Modding the Barracuda thread

[JeffBuilds]

So, I was originally going to do something sacreligious.

 

Not the kind of sacrelige that will get you banned from a public online forum, but the fun, polarizing kind, where either you love it or detest it.

 

I was going to make modifications to the original Black Seas Barracuda that I got a couple weeks ago! Make a thread about it, post some pictures, pitch some ideas, encourage you lot to share some ideas, a bit of give and take!

 

Then, they announce the Pirates of Barracuda Bay.

AND HOW IT CAN BE REBUILT TO AN UPDATED VERSION OF THE DARK SHARK HERSELF!!!

Heavy Breathing intensifies

 

I'm going to keep my classic barracuda intact, possibly do one small thing to it (expanding/retracting rigging play feature from 6289, The Redbeard Runner) and that's it.

Then proceed to commit sacrelige, gut, and modify the Black Seas Barracuda; 2020 edition to my black heart's content!

 

While I don't have the set proper, what little information I've gleened from reviews and videos, is that it's difficult to access the lower decks on the model. and there are only three of the spring-loaded cannons. Right now, once I get the model, I'm going to build it, appraise it, and see what I can do to make the interrior more accessible, and what creature comforts, like the inn furniture and cots, can be kept or repurposed into a galley, or crew quarters. And grab a couple more spring loaded cannons. Well; the classic Barracuda has 4. Might go ahead and up that to maybe 6 or 8. I may also look into or entertain the idea of emulating the navigation wheel playfeature from 6286, the Skull's Eye Schooner.

Aside from that, those of you who have happened across review copies of the set, let me ask you this:

 

What play features do you want in your dream Dark-Shark???

[Mister Phes]

11 hours ago, Jevil said:

What play features do you want in your dream Dark-Shark???

Instead of a rudder, have a hamster wheel... only for sharks...  the sharks swim round and round in a loop which propels the ship forward.  I don't think this has be done before but I could be wrong.

[Brickander Brickumnus]

1. Modify the upper deck so that it can be easily removed and have easy access to inner deck (like in 10210 Imperial Flagship).
2. Remove the windows from the cannon ports.
3. Remove everything not combat related from the mid section of the inner deck .
4. Try to add 2 extra cannon ports, for a total of 10. I have an idea of how it might be possible, but I'll know for sure when @Elusys Ra Arwal shares his Stud.io file of the ship.
5. Buy  5-7 extra cannons.

Edited March 29, 2020 by Brickander Brickumnus

[Elusys Ra Arwal]

3 hours ago, Brickander Brickumnus said:

1. Modify the upper deck so that it can be easily removed and have easy access to inner deck (like in 10210 Imperial Flagship).
2. Remove the windows from the cannon ports.
3. Remove everything not combat related from the mid section of the inner deck .
4. Try to add 2 extra cannon ports, for a total of 10. I have an idea of how it might be possible, but I'll know for sure when @Elusys Ra Arwal shares his Stud.io file of the ship.
5. Buy  5-7 extra cannons.

1. The upper deck problem lies only for the mast part, you have to detach the rigging in order to access it, both in shipwreck or complete ship form. 
2. You can't really remove the windows because they've been built to support the cannon lid, removing the frame makes the part very easy to fall off. (I know that because when I built my MOC I didn't put a longer plate underneath those things and I had to order parts to modify it to circumvent that very problem)
3. You could do that, but then the cannons would be squeezed together, their wheels would be touching, plus you have to remove the part that functions as a door to the tavern, plus on the back there are some arches that also need to be removed.
4. It could be done but you need to rework it quite a bit. 

I'll attach a picture as soon as the render finishes, so you understand what I mean... 

...and here you go! 

 

http://Pirates of Barracuda Bay_13 by Guglielmo di Napoli, on Flickr

Edited March 29, 2020 by Elusys Ra Arwal

[Murdoch17]

I plan on recoloring the red parts to green for my own pirate captain, and removing all the non-combat elated items (plus that unneeded island version wall seen in the above post) to be replaced with cannons I already have. I also will be adding custom green and white sails... as soon as I can figure out how to order them from CapeMadness now that Bricklink shut him down. 

[cehnot]

You could replace the arch windows with square window panels so it still let's the cannons come out.

[Bregir]

7 hours ago, cehnot said:

You could replace the arch windows with square window panels so it still let's the cannons come out.

The cannon will poke through the arched windows too.

[blackdeathgr]

I will mod it to accomodate more crew/cannons/swivel guns, maybe a bell etc (and ofc photograph the hell out of it), then try to build another one (sistershipping ) as a prey... ahem... trader full of trade goods.

Still, it is absolutely perfect as it is!

Edited March 30, 2020 by blackdeathgr

[Elusys Ra Arwal]

My first small mod as in color scheme, to bring it to what it was originally is to substitute all the white slopes to reddish brown ones and change the white 1x2 on the lids and the 1x2x2/3 slopes into dark brown ones:

Pirates of Barracuda Bay_15_mod1 by Guglielmo di Napoli, on Flickr

Pirates of Barracuda Bay_16_mod1 by Guglielmo di Napoli, on Flickr

 

In the following pictures, instead, I have done something different that I suggested before, that is leaving the ship with its original white color and create additional panels with foliage and scrap-wood on top so to use it to cover the ship in its docked version and take them off to use as pieces to build something else on the island once the whole ship is removed.
So the story would go like this: the ship would look like an actual wreck, or something made out of wood found anywhere, until they decide to put it to good use and build an updated version of their former ship, which is the assembled one, once everything's removed...

Pirates of Barracuda Bay_17_mod1 by Guglielmo di Napoli, on Flickr

Pirates of Barracuda Bay_18_mod1 by Guglielmo di Napoli, on Flickr

Pirates of Barracuda Bay_19_mod1 by Guglielmo di Napoli, on Flickr

Pirates of Barracuda Bay_20_mod1 by Guglielmo di Napoli, on Flickr

I think this last solution could have even been easily proposed in the actual package and have a big extra bag full of some more parts (together with the parts provided to make the ship model) to attach these extra panels and build some structures on the emptied island...

Edited March 30, 2020 by Elusys Ra Arwal

[cehnot]

Are any of you thinking about alterations to the boat halls? I miss the tapering in the back leading to the rudder. 

[Boettner Builds]

16 hours ago, cehnot said:

You could replace the arch windows with square window panels so it still let's the cannons come out.

This is an amazing idea!!!

[JeffBuilds]

OG Barracuda update:

 

After some issues with the post, I tried to do the rigging thingie with the sails on the Original Black Seas Barracuda. I proccured 8 thirty-one stud length strings, and attempted to rig the sails, first by detaching the sails, connecting the string at the bottom holes, making a loop, putting my loop around the sail-post connections, and then putting the sails back in place. However, the connection points between the top and bottom of the sails are skewered at such an angle, that it throws everything off, and I'm unable to rig the sails at all. I was able to rig the sails at the bow of the ship, no problem, because there were two sets of connectors, and I was able to Jury-rig the settup to fit perfectly, however, there is only one set of connectors at the... uh... poop deck? Prow? back end of the ship (second mast) preventing me from doing so. VERY reluctant to break the thing apart to modify it, given my past history with the ship when I was younger. Going to hold off on doing the fancy rig-work until I get Dark-Shark: 2020.

[Murdoch17]

Rethought my approach to the ship, and IF I do ever end up building this one, this is how I would do it:

1. Change all yellow parts to white, where possible.
2. Change white captain's room window glass to pearl gold
3. Replace sails with custom green and white ones from Capemadness, or make them out of bricks / Technic parts.
4. Remove interior bulkheads / island decor from the ship to be replaced with already-purchased stationary cannons.
5. Change all originally white parts not already mentioned to green.
6. Change remaining red parts to another color, as yet undecided. (most likely black, as it will be the gun port doors that will be changed)
7. Add two Ninjago pirate flags to the mast and rear of ship, along with tiles spelling out the ships' name, which is now "the Corrupted".

Any questions / thoughts?

[Brickander Brickumnus]

49 minutes ago, Murdoch17 said:

Replace sails with custom green and white ones from Capemadness

What's "Capemadness"?

[Murdoch17]

2 minutes ago, Brickander Brickumnus said:

What's "Capemadness"?

He was a user on Bricklink who made custom fabric ship sails, capes, togas, etc, before Lego took Bricklink over and shut him and many other customizers down. He has now got his own website, which you can post requests to, but it's not done yet. The website says it will be done by February 2020... but since we are in April now, I'm kinda worried I won't be able to order my sails at all...

Edited April 1, 2020 by Murdoch17

[Robin_IV]

I built a little ocean around the Set. I hope you like it.

Set model from @Elusys Ra Arwal.

Edited April 1, 2020 by Robin_IV

[Elusys Ra Arwal]

@Robin_IV I like that. So you made an underneath layer of tiles of different colors and on top you added transparent tiles or colored ones? And in any case, doing such thing in real life, would it cost a lot?

[Rockyjw2004]

@Robin_IVI love that, so I would do something like that and replace the weird azur blue plate.  what trans color is it ?

 

Edited April 1, 2020 by Rockyjw2004

[Metanoios]

I plan on changing the yellow railings to dark red (already checked, the pieces or some substitutes are existing pieces) and the yellow figure to gold.

Edited April 2, 2020 by Metanoios91

[Robin_IV]

13 hours ago, Elusys Ra Arwal said:

@Robin_IV I like that. So you made an underneath layer of tiles of different colors and on top you added transparent tiles or colored ones? And in any case, doing such thing in real life, would it cost a lot?

 

10 hours ago, Metanoios91 said:

I plan on changing the yellow railings to dark red (already checked, the pieces or some substitutes are existing pieces) and the yellow figure head to gold.

So I put a layer of plates from outside to inside Black-DarkBluishGrey(thin)-LightGrey-Tan. On Top of that layer there is a layer Tile 1x2 in Trans-Light Blue.Tile 1x2 in Trans-Light Blue. The waves are just 1x2 Plates in Trans-Clear.

It costs around 300€. with over 1300 Tiles. Weights 2kg. 

Edited April 2, 2020 by Robin_IV

[Elusys Ra Arwal]

4 hours ago, Robin_IV said:

 

So I put a layer of plates from outside to inside Black-DarkBluishGrey(thin)-LightGrey-Tan. On Top of that layer there is a layer Tile 1x2 in Trans-Light Blue.Tile 1x2 in Trans-Light Blue. The waves are just 1x2 Plates in Trans-Clear.

It costs around 300€. with over 1300 Tiles. Weights 2kg. 

I thought it would require less tiles, though I forgot how big the set is. Nonetheless a beautiful effect. Thanks for the info!

[CaptainMoore]

15 hours ago, Robin_IV said:

I built a little ocean around the Set. I hope you like it.

Really nice! Love the different shades.

4 hours ago, Robin_IV said:

So I put a layer of plates from outside to inside Black-DarkBluishGrey(thin)-LightGrey-Tan. On Top of that layer there is a layer Tile 1x2 in Trans-Light Blue.Tile 1x2 in Trans-Light Blue. The waves are just 1x2 Plates in Trans-Clear.

It costs around 300€. with over 1300 Tiles. Weights 2kg. 

[GeoBrick]

17 hours ago, Robin_IV said:

 

Oh my, that's incredible. And nicely detailed with those hints of reef/rock.

Edited April 2, 2020 by GeoBrick

[Robin_IV]

Just  to make it clear. The Base I built does weight 2kg. Excluding the set. xD 

9 hours ago, CaptainMoore said:

Really nice! Love the different shades.

[Alazon]

21 hours ago, Metanoios91 said:

I plan on changing the yellow railings to dark red (already checked, the pieces or some substitutes are existing pieces) and the yellow figure to gold.

What colour do you plan for the soft axles, which are not available in dark red? I was thinking about changing yellow to flat silver/light bluish grey/dark bluish grey, but I like your idea better.