The 64-gun Ship of the Line Persephone

[Fabulord]

Rackham le Rouge must be awfully frightened. Awesome ship. I'd like to see more pictures of the interior of the ship, especially the gun room/deck. Why the mini-flag ?

[Admiral Croissant]

You're rewarded with a new tag: the Ship MOC expert tag. Wear it with pride

It will be given to those who build amazing ship MOCs and bring LEGO ship building to the next level.

For those who prefer to build non-ship pirate MOCs there will of course still be the regular MOC expert tag.

[Captain Edward]

Yeah, I always followed you! This is really AMAZING! As a little boy I dreamed to command one of these. The needs to think me to Horatio Hornblower!

[Dread Pirate Wesley]

You're rewarded with a new tag: the Ship MOC expert tag. Wear it with pride

It will be given to those who build amazing ship MOCs and bring LEGO ship building to the next level.

Many thanks Admiral! Really hope I have brought some new inspiration to Lego ship design. Wear it with pride I shall!

Rackham le Rouge must be awfully frightened. Awesome ship. I'd like to see more pictures of the interior of the ship, especially the gun room/deck.

To be honest I had to look up Rackham le Rouge, which is strange because I used to love Tintin! Somehow that one slipped by, good shout. And as per request let us continue the tour of the ship starting with the crew and their positions on the ship. Here is a group shot of the entire crew on shore showing their eagerness for some close action.

the boatswain greets us as we climb aboard directing the land lubbers to their new stations. Many men were pressed into service, which you can imagine would be quite disorienting given the complexity of life aboard a man-o-war.

The ship's officers oft' remain on the quarterdeck, overseeing the duties of each man aboard and the actions of the ship. It would be rare for inexperienced seamen to linger on the quarterdeck, unless the 9 pounders needed to be worked during an engagement.

The marines are drilling on the poop deck as the drummer beats to quarters. Perhaps just a drill but soon to be drumming for the real thing.

Some men go below to the waist, where men are pushing on the cap bars to weigh anchor.

It gets a little cramped even in the open air of the waist. The ships boats are at sea on some other task leaving the boat rails open while the cap is turning.

There are many stations and levels on this ship, too many to talk about each one individually. As a teaser of what lies ahead, here is a montage of my favorite crew photos aboard Persephone at sea.

Next we shall venture into the ship below decks, so stay tuned for more updates. Thanks again to everyone who comments, much appreciated and I hope you enjoy!

Dread Pirate Wesley

[kris kelvin]

Impressive ship. Simply fantastic.

[Captain Becker]

Amazing, just simply a masterpiece. But im not sure about the name, because, well.... You dont want to know what that name means in my language, and the first part of it especially.

Captain Becker

EDIT: Spelling mistakes, sorry. Clever use of the torso from the lone ranger line as Midshipmens uniforms! I never thought about that.

Edited September 19, 2013 by Captain Becker

[Frank Brick Wright]

I don't think I've mentioned this before but I appreciate your attempt at a vertical deck curvature. I think that the height difference is actually correct at this scale but it looks more like a step than something else, I'm not sure wether it wouldn't look better without such thing

I'm curious about how you split the ship. Are you using some sort of hooks at the end of the strings to render them modular? I wonder wether you are untying them, that sounds like a lot of work. Also, and if I understood correctly the principle you are using for the tumblehome, perhaps it would be easier to access the lower decks by removing the hull by pulling the tumblehome from the hinges? I think a ship this big and as realistic as this would look better, in an exhibition or in a museum, with one side open to reveal the interior, if that is possible of course. Sure, vertical sections are fantastic for transporting her but I don't think they are too efficient for deck access.

This is all said I'm getting more and more amazed of how realistic this ship is! For me Lego equals yellow faces always but your fleshy ones look so realistic on her that it gets to a point where I'm not sure I'm seeing lego anymore. Is that good? Keep posting photos!!

[Dread Pirate Wesley]

I don't think I've mentioned this before but I appreciate your attempt at a vertical deck curvature. I think that the height difference is actually correct at this scale but it looks more like a step than something else, I'm not sure wether it wouldn't look better without such thing

I'm curious about how you split the ship. Are you using some sort of hooks at the end of the strings to render them modular? I wonder wether you are untying them, that sounds like a lot of work. Also, and if I understood correctly the principle you are using for the tumblehome, perhaps it would be easier to access the lower decks by removing the hull by pulling the tumblehome from the hinges? I think a ship this big and as realistic as this would look better, in an exhibition or in a museum, with one side open to reveal the interior, if that is possible of course. Sure, vertical sections are fantastic for transporting her but I don't think they are too efficient for deck access.

This is all said I'm getting more and more amazed of how realistic this ship is! For me Lego equals yellow faces always but your fleshy ones look so realistic on her that it gets to a point where I'm not sure I'm seeing lego anymore. Is that good? Keep posting photos!!

The deck curvature was necessary structurally as well. In order to keep the decks as thin as possible (more room for minifigs) the plates had to be overlapped in certain areas. This does give it a stepped look I agree, but I like the effect of the curve.

Yes the rigging is "modular" in the sense that nothing needs to be untied in order to break it apart. Some are connected through these, the rest are simply clipped on to various parts of the masts and hull, making them easy to remove. As we continue the tour below decks, here is an example of how the ship breaks into four sections:

As you can see, the only rigging that is disconnected is from the foremast and the main mast. We've already looked into the waist, so now lets move into the bow.

The cook tends to his galley amid the upper gun deck. Below his galley, the red pieces are the riding bitts. These are used to secure the anchor cables when the ship is moored. When weighing anchor, the cables would be wound to the capstan in the waist. When the ship is connected, the lower gun deck is continuous with no interruption to the gunroom in the stern.

Here we can see 24 of 26 great guns on the main gun deck. These would be 24 pounders on the main gun deck, and 18 pounders on the upper gun deck. The remaining guns are located in the gunroom and are removed when the stern galleries are pulled away from the stern.

When the galleries are removed, we can see into the decks of the stern.

On the main gun deck we can see the last two gun ports and the foot of the mizzen mast. The upper gun deck houses the pantry where food and stores are held for the wardroom. Above the pantry is the captain's office at the rear of the quarterdeck. It is flanked by the clerk's cabin and the master's cabin. If we continue past the office we get to the stern galleries.

One of the most complex areas of the ship, you can see that it is also divided into 3 separate levels.

The lower deck is called the gunroom. Here we see the two aft most great guns, and behind them facing rearward are the stern chasers. Between them is the ship's tiller, which would be connected to the ships wheel to pull it side to side and steer the ship. This is also where some of the lesser officer's would mess, in this case we see the gunner and his mate tending to one of the guns and the other to the bottle.

Above the gunroom is the wardroom, where the senior officers would dine. It would appear that one of the lieutenants is studying the food of the enemy, with a glass of wine and a croissant gracing the table instead of the usual tea and roast beef.

Above the wardroom is the captain's great cabin. The captain would not normally reside here, he would have a separate bedplace or a partition for his cot. In this case however the captains cabin appears to be occupied by an admiral or higher ranking flag officer, which would displace the captain of lower rank.

The admiral himself is breathing the fresh sea air upon the ships balcony behind the great cabin. He doesn't seem to be enjoying it however, perhaps there is a lot on his mind, or perhaps the din of life aboard ship is grating on him.

This concludes our tour of the interior of the ship. Each area of the ship is distinctly different and serves it's own purpose. Above you can see how all 3 decks change as we move from bow to stern. If there is any area you would like to see more of just ask!

There's more to come as we take a closer look at how the ship got her name. This thread will really be directed by your questions so comments are always welcome!

Dread Pirate Wesley

[Brickadiergerard]

This is an absolutely wonderful ship, DPW, and the interior shots show that you put as much thought and care has gone into the story of it as has into the research and build of the exterior. It's a fantastic achievement, and a joy for the rest of us to study and to see the little touches you've put in there. There's even a cello-playing surgeon! My favourite touch so far. I hope he's tuning up to play a bit of Corelli once the captain's servant has toasted some cheese and Lucky Jack comes back to the cabin (though surely the captain's head is the one to use for Preserved Killick).

[BrickPerfection]

Oh well, this is really epic! I've got to congratulate you! This is the first ship MOC that can really be called a ship-of-the-line, and to be honest I don't think we'll encounter a second any time soon. So in some way it is a dream coming true.

With the many unfinished 1:40 scale ships in mind I guess the smaller scale that you've chosen was the best of many right decisions that you've made.

I particularly like this picture since it reminds me so much of historic paintings! I am also most impressed by how you documented life on board a man-o-war on the second page; just like taken from a history book. The interior and deck details you've been able to add are beyond comparison for this scale (as is the entire ship actually).

To put it short: your entire ship reminds me very much of something I really wanted to build, so yes: I am quite a bit jealous

Also your photography is among the best I've seen.

Small nitpicks I have are the relatively crude stern details which looks unfinished and the sails which are a little too white and too straight

[Captain Braunsfeld]

now my son wants me to build something similar. ...

Excellent ship - well done!

[Rear-Admiral Nelson]

She looks great! could we see were the midshipmen dine and the ship's boats?

And could I get permission to use some of your ideas in one of my future builds?

Edited October 7, 2013 by Rear-Admiral Nelson

[Rob Klingberg]

Every once in a long while, a build comes along that I can't stop looking at. A build where I truly cannot even contemplate the energy, passion, design, and precision that went into making it. This is one of those models-- I don't even know what else to say but WOW. Simply amazing job.

If you would be interested in having small LEDs inside each of those guns that fired in random succession, please contact me. I'd love to help.

--Rob

[kermit]

Wow the minifigures added really brings the ship to life. It just looks soo amazing. I am jealous. I like how it breaks apart so that you can play inside and the multiple decks.

[piratekingrd]

Is she a Alden-Class Ship of the Line like The HMS Indefatigable was before she was cut down to a 40-gunned Frigate?

[cullmancreations]

Simply stunning I also did quite enjoy the back just so much great detail. ship of the lines are a personal favorite of mine. Edited November 22, 2013 by cullmancreations

[Bart]

great work

amazing details,

[rdrees15]

Wow this is Amazing

[Mr. Townsend]

You've really outdone yourself with this ship DPW! Persephone sets a high standard for a ship of the line whether it be in minifig illusion or minifig scale. The amount of detail you have included is very impressive and a technique that hadn't been used before.

The presentation of your project has been very inspirational. A story illustrated by high quality pictures with a nice dose of history.

-W.T.

[Sebeus I]

I'm really loving the interior pictures, I may still have a try at a warship once again .

[The Architect]

Interesting figurehead I must say.

Awesome interior and congratulations on that badge.

[Commodore Ariel Brickson]

I have to say that this it's with difference one of the greatest MOCs that I have ever seen; I love this type of ships and if sometime I have the opportunity, I will make my own; and surely I will visit again this topic...

I hope to see this ship in action someday...

Can you show the carronade? I'm interesting in the parts used...

Friendly from Spain,

Commodore Ariel.

[Captain Golden Hook]

Cool! There is not that many ships that size around here!

[Captain Golden Hook]

Awesome ship! Love the realistic rigging!

[The Architect]

Really though, inconceivable!