PlaymoFriends
Creative => How-To => Topic started by: BlackPearl2006 on September 21, 2010, 11:01:19
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It all began with a ship……
It’s funny, as a child I remember seeing tallships and pirate ships in stories and movies and some in real life, and I remember absolutely detesting the idea of ever wanting to be anywhere near a ship! I thought they were primitive, and disgusting, actually. So….organic. Wood hull with splintering weathered ends, fabric sails that can fray and tatter in the wind, the pervading smell of tar from the shrouds and ratlines and the ship all ‘round….. the toxic smell of gun powder, having to sleep on the gun deck right next to the cannons……the dizzying array of countless lines of rope strewn all about the entire ship…what a mess and a visual nightmare! And the fact that there was no idea of a cockpit or covered weather-proof place to sit and navigate the ship, instead you have to STAND, OUTSIDE, in the rain or cold or whatever elements the sea decides to shower you with….not to mention the idea of NO SHOWERS aboard…. And what was the horrible grog made from that crew members had to eat? I don’t even want to know! Oh, and my worst fear: the POOP deck!
The point is, I HATED the idea of pirate ships. I absolutely detested them. Utterly. Completely.
Until I first laid my eyes on…. The Black Pearl, from Pirates of the Caribbean.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/blackpearlFRONT.jpg)
Like many, I became enamored with this movie… not so much because of Johnny Depp, nor the blossoming Keira Knightley, but because of a ship with black sails, captained by a man so evil that he11 itself spat him back out. The Black Pearl and her then captain, played by Geoffrey Rush, Captain Barbosa, my favourite character.
My first instinct as a toy enthusiast was to search for a toy of the Black Pearl. However, at the time of the first movie, none existed. So my little girl and I went to Toys R Us and purchased a different ship with a black hull, BlackBeard’s Pirate Ship by Playmobil for US$29.99:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/blkbrdshp.jpg)
Suffice it to say, my daughter and I had loads of fun pretending it was the Black Pearl. But somehow its ugly plastic red furled sails and missing spanker sail just didn’t do it for me, so we turned her into this:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/blackwidow.jpg)
Our pseudo-BlackPearl, aka The Black Widow, using black 3-ring-binder plastic for the sails, and a custom-cut spider sticker as her insignia, and added regular playmo cannons to replace her “big bertha” cannon. She was a fine ship, but it just didn’t seem right still. By then, the second and third movie were being filmed, and I was elated to discover that, unlike the first movie where the Black Pearl was a façade built aboard a floating barge, Jerry Brookheimer had commissioned the construction of an actual sea-worthy SHIP! (though it too is a sort of façade built over an existing cargo ship named the “Sunset,” and had masts that ended at the tops, requiring the rest of the masting above the tops to be added later in post-production as digital elements). But she seemed “real” enough to me. I was in love! I began studying the leaked photos that permeated the internet, becoming obsessed with the ship with each click I made of the mouse.
(http://moviesmedia.ign.com/movies/image/article/717/717853/pirates-of-the-caribbean-dead-mans-chest-20060711044637083.jpg)
Unlike the barge, the new sea-worthy Black Pearl had a very curvy deck profile, similar to old-style galleons of yore. I had to have a better ship than the 3750 style 2-masted Black Beard ship that, to me, actually looked more like a fishing vessel than a pirate ship.
So I purchased the Black Pearl by Mega Bloks.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/mega_pearl_01s.jpg)
The Mega Bloks ship was a disappointment, however. The hull was way off, and the masts and sails and lack of shrouds or rigging of any sort made me quickly toss it aside, my thirst for the perfect Black Pearl still unquenched. It’s hard to believe that this ship went for US$40 at the time (not worth it, IMO), and now commands prices upwards of $200 or more on ebay. Why?! Her only redeeming parts her her bow and stern. Everything else in-between is just horrid.
Then I saw the Ultimate Black Pearl Playset by Zizzle for US$80 that could accommodate 3 ¾” figures from the movie line. It was HUGE! BUT, I realized the proportions are even WORSE than the Mega Bloks ship, PLUS it had no chance of floating like a Playmobil ship, so I skipped out on buying her at all at the time.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/potc_zizbp01.jpg)
And then, I found the infamous 3286 ship by Playmobil for US$90 at the time (she now fetches upwards of $150 on ebay)…
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/3286flagship.jpg)
This picture alone convinced me that this would make the perfect Black Pearl, as it seemed to mirror the curved lines of the real ship:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pirate-Ship.jpg)
For a long while I played with the 3286 as she was in all her red plastic glory, only adding topsails to her masts, otherwise keeping her in stock condition. For months I stared at her, imagining and imagining how awesome it would be if she were even more like the Pearl, with 3 masts instead of 2, 3 stages of sails, totaling no less than 12 sails total, with 2 flying jibs and several staysails. And with a forecastle, and giant lanterns and ornamentation at the stern, and cannons on both the gun deck And the main deck. For the longest time, I would just sit there and imagine….
Until one day, it came to me: why not have the best of all worlds? Why not have a ship that floats and is durable like the Playmobil ship, but correctly ornamented like the Mega Bloks ship, and on the verge of realistic detail like the Zizzle ship?
So, the first thing I did was get my dremel, took a deep breath, and began to saw off the bow of the 3286 ship. Once I made the cut, I knew there was no going back! Using parts of the Megabloks ship, I test-fitted the transplants onto the 3286 and took pics of her in black and white as I took my first steps towards creating The Black Pearl ala Playmobil style:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/PearlWIP1.jpg) (http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pirate-Ship.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/PearlWIP2.jpg)
I first purchased the 3286 in 2006, only first modifying it to this stage after 2 years in 2008. It wouldn't be until June, 2010 that I would take the next step by painting her black and adding extra yard arms and rigging to accomdate more sails......
More to come…….
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Glued to the screen! Thanks for sharing your awesome story! Can't wait for the rest!
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WOW! That's amazing!!! :o :o :o
Can you tell us how you made the double sails?
I would love to emulate it in my ship. ;D
It doesn't look too hard...?
You kept the original sails, but added another sail (slightly smaller one) on top. Right? ???
But how? 8} 8} 8}
Really cool, I too cannot wait to see the finished version! :)
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AWE,....so Playmobil changed your thoughts about realistic toy pirate ships, well done :)9! You have done wonders to create this beautiful custom masterpiece :arrr:! I look forward to hopefully seeing pictures of the work in process ;)!
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Amazing!!! This is indeed a piece of art!! Great craftsmanship!!! More pics please!!!
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WOW! That's amazing!!! :o :o :o
Can you tell us how you made the double sails?
I would love to emulate it in my ship. ;D
It doesn't look too hard...?
You kept the original sails, but added another sail (slightly smaller one) on top. Right? ???
But how? 8} 8} 8}
Really cool, I too cannot wait to see the finished version! :)
Modifying masts and rigging on Playmo ships is rather easy if you simply lash everything with string. No real fabrication needed.
For the topsails I originally purchased a second set of yard arms and lashed them to the poles above the tops, using the little loop hole near the flag as a fix point. Then I took a second set of 3286 sails and just trimmed the bottoms so the corners would meet up with the top yard arm of the main sail below it, and lashed the corner of the sail (you can use a clew or not) to the end of the yard arm. The topsail yard arms were then supported additionally by string extending from the ends up to the same loophole on the mast where the yard arm was lashed to in the middle. This added realism and gave the sail more support.
Sadly, though, this meant each mast of the 3268 now bared 3 playmo yard arms in stead of 2, and 2 playmo sails instead of 1, and the extra weight made the ship top-heavy, even with a ballast, and rendered her unstable even for a bathtub or pool. To counter this, I simply removed the extra yard arm at the topsail and just lashed the sail itself directly to the mast. Playmo sails are stiff, so they really didn't need the yard arm after all. This made her just BARELY stable. The Playmo sails are just too thick and heavy when it comes down to it. But for looks, as you can see, it's rather easy to do youself if you're not planning on sailing her. If you do want to sail the 3268 and still have top sails or even top gallant sails, you can keep the yard arms (or make your own) as long as you switch to a lighter cloth instead of the foam-ish playmosails. The 3050 ships, however CAN still sail with the added weight of an extra set of playmosails, so GO CRAZY and show us your mod!
As far as my updates, there are more pics to come. I'm still finishing up her stern as we speak. I've done a lot more work since I sailed her some weeks ago. Cutting cannon ports, mounting cannons, adding rails, making working anchors and capstan.... I'm still looking for a bell to use as the ship's bell....bigger than the little one that comes with the old 3050 ships....more like a small church bell, to be mounted on the quarter deck. Lots of cuts, lots of styrene, and even some casting and molding. So look forward to lots more work in progress pics soon :)
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Great work, Blackpearl2006 :wave:
3286's for $150! 8} 8} 8}
There was one still in my local toyshop for £40 :lol: (I should have got it but when I went back it had gone) :(
Damo :)
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Modifying masts and rigging on Playmo ships is rather easy if you simply lash everything with string. No real fabrication needed.
For the topsails I originally purchased a second set of yard arms and lashed them to the poles above the tops, using the little loop hole near the flag as a fix point. Then I took a second set of 3286 sails and just trimmed the bottoms so the corners would meet up with the top yard arm of the main sail below it, and lashed the corner of the sail (you can use a clew or not) to the end of the yard arm. The topsail yard arms were then supported additionally by string extending from the ends up to the same loophole on the mast where the yard arm was lashed to in the middle. This added realism and gave the sail more support.
Sadly, though, this meant each mast of the 3268 now bared 3 playmo yard arms in stead of 2, and 2 playmo sails instead of 1, and the extra weight made the ship top-heavy, even with a ballast, and rendered her unstable even for a bathtub or pool. To counter this, I simply removed the extra yard arm at the topsail and just lashed the sail itself directly to the mast. Playmo sails are stiff, so they really didn't need the yard arm after all. This made her just BARELY stable. The Playmo sails are just too thick and heavy when it comes down to it. But for looks, as you can see, it's rather easy to do youself if you're not planning on sailing her. If you do want to sail the 3268 and still have top sails or even top gallant sails, you can keep the yard arms (or make your own) as long as you switch to a lighter cloth instead of the foam-ish playmosails. The 3050 ships, however CAN still sail with the added weight of an extra set of playmosails, so GO CRAZY and show us your mod!
As far as my updates, there are more pics to come. I'm still finishing up her stern as we speak. I've done a lot more work since I sailed her some weeks ago. Cutting cannon ports, mounting cannons, adding rails, making working anchors and capstan.... I'm still looking for a bell to use as the ship's bell....bigger than the little one that comes with the old 3050 ships....more like a small church bell, to be mounted on the quarter deck. Lots of cuts, lots of styrene, and even some casting and molding. So look forward to lots more work in progress pics soon :)
Thanks sooo much!!!
This has given me SOOO many ideas!
And I have the perfect solution to the top heaviness
as I have several weights that I don't have any use for. :D
Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!
I can't wait to show you all my new ship soon! ;D
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Wow, BlackPearl2006 :)9
Can't wait to see her finished!
Double cool!
Jimbo
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All I want to do is ¡¡¡OPEN FIRE!!!
(I LOVE ships, I HATE Pirates.)
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Looking forward to the final result! :)
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We're still waiting... ;)
What? I am impatient when it comes to looking at GREAT customs!!! :lol:
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Great story, I like how the idea evolved!
I really like the incorporation of the different non-Playmobil parts!
Maybe Hadoque can post some pics of his Licorne in order to give you even more ideas!
Please go on and tell us more!
hauden_lukas
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Thanks sooo much!!!
This has given me SOOO many ideas!
And I have the perfect solution to the top heaviness
as I have several weights that I don't have any use for. :D
Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!
I can't wait to show you all my new ship soon! ;D
Just remember, though adding weights to the bottom can counter for top heaviness, it will also raise the waterline as the ship's centre of gravity (and the ship itself) shifts downward.
What ship are you trying to add topsails to? Good luck if it's the 3286 cuz it's a pain in the bum to get her to stay upright. Even on my 3050 which has topsails, I omitted the yard arms because she does list to the side with those heavy playmo topsails. Also , whether it's the 3050 style or 3286 ship you're modding, it also helps to move the ballast forward from stock position, as those ships tend to lean backward upon the stern since they have cute short tubby hulls (vs. long hulls that would negate the heavier weight of the aft castle at the stern.
I'm sorry I'm taking so long to upload more pics. I had uploaded some earlier pics onto my PC (Im on my laptop now) which crashed afterwards. I couldn't get the PC to even turn on (powere supply died) so I've been up all night gutting the PC tower and tried to install the hard drive on a spare tower I had laying around. Sadly the extra tower was running ancient Window 98 and wont recognize my somewhat newer harddrive. So now I have to wait til I can get a power supply to ressurect the dead computer tower, re-install the hard drive, and then pray that the files are still on there somehow. Otherwise I may have to skip those pics (they were pics of the rigging in progress as well as a paper mock-up of the 12 sails before I transferred the patterns onto cloth. ( grrrr
Oh, and I have seen the Licorne; in fact, MacGayver's site has been very inspirational since I first viewed it back in 2006. It's interesting, I only haven't made an extended hull because I never could afford to buy a second or third or fourth 3286 ship, and I was too lazy to use bondo to fil the gaps. However, I recently acquired a second 3286 ship off ebay for US$26 and have been pondering whether I should keep her stock, or somehow add her to the Pearl, not to extend her hull length, but to increase her hull depth, to make her more stable. We shall see.. MacGuyver's Dolphin is interesting because it not only is extended in length, but also by depth (as he piled 3 layers of 3286 ships on top of each other to create a muliptle-decked gunship.
Back in 2006 I had actually cut and pasted every picture I could find of custom Playmo ships by anyone (including Dead Eye Dick, Hadoque, and Macguyver) onto CD so I don't have to lose them in case their URLS expire. The Unicorne is among the ships I have for reference :)
By the by, I made this video of a Big Bertha Cannon taking out a 4662 One Eyed Pirate Klicky AND sinking the Flying Dutchman ship which I finally got to float upright using Playmobil Ballasts from both the 3286 AND 3050 ships! I'm excited!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSa0koImqOg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSa0koImqOg)
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Just remember, though adding weights to the bottom can counter for top heaviness, it will also raise the waterline as the ship's centre of gravity (and the ship itself) shifts downward.
What ship are you trying to add topsails to? Good luck if it's the 3286 cuz it's a pain in the bum to get her to stay upright. Even on my 3050 which has topsails, I omitted the yard arms because she does list to the side with those heavy playmo topsails. Also , whether it's the 3050 style or 3286 ship you're modding, it also helps to move the ballast forward from stock position, as those ships tend to lean backward upon the stern since they have cute short tubby hulls (vs. long hulls that would negate the heavier weight of the aft castle at the stern.
I'm sorry I'm taking so long to upload more pics. I had uploaded some earlier pics onto my PC (Im on my laptop now) which crashed afterwards. I couldn't get the PC to even turn on (powere supply died) so I've been up all night gutting the PC tower and tried to install the hard drive on a spare tower I had laying around. Sadly the extra tower was running ancient Window 98 and wont recognize my somewhat newer harddrive. So now I have to wait til I can get a power supply to ressurect the dead computer tower, re-install the hard drive, and then pray that the files are still on there somehow. Otherwise I may have to skip those pics (they were pics of the rigging in progress as well as a paper mock-up of the 12 sails before I transferred the patterns onto cloth. ( grrrr
Oh, and I have seen the Licorne; in fact, MacGayver's site has been very inspirational since I first viewed it back in 2006. It's interesting, I only haven't made an extended hull because I never could afford to buy a second or third or fourth 3286 ship, and I was too lazy to use bondo to fil the gaps. However, I recently acquired a second 3286 ship off ebay for US$26 and have been pondering whether I should keep her stock, or somehow add her to the Pearl, not to extend her hull length, but to increase her hull depth, to make her more stable. We shall see.. MacGuyver's Dolphin is interesting because it not only is extended in length, but also by depth (as he piled 3 layers of 3286 ships on top of each other to create a muliptle-decked gunship.
Back in 2006 I had actually cut and pasted every picture I could find of custom Playmo ships by anyone (including Dead Eye Dick, Hadoque, and Macguyver) onto CD so I don't have to lose them in case their URLS expire. The Unicorne is among the ships I have for reference :)
Yup,
The 3286 is exactly the one I am customizing... ;D
Iwill also put some syrofoam in it too,
to help keep it above the water line.
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This looks like a wonderful custom creation! :clap:
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SAILS & RIGGING
Well, I'm still waiting to resurrect some pics of the sails and rigging in-progress; until then, this will have to do (more pics of sails/rigging to follow once I get the computer working again):
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Sails_n_Rigging/DSCI1167.jpg)
After adding the bow and bowsprit mast from the Megabloks Pearl onto the 3286 ship, and adding a 3rd (mizzen) mast aft of the ship's wheel, the next thing I did was relocate the yard arms.
1. I kept the top yard arms on each mast where they were, but I raised the lower yard arm to serve as course sail yard arms, leaving the top yard arms to fly the top sails. Additionally I lashed a third yard arm made from thin wooden dowels on the topmasts (top gallant masts) to accommodate a 3rd set of sails (top gallant sails) on the foremast and main masts.
2. On the new mizzen mast I used a stock Playmobil main sail yard arm and turned it sideways to become the yard supporting an aft lateen sail, atop which I fashioned two more wooden dowell yard arms to fly a smaller square sail.
3. I modified the bowsprit to have attatchment points for standing rigging including lines to fly 2 jibb sails.
4. On all non-playmobil spars I used a dremel to taper the ends to a dull point, and carved notches in the wood to serve as attachment points when lashed to the masts.
5. Once I had the masts in place, I tooks some cordage and began working on the standing rigging only. I have a simplified layout for the rigging, though not as simple as stock Playmobil rigging, but not nearly as complex as genuine rigging. None of my lines are simply “for show,” however, with every single line being adjustable, and fully functional within the constraints of the toy and scale. This I am very proud of.
6. Once I got the standing rigging in place, I held up pieces of paper to the spars to measure and trace out attachment points for each and every point of all 12 sails.
7. Once the sail patterns were on paper, I cut them out, and test fitted the all 12 white paper sails onto the ship before transferring them over onto fabric to cut them out.
8. Transferring them to fabric involved using scotch tape to tape them to very thin, light, almost sheer black synthetic fabric, and then cutting the shape out with the paper pattern attached. This served both to ensure a proper shape, and to maintain the cloth in a rigid state as I cut.
9. In hindsight, I would have added one more step to this by outlining the fabric (before cutting) with cyanoacrylitic glue and laying down strips of cordage to the outlines, allowing it to dry before cutting out the shape. This would have added realism and also solved the problem of frayed sails later on. However, since this was the formerly haunted Black Pearl, I allowed the sails to first fray, THEN I added glue to the edges to arrest any possibility of further fraying. The result was a purposely-frayed look on a perfectly-intact sail that will not fray further.
10. Once the fabric was cut, I then lashed the fabric sails directly onto each yard (or in the case of a staysail, directly onto a stay line). I attached Playmobil clew attachment pieces to the corners of each staysail, including the foreward jibs, as well as the course and top sails of both the fore and main masts. The top gallants and the square sail on the mizzen were lashed directly to supporting lines from the sail directly below them.
11. Once the sails were attached, I began adding running rigging. Basically, for all the stay sails, I ran adjustable lines from the clews down to fastens on the hull, and for the square sails, I ran adjustable lines from the tip of each yard down to the hull. The topmasts, top gallant yards, and top sails yards of the fore and main masts were all braced by the mast aft of each respective mast, the mizzen braced only by the hull, but also braced forward to the main mast.
12. Finally, I was wondering what to do with the sheets…… I was debating on even doing much rigging at all in the first place, because I couldn’t decide if I wanted this to be the “Haunted” Black Pearl with torn sails that just fly eerily through the air with virtually no (or useless) rigging, or should it be the post-haunted “mortal” Black Pearl as seen in the second and third movies that operated as a standard mortal ship would (with rigging and such). Finally, I decided I wanted a fully-functional ship, so I decided to give the sails the ability to be furled and stowed for times when they had to batten down the hatches and hold fast through un-navigable storms, or when they were docked at port (or in the case I wanted to turn her into an RC ship with a propeller and wanted to run her without sails deployed.
13. SO……. I began rigging the sails with working winches and pulleys (Playmobil parts) so that you could actually hoist the jibs and stays, and you could furl or unfurl all the square sails as well!
14. The running rigging is ALMOST slave-rigged, that is, when you adjust one side of each sail, the opposite side will adjust accordingly, and all lines meet in the middle below deck. All that’s missing is an actuator (I plan to go with Futaba) to be able to remotely adjust the sails in the wind simultaneously. For now, you can either adjust the sails at the spars, or you can move the lines below deck in lieu of an actuator servo.
That’s all for now on sails and rigging until I recover my pics of that stage from my other comp. Until then, I will give you some pics of some custom decking.....
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CUSTOM DECKING
The 3286 has fine lines and is a beautiful ship. That being said, it does have a few aesthetic (and functional) shortcomings that, with some imagination (which Playmobil is very good at inspiring), can be overcome.
First and far-most, my biggest pet peeve of the 3286 is the huge gaping HOLE on the foredeck. I assume Playmobil put that opening there to allow access to the forward cannons on the lower gundeck. Sadly, not only is this gaping hole visually unappealing, but due to the curved nature of the deck, crew members tended to slide and fall into the hole. This was so annoying to me. Additionally, the hole was completely useless, save for being able to put your hands in there to access the forward guns. You couldn’t really stow anything in there, and it didn’t even come with a grate cover, so no Klickies can even stand anywhere on the foredeck without falling in. Basically, the bow of the ship was just there for looks, and had no function whatsoever.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/hole.jpg)
(btw, this is a cropped pic of Macgayver’s Unicorn; I was too lazy to take a pic myself so I just borrowed his :D)
When I first transplanted the forecastle of the Megabloks Pearl, this did not really solve the problem. All it did was add a non-functioning forecastle for looks, and it didn’t even cover up the hole in the stock deck (which was still there). Furthermore, the “deck” of the forecastle was “lego-fied” with all the little lego/megabloks brick pegs everywhere. The mast mounts from the Megablocks masts were still on the forecastle as well, so my Klickies couldn’t even stand on the forecastle, let alone the foredeck where there was still a huge gaping hole.
SO….. I took some sheet styrene with planked wood grooves already in it, and cut them to shape to form an actual forecastle deck and a foredeck (cover) for that hole on the main deck.
Here were the pieces pre-installation:
Cover/Decking for the 3286 hole (topside with wire loop for handling):
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0966.jpg)
bottom side (two-layer, custom fit for are at foremast’s base):
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0967.jpg)
Lego Decking replaced with styrene decking on the forecastle:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0965.jpg)
And the results (before paint):
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0921.jpg)
New Forecastle Decking (replacing the lego deck):
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0924.jpg)
And last but not least, the new foredecking in place to cover up that ugly hole Playmobil gave us:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0922.jpg)
(note, the foredeck cover can be removed and replaced to still gain access to the forward guns on the main deck. Not only can Klickies stand there now without falling in, but now you can mount cannons on the main deck on the forward section!
Cannon pics and mods to come next…..
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GUNPORTS on the MAIN DECK!
It’s totally awesome that the 3286 can accommodate no less than 8 guns on its gun deck! But why stop there?
I started off by “adding” six extra guns to the main deck by simply placing them on deck. However, it felt “fake,” as in, yes, they were there on deck, but they didn’t seem to truly belong there. Firstly, they kept sliding around (unlike the cannons on the gun deck that snapped into place). Secondly, there was actually only really room for 4 cannons on the main deck, since the forward portion of the deck had a hole in it. Thirdly, the sides of the ship were higher than the lowest part of the cannon barrel, and the cannons were relegated to a limited arch of about 30 degrees without the ability to point straight forward.
SO……
1. To make use of all available (and potential) deck space, as seen in the previous post, I made that cover for the hole in the foredeck. This expanded the main deck cannon capacity from 4 to 6, easily.
2. To accommodate the cannons and to give them actual “spots” to rest in, as well as the ability to point straight forward, I cut port slots into the sides of the main deck hull. J
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0927.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0926.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0920.jpg)
3. Lastly, to make the cannons feel like they truly belonged there, and to keep them from sliding around, I drilled holes into the deck at each cannon port and inserted posts (using cut-off standard Playmobil cannon ramrods) into the holes so that the cannons could snap into place just like on the lower gun deck! (I can’t find my pics of the pegs for some reason L but here are all six cannons mounted with the additional forward deck supporting the forward guns, all cannons snapped onto the pegs, and pointing straight forward through the new cannon port slots:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0974.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0994.jpg)
So now, the 3286 has gone from carrying an 8-gun defense to being a 14-gun warship! I actually plan on adding 6 more cannons (3 on each side): one at the base of the forward shrouds on each side, and two at the base of the main mast shrouds on both sides, both on the main deck and the lower gun deck, which will bring her to a full-on 20-gun ship!
Up next…..Custom Cannons paint scheme!….
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Custom Cannon Paint
Well, I couldn’t very well have a Black Pearl ship sporting bright yellowish GOLD playmobil cannons, and I didn’t currently have access to the newer grey playmo cannons (which still seemed somewhat lacking, to me, somehow) so I decided to paint my 14 cannons myself.
The cannons in the movie are actually black. But even in a behind-the-scenes commentary I watched somewhere, Gore Verbinski ( original director of the first 3 Pirates of the Caribbean movies) said they couldn’t paint the entire ship simply black, because it had to have some variance to make it visually interesting and “alive.” Even more true is that aspect when dealing with a smaller scale toy. Simply painting everything black would not only be boring and monochrome, but it would also make all the details get lost in a sea of black. As it is, I have trouble photographing the Black Pearl because she absorbs so much light; on film she just looks like a big black shadow.
I thought about going with a gun metal grey, or some version of grey, to keep in line with the original black cannons on the movie, but give it some added dimension.
However, I decided, as this is not the haunted version of the Black Pearl, to give this a little “warmer” treatment in colour.
SO, I mixed my own colour for the cannons, combining a mixture of metal copper, flat black, and metallic red to give it that extra life that the boring earthtones couldn’t accomplish on their own.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_paintjob/DSCI1008.jpg)
I hand brushed each cannon separately….
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_paintjob/DSCI1011.jpg)
Afterwards, I took the cannons outside and gloss-coated them to give them that metallic shine……
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_paintjob/DSCI1013.jpg)
but then I weathered them with flat black spray as well as intentional overspray of clearcoat which would give them a smoke-stained look at the tips. I did each cannon separately so no two cannons would be exactly alike, giving each one its own unique character and sense of use.
For the cannons from the lower gun deck, I embellished the black powder stains as they don’t tend to have free-flowing air below-deck, causing the gun powder in the air to settle on them more than the free-air breathing guns topside.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_paintjob/DSCI1014.jpg)
Then, to make the gun tips shine a bit as they emerge from the black hull, I christened them with a dab of pure copper around the rim.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_paintjob/DSCI1017.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_paintjob/DSCI1019.jpg)
And here’s a view of the topside guns from the quarterdeck:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_paintjob/DSCI1028.jpg)
It’s interesting how without flash they appear glossy and sleek, but with flash the light shines through the glosscoat and highlights the dry-looking weathering. In reality it actually looks closer to glossy than weathered for some reason. I love how the metallic flavours from the different paints naturally highlight the joining rimmed portions of the muzzle. I’m very happy with these cannons. However, I am considering replacing them entirely with the grey cannons (which I will repaint again) so that I can rig the cannons to all fire their projectile “cannonballs” simultaneously with the pull of a string. As it is, the cannons I have are not the spring-loaded kind, nor the kind that launch projectile missile cannon balls.
Up Next: Highly-ornamented and Decorated Stern!
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CUSTOM DECKING
The 3286 has fine lines and is a beautiful ship. That being said, it does have a few aesthetic (and functional) shortcomings that, with some imagination (which Playmobil is very good at inspiring), can be overcome.
First and far-most, my biggest pet peeve of the 3286 is the huge gaping HOLE on the foredeck. I assume Playmobil put that opening there to allow access to the forward cannons on the lower gundeck. Sadly, not only is this gaping hole visually unappealing, but due to the curved nature of the deck, crew members tended to slide and fall into the hole. This was so annoying to me. Additionally, the hole was completely useless, save for being able to put your hands in there to access the forward guns. You couldn’t really stow anything in there, and it didn’t even come with a grate cover, so no Klickies can even stand anywhere on the foredeck without falling in. Basically, the bow of the ship was just there for looks, and had no function whatsoever.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/hole.jpg)
(btw, this is a cropped pic of Macgayver’s Unicorn; I was too lazy to take a pic myself so I just borrowed his :D)
When I first transplanted the forecastle of the Megabloks Pearl, this did not really solve the problem. All it did was add a non-functioning forecastle for looks, and it didn’t even cover up the hole in the stock deck (which was still there). Furthermore, the “deck” of the forecastle was “lego-fied” with all the little lego/megabloks brick pegs everywhere. The mast mounts from the Megablocks masts were still on the forecastle as well, so my Klickies couldn’t even stand on the forecastle, let alone the foredeck where there was still a huge gaping hole.
SO….. I took some sheet styrene with planked wood grooves already in it, and cut them to shape to form an actual forecastle deck and a foredeck (cover) for that hole on the main deck.
Here were the pieces pre-installation:
Cover/Decking for the 3286 hole (topside with wire loop for handling):
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0966.jpg)
bottom side (two-layer, custom fit for are at foremast’s base):
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0967.jpg)
Lego Decking replaced with styrene decking on the forecastle:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0965.jpg)
And the results (before paint):
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0921.jpg)
New Forecastle Decking (replacing the lego deck):
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0924.jpg)
And last but not least, the new foredecking in place to cover up that ugly hole Playmobil gave us:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Decks_n_Ports/DSCI0922.jpg)
(note, the foredeck cover can be removed and replaced to still gain access to the forward guns on the main deck. Not only can Klickies stand there now without falling in, but now you can mount cannons on the main deck on the forward section!
Cannon pics and mods to come next…..
YESSS!!! THANK YOU!
SOMEONE REALIZED THE MAJOR FLAW OF THAT SHIP!!!
I have been debating for the longest time how I would get rid of that hole...
Unfortunately I don't have tie to read you whole posts right now,
But all in good time, I am so excited to!!! ;D ;D ;D
I also love your idea for additional cannons on the main deck,
Simple, but excellent. :) :) :)
Thanks sooo much! ;D
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¿Have you considered replacing the spars (part #3Ø 61 435Ø) for the spar (part #3Ø 28 578Ø) (http://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showpart.pl?partnum=30 28 5780) from Cannon Boat (set #4444) (http://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=4444&pics=on)? I did that with my Flying Dutchman (Ghost Pirate Ship, set #48Ø6), made my own (sub-standard) sails, and as soon as I get around to it I’m going to draw in a jolly roger and blacken in the entire sail (except the skull and crossbones).
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She is coming along mighty good, BlackPearl2006! :clap: :clap:
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¿Have you considered replacing the spars (part #3Ø 61 435Ø) for the spar (part #3Ø 28 578Ø) (http://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showpart.pl?partnum=30 28 5780) from Cannon Boat (set #4444) (http://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=4444&pics=on)? I did that with my Flying Dutchman (Ghost Pirate Ship, set #48Ø6), made my own (sub-standard) sails, and as soon as I get around to it I’m going to draw in a jolly roger and blacken in the entire sail (except the skull and crossbones).
Do you mean for the aft lateen sail? Actually, I did purchase the 4444 SPECIFICALLY for the lateen sail, but when I opened the box I really didn't expect the boat nor the sail/spar to be so HUGE.... too big, IMO, for my purposes. So I just gave the gunship to my son..... but that was before I realized it was a gunship, so now I want another so I can add 2 more cannons to give it one at the bow, and one on each port and starboard. And get rid of that horrid sail.
If I end up making a trimaster ala the Unicorn, then I might use the 4444 spar for the lateen. I also considered using the 4444 spar for the main sail yard, but, without extending the topmasts (which I didn't), it just looks too wide (though, in reality, it is actually more in proportion to the hull width, as a real tallship course sail yard would typically be wider than the hull, as is the 4444 yard.
So, yeah, you and me were thinking the same thing with that spar. It just didn't fit the look this time 'round.....maybe for my next wish: custom Victory.
Oh, I totally forgot to ask you about your custom ghost ship: PICS PLEASE!!!! So far MacGayver's UN-Ghostified Ghost ship custom is the only custom of that ship I've seen so far.
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this a true saga bp2006. :o
i wish you all the best in this adventure. :)
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Hiya Black Pearl,
Could you take the measurements of the piece you fit into the hole for me?
I would love to copy it,
And was hoping to do so without taking my ship apart.
If you cant, that's fine. :)
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Hiya Black Pearl,
Could you take the measurements of the piece you fit into the hole for me?
I would love to copy it,
And was hoping to do so without taking my ship apart.
If you cant, that's fine. :)
i can scan it at 100% and email it to ya or post it, then you can just print it out and trace it onto styrene. i have to make a new one for my 2nd 3286 anyway :) would that work?
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i can scan it at 100% and email it to ya or post it, then you can just print it out and trace it onto styrene. i have to make a new one for my 2nd 3286 anyway :) would that work?
Ohmigawd! Thanks! :o
That would be BEYOND helpful! :)
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Decorated Stern
The 3286 actually has a pretty nice looking stern, but it’s not accurate to the Black Pearl’s uniquely-ornamented stern of course. I thought about sculpting my own relief for the stern ornaments, but I ended up taking a liking to the pre-sculpted relief seen here on the stern of the Ultimate Black Pearl Playset from Zizzle (plus it would be less work for me):
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1044.jpg)
The Ultimate Black Pearl by Zizzle can cost upwards of US$100-$200 on ebay, and while I would never pay that much for one, I wasn’t too crazy about hacking up my Zizzle Pearl JUST for the stern relief.
SO…..I decided to make a mould of the relief by applying hot glue-gun glue directly to the Zizzle relief with the intention of peeling it off after it cured and using it as a mould to fill with plaster of paris.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1045.jpg)
HOWEVER, lol, I underestimated just how well the glue would adhere to the highly-textured plastic, and it WOULD NOT COME OFF in one piece at first! I ended up having to “chisel” it off in pieces and it took a lot of effort to peel the remnants of the glue out from in between the relief grooves L. For all that was said and done, I didn’t produce a useable mould.
Once I had it all cleaned up, I decided to try it again. THIS time, though, I sprayed PAM (non-stick cooking oil spray) onto the relief FIRST and then applied the glue. This time was a success, and I was able to peel the negative glue mould off without any trouble (and my ship had the very wholesome odor of buttered toast afterwards, lol):
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1046.jpg)
After washing off the mould, I kneaded some modeling clay (instead of plaster of paris) and used a rolling pin (covered with wax paper) to roll some modeling clay flat and thin. Then I simply took the mould, face-down, and pressed it into the clay using my full weight (on my palms), making sure to squeeze out excess clay. This was the result:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1049.jpg)
And after giving it a base coat of flat black, I glued it to the hull of the 3286 stern and painted it a sort of metallic grayish gunmetal silver (custom-mixed paint) and this was the result:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1152.jpg)
Next: Stern Castle Edifice!
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Amazing work Black Pearl! :o
It looks great! :)
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This is fantastic :(o): I love the way you made the mould for the stern, it looks great. :love:
The cannons too look very realistic painted as they are. :clap: :wow: :clap:
Elaine (http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/mgqueen.gif)
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Do you mean for the aft lateen sail? Actually, I did purchase the 4444 SPECIFICALLY for the lateen sail, but when I opened the box I really didn't expect the boat nor the sail/spar to be so HUGE.... too big, IMO, for my purposes. So I just gave the gunship to my son..... but that was before I realized it was a gunship, so now I want another so I can add 2 more cannons to give it one at the bow, and one on each port and starboard. And get rid of that horrid sail.
Actually, I kept the sail (but rebuilt it) for R/C DISPATCH (http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=5479.0) and added 02 guns (like you describe, the bow gun being a lighter field artillery barrel, rather than a heavy ship‘s gun).
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This is such an amazing and skillfll work!!! Very well done indeed!!!! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
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THE STERN CASTLE
As I’ve mentioned, the Black Pearl has a very unique stern castle. I’ve covered the ornamented relief on the top backing of the stern. Now on to the stern castle itself. Originally I was going to scratchbuild the edifice out of sheet styrene. But the more I kept looking at the Ultimate Black Pearl from Zizzle, the more I kept wondering if I could somehow transplant the sterncastle of the Zizzle ship to our Playmobil ship.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/potc_zizbp01.jpg)
A few problems presented themselves. The whole reason I made a copy mould of the stern relief was to avoid cutting up my Zizzle ship. Using the stern castle would completely defeat that purpose. Secondly, the Zizzle ship’s stern castle was actually WAY too big, or at least way too tall. Thirdly, it seemed it would be difficult to somehow get it to fit the contour of the very angular Playmobil stern. Lastly, the Zizzle plastic is very heavy, and I was worried how it would affect the 3286’s stability once mounted.
In the end I decided to go ahead and hack up the ships to do a kitbash. First, the 3286 lost its stock windows to make room for the new stern gallery:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1082.jpg)
Then I hacked the stern castle off of the Zizzle ship, after which I had to use a lot of trial and error to cut it down to size to fit the 3286, including having to add more styrene to fill the tricky parts near the roofline. I had to fashion additional decking for the bottom of the protruding gallery as well:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1074.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1075.jpg)
The windows, like the 3286 windows, lacked actual window panes, so I cut some out of transparent plastic to fit, and glued them in place using waterproof silicon window sealant:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1072.jpg)
I wanted the windows to be opaque, so I spray painted the backs of the panes lightly with flat black, but not enough to completely block out the light. Additionally, I planned to add interior lighting, so I added thin white styrene to the windows to act as light diffusers:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1113.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1069.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1108.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1148.jpg)
Test Fit:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1080.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1079.jpg)
Oh, and after I got it all fit the way I want, I took it back apart to give it a coat of flat black paint, and did a light coat on the roofing to give it an aged/worn look (you can still see the gold on it, but muted). The real Black Pearl ship has more carvings on the stern gallery, but, I admit, I was too lazy to sculpt new ornaments, so I just painted the ornaments on by hand. Kinda sloppy, but I was really tired by then. I might redo it later (or not) :p
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Stern_Castle/DSCI1149.jpg)
I still have yet to add the stern castle sprites (12 gallery supports sculpted in the shape of bare-breasted mermaids holding the gallery portion up with their arms--- it’s amazing how much sculpted detail went into the real Black Pearl in the movie that we don’t even really notice because the film edits are too quick for our eyes to catch all the subtle nuances and details). I’ll post pics when that’s done.
Next up: Aft deck & Quarter Deck Mods…
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OHHHH! :o :o :o :omg:
Amazing!
That is just too cool! :omg: :omg: :omg:
Great job on your latest addition.
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I really appluad the effort you are putting into this. It's an amazing piece of work and I can't wait for the next installment.
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.....maybe for my next wish: custom Victory.
A custom Victory 8} That would be a sight to behold!
I am very impressed with the Black Pearl! What an inspiration. :hatoff:
Jimbo
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Haven't commented on this thread yet. Guess I was breathless. Absolutely great work!
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Thanks for all the compliments, all. Actually I've got more work done, but just haven't uploaded the pics just yet. The Pearl is sort of in limbo land now, as I don't feel I can do anything further to it only to have to take it apart again for the very thing that's holding this project up:
gizmos.
This is to be an RC ship, with RC rudder and sails, as well as a back-up motor. I ordered some gizmos off of ebay, but the seller turned out to be a scammer (and is now no longer registered) and never delivered my products (along with all his other customers being left empty-handed).
So, I am waiting for new gizmos (rudder and sail servo, radio control, and a motor/prop.) I don't want to seal up the ship, only to have to gut it again (the most annoying part is the rigging). So she's kinda just sitting there all taken apart lookin at me like "fix me!"
I've already installed lighting (wiring was pretty tedious), and I just bought 6 ghost pirate crew members to crew her finally today. :) I'll update with the pics of the quarter and poop deck mods and lighting soon though (just haven't gotten them uploaded yet).
Believe it or not, during this project I have acquired 2 more 3286 bodies and have seriously been thinking about hacking up the Black Pearl and splicing her with the other hulls, but I've decided to keep her as is and maybe make a Black Pearl II later on from several hulls ala the Unicorn. MAYBE.
The custom Victory I have in mind, however, is most likely going to be made from the remains of my Zizzle Ultimate Black Pearl, but will feature a klicky crew/accessories. We'll see how that goes.... :)
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:-[ like ali baba i have trouble in finding words to describe my amazement with your work bp2006.
:love: it is simply fantastic.
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thanks cachalote and ali baba for your kind words :D
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A custom Victory 8} That would be a sight to behold!
I am very impressed with the Black Pearl! What an inspiration. :hatoff:
Jimbo
I am hoping to finish the Pearl soon so I can begin the Victory :D
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This is fantastic :(o): I love the way you made the mould for the stern, it looks great. :love:
The cannons too look very realistic painted as they are. :clap: :wow: :clap:
Elaine (http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/mgqueen.gif)
I find mould making very fun. I was thinking of making moulds for the victorian fence as well (for the pillars) so expanding a fence line will have more possibilities. I wish to also reproduce bow crests for the 3286/2490 as I seem to see a lot of those ships missing that part.
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Actually, I kept the sail (but rebuilt it) for R/C DISPATCH (http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=5479.0) and added 02 guns (like you describe, the bow gun being a lighter field artillery barrel, rather than a heavy ship‘s gun).
Andy, I love your custom gunship as well! I wonder where I might find lighter field artillery barrels like yours that I might add as rail cannons on-deck of my pirate ships. What set is it from again?
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sorry taking so long for updates. been really busy with stuff. more to come soon.
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LIGHTING
Ok, here are some pics of the lighting installation. It was quite tedious. As it was recently Halloween, I picked up a pack of mini Halloween LED lights. The lights are battery operated with a candle life of over 10,000 hours per light, and can last with the battery continuously on for several days without having to change the batteries. The lights came prewired to a battery box and features a switch that has 3 positions: 1)on, 2)off, and 3)alternating blinking pattern. The blinking pattern makes every other light turn off while the corresponding every even light turns on, and then vice versa. A cool feature, but not really practical unless the pirates are throwing a disco party, lol.
A few challenges presented itself, including finding a spot for the battery compartment accesss, installing the stern lanterns, and drilling holes to string the wiring throughout the ship. The most tedious of tasks was to strip, splice, and solder the wires together in such a tiny space with all the rigging and masts in the way. In hindsight I would have installed the wiring before doing the rigging.
First step was to install the mounts for the stern lanterns. This involved drilling out the existing peg holes at the stern of the ship so that they would be big enough to accept brass metal rods used to mount the lanterns. The lanterns are from the MegaBloks Black Pearl ship parts. I also had to drill out the lantern posts to accept the same brass rods. The final mount is very sturdy:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Lighting/lts1.jpg)
Next, I had to drill tiny holes in the stern for the wires to go through:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Lighting/lts2.jpg)
Here you can see one of the LED lights test-mounted inside the lantern, and the wires pulled through the hollow brass tube and through the hole drilled in the stern:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Lighting/lts3.jpg)
Top view of LED light mounted:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Lighting/lts4.jpg)
Now to strip these tiny wires. Much finesse has to be exercised when stripping such small wires so not as to stretch the copper and cause internal breaks within the wire that are hard to detect beneath the insulation and can cause fraying and/or bad connections. Must take your time and do it right, because it is very difficult to take it all apart again later if one of your lights goes out due to poor wiring technique:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Lighting/lts5.jpg)
All three lanterns done. (you can see my other ship and my Audrey Hepburn portrait in the background :D
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Lighting/lts6.jpg)
THE CAPTAIN’S CABIN: The captain’s cabin windows are smoked as I wanted there to be the appearance of light filtering through the windows. I added additional lighting in the cabin by placing LED lights along the perimiter of the cabin gallery windows as well:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Lighting/lts7.jpg)
There is lighting installed throughout the rest of the ship on the main deck (the real Black Pearl features torches on deck). All of the lights, including the stern lanterns, the captain’s cabin, and the on-deck torches are all inter-connected (each light is connected to 3 wires leading to the other lights.) I had to disassemble the entire hull (which was a bloody mess) and drill holes to wire the lights through. (http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Lighting/lts9.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Lighting/lts91.jpg)
For proper connections, the spliced wires were painstakingly soldered together with a soldering iron by hand. Very tight squeeze with all the masts and rigging in the way. Again, in hindsight, I would have done the wiring beforehand next time.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Lighting/lts95.jpg)
Here is the mess of wires as neat as I could get them after wiring the stern lanterns. They wires go through from the outer wall onto the poopdeck. An ugly mess.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Lighting/lts92.jpg)
To clean this mess up a bit, I fashioned a custom panel made from sheet styrene to cover up the exposed wires. Here it is being test-fit before painting:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Lighting/lts93.jpg)
Lastly, I was very happy to find a very convenient place to house the battery compartment: the forcastle galley! The forcastle was mainly there for looks, initially, and I was sort of disappointed that it served no other purpose until I realized that the space inside the forecastle was EXACTLY the right size for the battery pack! So here it fits as if the universe meant it to be! :D
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Lighting/lts94.jpg)
And finally, without giving away the whole picture, a test of the lights before assembling it all together completely. They work!: (http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Lighting/lts96.jpg)
Very happy with mine lights so far.
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Very nice.:D
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Brilliant! :o
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Any new pics to show us BP? :toot: ;)
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Wow. This is neat. how did it turn out?
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It looks awesome. I bet it looks great at night all lit up :love:
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Yeah, show us some more pics of the finished ship at night and day !!! looks superb !!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Really awesome custom ship! :love:
I want to see more pics too!
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I've not done any work to the ship still in drydock :(. Need to finish up the stern gallery pediments (mermaids), the mizzen masts' shrouds, and still have to add 6 more cannons to make her a real-floating 20-gun playmoship (right now she only has 14).
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Hi Atto! We've missed you!
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Nice work that you've in process. I hope too see more from you and your amazing ship custom.
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I am totally fascinated with your work on the Black Pearl. I am fussing with a couple of ships that are not based on any real ship, but I am still stuck on trying to get the paint to stick to the hull. I need to find more info on painting plastics and so forth... and what sort of epoxy stuff to use for adding on and building up... I want to add a few tiny features---like a mast head etc. Any way, your work has helped me not give up the projects. :)
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I am totally fascinated with your work on the Black Pearl. I am fussing with a couple of ships that are not based on any real ship, but I am still stuck on trying to get the paint to stick to the hull. I need to find more info on painting plastics and so forth... and what sort of epoxy stuff to use for adding on and building up... I want to add a few tiny features---like a mast head etc. Any way, your work has helped me not give up the projects. :)
Since I really sail my ship in real waters, I use tough autobody paint. I haven't investigated marine vessel paints though, which I imagine would be even more suitable. I actually use low-temperature hot glue (gun) for affixing parts to playmobil plastic. Thick plastic (like the hull) can withstand high temp glue, but thinner plastics can melt sometimes. I use the glue because it's more like a mold-filler than a true adhesive, and can be peeled away if you want to remove/change your added part. For epoxied items, use two-part clear epoxy (or black). It's messy, and once it dries it is pretty much solid like a rock. Be careful with it.
Regardless of paint choice, it's often best to do several thin layers of paint, letting it dry in between layers. Give it plenty of time to dry and cure. Flat paints dry fairly quickly, but enamels can actually take weeks to fully cure (but once they do, they are nice and shiny and pretty hard to crack). For ships, I would stay away from acrylics, which wouldn't do too well in water or rough handling on dry land.
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I love the lights with their mysterious orange glow :love:
Karim :)
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SAILS & RIGGING
Well, I'm still waiting to resurrect some pics of the sails and rigging in-progress; until then, this will have to do (more pics of sails/rigging to follow once I get the computer working again):
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Sails_n_Rigging/DSCI1167.jpg)
After adding the bow and bowsprit mast from the Megabloks Pearl onto the 3286 ship, and adding a 3rd (mizzen) mast aft of the ship's wheel, the next thing I did was relocate the yard arms.
1. I kept the top yard arms on each mast where they were, but I raised the lower yard arm to serve as course sail yard arms, leaving the top yard arms to fly the top sails. Additionally I lashed a third yard arm made from thin wooden dowels on the topmasts (top gallant masts) to accommodate a 3rd set of sails (top gallant sails) on the foremast and main masts.
2. On the new mizzen mast I used a stock Playmobil main sail yard arm and turned it sideways to become the yard supporting an aft lateen sail, atop which I fashioned two more wooden dowell yard arms to fly a smaller square sail.
3. I modified the bowsprit to have attatchment points for standing rigging including lines to fly 2 jibb sails.
4. On all non-playmobil spars I used a dremel to taper the ends to a dull point, and carved notches in the wood to serve as attachment points when lashed to the masts.
5. Once I had the masts in place, I tooks some cordage and began working on the standing rigging only. I have a simplified layout for the rigging, though not as simple as stock Playmobil rigging, but not nearly as complex as genuine rigging. None of my lines are simply “for show,” however, with every single line being adjustable, and fully functional within the constraints of the toy and scale. This I am very proud of.
6. Once I got the standing rigging in place, I held up pieces of paper to the spars to measure and trace out attachment points for each and every point of all 12 sails.
7. Once the sail patterns were on paper, I cut them out, and test fitted the all 12 white paper sails onto the ship before transferring them over onto fabric to cut them out.
8. Transferring them to fabric involved using scotch tape to tape them to very thin, light, almost sheer black synthetic fabric, and then cutting the shape out with the paper pattern attached. This served both to ensure a proper shape, and to maintain the cloth in a rigid state as I cut.
9. In hindsight, I would have added one more step to this by outlining the fabric (before cutting) with cyanoacrylitic glue and laying down strips of cordage to the outlines, allowing it to dry before cutting out the shape. This would have added realism and also solved the problem of frayed sails later on. However, since this was the formerly haunted Black Pearl, I allowed the sails to first fray, THEN I added glue to the edges to arrest any possibility of further fraying. The result was a purposely-frayed look on a perfectly-intact sail that will not fray further.
10. Once the fabric was cut, I then lashed the fabric sails directly onto each yard (or in the case of a staysail, directly onto a stay line). I attached Playmobil clew attachment pieces to the corners of each staysail, including the foreward jibs, as well as the course and top sails of both the fore and main masts. The top gallants and the square sail on the mizzen were lashed directly to supporting lines from the sail directly below them.
11. Once the sails were attached, I began adding running rigging. Basically, for all the stay sails, I ran adjustable lines from the clews down to fastens on the hull, and for the square sails, I ran adjustable lines from the tip of each yard down to the hull. The topmasts, top gallant yards, and top sails yards of the fore and main masts were all braced by the mast aft of each respective mast, the mizzen braced only by the hull, but also braced forward to the main mast.
12. Finally, I was wondering what to do with the sheets…… I was debating on even doing much rigging at all in the first place, because I couldn’t decide if I wanted this to be the “Haunted” Black Pearl with torn sails that just fly eerily through the air with virtually no (or useless) rigging, or should it be the post-haunted “mortal” Black Pearl as seen in the second and third movies that operated as a standard mortal ship would (with rigging and such). Finally, I decided I wanted a fully-functional ship, so I decided to give the sails the ability to be furled and stowed for times when they had to batten down the hatches and hold fast through un-navigable storms, or when they were docked at port (or in the case I wanted to turn her into an RC ship with a propeller and wanted to run her without sails deployed.
13. SO……. I began rigging the sails with working winches and pulleys (Playmobil parts) so that you could actually hoist the jibs and stays, and you could furl or unfurl all the square sails as well!
14. The running rigging is ALMOST slave-rigged, that is, when you adjust one side of each sail, the opposite side will adjust accordingly, and all lines meet in the middle below deck. All that’s missing is an actuator (I plan to go with Futaba) to be able to remotely adjust the sails in the wind simultaneously. For now, you can either adjust the sails at the spars, or you can move the lines below deck in lieu of an actuator servo.
That’s all for now on sails and rigging until I recover my pics of that stage from my other comp. Until then, I will give you some pics of some custom decking.....
I finally FOUND the lost pics of the sail patterns and rigging in progress! Kinda interesting with white sails... sorta makes me want to make a different version of the Black Pearl before it became cursed (formerly known as "The Wicked Wench," of the East India Trading Company"). I'll let the pictures do the talking:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Sails_n_Rigging/IMG_2512.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Sails_n_Rigging/IMG_2514.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Sails_n_Rigging/IMG_2513.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Sails_n_Rigging/IMG_2517.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Sails_n_Rigging/IMG_2523.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Sails_n_Rigging/IMG_2524.jpg)
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This is fascinating :love:
Karim :)
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Truly amazing! O.O :wow: :wow: :wow:
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Superb!!!! :clap: :clap: :clap:
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Ok folks, sorry for so long since I updated. Been busy with "life."
Anyhoo, what I've done lately is:
1. Cut 6 more cannon ports, bringing the Black Pearl's current 14-gun battery up to 20 guns! (though I need 4 more actual cannons).
2. Made some custom-fit styrofoam inserts that fill the entire hull for use on rough waters to prevent capsizing and sinking. The main problem with the 3286 in its stock form, even with the stock ballast attached, is that it is highly unstable. Any addition of crew or cannon beyond the stripped-down hull by itself will cause the ship to pitch, and then take on water at the gunports, which fills the hull with water and causes the ship to capsize or sink.
What's the point of having a ship that floats only when there is no crew or armament on board? An unmanned ghost ship????? o_O
So, with added ballast (which also employs the use of water as ballast in the case of rough waters/ high waves),
(this is an older pic before the extra gunports and stern gallery were added)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/DSCI0980.jpg)and styrofoam inserts, the ship can now take on a full crew and compliment, cargo, longboat, treasure, 20 cannons, (or 6 real cannons and 14 faux cannons),
(old pic not showing updated features yet)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/DSCI0975.jpg)
the added mizzen mast, 3-tiers of sails, extra weight of the forecastle at the bow, and added weight of the stern gallery (really heavy plastic), as well as a heavy battery pack for powering the lights (not shown in the video yet).
All together with the crew, cannons, and extra ballast, this ship weighs in at 10 pounds! (about 4.5 Kilos!) And it STILL FLOATS with a waterline below the gunports! (not counting waves).
(old pic not showing updated features yet)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/DSCI0974.jpg)
I am truly happy with this float test, as it took many hours of experimenting with weight, foam, crew/cargo compliment/placement, and crouching uncomfortably by the bathtub!
Here is the link to the Float Test Video (note, the ship is not fully assembled for rigging/sails/parts...just enough for the test):
.......................... http://youtu.be/x0yU9e_00Ro (http://youtu.be/x0yU9e_00Ro)
Current Pic of Ship Work in Progress:
You can see a new redesigned keel to match the contours of the new bow. The bow/forecastle feature weathered planks in contrast to the stock 3286 hull which does not use weathered planks. I have yet to score the rest of the playmobil hull to match. I intend to (and then I'll have to repaint again) just to give the whole hull a very weathered ghost piratey ship look. I only painted black preliminarily so I can envision this as the Pearl the whole time. There are many cut and drilled parts that have since lost their painted surface. So I'll have to repaint in the end.
You can see the extra gunports, though the cannons are not installed. For pool or living room use, the original gundeck has been modified to accommodate 12 cannons if you want to play below deck still. For use on the high seas and rough waters, the gundeck is removed and replaced with styrofoam inserts that prevent water from filling the hull. In this case, Faux cannons are used in place of real cannons, just for looks. I know it might bug some of you that they aren't real cannons, but without a gundeck to house the real cannons, I had to come up with something so it would still be armed. It won't make much practical difference anyway because the ship will be sailing in the water away from your ability to actually play with the below-deck features.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/DSCI0094.jpg)
I have a lot of work to do still on this ship, including (but not limited to) finishing the mermaid pediment supports below the captain's gallery quarters and adding drawstrings for the gunport hatches (when you pull one string, all the gun port hatches on the gundeck will open in unison).
hopefully more updates to come soon :D
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Wow! This is an incredible story! I am worn out from just reading about it!
Your Black Pearl custom could fill a book. How about a video of how you made it and how it actually floats? Something longer than You Tube.
The black color is lovely for a pirate ship....makes it appear quite menacing.
Keep up the great work, Pgal :wave:
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Wow! This is an incredible story! I am worn out from just reading about it!
Your Black Pearl custom could fill a book. How about a video of how you made it and how it actually floats? Something longer than You Tube.
The black color is lovely for a pirate ship....makes it appear quite menacing.
Keep up the great work, Pgal :wave:
sorry to tire you out :-[ I am kinda long-winded as a writer (and as a speaker, especially if I'm talking about something very technical). I'll have more vid/pics later. I have some initial video of my first sail test on a lake before the hull was really modified much, but have yet to edit it. During that sail test, the ship capsized 3 times and I lost a clicky or two along with some playmo chickens :(.
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It's looking great, Atto, and that video shows how unsinkable it really is! Very good job!
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Atto,
Sorry about your casualties at the lake. We had a similar drowning event when Hubby tried out the motor on his first model ChrisCraft motorboat, and it was a bummer. At least we did not lose the boat itself.
We can see why you get so excited about this project! It was a real beauty, Pgal
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Excellent progress Atto!! Thank you for sharing these next steps with us!!
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Yeah, this is turning out great!! :arrr: :captain:
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Three-part foam inserts for rough water sailing: one piece remains in the bow portion of the hull at all times and is never removed. A smaller second piece of the bow section is removeable along with the rest of the hull foam so that the stock gundeck and captain's quarters can be replaced and used for play on land, swimming pool, or for display.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_FAUX/DSCI0112.jpg)
Extra gun ports have been cut, and then framing was built to match the stock gunport frames using styrene strips:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_FAUX/DSCI0108.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_FAUX/DSCI0107.jpg)
After the extra gunports were done, I took sheet styrene to create framing inserts for 6 faux-cannons for use with the foam inserts during sailing in rough waters. The real playmo cannons can be used with the gundeck on land and in calm waters, but since I have to use the foam for rough waters (which eliminates room for the real playmo cannons, some faux-cannons had to be fashioned to take their place. Still fully interchangeable with the real cannons.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_FAUX/DSCI0114.jpg)
Foam and inserts being test-fit before painting:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_FAUX/DSCI0116.jpg)
Test fit of the foam inserts, the faux cannon frames and faux cannons:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_FAUX/DSCI0120.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_FAUX/DSCI0124.jpg)
The hull and styrene gunport frames get a new coat of black paint. So do the the styrofoam inserts, cannon backings, and 12 faux cannons (made from 3/8" dia PVC tubing cut to size):
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_FAUX/DSCI0125.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_FAUX/DSCI0129.jpg)
The components:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_FAUX/DSCI0130.jpg)
Faux Cannons get some bronzing/weathering treatment and copper tips:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_FAUX/DSCI0141.jpg)
One more gunport frame is fabricated on the main deck. This is to create the illusion of having a fourth cannon on the maindeck on each side (totalling 8). I sacrificed two genuine playmobil cannons and cut off their tips to make it look like they were protruding out of the side of the ship.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_FAUX/DSCI0147.jpg)
Now, the cannons, faux cannons, and frames all done on the starboard battery, guns ready for battle!
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_Cannons_FAUX/DSCI0148.jpg)
I still have to fashion at least one working gunport hatch for one of the gunports on the gundeck, and have to still do the port side battery as well. I would have used real playmobil cannons instead of the faux ones, but I'm on a budget for now and chose not to sacrifice cutting the tips of 12 playmobil cannons off for now, considering they run about US$9 per pair! Later, when I'm rich, I'll replace with real playmobil cannons instead of PVC tubing.
more to come :D
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Atto, this is fantastic! Thanks for letting us have this behind-the-scenes look at how you are doing everything. I love that the fake cannons are interchangable with real ones for the two different purposes -- sailing time and play time. Geobra could use this idea, I believe.
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Woohooo!! Your Black Pearl is turning out awesome!! All those guns!!
:captain: :)9
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This is so so so so sooooooo brilliant Atto!!! Thank you for sharing all your work in progress!!!
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WOW Atto it's looking awesome!! And the paint work is SO neat!!!
:love:
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so i finished both the portside and starboard batteries (cannons), giving my ship a total capability of 18 real playmobil cannons, OR 6 real cannons (on deck) and 14 faux cannons. OR 22 cannons total if you include 2 playmobil bow chaser cannons sitting on the forecastle deck.
So my 8-gun 2-masted playmobil ship has become a full-on 22-gun trimaster galleon! woo hoo! :D
(don't forget to scroll left and right, as this pic is sorta big, sorry
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_wideshots/DSCI0299.jpg)
I Also finished the stern gallery mermaid pediments, as well as finished off the rigging and fastening down all the little lose ends here and there. Included as a new feature with my rigging are lines to secure the furled sails to the yards to give it a more complete look. I also re-rigged the jib and flying jib sails so they could be hoisted more properly. All in all, with a total of 12 sails, it takes a while to set all 12 sails, and takes just as long to douse all the sails and furl them for when the ship makes port. I think it takes about 15 to 20 mins just to do all 12 sails. So once I furl them or unfurl them, I tend to leave them that way for a while before going back. This is realistic, as a real tallship can take hours to set sail.
Here is the finished stern with the mermaids:
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_wideshots/DSCI0314.jpg)
here is the link to the wideshot pics so far:
http://s160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_wideshots/?albumview=slideshow (http://s160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/BlackPearl2006_album/Playmobil/Pearl_wideshots/?albumview=slideshow)
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Stunning Atto, and the photography is beautiful. It is so interesting to follow your progress.
Joe
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Atto, I am in awe! This is some seriously amazing customisation. Your love of this project oozes out of every word, making this a pure joy to read.
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Amazing Atto. Congratulations on an amazing ship. Great work.
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Oh my goodness Atto, it's fantastic!!!
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Out of this world! (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/luwerner/gif/clapping.gif)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/luwerner/gif/notworthy.gif) Absolutely fantastic!
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:o :o super wow!!!!
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Super super-wow! ;D
This work is AMAZING, congratulations Atto!
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Superb customized ship ! A masterpiece :wow: Thanks for the pics !
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:o
WOW.
I really admire people capable of doing such masterpieces. It's amazing work.
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Here's a brief video of the fully-functional sails of the Black Pearl being set. The jibs have already been hoisted, but doused and furled at sea (rather than hauled in and stowed as they would be when at port). I'll have a seperate video of the jibbs being hoisted.
http://youtu.be/HLPtj8vTR08 (http://youtu.be/HLPtj8vTR08) (its kinda small for some reason, so click full screen to make it bigger, sorry)
All 12 sails operate on fully functional rigging just like a real tall ship. When at port or in rough weather, the sails are tightly furled against the yard arms. Equal forces on oppossing lines are responsible for either pulling the sails up into their furled position via block and pulley system applied by human (or clicky) hands down below on deck, while setting lines attached at the clews are eased to allow the sails to be pulled back up into their furled positions.
Likewise, when setting the sails, they must be untied at the yard arms and allowed to be dropped "into gear." "Into gear" is the position they are at in the beginning of my video. They are still furled, but no longer held tightly against the yard arms as they are being readied for being set.
The correct order of setting the sails is as follows:
1. hoist the staysails, including the jib and the flying jibb off the bow mast, the stay sails between the fore and main masts, and the lateen off the mizzen.
2. next, set the top sails (tops'ls)
3. then set the top gallants (t'gallants)
4. and finally the course sails on the fore and main masts.
Dousing the sails are in reverse order.
Hope you like my vid! More to come :D
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Atto,
This is the most stunning, :o
the most wonderful, :love:
the most amazing, :wow:
the most awe inspiring custom I have ever seen... :woohoo:
Period.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW. (http://www.klickywelt.de/images/smilies/staun02.gif)
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MAGNIFICENT !! The ship looks stunning!!
This is shock & awe on the high seas! :captain: :captain: :captain:
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AMAZING!