Recently Maxim I shared his beautiful MOC of the Götheborg, an 18th century sailing ship, in the Pirate Forum.  Simply sharing her pictures would only partially do the build justice, so this editor reached out and landed the following interview.  Enjoy!

What was your original inspiration to build the Götheborg in Brick?

=> I have been fascinated by the Age of Sail since I was a little kid. I was amazed by model builders and their wooden shipmodels and I always wanted to do something like that as well. Growing older and discovering bricklink, well there was nothing anymore between the childhood dreams and the true realisation. Looking for inspiration for my ships, the Götheborg catched my eye and I knew that would be my first big replica. I even found a comment on Eurobricks made by me in 2015.

I love Scandinavia and I prefer it above French for example. So that will be one of the main reasons I wanted to build the Götheborg and not L'Hermione for example.

After experimenting with various shipbuilding techniques and maturing the plans in my head, I finally found myself able to start building in 2017. With pictures of the real (Replica) Götheborg in front of me, I choosed the bricks I would need and estimated how many I would need.

I have to admit once building, I have cursed a lot on the vessel. It was a proces of building, sitting on the shelf for a few weeks, tearing down, rebuilding, again a small break, tearing down a part, rebuilding, and so on. It took me a whole year before the result was satisfying enough.

Do you remember how many pieces are in her?

No clue. It could be 10k or maybe even a lot more, I don't know. Instead of using bricks, I plated the sides of the ship, so that adds up very quickly. But the result is very nice in my opinion.

Are those really prefab hulls we spy?

Haha yes, the white Friends prefab hulls 

It is a discussion I often have with other shipbuilders like Captain Green Hair, Legostone and Sebeus what is best: prefab hulls or custom hulls. I think we all agree that 6 prefab mid sections are absolutely the maximum. But then you have to widen her 3 or even 4 studs. Generally the ratio is 1/4 (so every stud in the width equals 4 studs in the length).

I am a huge fan of prefab hulls because it gives a sturdy base to a MOC. You can easily pick a vessel up without the fear of losing bricks. But I have to admit the older prefab hulls were much nicer then the newer ones (especially for the stern).

Was the rigging really that bad?

I don't think I am exaggerating that much when I say to people that the time I spent rigging, most people can build a new vessel (without the rigging). If I had to put a number on it, I think I spent 20 hours on the rigging and sails. It is not the most fun part when building a ship, but it is in my opinion the most important part because it adds so much to a MOC.

Did you have a set Scale when you started building?

Thanks to plans of the Replica and drawings/plans of what looked like the original Götheborg, I could scale everything compared to the 6 prefab midsections I used as base. An important thing to remember is that the decks were not that high. The lower the deck, the lower the ceiling. So most of my decks are around 4 bricks high, which makes historical sense and is very helpfull to keep the heigth of you ship under control.

Another scaling tool is the square rule: the length of the mast from waterline till top is the same as the overall length of the ship (the length without the bowsprit)

Speaking of scale what are the ships measurements?

I think that would be around 70cm x 70 cm

(That's just over 27 1/2” long and tall for our US readers.)

What are some techniques that you learned that made this possible?

Of course I have to mention Captain Green Hair here hahaha

Will you be displaying this anywhere?

I have displayed it already at a famous Cartoon Festival in Knokke and some local BeLUG events. I also displayed it at last edition of Skaerbaek Fan Weekend. The next event that the Götheborg will be displayed at, will be Brick Mania Antwerp the 30th November and 1st of December at the pirate lay-out I will have there with Legostone, Sebeus, Captain Green Hair, Captain Braunsfeld, Kabel, Faladrin and other awesome builders.

Any thing else you want to add about the build?

First of all a big thank you to those who gave feedback during the process. Most names have been mentionned already 

Secondly, come join Brethren of Brick Seas on Eurobricks! It is one of the best ways to improve as shipbuilder (or even general builder) and has an awesome community, giving a lot of feedback. You can develop your own story in a huge fictional world and if you like rpg, you can join the game mechanics in that world.

I think that would be everything. Thank you very much for this interview

A big thanks to Maxim I for agreeing to this interview and a special shout out to all who influenced this build so that it may inspire others!

Eurobricks and Classic-Pirates.com member Derfel Cardarn is in the hotseat in this interview. In episode #16 of 'Behind The Helm', Izzy and Connor get a chance to chat with Luke Watkins, a Eurobricks MOC Expert and a master of brick built landscapes. Luke shares with us past, present and upcoming projects from him as well as a few tips for other builders out there.

Download and listen to 'Behind The Helm' Episode #16 - Derfel Cardarn in the Pirates forum!

Izzy, in a solo flight, interviews the worlds first and only female freelance LEGO® artist and writer.  Mariann Asanuma shares with us some of her past as a LEGOLAND Master Builder, and she also talks about her hopes for the future of the LEGO hobby itself.

Read 'Behind The Helm' Episode #15.5 - Mariann Asanuma in the Pirate forum!

'Behind The Helm' has just released Part 2 of Episode #15 - Nik Groves. With 25 minutes of rich information and a few laughing points along the way, this is a great opportunity to hear about what goes on behind the scenes at LEGO!

Listen to 'Behind The Helm' Episode 15 - Nik Groves (Part 2) in the Pirate forum!

Ahoy there mateys, joining Cutlass and Zuloo today be forum user and Eurobricks MOC Expert Teddy! Talking about everything from "Game Grannies" to traffic in the Netherlands, this is an...interesting interview.

Check out 'Behind The Helm' Episode #14 - Teddy in the Pirate forum!

Avast there ye landlubbers! Unfortunately, there be no interview this weekend for us, but that's because we would like you all to fill in a small survey for us. Designed to help us make the programme better for everyone and more enjoyable, please take a moment to tick some boxes and post some feedback. The more replies, the better the show gets, so please, make your opinions heard!

So come and fill in the Scurvey Survey on Classic-Pirates.com!

Classic-Pirates.com News Coordinator and 'Behind The Helm' host, Connor Hicks is interviewed by co-host Izzy Kilmartin in Episode #13 - Captain Zuloo. Sharing a number of things from LEGO@reg; in Australia to Pillage the Village II, this is an interesting interview, worth a listen or read.

Listen to 'Behind The Helm' Episode #13 - Captain Zuloo in the Pirate forum!

Last week we released Part 1 of an exciting interview with LEGO® set designer Jamie Berard, and now we are releasing Part 2! Full of more interesting facts about LEGO trains, The Emerald Night and LEGO in general, this is another 'Behind The Helm' that you don't want to miss.

Listen to 'Behind The Helm' Episode #12 - Jamie Berard (Part 2) in the forum!

Ahoy there matey's, today be no normal interview! LEGO set designer Jamie Berard, responsible for great sets like 10194 Emerald Night and 10182 Cafe Corner, has agreed to be interviewed. This is part 1.

Listen to 'Behind The Helm' Episode #12 - Jamie Berard (Part 1) in the forum!

Yargh, Cutlass_Iz and Captain Zuloo are pleased to present Episode #11 of 'Behind The Helm' - Cap'n Blackmoor. Packed full of audio goodness, we discuss the future of LEGO, his Pillage The Village entry and scallywags putting garden gnomes on the road...

Check out 'Behind The Helm' Episode #11 - Cap'n Blackmoor in the Pirate forum!