[COR - FB/Vessel] The Xebec "Sphinx"

[Bregir]

Ibn al'Sayeed, merchant, Corrington.

Shrewd in all matters mercantile, al'Sayeed is a well known trader in most of the ports and markets of the old world. As the new world is opening up, he has decided to expand his area of operations to take his part in the riches it promises.

So far an independent merchant, he is considering joining a trade company, should the right offer be presented him.

His crew consists of the Papadopoulos brothers, Stephanos and Arcenio. They are strong and fully able seamen, and have more than once fended off raiders trying to appropriate al'Sayeed's cargo. Little is known of them, though, as they tend to stick to themselves, mainly convering in a gruff,exotic language known to few. Some have speculated that it might be their native tongue, but so far, few has recognised it.

The Sphinx, Xebec, Class 2 fast

His ship is the Sphinx, a swift and maneuverable xebec with a reasonable cargo hold. Al'Sayeed tends to supplement the capacity by carrying extra cargo on deck, as it all adds to the profit margins.

Rigged with large lateens on the two masts, the Sphinx excels at going near the wind, often enabling her escape from much larger, square-rigged enemies. (or custom's patrols...) The lateens give a big sail area for a small vessel, while still being easy for a few men to handle. In stable weather, one skilled hand can take her through a tacking into the wind.

She is armed with four 4 pounder guns, but due to the cost of gunpowder, they are rarely fired. Al'Sayeed prefers to flee rather than fight. Not that he is a coward - it is simply better business not to have one's ship and precious cargo damaged in battle. (or, in the case of official patrols.... it is better business not having the more... exotic contains of the cargo holds confiscated by customs... )

______________________________________________________________________________________________

This will be my first ship for the MRCA, and I am planning to rate her a class two fast. Any feedback on this would be much appreciated. Since this project is still in its infancy, I find it important to debate and establish the baselines for the different classes. Compared to some of the other class two vessel here, she may be on the small side, but I think that goes well with the "fast" designation. Further, I feel there is room for a class between vessels like this, and the class 0 rowboats and canoes. And we shouldn't make these class two vessels too large - then we will have problems when we get to the higher classes!

I am not saying the other class two vessels should be reclassified, but basically asking if this is within the "creative license" of what the admins had envisioned for class 2.

Any other feedback is, as always, welcome as well! I went throught several iterations and techniques for hulls, before coming up with this one, which I am quite happy with. I knew I wanted a ship of approximately this size, but no matter whether I used prefab bow pieces (6 wide), arches, or slopes, could I find a technique I liked. After roaming the interwebs for a bit, and experimenting even more, I finally came up with this.

Will be looking forward to hearing your input. I will register this as a freebuild, but await a debate on the class before I register it as a vessel for my free license.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Bregir

[Tomsche]

Very nice ship, the sails look really well

About the classifications, Ska has a post in the shipbuilding thread where there is a list of `excisting` hulls and how they might incorporate, I think that a rather well guideline for the moment.

Being a new project, we already have a lot of info to go through, and smacking on even more lists and rules might shun away future shiprights

But perhaps, a `length of stud` or something might be the way to go for the future... now, off to build my class 0 boat

[Mr Greeble]

Love that lime green hull. Those patches of ice/water? are a really nice touch.

[Bregir]

Thanks - I am happy you like the sails - I would have preferred some sort of cloth for them, but the advantage of paper is that you can pose them as if they are filled with wind!

I think you misunderstand me in regards to classification, though. I am not looking for rigid rules or specific guidelines.

Over time, we will have established a presedence for what kind/size of build correlates to each class. Right now, however, there are very few vessels to compare to, making it difficult to decide which class any given ship would have.

And as this is still a young project, I would like to have some inputs to, whether this can be a class two vessel, or if it is far too small/large/strange/whatever compared to what the admins had envisioned.

Love that lime green hull. Those patches of ice/water? are a really nice touch.

Thanks! I think the colour is great too - and wildly underused in all things Lego!

It is meant to be waves, but I see how it could be ice too

[blackdeathgr]

What are Papadopoulos bros discussing?? It's all Greek to me :P

Nice ship color and shape. It would be far better with cloth sails though. Any type or color of cloth :)

Also at first, i personally didn't like the new technic, used by TLG and presented to the latest official pirate ship, to create masts etc using Technic parts. Upon using it though it feels way more versatile and easy to replicate, with nice looking results. Your ship is a fine example of this new technic put to use effectively and elegantly. Now all that remains for us pirate lovers, is TLG to make brown beams and their related Technic parts in brown as well.

I would have preferred some sort of cloth for them, but the advantage of paper is that you can pose them as if they are filled with wind!

Use harder cloth so that it retains its form like paper. Or dip your preferred cloth type in water mixed with a bit of wood-glue. It does wonders

Edited January 10, 2016 by blackdeathgr

[nivremis]

Ska has a post in the shipbuilding thread where there is a list of `excisting` hulls and how they might incorporate, I think that a rather well guideline for the moment.

Would appreciate if you could point me in the direction of this thread please? Can't seem to find it. Thanks!

[Tomsche]

4th post in this topic, under the example map

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=118542

[Captain Dee]

Very nice vessel you've built there. Not using the prefabs allows you to build closer to the waterline and the for the smaller classes tumblehome sides aren't terribly important either. The overall shape is really good and while the colors don't quite fit my taste, they're certainly unique - and it shouldn't be too hard to find her at a crowded pier! The armament is nicely built, but the cargo would look better if it was dressed up with some tiles to hide the studs. Overall good work.

[kabel]

Nice ship and very unusual colors which I really like though as ships from the early stages of the age of discovery were definetely much more colorful than depcited today!

[nivremis]

4th post in this topic, under the example map

http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=118542

Huzzuh! Thank you kind sir.

Also OP, nice ship! Really liking the "busy-ness" of the deck without it being overly crowded :D

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Fine ship, strange colours - but they match with your captain!

[Bart]

Nice ship.

Great use of an 'odd' colour.

What are the bricks on deck though?

[Tomsche]

His cargo containers

[TitusV]

Looks great!!! I really like her colors and the way the sails look!!! As always, great build!

[dr_spock]

Nice work. You have the overhang feature in the bow and stern of an Xebec. Interesting choice of color and your ship and captain are color co-ordinated.

[Gideon]

Nice to see more Middle Eastern influenced characters (and ships) here

That surely looks like a vessel which can outmaneuver larger clumsier vessels!

Presentation wise, I like the waves on the surface around the ship...it makes such a difference from only having a flat surface around the ship.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Gideon

[SkaForHire]

Very nice vessel here! I like that it is low to the water, and looks like it cuts well. Surely a fast vessel! Class-wise, I could see this being a small version of the Class 2. To be honest, most of the class 2 vessels that we have seen have felt a little bit bigger than what I imagined. I imagined class one = ITP ship size. This vessel seems a bit larger, and does well to convey speed (with the sacrifice of cargo space in a Trade ship).

[Maxim I]

Very nice vessel here! I like that it is low to the water, and looks like it cuts well. Surely a fast vessel! Class-wise, I could see this being a small version of the Class 2. To be honest, most of the class 2 vessels that we have seen have felt a little bit bigger than what I imagined. I imagined class one = ITP ship size. This vessel seems a bit larger, and does well to convey speed (with the sacrifice of cargo space in a Trade ship).

It is sometimes difficult :p

I based my Cutter on this example:

Which has 8 guns...

The ITP is indeed a Class 1 (I totally agree on that).

I also fear that if my "Knight of Stedor" for example is already a Class 3, my WIP (a 3rd ship of the line normally) will be class 15 or so

[Bart]

His cargo containers

ohhh I was looking at my phone, now on my laptop I see they are crates with a 2x2 lid :D

[SkaForHire]

It is sometimes difficult :p

I based my Cutter on this example:

Which has 8 guns...

The ITP is indeed a Class 1 (I totally agree on that).

I also fear that if my "Knight of Stedor" for example is already a Class 3, my WIP (a 3rd ship of the line normally) will be class 15 or so

I don't think we will be getting up to class 15 any time soon in the rules! haha. I think the KoS was more class 2 than the Apples vessel, which I thought might be a Class 3 (in my opinion, but not too far off that we would ask for a change! Like I said, there is creative license here!)

[Mr. Townsend]

Looking good. I'm always a fan of ship classes that are built rarely. I like the bits of trans clear placed around to give an "on the sea" effect. Plain paper with pencil lines would look really cool on this I think.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Mr. Townsend

[Kai NRG]

Rather unusual colors but they work well! The straight-side hull looks better than I would have anticipated as well. As others have said, the bits of water lying about really add to it as well! Great work!

[Bregir]

Thank you all for your comments!

What are Papadopoulos bros discussing?? It's all Greek to me :P

Nice ship color and shape. It would be far better with cloth sails though. Any type or color of cloth :)

Also at first, i personally didn't like the new technic, used by TLG and presented to the latest official pirate ship, to create masts etc using Technic parts. Upon using it though it feels way more versatile and easy to replicate, with nice looking results. Your ship is a fine example of this new technic put to use effectively and elegantly. Now all that remains for us pirate lovers, is TLG to make brown beams and their related Technic parts in brown as well.

Use harder cloth so that it retains its form like paper. Or dip your preferred cloth type in water mixed with a bit of wood-glue. It does wonders

Haha, you had me laughing out loud there!

You are probably right about the cloth sails, but I did not have access to any suitable cloth, and I am still on the beginning of my venturing into shipbuilding. Perhaps sometime down along the line, I will experiment with more advanced rigging techniques. The wood glue tip is noted!

I agree the technic masts aren't perfect, but it opens up for a lot of opportunities for customisation, and it is sturdy. And for smaller ships, the proportions are pretty good too.

Very nice vessel you've built there. Not using the prefabs allows you to build closer to the waterline and the for the smaller classes tumblehome sides aren't terribly important either. The overall shape is really good and while the colors don't quite fit my taste, they're certainly unique - and it shouldn't be too hard to find her at a crowded pier! The armament is nicely built, but the cargo would look better if it was dressed up with some tiles to hide the studs. Overall good work.

Thanks, Captain. As to prefabs, a lot of the smaller ones look to modern too, and brickbuilt hulls really give more chance of customisation (for instance getting closer to the waterline). Ultimately, I would have given her some tumblehome, but that will be on my wishlist for improving my skills for the future.

And yeah, that is why I will never buy a grey VW Golf - I would never be able to find it on the parking lot!

Glad you like the guns - they are an issue in all my builds!

Nice ship and very unusual colors which I really like though as ships from the early stages of the age of discovery were definetely much more colorful than depcited today!

Thanks, Kabel! I agree - the past wasn't so grey and boring as we might sometimes imagine. As to colours, I am surprised no one has commented on the dark flesh to dark tan brick-brick mix up near the waterline... I built it like this to get moving, but forgot to exchange the brick before I took the pictures

Huzzuh! Thank you kind sir.

Also OP, nice ship! Really liking the "busy-ness" of the deck without it being overly crowded :D

Thanks, Nivremis! I always like it, when mocs look alive, and therefore try to make my own mocs a place of action and life. However, I do agree with some of the others, that I might have overdone it slightly.

Fine ship, strange colours - but they match with your captain!

Thanks, CB. What can I say - Fashion's a bitch! (And FINALLY someone noticed! )

Nice work. You have the overhang feature in the bow and stern of an Xebec. Interesting choice of color and your ship and captain are color co-ordinated.

I've always liked the Xebec as a type, and tried to recreate it with its most distinguishing features. Further, lateens are cool, and really easy to recreate!

I might revisit the Xebec later for a larger vessel, but only time will show!

Nice to see more Middle Eastern influenced characters (and ships) here

That surely looks like a vessel which can outmaneuver larger clumsier vessels!

Presentation wise, I like the waves on the surface around the ship...it makes such a difference from only having a flat surface around the ship.

I think it is fun to explore alternative types (and therefore, I have also build a junk to be posted later), and the mediteranean area was important for shipping for most of the age of sail!

Gald you think it looks agile!

Presentation wise, I agree - it was a stroke of inspiration. However, it might look a bit too much like ice, unless you think of it as a night time photo. (which would also explain why the surface is black... )

Very nice vessel here! I like that it is low to the water, and looks like it cuts well. Surely a fast vessel! Class-wise, I could see this being a small version of the Class 2. To be honest, most of the class 2 vessels that we have seen have felt a little bit bigger than what I imagined. I imagined class one = ITP ship size. This vessel seems a bit larger, and does well to convey speed (with the sacrifice of cargo space in a Trade ship).

Thanks, Ska

It sounds like we are pretty much on the same page here, so I have registered it as a class 2 f. I think it is good we had this discussion (including Maxim's comments) to clarify how you and the rest of the leadership see the different classes.

Looking good. I'm always a fan of ship classes that are built rarely. I like the bits of trans clear placed around to give an "on the sea" effect. Plain paper with pencil lines would look really cool on this I think.

Thank you, mr. I too like the rarer types, and this will not be my last. Often they are more easy to replicate, since they typically have some very obvious characteristics.

How do you imagine those pencil lines? It sounds interesting.

Rather unusual colors but they work well! The straight-side hull looks better than I would have anticipated as well. As others have said, the bits of water lying about really add to it as well! Great work!

Thanks, Kai - we shouldn't be limited to brown, dark brown, reddish brown, dark reddish brown and possibly tan, ey?

About the straight side hull, I do think it looks a bit more chubby on the pics than in reality, but it turned out pretty well - and actually does look like a xebec, I think!

[Mike S]

Nice little ship! Interesting use of the brick pieces... and I like the captain!

[Captain Dee]

For the record, I did indeed notice that the vessel's colors matched the captain's attire and just assumed he ordered it painted to match...

...but I hope he never takes a fancy to tie-dye or I'll be visiting the eye doctor!