[ESL-FB5] Class 5T Heart of Eslandia

[Capt Wolf]

This is my fifth free build of the month, so approvals and critiques are most welcome.

* * *

It had been some time since Captain Cornelius Reyngout had spent any time back on the mainland, but he had been summoned to Terreli. After meeting with Guy Wyndzon, he had his orders. Reyngout departed the MCTC headquarters, out into the busy street, and headed for the docks.

The MCTC had acquired a ship that had been decommissioned from the Eslandola navy. She was a beautiful ship, but of an earlier generation, and the time for her military service had come and gone. But she was of solid construction and had many years of service left in her, if she could find the right service. And the MCTC thought she was perfect for the merchant service.

Now completely refurbished, the Heart of Eslandia would sail again. Cleared of the extra guns and large crew of a warship, she now sported a large cargo hold, 5 guns in each broadside (and could add two chasers to the bow if needed), and was one of the speediest ships around. Reyngout thought her name very appropriate, as trade was the lifeblood of Eslandola, and the ship still sported its blood-red sails from its fighting days. And the name Eslandia referenced the historic tone poem dedicated to the Eslandolan ideal.

Capt. Reyngout’s orders were to take her to the Eslandolan colonies, display the pride of the MCTC merchant fleet, and drum up financial support from MCTC members so that she may be licensed and enter revenue service next month.

Bow detail:

Stern decoration retained from her fighting days:

Some detail shots of the cleared decks:

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Now that is a good-looking ship indeed!

Good to see that this can be achieved based on slope bricks.

[The Sarge]

Very nice! I think it would look better if the maroon was black or green though.

[Tomsche]

Very nice looking ship, I love the curves of the front.

[TitusV]

oh, waw! That's what I call lovely! It's a pity I'm Eslandolan, or you would have received 23 and a half approvals

[Kolonialbeamter]

What a great ship, among the finest I've seen around here so far!

I much like the classic shape and the fact such was achieved by adopting - as CB mentioned - a slope based approach, 'simple' and very effective.

And the colors, I'm usually not a fan of fancy colors on ships, however your mix of gold, green and red I find splendid. It has 'Eslandola' written all over it.

A true treasure galleon. Very authentic adaptation for the BoBS universe.

May the winds and currents be ever in her favor!

I approve with delight!

[TenorPenny]

The swords and wings motif look terrific.

[Maxim I]

The ship is fantastic! Such a beauty!!!

After watching it 5x times this morning alone, I noticed the gunports are all on the same straight line. My suggestion for in the future is to let those gunports follow the curved line of the ship :)

Edited February 20, 2016 by Maxim I

[blackdeathgr]

This is indeed a beauty! And a fine example of sloped bricks indeed for us noobs like me Even colors are so fitting! Great job!

(5th FB??? You are on fire this month!). I approve ofc

[kurigan]

Wow. Very nice ship. Clean and simple; almost understated. Normally not much a fan of the style myself, but I like this. Great job, espically with the quater galleries.

One thought: the rear most gun ports might look better if ther could rise with the hulls curvature. Dono what the under structre is like though so I've no idea how difficult it would be for you to change it.

Thanks for sharing her.

[Puvel]

That is absolutely stunning

[Tezclatipoca]

Wow what a beauty !

This is a great vessel ! Too bad I'm Eslandian, you should have my approval.

[Fuzzy MacFuzz]

Stunning build! I approve.

I can't really agree with the comments/criticisms above, i think this ship would be a fitting part of any treasure fleet just as it is.

In our world of course, galleons like this were the ones that opened up the new world for captains like Magellan, Drake and Cortes, but in BoBS there is more of an 18th century aesthetic. So I like that those intrepid early explorers are getting a nod here.

[Kai NRG]

Very nice ship, the MCTC will be humble to have her in our fleet! The red sails look great (if a little Corry-ish), and the shape is fantastic; especially the prow!

[Elostirion]

Brilliant work on that ship, lots of things to love here!

[BrickOn]

Impressive ship. I love the attention to detail like the tiles on the deck, gives it such a polished finish. And I am a fan of the colour scheme, the dark red on the ship matches the sails and I have always liked the slightly clashing combination of dark reds with bright yellow, its on of my favourite combinations :-)

I approve

[Brickwolf]

I approve

[Mike S]

Now that is a beautiful ship! Love the colors! I do have to agree with others about the cannon ports should follow the curve of the ship... Also I think the figurehead could be improved somehow. I approve

[SilentWolf]

This is a beautiful ship. I approve of the build and look forward to seeing it sail the seas.

[CelesAurivern]

I like big boats! I cannot lie!

Thumbs up!

[Captain Genaro]

I'm afraid that I don't have too much to add, but I couldn't help but commenting on this ship. It's absolutely stunning. Your choice of colors is fantastic, and her shape is instantly recognizable as a galleon. The simple rigging you added makes a world of difference.

Hopefully we'll get to see some pics of her in action with a full crew.

[Capt Wolf]

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments! I'm glad you seem to like it as much as I do. This was a fun build, started two months ago, and I'm amazed at how much I was still changing as late as Friday. And I'm very happy with how working with slopes came out. It did limit some color choices, but it also helps produce a VERY solid model.

The ship is fantastic! Such a beauty!!!

After watching it 5x times this morning alone, I noticed the gunports are all on the same straight line. My suggestion for in the future is to let those gunports follow the curved line of the ship :)

That was a major decision in the design of this ship. I looked at a lot of ships, and from what I saw, it seemed like most of the Spanish ships I looked at had the gunports following the curvature, but many Dutch and English ships of the 17th century had the gunports on a straight line as I have done. Ultimately I chose the straight line for several reasons: it matched the interior decking of the build, it was consistent with the ship that was the main inspiration for this build (the Batavia), and aesthetically I found the conflict between the straight line of gunports and the curvature of the ship more interesting. But I agree it would be nice to try another one where the gunports follow the curve. There's nothing in the build that would prevent it.

Very nice ship, the MCTC will be humble to have her in our fleet! The red sails look great (if a little Corry-ish), and the shape is fantastic; especially the prow!

I originally tried light-colored sails (cream/beige) and it just looked like it was lacking something. My wife suggested I try the red sails (from the QAR, I think). I was skeptical but tried them, and it really transformed the ship.

Now that is a beautiful ship! Love the colors! I do have to agree with others about the cannon ports should follow the curve of the ship... Also I think the figurehead could be improved somehow. I approve

The figurehead was a carryover from the Batavia inspiration, which had a red lion as its figurehead. It seemed like a great opportunity to try out a Chima minifig in that spot. I agree its not the best, but when I decided to go with the red sails and the retired navy ship backstory, I decided it fit. At one point I had the figurehead holding two crossed swords as well.

I like big boats! I cannot lie!

Thumbs up!

I just had to quote this again!

[Captain Dee]

First of all, I like how you begin with the introductory scene. That's a neat idea.

Beautiful galleon! The first pic is simply wonderful. I want to download it and use it as a wallpaper on my PC.

This has to be one of the best prefab galleons I've ever seen. The design is fairly basic but turned out exceptionally well. The slope bricks look pretty good but for me it's simply a well-planned and nicely proportioned vessel. The colors are nice and the light-colored upper railing displays the classic galleon form almost perfectly. The stern looks good with all the decorated elements and the headrails are my favorite type of design, even if tubes/hoses may be smoother. But what's most appealing is the fact that this demonstrates anyone can build a really good galleon without using lots of advanced techniques and huge numbers of pieces.

Questions often arise about how to differentiate between the different types of ships and this shows the defining galleon features really well: elongated prow (made highly visible by the flattening of the headrails), elevated forecastle, high stern, and lateen rigging on the mizzenmast.

Overall this is an excellent design.

Of course I approve.

[Vedauwoo]

Beautiful vessel! Very clean deck....I love those pearl gold arches/bows on the cabin as well!

[SkaForHire]

I don't have much time.

But great work!