[MOC] HMS Certitude

[Powder Monkey]

HMS Certitude

A 26 gun 4th-rate ship of the line form around 1780 to 1840 which is loosely based on the Ardent-class ships and had the magnificent 10210 Imperial Flagship as its starting point.

Regarding her size, of course, compromises had to be made - in terms of true-to-original scale or certain shipbuilding features. Nevertheless, I wanted to build her - especially for the sake of my children - suitable for minifigures. In this respect, I am always keen on finding the right mix of playability, a certain robustness and at the same time an appearance that is as realistic as possible. And I think overall it works quite well. Also, my parts selection is limited and I had to use what was there.

So you could consider it as a compromise between the three poles of "appearance", "playability" and "available bricks“. Of course, one or the other situation could have been solved better with different, more special parts, but it is how it is now.

The sails are made of polyester cloth, making them fairly durable (and easily washable). A friend of mine owns a laser cutter, which sealed the edges and eyelets perfectly. I’m dreaming of UV-printing those sails someday, but right now it’s not worth the cost.
I omitted the mizzen staysails due to lack of space.

Functions:
All cannons are functional
The lid to the captain's cabin can be removed
The big grilles on the upper deck can be flipped open to get a view on the capstan
The quarterdeck can be removed separately
The forecastle can be removed separately
The middle deck can be removed separately
The capstan can be rotated and the anchor set or weighed
All yards, gaff and main boom can be set relatively accurately

A small list of sins I knowingly committed:
I used bricks from many manufacturers as the bricks in my sorting boxes are completely mixed up.
I cut/shortened some rigging-parts by one segment.
I surely used countless illegal building techniques and put some stress on one or the other brick.

I hope you enjoy this MOC and hopefully I can manage to release a few more in the future
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to Flickr Album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/198933564@N08/albums/72177720310198959

 

[Pirate_King_1982]

Wow, what a beautiful ship. Kudos.

[NOD]

A very beautiful built ship that I like a lot better than the original 10210 Imperial Flagship. Here at least the sailors and soldiers don't fall off the ship's deck immediately in a small storm. It has a lot of nice details on the outside and also on the inside.

[iragm]

Excellent work!  I love the detailed interior and that this can be disassembled so easily.

[Jack Sassy]

Truly a beautiful looking vessel, especially at the bow. I appreciate that she comes with three full decks. An astounding job! 

[Horation]

I really like the ship you've built-I'd love to see a version that uses a brick-built hull!

The exterior is excellent-the front and back are superbly detailed and the middle looks sharp with it's simple colour scheme. The interior is teeming with life-and the little scenes you set up add to this charming result. 

The one thing that bothers me is the cabin bit closest to the center-it's too black and could use some extra details (but it's one speck of an otherwise brilliant build, and I understand you are part limited).

Finally, the floors curve a little toward the end-this is likely due to each deck being one piece, right now it doesn't matter but in a year when you'll take it apart and you'll have to use hot water to straighten the pieces you'll wish that you had split the decks in a few smaller segments instead of single, large ones...

 

Edited August 3, 2023 by Horation
forgot a word

[Ilikeships]

Lovely looking ship!

A note on nomenclature: the rating a ship was given was based on the number of guns carried, so a 26-gun ship would not be a 4th rate, but would instead be a 6th rate. The Ardent 64's that you based this on were 3rd rates because of the number of guns they mounted, and were considered "ships of the line" (26's were not considered fit for the line of battle in any period, so that term also doesn't fit). 

[Powder Monkey]

Thank you all for your kind words :)

5 hours ago, Horation said:

The one thing that bothers me is the cabin bit closest to the center-it's too black and could use some extra details (but it's one speck of an otherwise brilliant build, and I understand you are part limited).

Yes, as you said it's because of all the limiting factors - though I would never think of my kids as limits

6 hours ago, Horation said:

Finally, the floors curve a little toward the end-this is likely due to each deck being one piece, right now it doesn't matter but in a year when you'll take it apart and you'll have to use hot water to straighten the pieces you'll wish that you had split the decks in a few smaller segments instead of single, large ones...

True, luckily the weight of the upper decks/rigging press down on it when assembled. Might also be that extreme due to the usage of plates from different manufacturers... But who knows, maybe I will change it to smaller sections in the future, good advice :)

1 hour ago, Ilikeships said:

A note on nomenclature: the rating a ship was given was based on the number of guns carried, so a 26-gun ship would not be a 4th rate, but would instead be a 6th rate. The Ardent 64's that you based this on were 3rd rates because of the number of guns they mounted, and were considered "ships of the line" (26's were not considered fit for the line of battle in any period, so that term also doesn't fit). 

Totally correct. And I'm aware that the amount of guns is way out of range... I just tried to get the overall look of the Ardent class and put as many guns on it as possible  But for the rate, I have to admit that I played the game Naval Action a lot, and there the Agamemnon eg. was a 4th rate. I recalled that, but a quick Wikipedia check would have cleared it up... Sorryyyy

[Mister Phes]

On 8/2/2023 at 6:39 AM, Powder Monkey said:

Wow!  So many great ship MOCs being shared even though the Return of the Classic Pirates contest is stealing the spotlight.

@Captain Braunsfeld - may I put forth this as a suggestion for a future frontpage MOC?

[Captain Braunsfeld]

40 minutes ago, Mister Phes said:

Wow!  So many great ship MOCs being shared even though the Return of the Classic Pirates contest is stealing the spotlight.

@Captain Braunsfeld - may I put forth this as a suggestion for a future frontpage MOC?

Yes you may. This is fantastic.

And as it comes from a guy called Powder Monkey how could I resist putting it on the frontpage? 

[US_Army_Tom]

On 8/1/2023 at 4:39 PM, Powder Monkey said:

This is an awesome build! I had Carribean Clipper, and the original 1992 Imperial Flagship growing up (I still have them), but as an 18th century naval warfare enthusiast, I always wish I had enough pieces to build precisely what youve created here. I love the long light colored gun lines on the sides--reminds me of HMS Victory. ALso, so many great details here! Well done! One neat historical detail you could include is spears on the main deck--Marines used them to ward off boarding parties even into the nineteenth century.

 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2023 by US_Army_Tom

[Powder Monkey]

Thanks @Mister Phes and @Captain Braunsfeld, this means a lot to me
 

Glad that you like my build @US_Army_Tom :) How cool you own those sets! As a kid I've always admired the classic pirate ships, but I never owned one of them. And with my motley basic-brick-ships I was never 100% satisfied. So this is how I deal with the trauma   

8 hours ago, US_Army_Tom said:

One neat historical detail you could include is spears on the main deck

Thanks for this interesting piece of information, absolutely didn't know that! Makes perfect sense, why have I never thought about it?

 

[TheCosmicTravelers]

Wonderful two-decker third rate (I know the gun number isn't quite accurate but it certainly captures the essence)!  I love that you have added staysails!  One suggested change would be to double (or even triple) the ship's wheel as was common for larger ships.  I have previously also thought about including boarding pikes but my understanding is that they were usually stored vertically against the masts and so may prove a bit tricky to incorporate satisfactorily in an aesthetically pleasing (and minifig safe!) manner.

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Congratulations!

[Powder Monkey]

Thank you very much @Captain Braunsfeld 

[royalstick]

Well made 26-gun line ship!

[Lego Tom]

The ship alone is amazing but your placement and use of the various figures brought a hearty laugh. Most excellent!

[Yperio_Bricks]

This must be the typ of ship i was dreaming of as a kid! I really like the stern and front part with the figurehead. And i love the look of the ship under full sails!

[Powder Monkey]

Thanks lot to all of you!

On 9/2/2023 at 8:38 PM, Yperio_Bricks said:

This must be the typ of ship i was dreaming of as a kid!

Good to hear you feel the same. We would have been best friends back then, united by the dream of having something like this