My Current WIPs

[Walter Kovacs]

Seeing how I haven't put a lot of time in these models in quite a while, I decided to give everyone a sneak peak at my current projects, and maybe elicit some feedback that will get me motivated again. These models are certainly unfinished, ranging anywhere from 30-65% complete. Greebs and details may be missing, but the overall shape is there for the most part. Enjoy.

"MINI" TIE Mauler

I put the quotes around MINI because the scale is a bit larger than all of my other TIE MINI MOCs. It's certainly less than Minifig scale, but larger than the traditional MINI scale. At any rate, I'm pretty happy with the way the Tread came out, but I've really floundered on the basic design of the cockpit ball. That's all I have for this one right now.

Nebulon B-2 Revision 2

A few weeks ago I posted a Thread showcasing my Nebulon B-2 MOC. In that thread I mentioned that a Revision 2 was underway. Well, here it is.

First, an Overall shot. You can plainly see that the model is unfinished. Most of the Main Hull is missing, as well as the Bridge connecting the Main Hull with the Engine Section. (Ignore the colors for the moment. They are there for design purposes.)

The Engine Section is pretty far along, perhaps 80% or more. It could use a lot of Greeby details, but the general shape is complete, and I'm happy with the superstructure up front. This Side View gives a good profile for the section.

Even though the Bridge section is not complete, you can get an idea of what it will look like on the Engine Section. Many of the Neb B-2 pics I've seen show the bridge as semi-elliptical on the bottom, but flat on top. So I plan on carrying the 2 x 2 Inverted 45 Slopes on the bottom the entire length, and the 1 x 1 Cheese Wedges on the side, with a plate making the top. I plan on interspersing some random Trans Yellow 1 x 1 Slopes in randomly, forming some windows. It'll help break up all that Dark Blay.

The Wings are probably the most complete. The Side View gives the overall profile of the Wing, while the Bottom and Rear views show the details on the lower half.

The Upper half of the wing details were completely redesigned between Rev 1 and 2. In Rev 1, I used a lot of plates, making them very heavy. For Rev 2, I tried to stick with Bricks, Slopes and Wedges. I also built the sections upside down, so that the connection between the Main Hull and the Wings looks more seamless.

The Main Hull is the part that is giving me fits. I've tried several times, but I have as yet been unable to get the curvature of the hull correct. I'm trying to stay away from using plates, again sticking to Wedges and Slopes. I also plan on adding a Hanger Bay, but that detail has to wait until I get the overall shape worked out.

Neb B-2 Rev 2 Gallery.

TIE Scimitar

My TIE Scimitar started out really well. I started with the Concussion Missile Launchers, since they are one of the most distinctive features of the ship, despite being on the bottom. One of the unfortunate aspects of this design is that, when the Launchers are rotated 45 degrees, the holes I planned on using to attach them to the rest of the ship were 1/3 of a stud off. So they will end up hanging, sort of like a trapeze. This will allow them to move slightly back and forth, but the bottom plating should keep them from moving too much. Besides, this is meant as a display model.

The Wing Panels turned out pretty well, too. The angles on the wings are fairly difficult, and stability could have been an issue if using Locking Hinges. So I went with Technic Angle Connectors instead, with 2 x 2 Plate with Pins for the connection to the panels themselves. They should be much lighter than my previous TIE wings, the shape of the Scimitars wings hide the Technicy parts well, and it should be pretty sturdy.

After the wings I moved on to the Cockpit. The distinctive sets of black bars that show up on all the Scimitar artwork proved to be very difficult, so I went with sets of two instead. That's about the only thing I dislike about the cockpit. I managed to squeeze room for both the Pilot and Bombardier Inside, with the Bombardier sitting backwards. Here is the Pilot's View, and the Bombardier's View. Aside from a few minor interferences, I feel that the Cockpit is complete.

After that, the design really bogged down. The Engines look OK I guess; I'm not terribly thrilled with the way they look, but I have no idea how to improve them. The Hexagonal portion of the hull was fairly easy to create (using the core of my TIE Defender to get the shape), But it has been a bastard to integrate it with the rest of the Hull and still look somewhat natural. Plating around the Wedges of the pylons has been difficult at best.

In short, all progress on all three of these designs has been slow, mostly because I've lost my muse. I'm hoping some comments will provide me with enough of a kick in the pants to get going on them and finish them up.

EDIT: Forgot to add the Scimitar Gallery. Sorry.

Comments and Criticisms not only accepted, but requested in this case.

Edited June 3, 2008 by Walter Kovacs

[Clonecommando007]

Nebulon 2 is looking good! However may I suggest that in the future you refrain from using .BMP files, and convert the files to .PNG or .JPG instead? Those load much faster.

[Asuka]

An impressive project, that new Nebulon B-2.... and what I can see by now already looks pretty fine.

The TIE Scimitar isn´t one of my favorite TIE crafts, but it seems like you´re doing a good job on it too.