ZCerberus

Seriously, no more War of 1812 Canada rules stuff- it is old and brought up in every thread dealing with this time period and MOCs with American soldiers. Stick to the MOC. Also Red vs. Blue- enough already. There is evidence the blue coats may be French, I have also heard references to comics saying they are Spanish- regardless, none of that indicates what the redcoats are and if they are different... all that doesn't even reach if the Armada sets are also the same side- I think we should just let everyone have their own opinion and move on so we can discuss this nice MOC. Anyhow, nicely done Phred my boy. I have to agree with YnyklL, I think a tan or a brown line across the top would look really sharp and it would match your rudder on the back perfectly. I also think your landing craft needs another Ewok and a few storm troopers to be TRULY complete. Forgive me if you mentioned this in the first post but- are you planning to make multiple landing craft for the Constitution? Or at least several of varying sizes? I know they are harder to come by, but it looks like your gig might work better with the larger ores found in the Viking and Troll warship sets... or do you think the paddle heads on those are too large for this boat?

Fort Brighton has moved! Only about half a mile down the road (why does the US still use miles?) but that should explain the slow progress. In my new place we have a "hobby" room that is dominated with brick. I am on vacation, but next week I should have a few picks of the fort in its new surroundings!

You made it all the way up to Illinois from.... what state is it you are from again?

As promised-- New Updated top level... No design on the flag, just wanted to see how the pole worked... Improved the stability of the back gates-- and finished the towers... this is where the fort meets the port- so I think it needed some sort of gate. Little cart full of cannon balls too... trying to work on some micro-builds to go along with all the architecture work I have going on... the devil is in the details after all. And here is the modular sea wall and docks I mentioned... I have 10 sea wall sections built (covers 120 studs in length) and I could easily build another 10 when I expand on to a port...

Gold is the only color I have a significant number of triples in... but I am not sure how it would look since I am already using light bley and tan as alternate colors. I will see how looks- but I actually raised them another stud as well so I would need to shorten them up again before that... I am actually thinking of making them longer- six studs between canon ports and solid brick inbetween. General update- I lowered the fort 4 studs and modified the front of the lowest section (major improvements). I added a crane to get supplies up to the top of the fortress and a flag pole to raise the colors. I now have some roofs on the rear "tower" sections. Every day I am more and more convinced I need to tile the whole bloody thing. I need to add a bell... likely on the ground level out in front of the fortess section. I also made the base section that will connect the fortress with the cathedral. This section is going to house a small supply house and be and elevated enterance to a court yard between the cathedral and fortress. I also have created some modular seawalls and docks, so after I get the fortress done I can expand onto a village... pics later tonight.

Well they are there because they also hold the second and third levels together. I think they work there as a fine detail... but I will certainly be adding additional flags to the MOC as well. I also need to finish the "towers" and after much consideration I am going to lower the fort about six bricks. Not a ton, but I think the overall affect will be better.

The fortress is not done, and there will definitely be a large flag up top... there are actually some "banner" type flags hanging on the second level in the balconies but they are hard to see. The idea is to add an entire town, we'll see how far I get. I definitely need a priest though!

I will agree with that!... I am not sure that it is that it is too tall so much as it is that it is too tall for its width... if the whole thing were a bit wider I think it would balance better- I can't realistically lower it more than 2 or three bricks though without requiring major changes... I thought about ways to make it wider-- but perhaps the solution really is to lower it a bit. Each level is removable, so I think I could cut out two bricks per level with some work- that might make me happpier with it...

So I am revamping the fortress section. Progress is being made... slowly a shot of the old fortress for reference: And the new... 3/4 Front Back Details- You can again see my sig fig with a raven haired lady by his side... the duo, fresh out of leaving the cathedral together are touring the new fortress... I wonder what they could have been doing in the cathedral?? Once again I must ask " is my sigfig's piratey past foreshadowing my future????" No Flash There is going to be a bigger gap between this section and the cathedral, and I am working on the fortress "towers" still, but I ran out of white arches. No there isn't any yellow anymore, and the whole thing is just plain beefier, so I think it is an improvement... And you can see the cathedral here for size comparison...

Thank you Boney, even though you are obviously an insatiable, rapid, French dictator, I will welcome you to my port any time!

Excellent work!! It looks like you have taken a few of the best techniques from around the forum and combined them into a ship of awesomeness! I am especially impressed with the cabins on the stern, they are gorgeous! Nice technique with the sails too, I think I saw Greeny helping you with those, so my compliments to you both! I also like the dark red in there, it is fast becoming one of my favorite colors.

Well the idea was that the cathedral would be a sort of command center, like it was formally a cathedral but has been forced into service as fortress-- However, I am now rebuilding the "fortress" section where the tower used to be, so I may be switching the wooden command platform out for a few windows and a side entry.

Update: Still some details on the cathedral, but it structurally about right. And below you can see my sigfig standing in front of a church with a raven haired beauty wearing a white dress... is my sigfig's piratey past foreshadowing my future???? I am fairly happy with it... I wish the dome was either dark red or white or the rest of the roof was bley- but I just don't have the parts for that. I am rebuilding the tower next- I am going to put some space between the cathedral and the fortress and make the fortress section more... fortress-y... Progress is slow but happening!

A lot- I buy cannon battles in bulk!!

Flex hose is the idea- but I don't have any in white so I might end up using brown.. err.. "copper" colored stuff ;) . I also don't like the bley in that spot- but like I said I am not happy with that window yet. I used the bley because I had the right parts in that color, if I can find some more white 1x1 clips I will swith it over. I also wish I could do the dome in dark red, but I simply don't have the parts for that- the Bley up there works okay- just not ideal! I would still prefer to do the roof in dark red- but I am not sure how it is going to look- guess we'll find out soon enough!

Some updates- I have been working on the fort- it is just slow progress. Some pics of the cathedral with some more work- the round window in the front is subject to changes- I don't like the light blue in it and I need something to finish off the ring around it... Big addition is obviously the dome.

There are some mighty fine additions indeed! I like the red color and the stairs. I agree with Greeny though- why did the IFS have a window in the stern? Maybe instead you could remove the window in favor of a "chaser" cannon!

You can find them in several sets- most notable on the back of the Mars Mission Drill Walker and the I also know there is on one the top of a Sponge Bob rocket ship-- they are probably in a few other places as well... All part of the mystique and story my friend. The cathedral was built by the Spanish but when the Spanish protectors left the citizens of the village to fend for themselves from the invading pirate horde, the citizens defended themselves with a last stand at the cathedral. When the Brick-tish arrived to drive off the pirates, they took over the cathedral as a base of operations. The thankful citizens and Brick-tish then constructed the firing platform and light tower to make the fortification more functional. Yes- I am using the small rail attached guns-- known as "swivel guns" when they are on ships in several places. Grapeshot should be a good choice for close quarter combat like this! Welcome Captain Stewart Strike- Well the diagonal walls are 2 bricks wide so the inter row of bricks are hinged and the outer row of bricks "overlap" the edge there the hinges are. I am sure there are other ways to do it as well- but this technique works well for this fortress

update on the cathedral section- mostly... I went with a domed like top because I saw a lot of Spanish Cathedrals with that style versus a gothic cathedral which is much more "pointy" everywhere. I added a bell to one of the towers but no more fabuland buckets :( Some minor improvements here- still trying to fine tune and find the right look. You can see the two sections detach here-- I may actually build a little extension between the sections some day as it feels a bit cramped between them right now.

Ha- no, but I am always making progress- got a little farther on the "cathedral" section- I will post pics soon of the progress!

I see-- well though I am not entirely sure what that means- it certainly looked like it was progressing well!

That is a good idea-- an apothecary/surgeon of sorts.

Yes... a whole port town as it were... then in the classic Fort Brighton style I will have a second fortress across a small river that is connected to a large jail of sorts

Very Nice indeed! Any progress on that MOC?

the Cathedral will be finished. It is on the top of the "to do" list Thank you, I had to use some clear 1 x 2 plates on the backside to hold it all together. Due to that requirement-- the windows do not look nearly as impressive from the inside.