WIP: Godwin-Austen

[Mr. Townsend]

Hello Everyone,

I would like to present to you my latest WIP, a fourteen gun brig named the Godwin-Austen. This ship is based off a model of the brig of 1750 HMS Duke of Bedford. The Godwin-Austen features a full interior in the hold and captain's quarters, NextGen stern and bow, 14 brick-built cannon and 4 swivels, working capstan, and working rudder and tiller.

I built this in LDD before quickly ordering all the parts and piecing this together in about a week. Now I'm in need of compiling a new wanted list to finish her off and plan to be on rigging early next monthish.

Many thanks go out for this ship especially to Perfectionist, DPW, and CRH. Cheers Gentlemen.

The Godwin-Austen:

Most recent update:

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WIP Godwin-Austen by Mr. Townsend, on Flickr

WIP Godwin-Austen by Mr. Townsend, on Flickr

WIP Godwin-Austen by Mr. Townsend, on Flickr

WIP Godwin-Austen by Mr. Townsend, on Flickr

WIP Godwin-Austen by Mr. Townsend, on Flickr

WIP Godwin-Austen by Mr. Townsend, on Flickr

The tiller turns the rudder.

WIP Godwin-Austen by Mr. Townsend, on Flickr

WIP Godwin-Austen by Mr. Townsend, on Flickr

WIP Godwin-Austen by Mr. Townsend, on Flickr

Parts of the deck come off to reveal the hold below

WIP Godwin-Austen by Mr. Townsend, on Flickr

WIP Godwin-Austen by Mr. Townsend, on Flickr

This should bring you to the LXF. (once its made public)

http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=518563

-W. Townsend

Edited June 25, 2013 by Mr. Townsend

[Capt. Stabbin]

This is a great start! The details are very nice. I love the gun deck. Keep up the good work!

[Frank Brick Wright]

Oh wow, this is looking absolutely great Tremendously better than your previous one, I must say.

I only have two actual points of criticism. The first is that I'd say that it lack a bit of tumblehome. I know these ships didn't really had much tumblehome but they rarely made 90º with the waterline. The other is the end of the vertical curvature. Your vertical curve is fantastic, very well built, but it should continue at the end instead of stopping. There:

Check here. Besides the railing continuing to increase in height you should notice that the deck is not parallel to the waterline, as you have built it

This being said… Great colourscheme, details and delicious modularity, it really adds a lot to the ship Keep up the excellent work!

Edited December 15, 2012 by Frank Brick Wright

[Legonardo]

brilliant! I LOVE the windows!

Keep it up!

~Legonardo

[Sebeus I]

Very nice, I really wonder how you got a glass in th center window of the stern

I'd like to see some other picture angles, like a castaway-perspective (camera on the table).

Keep it up.

[Mr. Townsend]

Thanks everyone for your comments.

This is a great start! The details are very nice. I love the gun deck. Keep up the good work!

Oh wow, this is looking absolutely great Tremendously better than your previous one, I must say.

I only have two actual points of criticism. The first is that I'd say that it lack a bit of tumblehome. I know these ships didn't really had much tumblehome but they rarely made 90º with the waterline. The other is the end of the vertical curvature. Your vertical curve is fantastic, very well built, but it should continue at the end instead of stopping. There:

Check here. Besides the railing continuing to increase in height you should notice that the deck is not parallel to the waterline, as you have built it

This being said… Great colourscheme, details and delicious modularity, it really adds a lot to the ship Keep up the excellent work!

I'm glad you like it Frank.

The tumblehome was something I thought about including but in the end I passed on. There were many reasons behind this decision. Firstly I don't like the look of the studs on plate hinges that sit on the deck when it is tiled. Secondly with the walls angled inward I couldn't add the black support beams and steps on the inside of the hull and the cannons would have been pushed farther into the middle of the ship reducing deck space. The third big reason was it would have been to complicated and unstable on what I wanted to be a rather simplistic and sturdy build relative to the complexity of the Matterhorn. (Which is still very much an active WIP) Overall I thought a tumblehome would just take more away from the other details I wanted and diminish from the overall build.

The vertical curve is definitely something I overlooked when building this and I appreciate your drawing my attention to it. Its been fixed.

WIP Godwin-Austen by Mr. Townsend, on Flickr

You can't see it too well in the picture but the back of the Quarter deck is now 1 plate higher then it is at the front.

WIP Godwin-Austen by Mr. Townsend, on Flickr

One thing I wanted was for the boat to sit parallel to the water though it is now attached to the angled quarter deck. It's now attached by two 11L strings.

WIP Godwin-Austen by Mr. Townsend, on Flickr

brilliant! I LOVE the windows!

Keep it up!

~Legonardo

Very nice, I really wonder how you got a glass in the center window of the stern

I'd like to see some other picture angles, like a castaway-perspective (camera on the table).

Keep it up.

I'm glad you two like it so far.

On the model I used as reference the stern windows are just as I've made them. I wanted to replicate this very badly as it is the character of the whole rather simplistic stern. Since this was impossible to duplicate with issued LEGO bricks I filed down a 2x3 window glass to fit. Purist may frown but it looks very nice.

When this is finished I'll be sure to take pictures from many camera angles.

W. Townsend

Edited February 6, 2013 by Mr. Townsend

[Lasse]

Very nice ship with many great details

I'm looking forward to see the final ship.

[Frank Brick Wright]

I'd agree with you in the tumblehome, it isn't really very noticeable and would bring some disadvantages as you said.

This is the only angle from where its absence is felt 'cause it makes things a bit more squarish.

The vertical curve is much better now A thing to remember when building both vertical and horizontal curves is that they tend to be progressive and continuous, so if you should have each small section like 8-6-4-4-2-1-1-1 studs long (just an example) and not like 8-6-4-6-4-2-4-2-1. Another thing which is nice to remember is both the stern and the bow are the places where in a ship both vertical and horizontal curves get more abrupt and are therefore more noticeable, so don't be ever afraid to put too much sheer in this areas

I'm looking forward to see the continuation of this project!

[r_history_lego0]

Wow nice work!

[Sebeus I]

...

The tumblehome was something I thought about including but in the end I passed on. There were many reasons behind this decision. Firstly I don't like the look of the studs on plate hinges that sit on the deck when it is tiled.

A tumblehome is not bound to the use of hinge plates, besides, hingeplates can also be used in SNOT (though it may get complicated).

Secondly with the walls angled inward I couldn't add the black support beams and steps on the inside of the hull and the cannons would have been pushed farther into the middle of the ship reducing deck space.

The third big reason was it would have been to complicated and unstable on what I wanted to be a rather simplistic and sturdy build relative to the complexity of the Matterhorn. (Which is still very much an active WIP) Overall I thought a tumblehome would just take more away from the other details I wanted and diminish from the overall build.

...

These however are valid arguments I definitely agree with, a tumblehome always results in reduced space and I love the deck of your ship, this ship is good without a tumblehome

[Mr. Townsend]

Hello Ladies and Gents,

I've put some work into the Godwin-Austen recently and would like to present you all with the results of my efforts. She is now about 95% compete as far as bricks. Few details remain these being mainly the catheads and color changes primarily on the mast heads. The Godwin-Austen now has masts and each of her 14 guns are tethered to the hull. Also compete are the headrails which took me several attempts and gave me hours of trouble, an excessive number of bricksplosions, and nothing but respect for Perfectionist. I'm very excited for the next major step - Rigging.

The Godwin-Austen:

The stern got a recolor.

She'll have studdin' sails.

Each of her guns are now tied down and pinrails are in place.

SNOT rudder.

-W. Townsend

Edited January 29, 2013 by Mr. Townsend

[Admiral Croissant]

That is magnificent! It's a fantastic and very detailed build.

Very clever you you managed to make an interior with this building technique. And the working rudder is a great feature too!

I think the headrail would look more accurate if you'd put another vertical hose in the middle, between the other two.

And the first bowsprit beam and topgallant yards seem to be too thick and long IMO.

Then again, I really like the fact that you're adding stunsails!

Good luck!

[Grimmbeard]

Looking good

[Fraunces]

Wow I love the way you did this! Keep it up!

[Frank Brick Wright]

And the first bowsprit beam and topgallant yards seem to be too thick and long IMO.

My first thoughts too In the reference pic you are using and that I posted somewhere in an older post you can confirm that. For a ship of this size even 2x2 in the bowsprit is even too much (probably) so your extended thickness/length looks off. Another slight issue for me is that the yards look way too bent. That's quite visible in the first picture but mostly here:

I don't quite like the 1x1 rounds because of the benting but they do look good! If you add extra-weight (like sails and so) to bent yards that may look off, though it might also be easily solvable with rigging. Also the headrails, even after all that pain, still look a bit unfinished

This all being said, I really really like her! She has such a sweet lines and a terrific colourscheme! The amazing degree of detail/dedication you went for this project are noticeable at the first look! The working rudder, the stunsails, the interior, all that adds up! Keep up the excellent work!

[kurigan]

She is a fine brig to be sure. I am quite enamored with her. I love your level of detail. I am quite eager to see her finished. I do have a few points to raise however. Firstly I might suggest turning the eyelets on the fighting tops 90degrees so that they come off the side of the platform rather than the top. Then tie a string between those and the ones underneath where the lower shrouds are anchored to the top of he mast, for a more realistic look.

The hight of your courses, relative to their width (studding yards considered) seems a bit stunted. The rest of your yards seem well enough, but it appears you could do with a few more bricks to build up the lower portions of your mast, before you apply any string. 

Compared to the rest of Godwin-Austen your capstan seems a bit simplistic. I offer for your consideration, the design I first concepted on my digital fleet and had for a time installed on the late Scorpion. It's not much bigger than what you have, but you can fit many more bars and, if I may flatter myself, looks very much like the real thing. Please feel free to use the design if you find it to your liking. 

http://s199.photobucket.com/albums/aa244/kurigan_the_red/Real%20Models/?action=view&current=IMG_0504.jpg&mediafilter=noflash

I can see why the head rails might have given you such trouble, and applaud your tenacity, though I do agree with Admiral Croissant.

Also, I'd just like to add some clarifications in terms if I may be so bold:

That's not a whip staff, it's a tiller. A whip staff is an archic instruriment; a pole through which a tiller is passed that increases leverage. The purpose of which was to ease the burden of the helmsmen by amplyifying their strigenth against the ocean. By the period of you fine vessel they had fallen out of use on account of their amplyifying the seas force as well, a significant danger to the seamen who operated them. 

If the helm is located there it is a quarter deck. A poop deck does not have the vessel's steering mechanism. Your's, however small and aftward situaited, is a quater deck.

Also, a vessels curvature relative to the water line is known as sheer.

Thanks for sharing, keep building!

Edited January 30, 2013 by kurigan

[Brickington]

Looking great. However, I think that blue circle on the stern isn't the best fit. Just my two cents.

[Mr. Townsend]

That is magnificent! It's a fantastic and very detailed build.

Very clever you you managed to make an interior with this building technique. And the working rudder is a great feature too!

I think the headrail would look more accurate if you'd put another vertical hose in the middle, between the other two.

And the first bowsprit beam and topgallant yards seem to be too thick and long IMO.

Then again, I really like the fact that you're adding stunsails!

Good luck!

Thanks Admiral! I've looked into your suggested improvements and changes have been made. The headrails have received some more love and a third vertical hose has been added. I've also decreased the length of the first bowsprit beam though I have not decreased its girth as I didn't like the look of it when I attempted. The topgallant yards will be made thinner but I have to order the bits to do this.

The new headrails:

Looking good

Wow I love the way you did this! Keep it up!

Thank you gentlemen

My first thoughts too In the reference pic you are using and that I posted somewhere in an older post you can confirm that. For a ship of this size even 2x2 in the bowsprit is even too much (probably) so your extended thickness/length looks off. Another slight issue for me is that the yards look way too bent. That's quite visible in the first picture but mostly here:

I don't quite like the 1x1 rounds because of the benting but they do look good! If you add extra-weight (like sails and so) to bent yards that may look off, though it might also be easily solvable with rigging. Also the headrails, even after all that pain, still look a bit unfinished

This all being said, I really really like her! She has such a sweet lines and a terrific colourscheme! The amazing degree of detail/dedication you went for this project are noticeable at the first look! The working rudder, the stunsails, the interior, all that adds up! Keep up the excellent work!

As always Frank you insight is appreciated. As I've stated earlier in this post the bowsprit has been shortened which you can see in the new pictures of the headrails. The yards are bent like that simply because I haven't yet bought flex tubes long enough to transverse the whole length of each yard. One of the yards is actually held in place by a 4 length bar. With the purchase and conditioning of some new flex tubes this issue will be fixed entirely.

Thanks for your always well written and constructive comments.

She is a fine brig to be sure. I am quite enamored with her. I love your level of detail. I am quite eager to see her finished. I do have a few points to raise however. Firstly I might suggest turning the eyelets on the fighting tops 90degrees so that they come off the side of the platform rather than the top. Then tie a string between those and the ones underneath where the lower shrouds are anchored to the top of he mast, for a more realistic look.

The hight of your courses, relative to their width (studding yards considered) seems a bit stunted. The rest of your yards seem well enough, but it appears you could do with a few more bricks to build up the lower portions of your mast, before you apply any string.

Compared to the rest of Godwin-Austen your capstan seems a bit simplistic. I offer for your consideration, the design I first concepted on my digital fleet and had for a time installed on the late Scorpion. It's not much bigger than what you have, but you can fit many more bars and, if I may flatter myself, looks very much like the real thing. Please feel free to use the design if you find it to your liking.

http://s199.photobuc...afilter=noflash

I can see why the head rails might have given you such trouble, and applaud your tenacity, though I do agree with Admiral Croissant.

Also, I'd just like to add some clarifications in terms if I may be so bold:

That's not a whip staff, it's a tiller. A whip staff is an archic instruriment; a pole through which a tiller is passed that increases leverage. The purpose of which was to ease the burden of the helmsmen by amplyifying their strigenth against the ocean. By the period of you fine vessel they had fallen out of use on account of their amplyifying the seas force as well, a significant danger to the seamen who operated them.

If the helm is located there it is a quarter deck. A poop deck does not have the vessel's steering mechanism. Your's, however small and aftward situaited, is a quater deck.

Also, a vessels curvature relative to the water line is known as sheer.

Thanks for sharing, keep building!

Thanks Kurigan! I'll see about adding some height to the lowest masts. As I start working on the rigging I'll see about the eyelets on the fighting tops though angled as they are seems to have worked well for Perfectionist. Your capstan design really does look nice and if you can provide more detailed pictures or a parts breakdown I may attempt to add it. However do keep in mind that as the capstan does actually raise the anchor it needs to fit a technic axle in the bottom and have strength enough to withstand the tension created by the gears under the deck.

About my terminology I appreciate your corrections and have edited my previous posts in order to sound less ignorant.

Looking great. However, I think that blue circle on the stern isn't the best fit. Just my two cents.

It'll come together once a decal is added.

Thanks everyone for your viewing and support.

- W. Townsend

Edited February 7, 2013 by Mr. Townsend

[Bonaparte]

Wonderful ship, I'm very existed about the overall shape and all the details!

Only thing that I'd adjust is the stern:

The stern got a recolor.

The outer windows I'd leave as they are, but the ones next to them I'd put one plate up. The middle window I'd put 2 plates up. That'll give a lot more dynamism to the stern. Now it looks a bit flat and lifeless. Also I'd remove the blue round tile (unless you plan to cover it up with a decal).

[ManInATopHat]

Looks nice so far! I like the figure head, as well as the stern! Great job.

[captain gabe]

looks almost like the hms surprise.

[BrickPerfection]

Well, I've been visiting this topic a couple of times now. While many of the building techniques are familiar to me in the sense that they've been "borrowed", I also spot that you're aiming for a level of detail that is higher than my own. Your swivel guns are the best I've ever seen in Lego; and the tan deck looks brilliant.

When I compare your brig to my own, the Medée, which you took as example I guess, I have to admit that your deck design is not just more detailed, but simply better looking. While that's not true for other parts of the ships, esspecially bow and (improved) stern, I still feel challenged. My problem here is that for playability (space on the deck) and cost (reddish brown instead of tan) reasons I can't quite compete; in other words: you did a lot right here.

I'd still try to give her a more ornate stern ( the shape is good I think) and get the headrails sorted; the middle tube isn't quite in the middle.

I'm still curious to see how you're planning to make sails and rigging.

[Mr. Townsend]

Wonderful ship, I'm very existed about the overall shape and all the details!

Only thing that I'd adjust is the stern:

The outer windows I'd leave as they are, but the ones next to them I'd put one plate up. The middle window I'd put 2 plates up. That'll give a lot more dynamism to the stern. Now it looks a bit flat and lifeless. Also I'd remove the blue round tile (unless you plan to cover it up with a decal).

Thanks Bonaparte!

The windows on the stern I'm actually quite happy with though I do agree the stern needs something. I'll look into adding some ornamentation and see how it looks then.

Well, I've been visiting this topic a couple of times now. While many of the building techniques are familiar to me in the sense that they've been "borrowed", I also spot that you're aiming for a level of detail that is higher than my own. Your swivel guns are the best I've ever seen in Lego; and the tan deck looks brilliant.

When I compare your brig to my own, the Medée, which you took as example I guess, I have to admit that your deck design is not just more detailed, but simply better looking. While that's not true for other parts of the ships, esspecially bow and (improved) stern, I still feel challenged. My problem here is that for playability (space on the deck) and cost (reddish brown instead of tan) reasons I can't quite compete; in other words: you did a lot right here.

I'd still try to give her a more ornate stern ( the shape is good I think) and get the headrails sorted; the middle tube isn't quite in the middle.

I'm still curious to see how you're planning to make sails and rigging.

Hello Perfectionist,

I'm proud to have you following my thread. You are of course correct that I looked into the Medée for some insight and inspiration. Many of the techniques in use here are obviously of your design but I've made no attempt to hide this. This is why your name appears many times throughout this thread. Many techniques are taken from other builders as well and I've tried to give credit where it is due.

What I've attempted to do is create a ship using what I consider to be the best techniques available to build the best looking vessel I can. When there is no technique I like, I make my own. The swivels are an example of this and I'm glad you like them. Your ships are the best I've seen and though I'm not particularly trying to build something better I certainly refuse to build something worse, especially not just for the sake of having designed all the techniques myself.

I'm going to look into a more ornate stern and I'll center the middle tube on the headrails.

As for the rigging I can offer you a peek into what I have planned:

I want to keep the same amount of detail in my rigging as to match the rest of this ship and so I will include all the blocks. I've noticed, sometimes when other builders include blocks the spacing isn't always the same and it looks a bit sloppy. To compensate for this I carved soap to act as spacers when I string them together.

As I've not done rigging before I had to reevaluate the construction of my channels to allow for the connection I needed. Now they have 1x1 round plates that allow a wire to wrap around holding the bottom block in place.

The string I've decided to use is nylon as it wont stretch the way cotton string would. I've dyed all the string using coffee as it was originally pearl white.

-W. Townsend

Edited February 19, 2013 by Mr. Townsend

[BrickPerfection]

I've thought about using cannon wheel for blocks when I visited HMS Victory in Spring 2011, but to be honest I was too lazy to make it work on 8 ships . The soap? for standardising the spacing is a very clever idea . This ship is going to be really good.

Obviously you did benefit a lot from techniques already available, which made it all easier for you and the result better. Still, your own touch is very visible and your talent shows in such details. Congratulations!

From my own experience I can tell you though that you are probably not even half way through the building process since rigging and sailmaking usually takes longest. Especially ratlines require a lot of patience.

Good luck on completing her!

[Mr. Townsend]

Rigging is moving and as expected it is slow going but I wanted to share some progress shots.

In order to allow a fig to stand on the fighting tops they had to be expanded two studs wider.

The anchor cables have been made as well and after having expanded the area to coil them beneath deck the capstan now reels them in.

After I took the above pictures and made this post I received an anticipated package in the mail. LifeLites! (I apologize for the low image resolution on these last pictures; IPhone)

Edited March 25, 2013 by Mr. Townsend