Have yer ever noticed how 6268 Renegade Runner looks like the wee offspring of 6286 Skulls Eye Schooner?

Yer know, sails adorned with black stripes and a similar colour scheme?

6285 Black Seas Barracuda never had a junior counterpart…well, until now…

The Scalawag Sloop sails alongside Ironhook and the Renegade Runner

Tom Skippy might’ve sparked some ingenuity towards how such a vessel may appear…

Originally built for BrickLink Designer Program Series 6, let’s explore how Tom Skippy has evolved the Scalawag Sloop into the magnificent craft it is today…

Tom writes:

Welp, here she is!

The Scalawag started as an attempt to get effective hull curves on a smaller frame, and I think I’ve nailed it. Originally, I had 1x6x3 1/3 (part 6060) arches for the front, but those weren’t available for the BrickLink Designer Program, but using round plates and tiles worked out.

Some of my favorite pirate ships have been smaller form: the original Imperial Guard Flagship (6271), the Renegade Runner (6268), the Armada Flagship (6280). This was an attempt to make a ship that fused those with the smaller ship type from the IGTP and Eldorado.

The Scalawag Sloop – looks like it would make a fine LEGO set!

Tom continues…

I also wanted a ship that could populate some of the harbors we have (Eldorado Fortress, Pirates of Tortuga, and Pirates of Barracuda Bay). Essentially, I wanted to “add” masts/sails to those ports. So the ship needed to be small enough to dock there without overwhelming the port.

Speaking of Barracuda Bay, I wanted a sloop that can interact with the harbor. Not everyone could get 2 copies of it. One extra note: this ship should easily fit the gaff/jib PoBB sail if you want to go all cloth. And those are the easiest sails to leave out of the bay anyway.

A fine accompaniment to 21322 Barracuda Bay

Tom continues…

I tried to keep the overall aesthetic in line with The LEGO Company. I didn’t want it to look like a crazy MOC next to PoBB or Eldorado.

Rudder is controllable from a tiller up top.

Note the gentle upward slope of the stern. I don’t think it’s illegal, it was approved after all! The build is solid and stable, through and through. It should be playable, though the cannons can be a little weak.

There will be stickers to add patches to the hammock piece. And yes a figure can sleep in the hammock with the stern deck in place!

Packed with all the details you expect… plus a sleeping quarters you wouldn’t expect

Pirate Pinups

If yer’ve ever wondered how LEGO Pirates decorate their quarters here be a potential answer…

Tom writes:

How would a pirate decorate his sleeping quarters?

I don’t think this one will be approved, but it’s worth a shot!

Notice how the parrot be looking straight at her!

The Real Deal

Crafting virtual MOCs using 3D design software be all well and good, but that leaves us asking; how do they fare when faced with the rigors of the real world?

Scalaway Sloop under construction

Since Tom be offering building instructions for the Scalawag Sloop on Rebrickable, t’would be a disservice to ye, to not test the design using physical bricks.

Here’s what it looks like using real LEGO elements

She floats!  The Scalawag Sloop holds together quite nicely when built from authentic LEGO elements – Tom has even pinched some material sails from another ship.

Tom concludes:

The build is pretty stable. I’m waiting on a bricklink order to confirm that the stays support the mast well enough, but the mast design was based on Lego’s 3 in 1 Viking Ship, so the theory is sound. The curved hull is sturdy enough to allow figures to connect to it; it isn’t overly fragile.

Let me know what you think!

Aye, tell Tom Skippy what yer think in the LEGO Pirates Forum.

BrickLink Designer Program

The BrickLink Designer Program be a fine way for  fans to set sail as LEGO set designers and allow the community to determine which designs make it to shore.

Now embarking upon its Seventh series and accepting your design submissions between Jan 20 — Jan 31, 2025.

Here be a sampling of designs from past series…

And here be the steps in a nutshell:

1. Design and Build: Create yer own LEGO marvels from a set list o’ bricks.
2. Submit Designs: Send in yer masterpieces when the submission window be open. The best get picked by BrickLink and voted by fellow pirates.
3. Crowdfunding: If yer design gets the thumbs up, it goes fer pre-orders. If enough landlubbers back it, it gets made.
4. Production and Shipping: After about six moons months, yer set be shipped to the backers.

It be a treasure trove of opportunity for LEGO buccaneers!

Get involved in Series 7 today! Surely we’re due for a ship to Crowdfund!

Yer have until the timer reaches 00:00:00:00 to submit yer builds.

Updated Version

Tom hadn’t quite finished with the Scalawag Sloop.

The BrickLink Designer version was just the build’s maiden voyage, and like any good design, there always be room for improvement.

Right, can you spot the differences in the updated version?

So Tom set about refitting the ship to smooth out some bothersome kinks.

Tom Skippy writes:

Just about everything that bothered me about the build has been fixed except the following:

1) The brickbuilt gaff sail’s connection has some stress and is likely illegal. To me, the simplicity of the design and the angle of the gaff are more important than a little stress on a technic 4 axle.

The gaff was naff! So Tom fixed it

On left is the original build, while on the right is the updated design.

Tom continues:

2) To get the sexy front hull curve without gaps on the outside, I needed to use jumper plates. so there’s a little half step offset on the wall behind the ladders. There’s probably a way of using some Technic technique, but whatever, it’s behind muskets, ladders, rigging, and similar color parts, nobody cares.

3) The front cannon has a stud that attaches into a round tile with Technic hole. Illegal.

Adjustments to the bow and cannon correction

Tom continues:

4) I wanted to get the part to lot ratio of 3:1. Couldn’t get there. The double build and specialized ship parts killed the dream. Overall price is shockingly good. If you cut the dragon plume, muskets, swords, and make the cannon/swivel black you can hit 10 cents per part before shipping.

5) The curved up aft section. I love them, but it’s a stupid number of plates and the bottom part (brown wedge and black wedge plate keel) doesn’t attach well to the top part of the section (one 2×3 plate). Thankfully the rest of the attachment holds it into place. The build is solid. A kid could play with it. The back might get lose with rough play, but I’m not worried about a kid picking it up. You can pick the build up by the mast and it holds. but I wish it was more satisfying.

Now with a more curvaceous booty!

Tom continues:

6) Some parts of the instructions need callouts instead of individual pages. Moving them, moved other things. I’m so tired of instructions. I left them in.

A custom sail template if yer interested in building Scalawag Sloop yerself

Sleeping quarters – do they look comfy?

Tom continues:

7) My original goal was to use a renegade runner style sail plan with no custom pieces, only the fore/aft sails from the Barracuda. There may not be a good way given how small they cut the gaff sail. The gaff is either comically low compared to the fore or ridiculously high compared to the stern. To make matters worse, the zip hoses TLC uses for rigging now are almost too long for this ship. Without a square sail, the rigging is way too high. This forced my hand, there needs to be a custom sail. Perhaps the saddest part is that the OG plan was to do a fore/aft for the sloop, then lengthen the hull and add a square sail for a bluecoat version. Now they’ll look too similar.

What do yer think of these improvements?

Tom continues:

There you have it. She’s done. More photos here. Instructions can be found on my rebrickable

Thanks for your support! Let me know what you think!

So once again, tell Tom Skippy what yer think of the Scalawag Sloop in the LEGO Pirates Forum.

About the Builder…

TomSkippy is a regular contributor to the LEGO Pirates Forum. He’s especially good at reimagining classic LEGO sets, whether they be Pirates or even Classic Space. He also participates in Brethren of the Brick Seas and is great at building anything related to Pirates in general, as observed in his Flickr stream.

Feast yer eyes upon this selection of other pirate-themed wonders he crafted!

If yer take pleasure in his creations and wish to bolster his efforts, set sail to his Rebrickable profile and scour the treasures therein. If yer blow enough wind up his sails, there may be more building instructions on future horizons!

What Do Yer Think?

Has Tom Skippy succeeded in birthing the offspring of the legendary Black Seas Barracuda?

Should the BrickLink Designer Team have selected Scalawag Sloop for Crowdfunding in Series 6?

The Scalawag Sloop and 6285 Black Seas Barracuda

And will you be entering BrickLink Designer Series 7?

Scalawags unite in the LEGO Pirates Forum  to discuss Tom Skippy’s sloop and BrickLink Designer Program submissions!