BrickPerfection

Thank you for that wonderful feedback, everyone! As you may know, Fortuna sadly wasn't chosen in Series 6, likely related to the release of the Endurance! You can still vote for her in Series 7, however: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-7/2609/Privateer-Frigate-Fortuna The main new feature is a minor modification to the rigging so that now Minifigures can climb up the masts! (I know that the Classic-Pirates blog has already collected BDP Series 7 entries, but I saw my older ship, Minerva, bumped higher than Fortuna, so I thought that I would have to correct that!)

Here you go, I made a new render to showcase the crew:

Ahh, that mega size Imperial Fortress looks super nice I must confess, I have never been to Legoland Billund (only Germany and California).

The BrickLink Designer Program might come to the rescue!

Thanks for wondering what I was up to! Yeah, it has been a challenge without the bluecoat torsos and almost all pirate torsos. On the plus side, the ship's wheel (!) came back into the palette, as did flintlock pistols and muskets! My solution to this dilemma was to rebuild Fortuna from the ground, to squeeze out every last improvement so that the increase in quality of the ship compensate for the decline in Minifigure availability - plus the Medieval Town Square Minifigures are actually quite suitable as generic ship crew! All in all, I am very pleased with the result!

Ahh, thanks! Yes, the sides of the quarterdeck sloping upwards is one of the main achievements of the rebuild, the other being the bow that is both more accurate - with the shape of the headrails - and more sturdy!

Thanks! :D I put a lot more effort into the presentation as well, but Fortuna really has become prettier with the rebuilt! Structurally, I redesigned the internal technic frame in order to save pieces that I could then put into additional detailing (about 50 or so - every piece counts!).

Fortuna is back! - Completely rebuilt for Series 6 of the Bricklink Designer Program! Better, stronger, more detailed, more sophisticated, more polished! Fortuna is a fast sailing frigate designed as a Privateer. As a true frigate, Fortuna is equipped with 20 cannons and 2 swivel guns. With your help, Fortuna can become a limited release set! Please vote for her on BrickLink once voting opens: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-6/2056/Privateer-Frigate-Fortuna Please have a look at the video to see the working capstan in action: I am honored to present this lovely frigate on the Eurobricks Pirate MOC Forum first. After all, my journey into Lego sailing ships started on this very forum back in 2009! Please do take a moment to vote for Fortuna on Bricklink once voting opens: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-6/2056/Privateer-Frigate-Fortuna

Minerva is having another go, this time as Privateer Frigate Fortuna, please vote if you haven't already - just 3 days left: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-5/1813/Privateer-Frigate-Fortuna

Thanks a lot for your kind words! Unfortunately the Imperial Soldiers torsos are not available in BDP Series 5, so I cannot simply re-run Minerva. The reason appears to be that the Eldorado Fortress is being retired early, reportedly by the end of 2024. Apparently it didn't sell too well - I could get myself one for A$100 off at the main Sydney Lego Store and even with that 30% discount they didn't sell out. My own theory is that accelerating the retirement of the Eldorado Fortress also gutted Minerva's chances, as BDP Series 4 production / shipping is in mid-2025; i.e. after Eldorado is now set to retire. I might be wrong, but this explanation makes the most sense to me given what we know. Alternatively the piece count was too large - unfortunately I can't really get it down because of proportions: the width is determined by the cannons fitting with closed gunports, and the length follows from there with a 3.5-3.8 ratio (any less and she would look fat!). Keep in mind that BDP has a rule of keeping the average finalist part count at 2500; that alone can sink a 4000pcs design. I might revise Minerva for a future series if I can make her work with the then-available torsos; but for now I need a break. I'll go with a few new designs into BDP Series 5 instead of pouring everything that I have into a single high difficulty, high-risk (& high-reward) design like Minerva. I won't give up on BDP so easily; many of the successful designers have been unsuccessful in ideas for years previously! The main reasons we are getting so many castle sets in BDP are: 1) Popularity: - There's lots of interest from fans; i.e. medieval sets always sell out (so far) which is a major incentive - There are many fan designers building medieval MOCs, and there's also a huge backlog in failed medieval ideas submissions coming to BDP 3) No standalone castle theme - Probably because it's mostly adults buying castle sets, the kids seem to have much less interest unfortunately 2) Minifigures: - There are many great torsos and utensils available from Lion Knight's castle and now even more with the Medieval Town Square - The torso selection for themes other than castle and town is pretty 'meh' to put it mildly and stickers on torsos are not allowed - Reviewers care a great deal about Minifigures that are included in a BDP set (just read / watch them) ->hence you cannot really make a Minifigure-scale set with the 'wrong' torsos and expect it to sell well Should I re-run Minerva in a future BDP Series, I'll advertise it here on the forum! Still, I would appreciate if you could give my new designs for BDP Series 5 a look. They may not be on the same level as Minerva, but they won't disappoint for sure!

I built a new frame from my instructions and posted a picture on my instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C3UJA2OpDdi/

Thanks! I hope it helps with a few last-minute votes... we haven't had an Imperial Ship since 2009 and probably never a realistic-looking ship that has play functions and fits Minifigures. My old fleet is still in the same old basement in Germany. I'm in Australia now, so have no access. I posted some pictures of how they're stored here.

Thanks for making a poll for this! The Minifigures and details are certainly fantastic, I can think of many MOC ideas making use of them! There's also some very neat storytelling relating the town to the castle! The set itself excites me a lot less though; it looks too simple in terms of how it is built - more like a set designed for kids. On the other hand, the colours are rather realistic historically, but they sure aren't pretty! Even if historical accuracy had been a goal, more beautiful colour combinations could have been chosen! I am really not fond of the olive green, bright red and light blueish grey. Also, why have a stone castle tower inside of a village? As many others have pointed out, there's also a distinct lack of animals, not even a single cow! The 10193 Medieval Market Village had 2 cows, and those are really expensive on pick-a-brick! Overall, I voted 7/10 because I really like the Minifigures and small details.

Your design came out very faithful to the signal tower in your picture! Nice use of those curved liftarms for the supports!

Well, BDP cannot have two Pirate MOCs selected as finalists! We already have a pirate island from series 2. Time for a ship! There hasn't been an imperial ship since the 2009 Imperial Flagship!