Tag Archives: Tall Ship

Set sail on the high seas with 38 guns ablazin’!

With thirty-eight cannons at the ready, this LEGO HMS Argonaut built by Fehron Argonaut looks like it can handle just about anything. This builder clearly knows their way around tall ships. I’m loving the sails, the flags, even the complex rigging is a sight to behold. I sort of wish the builder had more to say about this amazing creation other than “38 gun frigate”. It really deserves a backstory. There was apparently an HMS Argonaut in real history, a few of them in fact, but none quite like this. We’ll just have to imagine for ourselves the adventures that await this handsome vessel. My limited research states that this may also be the first time we have featured this builder but with LEGO skills this good, we’ll surely be on the lookout for more. In the meantime, be sure to check out some other tall ships from various builders.

HMS Argonaut

This epic 74-gun LEGO ship is ready to set sail

This minifig-scale LEGO ship, The Charlemagne, was built by Brick Duvel over a period of 2-3 years, and it’s a massive 150 studs from bow to stern, translating to a scale 177 feet long. Months were spent on the rigging alone, and the proof is in the pudding with this gorgeous model. Unlike many LEGO ships, the rigging is extensive, taut, and tied down well.

Charlemagne IMG_7148

Click to see more details including the interior!

A shipshape ship of brick

With many ship festivals and sailing events cancelled this year due to the ongoing pandemic, it is nice to be able to get my ship fix in via LEGO. Builder Lennart Cort certainly materializes the fine craftsmanship of a well-built sea vessel into the LEGO medium for viewers to enjoy in his build of the Dannebrog from 1852.

Dannebrog

The Dannebrog is a “ship of the line,” which is a type of naval warship that was produced in the 17th century to the mid 19th century. Cort’s micro-scale Dannebrog certainly exhibits the details necessary for a military ship. One example is his utilization of multiple round 1×1 with bar and pin holder pieces as gun ports. The Dannebrog was specifically an armored frigate of the Royal Danish navy – in fact, the word Dannebrog is the given name of the Danish flag, and through this build we can see this connection via Cort’s use of two red streamer flags modified with what looks like white tape to form the white cross on the Danish flag. My favorite part of this build is actually the brick-built sails that Cort expertly executes using white wedge plates and tiles; he really does an excellent job at making brick-built sails look like the real deal. In my opinion, Cort’s brick-built sails are visually more appealing than the ones featured in the new Creator 3-in-1 pirate ship designed by LEGO. As a whole, Cort’s creation certainly is beauty and must look wonderful on display.

Swashbuckling ship sails the seas

Rather than telling the tale of the “Curse of the Black Pearl,” we have a new swashbuckling adventure to share: the “Attack of the Dark Bluish Grey Pearl”. The titular ship has been beautifully sculpted in LEGO by Simon NH with some painstakingly intricate techniques for the hull. Simon used minifigure hands to hold 1×2 tiles together, which permits a great deal of shaping — check out that bow to see what can be achieved with this method. The sails are also fantastic, with plenty of movement and texture achieved with bricks.

Attack of the Dark Bluish Grey Pearl

Simon’s favourite part of the ship is its stern, so it is worthwhile taking a closer peek from the rear. There, sand green decorative fence and semi-circular windows fit in perfectly. I also love the use of the telephone handsets and Unikitty’s tail in dark bluish grey.

The Dark Bluish Grey Pearl (back)

Green and white to sail the ocean blue

What I love most about this gallant old tall ship by Sebeus I is that it’s still distinctly in the style of the classic LEGO Pirate ships I remember from the early 90s. Of course, this one is both much larger and much better detailed, but it still incorporates the large hull elements and distinctive flags along the sides for cannon ports. The custom paper sails add a great look, too.

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Where this ship really shines, though, is in the stern, which is low and sleek and expertly sculpted. The ship manages to capture the deck’s curvature in a way the old sets never could. It looks just perfect to fetch some breadfruit plantings from the tropics.

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Here there be dragons

I grew up with the sea, and am an absolute sucker for pretty pretty ships. Aardwolf_83 delivers with this lovely galleon in her four-masted glory. I love the little details, like the beginnings of rigging, and the lines of this beauty are just lovely.

Off the Edge of the Map

I must go up to the skys again

Tall ships and steampunk make very good bedfellows, especially in the hands of Sean and Steph Mayo. Their latest build, the Iron Maiden, is just stunning. I didn’t quite grasp that it was LEGO when I ran across the thumbnail originally.

Iron Maiden

Should you be so interested, I also recommend checking out the build prior to this. I happen to not care for little flying death monsters myself, but I will acknowledge they are brilliantly done.