Resurrecting the Skull's Eye Part 5: Completion

Well it is done; and I could not be more pleased!  A few painted pieces, 4 glorious hours of building and I have a gorgeous Skull's Eye Schooner added to my fleet. 

Ok the big question I know you all are asking is: did he pull it off?  Did he do the project for less than the original MSRP?  I am happy to announce the answer is yes.  Including shipping the grand total for the project was $116.53 in 2011 dollars.  The really cool part is that if you account for inflation the MSRP for the Skull's Eye today would be in the $190s so I really did get a deal. 

Two quick notes, however, on the cost in case you are considering doing this yourself.  As I mentioned earlier I had about 30% of the parts I needed already and the cost for those pieces is not included in this total (my guess is it would have added about $20 to the project).  Additionally I had extra minifigs lying around that I used as well as all the different parts/alterations I have described.  If you went for pure authenticity (all the correct minifigures and no alternate or modified pieces including the sails) I do not think this would end up being any cheaper than buying a complete model on eBay or Bricklink.  If, however, you are of a similar mind to me and bending the rules of purism does not bother you the Skull's Eye can be yours for much cheaper than any other option.

In addition to the actual model I also took a little bit of creative liberty and added walkways on either side of the cannons creating a cannon well along with a way for figures to traverse from the front to the back of the ship.  This is a feature included on 6285 Black Seas Barracuda and I felt it was sorely lacking on the Skull's Eye. 

In the wake of this success I have decided to up the ante and try to resurrect the remaining 5 ships that I still don't have in my fleet in one fell swoop.  I have already sorted out the parts I have for each one and will make the big purchase when my budget recovers from this project.  Once complete I will have every ship produced by Lego!

For those of you actually interested in trying this I will be posting a detailed walk through of how to make your own Lego sails soon (I am about 50% done with that entry) as well as PDFs of my tracings.

Feel free to email me with any questions.  A few pictures of the final product: 

The green flags are painted.  You would never have known if I had not told you!  You can also see the railing and walkway I added.  

I painted the latticed window and the blue lantern bases.  The Jolly Roger is a sticker applied to a standard panel.

Resurrecting the Skull's Eye Part 2: Dealing With The Exclusive Pieces

Alright, I have reached the first major challenge of all resurrection projects: how to deal with the exclusive pieces. 

In terms of figuring out how to deal with exclusive pieces You have the following options:

1. Bite the bullet and pay the arm and a leg it will take to get them (that is going to be rough for me as I am trying to do this for less than the original MSRP and am cheap as it is).
2. Omit them (this sacrifices authenticity but can be a good option if the part is not essential).
3. Substitue another piece (this can be a great option if you are willing to sacrifice authenticity and the piece is "buried" within the set).  
4. Modify a less rare piece (this can be done by modifying the color, creating stickers, etc.).
5. Make your own (this is a great option if you have the skills and equipment on parts like sails and ropes).

In my case I am trying to be as accurate as possible but have already made the decision to go with option 1 on the minifigures and just not get them (I have plenty of extra pirates) so I am not going to be perfectly authentic as it is.  After checking prices on Bricklink and eBay I come to the following conclusions.

On the Hull and the Masts (two exclusive pieces I forgot to mention in my last post) I have no choice but to do option 1 and bite the bullet, there is no way to do this project without them. 

For the Compass I am going to do a combination of option 3 and 4.  My plan is to get get a Round 2 x 2 Tile and create my own sticker which will mimick the look of the compass.  

For the Printed Panel I am going to do option 4 by making a skull and cross bones sticker and applying it to a plain White 4 x 3 Panel.  I will trace the skull and cross bones from a picture of the actual piece so I should be able to make it indistinguishable.   

For the Green Flags and the Blue Palm Tree Pieces I am undecided.  There are some reasonable prices out there for both of these, but all the stores they were in for cheap don't have a lot of the other parts I need which means I will be paying shipping for only a few parts which may prove to be too expensive.  I am going to play this one by ear as I go and either buy them or get each of those parts in a more standard color and paint them (i.e. option 4).   

Finally on the Sails and Ropes I am fortunate enough to have married my amazing wife who coveniently graduated with a degree in textile production management from one of the top fashion schools in the world.  She has assurred me she can help me make perfect replica sails so I will be able to do option 5 on these.  Thank goodness because the price for sails on both Bricklink and eBay is outrageous! 

With those decisions made it is time to start shopping!!!