ZCerberus

What is your definition of a frigate? The term is used in several different eras in the age of sail and they all seem to mean something different. For example, to some, the term means a war ship that was built for speed and manueverability with a long hull. To others it meant a ship with one (usually) full deck of guns placed on what would normally be the "second" gun deck or the "upper deck". In other words, it did not have guns on the lowest deck above the waterline like a "two deckers" would. To others it is the Royal Navies definition which I believe is largely based on the number of guns it caries and yet to others Frigate means a ship in the same vein as the USS Constitution which had a "flush" top deck and guns on two decks. I think I get what you are saying though, it looks like a fast manueverable ship with two full (though relatively small) gun decks.

Captain Green/Bluehair has posted an entire manual on the forums here packed with tips on how to build a ship like this. I am not sure if it is posted in the tutorials section to search for "build a frigate" and you will find it for sure! I do not have a true two decker... yet... however, the latest version of the Phantom I am working on will be a two decker.

Simple, but it looks good. Is this a stove simply for heating in cold weather, or is it for cooking food as well? If so I would think the stove would need to be larger, but your post seems to indicate that might not be its use. If it is intended to be for cooking as well, the galleys I've seen have been located in the front of the ship and the stove pipe comes out of the forecastle by the fore mast. The stove's pipe is called the "Charlie Noble" and was usually kept to a very high polish. Also, seems as if you are building a ship to go along with your stove. Any details on the build?

Yes... the staggering approach was a major improvement I think. It is hard to get it right on the very bottom and the very top of the mast with the odd sizes, but it is really stable and doesn't twist at all. The good news is after you have staggered starting in one spot you can use lots of the same size plates/tiles and still achieve a very stable build. I used A LOT of 1 x 8 black tiles on that mast and I would imagine long tiles are even harder to find in white.

Well I figured out how to do it from your posts, so you must have done an okay job back then. I really like the tiled look of them... considered going for the tiles with the Constitution?

I would call them "twisted SNOT" masts. Phred originally used them as masts after he said he had spotted them in another project and thought he could adapt them over to a ship. Both Blackmoor and Phred have used them on their ships as well. Look for Phred's Constitution or Blacky's Le Fourageux. Here is the convoluted answer to that question when Blacky asked about them... "For the interior- you are going to need lots of these: or and lots of these and You will need twice as many of the 1 x 1 plates and 1 x 2 plates as the modified 1 x 1 bricks. Build the interior by doing this: 1) place two 1 x 1 plates on top of each other 2) attach the 1 x 1 plates to bottom of 1 x 1 modified brick (doesn't matter which one you use, you can mix and match if needed.) 3) attach 2 1 x 2 plates vertically to the modified brick's side sides. If you are using the modified brick with 4 side studs, the plates should be on OPPOSITE studs and not ADJACENT studs. The plates should hang down to be flush with the bottom of the bottom 1 x 1 plate (and the top of the 1 x 1 brick) you have now created a "section". 4) repeat steps 1-3 and attach the second section to the top of the first section, rotating the second section 60 degrees. 5) repeat steps 1-3 and attach the third section to the top of the second section, rotating the third section 60 degrees. continuing adding sections rotating each section 60 degrees until the mast is as tall as you would like. Now simply attach single long plates (or tiles even!) vertically on each side from the top stud of a 1 x 2 plate on one section to the bottom stud of a 1 x 2 plate of a higher section to cover the interior. To make mine more stable, I used plates of varying lengths, 6, 8, 10 and 12 studs long etc, so that the verticle plates did not all terminate at the same section. If you do the same as I did, you may have to rotate a few sections an additional 60 degrees so everything lines up propely. I also used 1 x 1 plates and 1 x 3 plates for the vertical plates on two of the bottom three sections and two of the top three sections so everything on the top and bottom was covered." The mast plaforms a bit tricky because the mast will be six sided and there is only a single stud on top to try to attach things to. With the latest Phantom version here I am going with SNOT platforms to try to overcome that. I know you have been working in LDD... not sure how easy these will be to make in there!

I don't think we are using the same technique on the hulls... though they are similar. I guess I would say it is more like a progression on the Phantom than anything else. The ship- however, is not modular. The old Phantom was, but this one is not. The reason for all the technique beams is each section is only one (as opposed to two) studs smaller than the last. I am hoping it will still give it a curved effect though. the masts are pretty darn stable so long as the base goes through at least two levels of ship. They aren't going anywhere, and with the new platform I am using on top of the masts, everything is in tip top shape. It will be even better when the rigging is on there. I am pulling a lot of inspiration, at least for parts, from that ship. It is an awesome design! Thanks. The tiled look is really quite awesome in my opinion, but it does make figures slide around a lot when they are on there. I try to leave a few studs here and there so I can add figures and accessories to the various levels.

So they are! I was planning on having netting on the side of the ship there as well, but I can see that it does look like a regular rail on the inside. That is good news for me since I did not like the netting on the inside there and a railing will look much nicer! Thanks Admiral C!

Thanks all. I like it much better than before. I will try to add a few more sections and one up front so you can get the whole effect going. Well we have the same construction, so my strategy should work with your masts. Do you want some shots of the build to try it out, or is your construction holding up? I took inspiration from some pictures of Le Superbe... I really like the over all look of that ship. I am going to do several things different from that ship, but the center section at least will be inspired from that ship!

Some new shots of what I have been working on... Still early, but I like the shape. I removed the mid section of the phantom to begin my work, and realized it was going to cause a complete overhaul. Here is the current progress... you can sort of see the progress on the various sections. What do you think? Here is a look at the enhanced tumblehomme and the interior tiling. The part with the studs still showing will be tiled. I think I might try to make it gold and dark blue to see how that works... And the new way to attach the platforms to the masts. I think this is going to work well. I will try to get some better shots of this when I have more progress, but it is all SNOT build and very stable. A few more parting shots to look at... Because the middle section was missing on the Phantom, I thought I could stick the other two halves together just for show. The result is somewhat comical, but fun!

When Blacky asked about the masts I told him they were Phred's design, and how to build them, but I suggested maybe using tiles instead of the plates we both used. Blacky, I am gald you did because the result is fantastic! The one major issue I found with this style construction though was it was difficult to add a stable platform on top of the mast. I think I have come up with a good solution. I am using it on an update to the Phantom which I will post soon. You might want to check it out when I post it tonight or tomorrow. It does look like the platform on your ships may be a bit too narrow, but that may be just my opinion. The bow is lovely as well. We will have to go pirate hunting when Le Fouraguex and the Phantom are complete!

tchuk... Here is a technique I have used in the past to make the top section a little bit taller but still keep with the old lego way of attaching yard arms. You can see this only makes the top portion of the last a little taller, but use some more round 1 x 1 bricks and a longer antenna/pole/lance and you could make it significantly taller.

Very nice. It feels like a cross between a classic Lego® style and more custom Eurobricks versions we've seen more of recently. I like the shape and the sails/mast design a lot. It looks like you also have some very nice details on the ship. I would add some of the blue you used on the ship to the stern cabin. I know it is hard to make a tall ship like this without it looking too "boxy", but I think over-all you did a very nice job!

I mostly meant it looks like it bowes slightly away from the center of the ship very gradually like a real ship would. I think the coloration seems to reduce the tumblehome some though, but it looks like there is some there. This shows some very good promise.

Go REDS!!

yummy bananas and brownies... wait a second... this banana is a little too... ripe! pesky rats.

For those of you who do not want to click on the link to see the pic.... As far as an actual sailing vessel, it would never work, but it sure is big and fun. Far too tall though.

Good work General A! I think you got the shape spot on from Blue Hair's manual. Good head rails and good call on the tan decking, it looks great in photos. A few suggestions if I may... I would move the rigging on the foremast back a little bit (like it is on the other masts). Also, the colors on the stern cabin seem a little scattered to me... I see you are going more yellow in the later pictures which seems like a good plan to me! Also, since you have that lovely blue strip running down the ship, I would consider using more blue in the stern cabin (maybe even in-place of the black?) Usually a blue strip running on top of a ship like that is used to incorporate a color used prominently on the stern with the rest of the ship, or so I think.

Well so long as I am Captain of an American ship, it's okay!

When I first started posting here, I can tell you the skill level was no where near where it is now. I think that posting here and sharing everyone's creations has really upped the skills of many members, including myself. My MOCs are probably relatively hard to find as I never finish one enough for it to be indexed, then I move onto another and don't post the most regular updates... I should really try to finish SOMETHING one of these days. Thanks Phred-o... ... Where's the Constitution??

Nice! The captain's cabin seems a bit high though. Overall I like the color scheme, the sails and curved shape. The name sounds nice and menacing too!

Good promise! I like how you have made the ship have a curved like shape, something I have never been able to quite perfect. Nice start! Now try to make the sides slope up slightly and you will have an even better effect! I would move the foremast (front) forward, and the mizzen (rear) mast forward as well. The main mast (middle) seems to be in about the right spot. I would also add some small guns to the main deck to make it a bit more menacing

As promised... the dock section added to the fortress

So... I decided I wanted to make the ship more realistic by doing things like making the quarter deck reach the main mast and tiling the masts. Upon starting that work, I realized making the ship taller by the main mast really made the quarter deck look too thin on top and the tumblehomme was just ruined. There were other things about the ship I never really loved either, like the catheads and the cabin... So what am I doing... Bascially considering rebuilding the whole thing with A LOT of major improvements. The shape will now be more condusive to a real two decker and after I finish a section I will see how I feel about the new shape. If I like it... the whole ship is likely going to be redone! I would also change the riggin over to the tan colored string and go from there. I might have some progress as early as tomorrow to see how I feel about the new shape and direction. Check back soon!

I made some minor changes to the fortress which I have not photographed... more tiling on the fortress and a large dock on the side. I will try to post pictures of that tomorrow. I also have been revamping some of the houses. I decided they were too small. The "barrister's office" and the new "red house" are more of the appropriate size, so I am going with that size for the rest of the houses as well. they are only about two studs deeper, but it makes a big difference. The Barrister's office and the red house: Compared to: I am also working on the Phantom again. so much work... so little time!!