Classic Lego Build: 6280 Armada Flagship

In today`s classic build report, I`m showing one of the great sailing ships I traded at the LCC meeting two weeks ago.

The Armada Flagship is from the 1996 line of the Pirates team, and often dubbed `the spaniards` due to their helmets.

At 269 pieces and a small hull, she isn`t a big ship, being as long as the Carribean Clipper but a whole lot smaller, as she shares her width with the Renegade Runner.

And this is why they are called spaniards, the conquistadore style helmets make them as spanish as usually the redcoats are seen as british and the blue uniformed marines as french by `semi historical` Pirate theme lovers.

The first thing we do is add black 2x4 bricks at the bottom of the middle section, in order to connect it to the aft hull part.

In the front hull section, we first build a small storage space with opening door.

The rudder and the front piece of the hull sections are then made and attached to the relevant sections.

We start making the foundations of the top decks next, which includes a handle that can make the aft mast afterwards `collapse` as a play feature.

Both the front and the aft sections are then covered up, using a trap door element for the back of the ship, while the anchor is added to the front.

The single battery canon is build upon a railing that allows it to slide left to right in the middle section.

The trapdoor is inserted in the aft deck.

The first mast to be erected is the one at the front, which is also this little vessel`s main mast that will hold the big sail.

At the back, we construct the steering wheel with compass.  I`m not to wild actually about how it is incorporated in the hull though...

A treasure chest is held by the netting from the mast, to be lowered to the main deck if wanted to.

We next make the crossbeam on the main mast, and attach the sail to it using a `looping` technique I hadn`t encountered before in ship sets.

The beam for the aft mast is then made as well, and the triangular sail attached to it while we make the rigging for the `nose` of the ship order.

And the full set stands completed:

It a cute little ship, but not on the `level` as some other Lego Pirates sailing ships.  Speaking to it`s advantage though is that it`s from another faction then usually, and the white hull pieces are gorgeous.

And so she takes her place on my desk shelf, alongside perhaps the one ship I still love the most...