Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Pikes, Muskets and Flouncy Shirts => Topic started by: Astor on December 30, 2009, 01:05:59 PM
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I've had one of these 'Predators' (or whatever they're being called now) on my desk for about two months now, waiting to be started on, and seeing as our group will be starting our LOTOHS game any time now, I figured it was about time I got my backside into gear. Although we won't be using this in games for a while, it'll make a great centrepiece in a port scene.
So, i've stripped the pegs from the rear and a few other places and have just started to make templates for the plastic card decks I plan to use (in a similar way to uti's 'Stygian Swine'). This is proving rather difficult, but hopefully i'm not too far off of a solution. I've decided that i'm not going to try and keep the hold doors visible, so I can make full use of the deck that will eventually cover the lego-y bits. I've also decided to close off the cabin - which can be seen below.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/leeuw_cabin.jpg
I've seen it mentioned around here that a ship this size really needs at least another mast, and I definitely agree with that - it looks too bare with only one. My plan is to remove the cannon mount at the front of the ship, and use the upper part of the mast (which would ordinarily go on top of the crow's nest) there, and move the main mast back a little to stop the front of the ship looking too crowded, and to make it easier to move miniatures about without knocking either mast.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/leeuw_two_masts.jpg
As you can see, this is still in the really early stages, but it's more than i've done in the two months since buying it. :D
If anyone has any experience with converting this type of toy, or general advice, it'd be most welcome.
Also, I hope this is the right place for this. :)
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Looking great so far!
How do you plan on filling in the holes from the Lego knobs??
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I had thought about filling in the holes (at least the ones on the decks), but i'm not going to, as I'm not confident that I could fill them in and keep it looking like a deck, so the aft deck will be covered by plasticard like the rest of the ship.
And i've finally, after more than an hour of messing about with it, managed to make a template for the main deck.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/leeuw_main_deck.jpg
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Ohhh...
That looks quite nice.
What was your technique for clipping off the pegs?
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Just a good pair of clippers and a spare half hour - I'd thought it would have been difficult, but it proved to be the most hasslefree phase so far.
As i'm getting ever closer to placing a proper deck, does anyone have any ideas what I should use for the deck? I had thought about using plank-effect plasticard, but this is the first time i've attempted anything like this, so i'm not sure if there would be anything better out there.
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Yea... The plank deck plasticard is yer best bet. Its easy and quick. Just cut it and glue it in.
Unless you want to do some work. You can lay a 'underdecking' and then go buy some "O" or "HO" scale boards from a train shop and lay/glue each individual board down. This will give you a better look, as all of the boards are of a different length, not looking like something that was made by a machine.
OR.... You could do the plasticard decking sheet, and make lateral cuts in random places to make it look like individual boards...
Either way, it should look great.
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I had thought about laying the deck with individual pieces, but I'm not that confident in my skills to attempt that yet (although I do still have a Playmobil 'Pirate Dinghy' that is awaiting conversion, so that might end up being a guinea pig for that technique), so I think plank effect plasticard is looking like the best option - as soon as Antenociti's Workshop gets some in stock i'll order a few sheets (as well as some plain plasticard for miscellaneous bits) and then work can begin properly. I had looked on other sites for it, but the postage was more than the sheets!
I was also looking for some extra decorations, which led me to Cornwall Model boats, which have a huge selection of cast metal ornaments for scale ships, so I ordered some of their cannon (40mm with carriage) and decorations to really make her stand out when she's finished.
I just hope those cannon are the right size...
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Sinewgrab converted four of those Mega Bloks ships for me (in exchange for a lot of Bronze Age Miniatures). Because he was doing that in a tight time block with all four models available he was able to swap some masts around. He reduced the Black Pearl and Empress Junk to only two masts, because three seemed like too many for ships of that length and because I wanted area for fighting melees on deck. He used one of the masts from the Empress Junk as a second mast on the Stormstalker, because it really needed a second mast, and having the second mast the same thickness really does help the looks. (Not entirely successful result for the Empress though, as having three sails did balance the original model's looks, at the expense of deck space for fighting.)
Sinewgrab also cut out that wacky revolving cylinder in the bow of the Stormstalker, which helped get a little more deck space. (The cylinder will probably show up in one of his VSF projects.) An alternative that I was considering was to build a fore castle over that revolving cylinder using foamcore and/or basswood, but that would have required a bit more work.
Sinewgrab extended the after cabin at my request, because it didn't look right to have those two windows looking out from the deck instead of from an enclosed cabin. He cut a piece of wood or foamcore to use as a forward bulkhead, and he extended the deck of the stern castle to cover it. This extended deck is removable, and it's decked inside, so there's enough space to fight inside. I'll just have to make some furnishings for the captain's cabin.
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Forgot to mention that Sinewgrab used both grooved basswood and grooved plastic styrene sheets for decking, and it came out great. The plastic is slightly cheaper, and can be given some grain and texture by scrapping it a bit with a piece of sandpaper. The advantage of the basswood (called something different on your side of the pond - see thread under Workbench) is that it could be used unpainted because it's the perfect color and already has beautiful grain and texture. Sinewgrab painted the decks on my ships because he thinks the wood needs to be protected under paint and floor wax. Some paint in a couple of shades, a wash, and the floor wax do produce a nice look. But when I scratchbuild or convert some other ships myself, I intend to use the grooved basswood without paint or coating. The grooved basswood is available from ship model supply specialists.
The sails that came with the Stormstalker were pretty good, but adding a second tall mast required more sails, and changed the angle on the jib sail, had to go buy some cheap linen cloth in various light brown shades to make a whole new set of sails.
By the way, I think the deck on the Playmobile pirate dingy looks pretty good as is. However, I suppose one could add decking to give it a flush deck.
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Thanks for the information, warren.
I've been looking at the cabin, and you're right, it doesn't look right with two 'false' windows, so i've started to work on extending it - which has made me realise that the aft deck then has almost double the space it would have had originally. - which means I can mount extra guns there as well.
I've been thinking about creating a forecastle myself, And i'm going to make mock-up to see whether it looks alright - but it would certainly make it look more realistic (i'm aiming for a mix of realism and fantasy).
I've finally managed to order the plastic sheets, so hopefully by the weekend i'll be able to start construction properly.
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Apologies for the double post, but i've managed to mock up a forecastle and extended cabin. Apologies for the picture quality -
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/leeuw_fore_2.jpg)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/leeuw_fore_3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/leeuw_fore_4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/leeuw_fore_5.jpg
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Coming along very nicely.
Looking forward to further progress!
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Fabulous, Astor! That fore castle looks excellent! And your extended stern castle is just right also.
Another tip: if you don't want to mess with cutting the bumps off that ladder, you might be able to find plastic stairs at a hobby store that specializes in model trains. A long piece of that would provide bump free ladders for more than one ship, and for multiple ladders on each ship. It gives a balanced look to have one on either side of the deck, and also provides a second path for melee action. Your hero would have to pick which ladder to defend or attack. And you could use one up to the fore castle. You can get sizes that would allow your bases to fit into the ladder.
If you use both grates it will cut into your melee area, or block placement of a central ladder to the fore castle (ladders on the sides would block placement of cannon). I think the grates look better if placed on a shallow rectangular box, rather than level with the deck.
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Thanks warren, on your advice i've ordered some ship's ladders/stairs (two for the stern, and one for the forecastle) which should be arriving any day now (along with some windows for the front part of the cabin). And those cannon I was worried about because of their size are not only perfect, but beautiful, even if the wooden carriages were a pain to glue together. :)
I've managed to make both the main and poop decks with the plasticard i'd ordered, although the construction of the forecastle has been stalled because I ordered the wrong thickness (far too thin), but it's already starting to look a lot better - less and less like a toy, which must mean i'm doing something right.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/leeuw_new_deck.jpg)
If only I could master photography!
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Comment on deck color: This is purely a matter of aethetics and choice. My personal preference is for light tan or grayish tan decks. This is based on the practice on sailing ships of holystoning (sanding) the decks to keep them clean and prevent splinters, and also on being on the Lynx and Endeavor, modern replicas of 18th Century ships. Modern sailing yachts with wooden decks often seem to have darker decks, perhaps varnished teak or other dark tropical wood.
Sinewgrab doesn't agree with me on this, and when he painted up my version of the ship you are doing he initially painted the decks as virtually a match with the color of the sides. If you look at movies such as the Pirates of the Carribean series, you'll often see darker decks. I even saw darker decks in a movie that was authentic looking about a long sea voyage in the late 1700's. The decks looked dark when they were wet and in dim light. During the bright dry days in the tropics the decks looked lighter on the same ship. The decks on the Victory in Portsmouth also look dark, but I wonder whether those are painted or oiled in some way to preserve them on a museum ship.
I personally like the contrast between a dark hull and light decks. Others may like the ship all one color. If you do lighten yours, you could start with a dark brown or dark gray wash (to fill the seams), then drybrush with light grayish tan, and finish up with some floorwax or something to preserve the paint.
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Not an expert here...
But I believe it was the practise of the British and Americans to clean their decks with holystone. This sandstone material actually scraped the deck and whitened it at the same time.
Pirates, OTOH, weren't so neat and tidy...
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Finally, the last of the materials I needed have arrived, and she's pretty much finished (apart from a few minor thing, such as adding the windows and door to the front of the cabin, of course).
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/leeuw_main.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/leeuw_forecastle.jpg)
Now I can start to think about painting.
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Huh. I don't know how I missed this thread. Must have been too busy with that bloody gunship.
I must say, great job here, and having done one myself, I am impressed. Warrenbruhn and I will continue to disagree on deck colors, but I think what you have done looks fabulous. I can't wait to see your finished job.
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Looks like nice anchor, bell, and ship's wheel from some hobby store that stocks bits for model ships. Those little details are really great, and will really help the finished look.
That fore castle is absolutely excellent!
Like the look of that lion figurehead on the Predator. The shark figurehead on my Stormstalker is mighty big by comparison.
Sinewgrab fixed those holes low in the sides by filling them in with wads of green stuff. Could not figure out a way to use a hole that low in the hull as either a gunport or an anchor rack, so he just filled them in.
Trouble with that foremast is that it's too thin compared to the after mast. If you don't have another plastic mast available from another Mega Bloks kit, then I'd suggest going to the hardward store and buying a metal tube of the same diameter. Aluminum and copper are available and aren't as hard as brass. You could cut the metal tube to a similar height as the aftermast. You could scratch it up lengthwise with steel wool before painting to make it look more like the plastic after mast. You can make crow's nests with magnetic bases so that your pirate figures will stick on.
Fabric stores have cheap linen cloth in tan colors to use for additional sails.
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Thanks for the kind words, Sinewgrab!
Looks like nice anchor, bell, and ship's wheel from some hobby store that stocks bits for model ships. Those little details are really great, and will really help the finished look.
That fore castle is absolutely excellent!
Like the look of that lion figurehead on the Predator. The shark figurehead on my Stormstalker is mighty big by comparison.
Sinewgrab fixed those holes low in the sides by filling them in with wads of green stuff. Could not figure out a way to use a hole that low in the hull as either a gunport or an anchor rack, so he just filled them in.
Trouble with that foremast is that it's too thin compared to the after mast. If you don't have another plastic mast available from another Mega Bloks kit, then I'd suggest going to the hardward store and buying a metal tube of the same diameter. Aluminum and copper are available and aren't as hard as brass. You could cut the metal tube to a similar height as the aftermast. You could scratch it up lengthwise with steel wool before painting to make it look more like the plastic after mast. You can make crow's nests with magnetic bases so that your pirate figures will stick on.
Fabric stores have cheap linen cloth in tan colors to use for additional sails.
I'm definitely beginning to agree with you on the thickness of the foremast - it does far too thin now that i've started painting, so when I get the chance i'm going to try and find a spare or build another with some metal or PVC. Failing that, i've heard there's another one of these ships going cheap in a bargain store.
Anyways, I've been busy painting over the weekend, and although the Leeuw, as i've christened her, isn't quite finished, she's looking very good indeed.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/Leeuw_painted_stern.jpg)
I filled in the windows so that the ship had a more consistent look (the windows on the forecastle and the front of cabin were filled in, so I thought it best that the rest of the windows were too), and although it's the first time i've attempted to paint glass, I think they came out pretty well.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/leeuw_painted_cabin.jpg)
A quick view of the main deck facing the cabin - the cabin wall looks a little plain from this angle, but i'm fairly happy with it at the moment.
As you can see, the decks are lighter than the rest of the ship - the hull was painted Scorched Brown (a whole bloody pot of the stuff!) followed by a drybrush of Bestial Brown, while the decks were scorched brown, followed by a drybrush of Khemri Brown and a further highlight of Desert Yellow.
I'll post some more shots of the whole thing when i've finished off everything (the masts still need painting, and i'm debating whether to make some temporary sails).
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VERY impressive. Not only are the windows excellent, and the guns, and the deck, but what you've done with the grating is also top notch. It's excellent that you have the grating raised on a little platform. I'm sure that kept some of the water sloshing accross the deck from going below.
By the way, where did you get the windows and door? Or did you make them? Where did you get the gun carriages? Or did you make those?
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I wish I were skilled enough to make such things. :)
The windows are Wills' Windows and Doors set without the actual window frames (which really looked like they belong more on a building than a ship). I made the door myself with some thinner plastic card (although the window was part of the aforementioned set), and used some match sticks to create the door frame. Matches were used for the framing on the grate.
The guns (and carriages) are actually proper scale modeller's guns by Amati, bought through Cornwall model boats - the ones i've used are "4159/50 Decorative Cannon Wood Carriage 50mm" which are the perfect size for 28mm miniatures - i've also got a few of the smaller, 40mm length guns to go on the aft cabin deck. I wasn't entirely sure they were the right size when I ordered them, but I was happy to discover that they're more than adequate.
Now, some more pictures:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/Leeuw_painted_side1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/leeuw_painted_deck_detail.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/leeuw_painted_fore.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Craig_Bean05/leeuw_painted_topdown.jpg)
Still needs a little more work, and I think i'm going to add a hand rail to the forecastle, but apart from that, i'm pretty pleased with it.
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Looks good. Very good.
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I think you did a great job!
I bought one of those Mega Bloks ships and to be quite honest, the amount of work necessary to convert the darn thing put me totally off it. I stored the box after opening in the first time.
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I think you did a great job!
I bought one of those Mega Bloks ships and to be quite honest, the amount of work necessary to convert the darn thing put me totally off it. I stored the box after opening in the first time.
Ah c'mon...it is only maybe a 10 - 12 hour job....
If you don't want it, I'll give you my mailing address... :D
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I'm curious, how much do these go for where you live? Every time I've seen them over here, they were at least over 50 euros for even the smallest ones (and could fetch much higher prices even).
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Yes... they are quite expensive.
That is why I haven't thrown it out or plan to give it away! :D
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Can't blame a guy for trying, can you?
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I think you did a great job!
I bought one of those Mega Bloks ships and to be quite honest, the amount of work necessary to convert the darn thing put me totally off it. I stored the box after opening in the first time.
I agree about the amount of work being daunting. When I first opened the box, I wasn't sure i'd ever be able to make it look suitable for wargaming, but with a little perseverance I think all the hours I put into have paid off pretty well. :)
I'm curious, how much do these go for where you live? Every time I've seen them over here, they were at least over 50 euros for even the smallest ones (and could fetch much higher prices even).
I bought this one for £15 during a sale at Debenhams' department store. The original box price was £40, and I think used that £25 saving on materials and items for the ship - so in the end it's worked out at about £40 - but still a lot less than you'd pay for a ship this size from a wargaming company like Old Glory (don't get me wrong - lovely ships, just not such a lovely price).
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Wow this is some great work here. I bought the Black Pearl at discount more than a year ago, but I haven't completed it yet. I began the project and then set it aside due the amount of work evolved. But your results are so spectacular that I may have to take it up again.
Rob
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Astor, that is looking quite sublime! I'm sure you've put in more than 10-12 hours. The effort will make your pirate games look really good. As is that looks better than most pirate ships that I've seen live or on the web.
You are right that railings would help the look of the fore castle, and you might as well put a short railing between the ladders to the stern castle when you do that. Perhaps you can find a plastic model railroad ladder in one of the bigger scales at a hobby shop that you could cut in half to make quick railings. I think some of those ladders are made for railroad water towers.
Are you planning to fill those holes on the sides, or just leave them as is?
Look forward to seeing what you do with the masts and sails. I recently noticed a cloth paint medium for use with accrylic paints. I guess it's supposed to make the paint stick to cloth. I'm thinking of trying that stuff out as a way to weather or detail cloth sails. Don't know if you have access to cheap lightweight chopsticks, but many of those are a good size for spars and yardarms.
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The Mega Bloks ships new on the toy store shelf in the US cost anywhere from $30 to $60 depending on the size, with the Flying Dutchman being at the high end. Grooved wood or styrene for decks, smaller ships' wheels, anchors, guns, etc. all add up. But ultimately the price is less than any of the resin ships, and the time to convert is less than that of a full scratchbuild. Sinewgrab benefits from having a good plastic cutting tool which speeds up the removal of the numbs and the reshaping of the interiors.
The Flying Dutchman and Dread Eye's Phantom are mind bending glorious fantasy, and the Black Pearl is nice. But my personal favorites are the Empress Junk and the Stormstalker/Predator. The junk and the ship Astor is almost finished with have great hull forms which would be very difficult to match in a full scratchbuild. The Stormstalker/Predator hull also has the advantage of having a single piece lower hull with small wheels underneath, like Playmobil ships. That beats gluing hull sections together.
Speaking of Playmobil, if the work to convert a Mega Bloks is daunting, then Playmobil would be the way to go. Those can go on the table right out of the box, after about and hour to snap them together. They require a lot less work to convert. The hull forms are good. Some colors could stand a repaint. They are generally available on ebay and at garage sales (a US summer tradition) as the kids outgrow their pirate toys.
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Do you have progress pics of the Empress Junk? I just got one recently and have been contemplating the work needed for the conversion. :P
The Mega Bloks ships new on the toy store shelf in the US cost anywhere from $30 to $60 depending on the size, with the Flying Dutchman being at the high end. Grooved wood or styrene for decks, smaller ships' wheels, anchors, guns, etc. all add up. But ultimately the price is less than any of the resin ships, and the time to convert is less than that of a full scratchbuild. Sinewgrab benefits from having a good plastic cutting tool which speeds up the removal of the numbs and the reshaping of the interiors.
The Flying Dutchman and Dread Eye's Phantom are mind bending glorious fantasy, and the Black Pearl is nice. But my personal favorites are the Empress Junk and the Stormstalker/Predator. The junk and the ship Astor is almost finished with have great hull forms which would be very difficult to match in a full scratchbuild. The Stormstalker/Predator hull also has the advantage of having a single piece lower hull with small wheels underneath, like Playmobil ships. That beats gluing hull sections together.
Speaking of Playmobil, if the work to convert a Mega Bloks is daunting, then Playmobil would be the way to go. Those can go on the table right out of the box, after about and hour to snap them together. They require a lot less work to convert. The hull forms are good. Some colors could stand a repaint. They are generally available on ebay and at garage sales (a US summer tradition) as the kids outgrow their pirate toys.
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Sadly no. Sinewgrab converted my Empress Junk for me, and I don't think he took shots along the way. Maybe he did and can post them. I messed up his pretty dark grey deck paint when I tried to lighten it, so it looks very unfinished right now. Maybe I can get him over to my place with a camera so that he can show off the work he did on my ships.
One thing we agreed to about the Empress Junk was to reduce the masts to two. We needed a mast for the Stormstalker, and the Empress Junk is so short it seemed like a bad idea to have three masts. One reason to use these plastic ships is to have deck space for melee between 28mm figures, and the Empress seemed to lack that room. Unfortunately, the removal of one mast makes that ship look unbalanced. There are some two masted junks, but most of the pictures you will find of junks on the web have three masts. The sails that come in the box almost demand use of all three masts. So I'd recommend that you use all three sails, even if you switch to smaller masts to make more deck space.
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Excellent ship! Looking at it, and reading this thread, it's clear that you and Sinewgrap are the people to ask this question, since you mention the Playmobil ship in a previous post - which of the playmobil ships should a prospective ship-owner in LoTHS be looking at?
I'll be looking at the Mega Bloks ships as well, but if you know anything about the Playmobil one, that would be great. After looking at your work, the Stormstalker/Predator is clearly the one to look for in Mega Bloks!
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Does anyone know if the MegaBloks POTC "Battler" ships are a useable size?
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Hv1OM-HbL._SS500_.jpg)
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Thanks for all the compliments and remarks, guys. Warren - i'm definitely looking into adding some handrails now - if I can't find any plastic ladders like you suggest, i've found some nice little wood columns that would look great.
Excellent ship! Looking at it, and reading this thread, it's clear that you and Sinewgrap are the people to ask this question, since you mention the Playmobil ship in a previous post - which of the playmobil ships should a prospective ship-owner in LoTHS be looking at?
The playmobil ship I have is known as the 'Dinghy', although i've seen it called the 'Gunboat' as well - it's a fair size, although not as big as the Stormstalker (or anywhere near as big as the other playmobil ships). It's this one below.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514oSMHOKZL._SL500_AA280_.jpg)
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There are five main types of Playmobil pirate ships that I'm aware of:
1. The dinghy pictured above by Astor. It's new. It cost me only $20 US. It's got deck room for about 20 to 25 figures depending on basing. It's deck is not level, but is molded as planks, so there really isn't much needed conversion other than replacing the oversized tiller.
2. The single masted sloop. This is a great ship that has been around for many years. It keeps getting rereleased in different colors. I got one with a brown hull, grey deck, and red sails and stick on bits. I got another one with a black hull, dark blue deck, and white sails. Both cost me $30 US. This ship will come around again and again I suspect. I would guess these are available from time to time on ebay. I'd estimate one could put 30 to 45 figures on deck depending on presence of cannons or other stuff. The railing is high for 28mm, as on most Playmobil, so the choices are to cut the railing down all around, which would look like crap probably, or to raise the deck with a layer of foamcore and styrene or wood, or just to play with it as is. The decks are molded as planks.
3. The recent two masted ship. This new one sits a little lower in the water than the previous two masted ship. The first release had a red hull and light tan upper railing and deck. I do not have this one, as it cost $110 US. It has a skull for a figurehead, which could stand to be replaced. It generally has a good shape, although there is a wierd feature, cannon decks forward that recess to hide the cannons. I believe this ship is currently pictured on the Playmobil website.
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(Had to break up this post about Playmobil ships)
4. Slightly older two masted ship. This one is a big beast, with hull taller than the Flying Dutchman by Mega Bloks. My intention is to use that one as a big East Indiaman, the prize the pirates are attemting to take. My copy has a dark grey hull, red railings and deck, and sails that alternate between ivory and tan vertical sections. This ship has a really great hull shape, and the decks are expansive, probably able to hold 55 to 60 men on deck. I've seen it for $85 to $95 US. It's out of production, but I suspect Playmobil will rerelease it sometime in the future in new colors.
5. Much older two masted ship. This one has been around for many years, even decades. I've seen it in at least three different color schemes, including a brown one pictured here on Lead Adventures Forum under either swashbuckling or workbench (conversion in progress). It has enough deck space for perhaps 40 to 50 figures. It's the least pleasing of the lot in terms of realistic hull and stern castle shape. Most of the problem is that the stern castle is too high. I suppose it could be cut down, but what I'm going to do with my copy is turn it into an Arab pirate ship by putting big lateen rigged sails on the two masts. That way the high stern castle will just fit in with the exotic look. My copy is all black, and came with some crap red plastic furled sails which are completely useless, and some red and yellow stick ons which I probably won't use. It only cost me $30 US, so I can't complain.
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Astor, sorry about hijacking your thread with all this talk about Playmobil ships. But I like to describe these things. I wish I had a digital camera and the ability to just post pics for everybody. But I want to offer some general notes about Playmobil:
The hull typs I described above numbered 1, 2, & 4 are some of the most pleasing pirate ships I've seen. I just love looking at them, and keep them out just for inspiration, much the way some people keep out much finer and more realistic wood models.
The ships are not waterlined, and are more like the hull of the Mega Bloks Stormstalker/Predator, in that the hulls are mostly flat to the water, but not quite, and they have either little wheels or smooth bumps on the bottom that make them easy to move accross a game mat. If anyone insists on a waterlined hull, then I'd recommend sticking with resin or scratchbuilding instead of trying to cut down these plastic toys. The lower hull of the Playmobil ships have screw connections that are part of the structural integrity of the toy. I personally like the look of them. But not everybody would.
Some bits like the ships wheel and anchors are way oversized, much worse than the Mega Blocks, because the Playmobil figures are so much bigger. The most essential conversion work to be done for adapting these ships for use with 28mm figures involves replacing the oversized bits.
Sails are a soft foamy substance. They are functional. But purists might want to replace with cloth.
Masts have a groove in the back, so decide to live with that or to wrap something around the mast to round it out before fully assembling the toy. Masts snap in and are very hard to remove later. This is in contrast to the Mega Bloks masts, which almost fall out if you sneeze into the sail. If you want to be able to take the masts down for transport or to represent damage, then it would be necessary to modify the way the masts attach.
There are a mass of photos of Playmobil ships on the web. Just do a Google Image search and the many generations of these ships will show up.
Decks are molded as planks, and look pretty good to me. If one wanted to paint the deck, because of the colors in some of the production models, I'd recommend spraying the deck and railing piece with a plastic primer like Rustoleum and painting prior to assembling the toy. Also, the railings, as mentioned before, are high, so decide whether or not to live with that prior to assembling the model. It would be much easier to raise the deck before assembling the toy.
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Thanks Warrenbruhn, and thanks Astor - that's all very useful knowledge to have. I didn't mean to hijack the thread, it's just that the pictures of the ship here have really inspired me to get into Legends of the High Seas, and I know ships are an important feature of it.
Thanks again!
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Thanks to all this pirate ship talk I now have 2 MegaBlok ships on the way from ebay - can see my days being filled with planks masts and rigging me hearties... Thanks for some of the construction suggestions I am sure they will come in handy.
Lets not forget that the 19th September is talk like a pirate day see http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html - so I propose we all make sure we are playing pirates around that time and trying to press gang others into our pirate games.
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Hi Guys,
I am new to the Lead Adventure Forum, but I found the site by looking into the Mega Bloks Conversions. Is their anyone making any tutorials or any advice you could offer to someone new to starting up a conversion. I just picked up a dremmel and I want to convert the empress and possibly a couple more PotC mega bloks ships.
Thanks.
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I did a stormstalker about a year ago im willing to tell about what I did. What exactly do you need to know?
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The Leeuw looks great. Very nicely done. I've worked over a few toys ships myself and I know it can be both fun and challenging. You did a wonderful job. Richard
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Fantastic looking ship conversion. You did a great job making it look realistic while still keeping it playable and usable as a gaming piece. Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Hitman
8)
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Hi Guys,
I am new to the Lead Adventure Forum, but I found the site by looking into the Mega Bloks Conversions. Is their anyone making any tutorials or any advice you could offer to someone new to starting up a conversion. I just picked up a dremmel and I want to convert the empress and possibly a couple more PotC mega bloks ships.
Thanks.
heres a link to my conversion http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=62664.0