[LEGO IDEAS] The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara

[elfprince13]

Hi everyone! This isn't technically a pirate ship, but I figure all the ship-appreciators in this forum will appreciate it at least as much, if not more, than the sci-fi/fantasy peeps.

Hopefully a few of you will even be willing to support on Lego Ideas 🙏.

Click to enlarge any of the images / view on Flickr

Starboard View with Roc in flight

Aft/Starboard View with Roc perching

Grabbing a snack in the galley - lines are connecting ship's wheel to rudder

Folding bunks and hair-care in the cabin

Fore/Starboard View

Fore/Port Underneath View

Aft/Port View

Fore/Port Closeup

The Full Crew Complement

Background

This build is specifically inspired by the novel "Ilse Witch", the first in a trilogy (within a longer series) aptly entitled "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara". Unlike many other fantasy series, it's set in a world which sees substantial technological and magical innovation over the course of 32 novels and thousands of years. At the time of the novel, The Jerle Shannara is the fastest and most advanced airship ever built. The airships of the Four Lands are solar-powered and require active thrust to stay aloft. The sails, called "light sheaths", absorb solar energy, which is channeled through special rigging, the "radian draws", into the parse tubes which house the diapson crystals. It is these crystals which store the solar energy and distribute it through the ship's thrusters. After spending quite a well doing research based on the descriptions in the novel, and being unsatisfied with any of the existing artwork I could find online, I settled on a design which is somewhere between a racing catamaran and a Baltimore Clipper, with just enough additional other-worldly flavor to match the books. Hope you enjoy!

A few fun features to highlight:

• The captain's cabin in the front of the ship has been converted into two smaller cabins with folding bunks to account for the unusual crew. Captain "Big Red" shares the port cabin with Prince Ahren Elessedil, and his sister, "Little Red", shares the starboard cabin with the seer, Ryer Ord Star. A privacy curtain separates the two cabins on the aft side of the mast, and sliding panels allow access to a shared washroom in the fore of the cabin.
 • A removable platform between the main hull and port pontoon provides landing space for the roc, Obsidian, and his rider, Hunter Predd, to roost between scouting flights.
 • Other crew members can wrap themselves in their cloaks and sleep in the pontoons.
 • The ship is armed with a complement of ballistae to defend against hostile airships, and the ramps may be lowered to send over a boarding party.
 • The galley occupies the center of the ship and features a long table where the crew can dine together, or study their maps and charts.
 • The storage room in the aft of the ship has fresh water, food, the armory, and spare parts to make repairs on the long voyage.
 • The rope ladder may be raised and lowered to take on supplies and passengers.
 • The ship's wheel in the pilot box really controls the thrusters on either side of the ship's rudder, and the capstan hauls up the dual anchors!
 • The masts are grippable so crew members can climb up into the rigging.
 • Obsidian's wings fold and unfold realistically to move between flying and roosting positions.
Build consists of approximately 2700pcs, including 12 minifigures.

Edited April 19, 2024 by elfprince13

[Fraunces]

I don't know the source material, but is really looks lovely. Very unique

[elfprince13]

3 hours ago, Fraunces said:

I don't know the source material, but is really looks lovely. Very unique

Thanks! I was a bit worried this wouldn't be received well since it's not actually a "pirate" ship - although the source material does have some interesting pirate-y roots - I've read in a few places that the author (Terry Brooks)'s goal for the original novel (The Sword of Shannara) was to mashup Tolkienian high-fantasy with a Robert Louis Stevenson-style swashbuckler.

[Fraunces]

12 hours ago, elfprince13 said:

pirate-y roots -

The ship looks piratey enough for this forum I reckon  keep up the nice MOCs

[elfprince13]

On 5/28/2023 at 8:48 AM, Fraunces said:

The ship looks piratey enough for this forum I reckon  keep up the nice MOCs

Roger roger!

 

Anyway, here's a new render showing the POV from the pilot's box.

"All I ask is a tall ship, and a, um, wall of fog to guide her by"

[elfprince13]

Update: got a pretty solid cloud + ocean backdrop setup worked out for the cinematic video I've been putting together:

[Cousarmy0001]

That is a really unique design!  I love it!

[elfprince13]

13 hours ago, Cousarmy0001 said:

That is a really unique design!  I love it!

Thank you!! The author of the books that inspired it actually complimented my build on Twitter, so I guess all my research on the design paid off! :)

[Cousarmy0001]

On 6/19/2023 at 8:30 AM, elfprince13 said:

Thank you!! The author of the books that inspired it actually complimented my build on Twitter, so I guess all my research on the design paid off! :)

Were I an author I would be extremely flattered to learn someone liked my work this much.

[elfprince13]

On 6/24/2023 at 4:49 AM, Cousarmy0001 said:

Were I an author I would be extremely flattered to learn someone liked my work this much.

[elfprince13]

Realized I never shared this flythrough video here!

 

 

Also - Closing in on 750 supporters on Lego Ideas, so if anyone is willing to Support and/or Comment, that would be much appreciated!

[elfprince13]

Hey all, closing in on the 1K milestone for my Lego Ideas quest, would very much appreciate anyone willing to lend a vote and help me over the hump =)