthy manner, the QAR in the game is the same as what was made a set. A harsh contrast given how the other ships in the game are so detailed including the Interceptor and Dauntless.

[Yawgmoth]

It does indeed, however as the game lends itself to being a tie-in, only the Dutchman and Pearl are remade in a worthy manner, the QAR in the game is the same as what was made a set. A harsh contrast given how the other ships in the game are so detailed including the Interceptor and Dauntless.

It is a shame indeed :(

Today I saw some scenes of the game, in some sort of stage in decks of the QAR, but it wasnt built in lego, or at least not completely :O