[WIP] Ship of the Line (yes it's still going!)

[-DoNe-]

The other day I started working on my very first Ship Of The Line! After seeing all of those fantastic ship's I could no longer resist the urge to try it out myself. So here I'am.

As you all know this will be a project that will take a couple of months to finish so I figured I should let you see the building process and give some helpful advice if you feel like it

One of the things that I just want to tell you all is that she will be built on Pre-fab Hulls, so don't even try.

I have already done some progress that I will show you in the following pictures:

Her is how she looks like right now. I didn't really have a choice when it came to the colors. I have way to many brown parts to just let them lay around, the black is well, standard and the dk brown was very cheap. This isn't of course the final design so your inputs are more than welcome!

This will be her total length, 8 mid-sections in total.

Just like any proper ship of the line she can be split up in parts to reveal her soon to come interior.

I hope you all will enjoy the ride!

P.S she have no connections to the real Vanguard, I just had to quickly find a name.

Edited August 31, 2024 by -DoNe-

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Hi,

I am looking forward to see how this will progress.

It's going to be huge (8 midsections)... but I saw that you seem to have enough cannons.

I like the colour approach.

It seems, however, that the lower gun ports are a bit too far behind the rest of the structure (does this sentence make sense?). It seems to work out better in the upper deck.

You can split her in parts - I tried that with my last ship and was disappointed in the end about the (felt) lack of stability. And my ship was much smaller. But it's your choice anyway

[Kolonialbeamter]

Hui! A new ship of the line. You got my attention here.

I already like your tumblehome a lot, and I'm a huge fan of the usage of different kinds of brown in a ship MOC .

Though it's a bit early to say much helpful things, here's a thought, you might want to consider. Take care not to let the two gun decks 'grow' to far apart. I mean, you have 5 rows of tiles spacing between your gun decks. If you look here, you'll find that less will work well, too, and prevent the ship from (maybe) growing to high (which, on prefabs, is really easy ).

I'm interested to see if your technique for the black part (underneath the lower gun line) proves flexible enough to provide a basis for accurate hull shaping from midships astern and ahead. Btw, are you are you basing her on any historic design or will she be a generic ship of the line?

I'll be looking forward for every update. A ship of the line is quite a challenge,

best of luck for the next stages!

Regards

[Sebeus I]

At this point I would advise you not to use prefabs here, go for a costum hull, otherwise you'll end up with a way too narrow ship while a ship-of-the-line should be quite wide.

Good luck on the project, I love a big WIP .

[-DoNe-]

Hi,

I am looking forward to see how this will progress.

It's going to be huge (8 midsections)... but I saw that you seem to have enough cannons.

I like the colour approach.

It seems, however, that the lower gun ports are a bit too far behind the rest of the structure (does this sentence make sense?). It seems to work out better in the upper deck.

You can split her in parts - I tried that with my last ship and was disappointed in the end about the (felt) lack of stability. And my ship was much smaller. But it's your choice anyway

Not quite sure what you mean with the first sentence but I have done some changes so I might changed it unintentionally.

I really hope I can figure something clever out then (I move my creations around a lot so I don't have any choice )

Hui! A new ship of the line. You got my attention here.

I already like your tumblehome a lot, and I'm a huge fan of the usage of different kinds of brown in a ship MOC .

Though it's a bit early to say much helpful things, here's a thought, you might want to consider. Take care not to let the two gun decks 'grow' to far apart. I mean, you have 5 rows of tiles spacing between your gun decks. If you look here, you'll find that less will work well, too, and prevent the ship from (maybe) growing to high (which, on prefabs, is really easy ).

I'm interested to see if your technique for the black part (underneath the lower gun line) proves flexible enough to provide a basis for accurate hull shaping from midships astern and ahead. Btw, are you are you basing her on any historic design or will she be a generic ship of the line?

I'll be looking forward for every update. A ship of the line is quite a challenge,

best of luck for the next stages!

Regards

The upper gun deck where lowered by 2 bricks just a hour or two after I took the pictures today, it looks a lot better! (i'll post some photos of it tomorrow for sure!).

She isn't based on any real ship but my main inspiration is the HMS Vanguard (hence the name of the thread ).

At this point I would advise you not to use prefabs here, go for a costum hull, otherwise you'll end up with a way too narrow ship while a ship-of-the-line should be quite wide.

Good luck on the project, I love a big WIP .

It will be a pleasure to prove you wrong *insert evil laugh here*

[Frank Brick Wright]

It is really too early to say anything and I've found by personal experience that in large ships it is extremely hard to predict the end shape from prototypes because it can turn very different, as the build is in fact rather unpredictable (and I was following precise plans!). Looks like you have a nice start in here but to my eyes it appears that she will get way too high, although again it is hard to say. I'm certainly looking forward to this.

[Sebeus I]

It will be a pleasure to prove you wrong *insert evil laugh here*

As you said you lowered the upper gun deck that must indeed look much better,

I will watch this thread closely .

Will you be building something in this class?

[Admiral Blockbeard]

Ohhh A ship of the line.

They can really capture the feel of the age of sail. Wondrous monstrosities floating about. They are always an ambitious project and I wish you the best going forward.

Having never tackled such a beast I will leave the advice for the experts, but will track progress and offer you words of encouragement from time to time.

You mention an interior, do you plan on making furniture?

AB

[PlzStopImScared]

The ship looks really nice so far! I think the multiple brown shades look very nice on ships. I will keep checking on this thread to see how it goes.

[-DoNe-]

As you said you lowered the upper gun deck that must indeed look much better,

I will watch this thread closely .

Will you be building something in this class?

Hopefully yes

Ohhh A ship of the line.

They can really capture the feel of the age of sail. Wondrous monstrosities floating about. They are always an ambitious project and I wish you the best going forward.

Having never tackled such a beast I will leave the advice for the experts, but will track progress and offer you words of encouragement from time to time.

You mention an interior, do you plan on making furniture?

AB

Yes I will. When finished she will a fully accessible complete interior.

The ship looks really nice so far! I think the multiple brown shades look very nice on ships. I will keep checking on this thread to see how it goes.

Thank you!

Here are the pictures as promised:

As you can I see I were able to build on another 8 studs on the side so you can see the begging of the curve.

As I mentioned yesterday I have also lowered the second deck which looks so much better if you ask me!

I have also started to do some planning for the decks. Now as you can see she is very colorful on the inside so I will have to order

#%"£ load of black parts...

...

anyone have a fortune laying around?

[ManInATopHat]

This looks like it will be massive... Pirates Ye Be Warned!

Can't wait to see her finished, looks great so far.

[-DoNe-]

So over the last week(s) I have been able to get some work done. I have mainly focused finish and polish the individual anchor mechanism.

[Sebeus I]

Yes!

I'm very happy to see that you're integrating a working anchor system, keep it up!

[-DoNe-]

First and foremost I would like to apologize for the lack of updates, but final's doesn't wait on no Lego ship

But now onto the fun stuff:

As you can see she have grown quite a bit since last time. As you can (barely) see from this picture the main parts of the bow section is done.

NOTE:

She looks a bit chubby in the picture, trust me she looks very smooth in real life.

As you can see in the pictures above the main structure is basically done. On the picture you can also see parts of the fully functional rudder.

[kabel]

Wow, this is one massive project you are working on there. I actually really love the colors and the scope of this whole project. However, I do feel like the transition between the single broadside segments should look a little smoother.

[Admiral Croissant]

I think you could work some more on the bow, compare it to model ships from that period for example.

Have a close look, for example at the headrails, which you attached to the bowsprit.

That being said I really like where this MOC is going. The colourscheme is quite original and looks great. I believe it was quite usual for Dutch ships at the close of the 18th century to have this colourscheme (except for the red gunports), and perhaps also for other navies.

The details on the deck are also nice so far. Do you also intend to make the interior of the ship more detailed?

For example with some beams and lanterns?

[-DoNe-]

Wow, this is one massive project you are working on there. I actually really love the colors and the scope of this whole project. However, I do feel like the transition between the single broadside segments should look a little smoother.

I definitely see what you mean, I'll try to fix it until next time!

Thanks for your input!

I think you could work some more on the bow, compare it to model ships from that period for example.

Have a close look, for example at the headrails, which you attached to the bowsprit.

That being said I really like where this MOC is going. The colourscheme is quite original and looks great. I believe it was quite usual for Dutch ships at the close of the 18th century to have this colourscheme (except for the red gunports), and perhaps also for other navies.

The details on the deck are also nice so far. Do you also intend to make the interior of the ship more detailed?

For example with some beams and lanterns?

The color scheme isn't supposed to be historically accurate, so that's not a problem really.

The lower decks won't have any further detailing, except for some minor extra details that will be added mid-ship.

Any tips where I can find some good reference pictures? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Kolonialbeamter]

I lllllike it!

Good progress, the bow looks quite alright. And the working rudder is very promissing. Are you going to look for a way to have it connected to the ship's wheel? And have you considered the use of blue gun ports for a bit more contrast? Just an idea, red's also looking good.

Unfortunately, I can't help you with any reference material for the ship's inside detailing, except perhaps for some pictures of a frigate (Hermione). Why don't you check out some of the ships here on the board, some feature great interiors!

Eagerly awaiting further updates!

Regards

[-DoNe-]

I lllllike it!

Good progress, the bow looks quite alright. And the working rudder is very promissing. Are you going to look for a way to have it connected to the ship's wheel? And have you considered the use of blue gun ports for a bit more contrast? Just an idea, red's also looking good.

Unfortunately, I can't help you with any reference material for the ship's inside detailing, except perhaps for some pictures of a frigate (Hermione). Why don't you check out some of the ships here on the board, some feature great interiors!

Eagerly awaiting further updates!

Regards

Of course the rudder will be connected! The reason for the red gun ports are that she is supposed to be built for the redcoats. But I agree, blue would probably look better.

Thanks for the link! It definitely helps out!

NOTE:

I just received a pretty big BL order so hopefully we will see some more progress pretty soon!

[Admiral Croissant]

Any tips where I can find some good reference pictures? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Well there are lots of books about ships, but you could just look for images of "ships of the line" model ships from ships of the end of the 18th century. We also have an index with photos of historic and replica ships here in the Pirates forum.

But as long as you look on the internet for ships of the line from the same period you'll find good sources of inspiration.

As for the colourscheme, here you can see a Dutch ship (De Vrijheid) at the battle of Camperdown in 1797.

The colourscheme is rather brown-ish, just like your model (here's a link, the image is quite large).

Though of course with lego it's better to have some different shades of brown.

As you can also see, the gun ports are red on the inside, so when you open yours, it's historically correct!

[ummester]

Looking good -DoNe-

I really like the way you have curved the tiles on top of the bow.

[Sebeus I]

Okay...You may have prooven me wrong...Maybe .

It's looking great so far, keep it up!

[Mr. Townsend]

She is certainly coming along nicely Done! I like that the rudder and the capstan will be functional in the end and I also enjoy the colors you've used.

You might find the book Anatomy of the Ship: The 74 Gun Ship Bellona by Brian Lavery. DPW had this ship for his 64 gun build I believe and that lead me to buy it. Its about $25 dollars on ebay. There are a number in the series and each is very informative. I've build the newest version of the Matterhorn off the HMS Pandora edition. I've bought the USS Essex as well, so I definitely suggest them.

[-DoNe-]

Well there are lots of books about ships, but you could just look for images of "ships of the line" model ships from ships of the end of the 18th century. We also have an index with photos of historic and replica ships here in the Pirates forum.

But as long as you look on the internet for ships of the line from the same period you'll find good sources of inspiration.

As for the colourscheme, here you can see a Dutch ship (De Vrijheid) at the battle of Camperdown in 1797.

The colourscheme is rather brown-ish, just like your model (here's a link, the image is quite large).

Though of course with lego it's better to have some different shades of brown.

As you can also see, the gun ports are red on the inside, so when you open yours, it's historically correct!

That index really comes in handy! Thanks!

As for the gunports I have seriously considered changing them to blue to get a nicer contrast. But I'm not quite sure yet.

I have also considered to make her black and yellow, I haven't ordered that many brown parts yet so I would've waste that much money, besides can you actually have to much brown?

Looking good -DoNe-

I really like the way you have curved the tiles on top of the bow.

Thank you!

Okay...You may have proven me wrong...Maybe .

It's looking great so far, keep it up!

I'am just going to keep trying, in the end you will admit it works!!!

She is certainly coming along nicely Done! I like that the rudder and the capstan will be functional in the end and I also enjoy the colors you've used.

You might find the book Anatomy of the Ship: The 74 Gun Ship Bellona by Brian Lavery. DPW had this ship for his 64 gun build I believe and that lead me to buy it. Its about $25 dollars on ebay. There are a number in the series and each is very informative. I've build the newest version of the Matterhorn off the HMS Pandora edition. I've bought the USS Essex as well, so I definitely suggest them.

The book sounds quite interesting, I might have to look into it a bit further. It seems like it have lots of interesting drawings and information to offer. Especially for someone like me who barely knows anything about ships.

Thanks!

Edited April 7, 2014 by -DoNe-

[-DoNe-]

Yet another update. But this is by far the biggest one so far.

The whole thing have been changed basically. color and somewhat design wise. She now have a color scheme that is a bit closer to the ship she is named after (only red canon hatches really). I have also removed the pre-fab hull (you won Sebeous ) and I have to say it looks ten times better than before! I'am now very pleased with the overall design and the dimensions are somewhat acceptable (she is a bit on the small side...=.

Enough of that, lets get on with the pictures!

NOTE:

The individual working anchors are still fully operational