ZCerberus

discombobulated... I am not sure how one uses that word in Australia, but generally a person can be discombobulated because it means to confuse, or be in a state of confusion, but an object in reality probably can't be confused. We would say to use the word properly, "I wanted to do my math homework, but without the teachers help, I became discombobulated." At the same time, however, we also commonly use the word in the US to describe an object that is very... 'unharmonious'... or disconnected with its surroundings or parts. I am not sure that translates well to the true definition of discombobulated, because literally we are saying the object is in 'a state of confusion'. We would say, "That picture looks very inharmonious and 'busy'. It is discombobulated." That makes me think we are really constantly using a the phrase as a personification of an object... personification is when we give an object human qualities to describe or explain it. Here, we are saying an object is capable of being 'confused', a wholly human trait. That is it for today's English lesson, class!! Please have your examples of metaphors and similes into me by noon tomorrow so we can discuss that next class. Next week we will be discussing onomatopoeia (the bees 'buzzzed') and hyperbole (this will be one millionth time I have discussed hyperbole!)!

I still think it has pizazz! But like I said, for the classic Napoleonic man such as your self, the red,white and blue tricolor all the way!

The Fluer de lis is a quality choice! The French are always sneaking away with my Kool-Aid! I am not sure what that meant... I was just confronting the fact that my ships may be more French than British. Anyhow, I was just saying maybe my ships would be closer color wise to French ships. I guess if they are robbed by pirates, and then reclaimed by other countries, then the color scheme would matter less. Anyhow, these are LEGO Pirates, so maybe any ol' flag would work. I think you should go with the red, white and blue one if you want classic, and the Fluer de lis if you want pizazz!

I always feel strange, replaying to my own posts... anyhow... Some more updates. I added a mid section just so I could see how it would transition and if it would work... Looks pretty good. Unfortunately, when I resize the photos to fit on the board, they lose some details, so I am also posting thumbs of the bigger versions as well! Highlights include, slightly changed rear end and one midsection.

Pesky French... always drinking my Kool-Aid... I suppose my ships are the right color to be French as well though, so maybe I need to watch myself and just become an honorary Frenchman... viva la France?? Anyhow, to the ship!! Two things, I know you had posted in one of my threads about the mast extension pieces, but you needed to get some in a BL order... are you planning on increasing the masts height with that technique? And secondly, I do highly recommend canvas. It doesn't require extra stiffening and can be dyed quite easily.

Well I am planning on using a similar transition on the rebuild that I used on the old version... See here... Perhaps you are right and it needs a better more filled in transition!

Correct Sir! But it isn't really a catapult either! So I prefer to think of the missiles used in the MOCs by me and the sets by LEGO

Nice. I like the shape a lot. It is turning out quite nicely. Good story. I used the same thing to introduce the Arbiter II. I think I shall continue the story to explain my renovations... I mean I did say they took the ship from a Piratical adversary, El Tortuga Oscura. I also like the captain figure. Are any of your other crewman planning on having custom uniforms?

Yes Minnesota power is where it's at! Well there will be a staircase on both sides, so it won't just go straight up... Edit: Maybe a railing of sorts on the staircase would make it look more integrated! Also remember that the hull section in front of the cabin will have some rails and curves to integrate the two parts!

Well thank you... But I must admit, the Viking MOCs were built before I built the harbor even. I needed a distraction while I was without my Pirates, so they are several months old, I just never took any photos until recently. Maybe what I really need is for Pirates to have siege engines!!

I am not entirely sure what you mean, but this is where we stand... The ship itself is untouched and is sitting in my parent's attic. I will not be to their house until the end of February. So since I had no access to the ship, any designing I have done will be in MLCAD. I also wanted to redo the mast construction to make them taller. I used the mast pieces that are now on the Covenant to do that, but knowing I would be short pieces, I ordered replacement parts from BL. I also have a 'name plate' for the back of the ship, but in terms of what has actually been built, that is about all you see in any recent photos. Because I had to order some pieces, I have kind of a hodge podge of stuff at my disposal that will eventually go on the ship. Right now I have built the top sections of the new masts, all the yard arms for the new masts and the sails for them, the sides of the two new hull sections are built, various items that are going to sit on the deck are completed, the Arbiter II 'name plate' is done and I have about 20 'ordinary sailors' waiting to be deployed. I could snap a picture of all the random stuff for the ship I have here, but that is for a latter time, as I have to be off to work and school now!

Normally there are poles sticking out of the sides for someone to push. This would not be adequate I would think, so a horse or ox or four would be needed. I, however, did not put too much time into any of the Viking MOCs as Pirates are my thing, I just liked the figures, and had some pieces, so I made a few siege engines. I didn't much car for how they would move or how real they would be, as should be obvious from the prison cart. I tried, so far as one can, to keep them in-line with the LEGO® designs, so future looking or not, I think they are very Lego Viking-ish!

Yes! No one really appeared to notice until boney said something. I always disliked the distance between the top two pegs on the bowsprit pieces, so I worked a solution. Like I said, I actually had to do if for the first time on the Sienna. The mast wasn't tall enough to hold the yardarm up with the rigging I did, so I needed to elevate it a few studs. I just used the construction and took it one step further to get another peg on the mast! Yes, except the part I intended to use might be too big, so we will see how it works out. It is also not available in MLCAD so I can't design one. I will have to snap a photo if it works out!

A couple of notes about the string LEGO® uses... First they use two different types, the thicker stuff that has the studs attached to the two ends that was usedto run front to back on the classic Pirate ships would more accurately be called a 'cord'. It is several pieces of string braided together. I noticed that if it starts fraying on the end, you can burn the edges of it to melt the strings together. This makes me think it is some sort of nylon, or other synthetic material as opposed to cotton. For this type of string I would look for a thin nylon cord. Second, the string used in all other respects is probably some sort of basic cotton string. I am not sure if there is any difference between what one would call 'string' and what one would call 'thread' but the LEGO string seems to be thicker than what I would call 'thread'. I have found 'Carpet and Button thread' to be a decent replacement for the thinner LEGO string. It is kind of shiny, but a little thicker than ordinary thread, but I think it is a bit thiner that the LEGO string. I like it because it is easy to tie and is a little heavier than 'ordinary' thread.

I like this MOC, it is nice. I noticed the title of the topic has changed, from small rum post to Small Outpost for Rum Commerce... is that a more literal translation of what you had called it in Portuguese? It sounds a little awkward in English, and something like "Rum Outpost" just has a better sound to it! Anyhow, I like the design, I think maybe I will start taking longer looks when I see Playmobil in stores!

This guy is called the Demon Ballista because it kinda looks like it has a scary face. It rounds out my collection.

This is called the Ballista One because I had no better name for it...

So here are three other MOCs I did. I am not particularly enamored with them, but since I took photos of my other MOCs, I thought I would share. This one is called the 'Prison Wagon'. It is, of course, very unrealistic, but that is the way it is!!

They can be gun ports, there are openings behind them, so I can place guns up there if needed. I also did a little more work in MLCAD. Added the other side, reworked the back a bit, and added a few little structures to the deck.

Thanks Minnesota brother!! Anyhow... that odd looking black and red 6 x 12 plate on the back of the ship above the windows is actually supposed to be something I already designed... The plate on the back of the second ship is what will be going there!!

Aight-- So I am waiting on a BL order to finish the New Covenant, and while I wait, I decided to do a little designing to refit the Arbiter II. I built it really quickly, as was discussed, so parts of the 'on the fly' work aren't quite where I would have liked them. I am reworking the cabin, and since I don't have the right parts at hand, MLCAD it is!! I am only about 1/3 done with it, there are a lot of parts to go on, and I only finished one side, so it looks a little odd still. Any way, here is the progress...

It appears that the crane mechanism is housed inside. The door isn't for people, but for cargo and cranes.

They are made of LEGOs for sure... inverted slopes, yes!! What I was trying to say when calculating the length, was that the center sections are 12 long each, I didn't want people to believe they were the LEGO prefab hulls which are 8 long each, as opposed to 12. So when I said they weren't LEGO hulls, I meant they are not the prefabbed hulls. No prob. I also used a similar technique on the back of the Sienna to raise the mizzen mast up a little to make the rigging be able to hold up the yardarm on the back sail. I think it is a good construction to raise the length.

Well 5 center sections at 12 long (they are not LEGO hulls so they are 12 instead of 8 long) plus 12 for the bow, and 14 for the stern... plus it extends in the front and back... I would guess another 20 studs not including the bowsprit. So that would be 60 + 12 + 14 + 20 = 106. That is only a rough guess, I think it might be slightly larger! So stretched out it would be around 130 studs... wow... that is kinda long.