Monkfiche

Just thought I'd share a little flypast I've done on the model. Can't get it to embed into here as rendered it differently to normal, so you can see it here. https://imgur.com/a/tCd94ho Also... the damage doesn't look as bad from out here...

Thanks. Try refreshing it now and see?

Cheers for that. I actually have the images and just needed to rebuild them in Part Designer - which I've done now, but thank you anyway. Here is a quick gif of the whole ship currently. I've added c3po into the radar tower (nowhere else to go!) - ideally he needs to cower more, or have more space to run ideally but no more space for him!

Hi guys, I don’t know if it’s any improved, but the technic beams are longer, and the connections to the main engine block are improved (I think a 4x6 changed to a 4x10 - that sort of stuff), especially for the inner 3 engines. I’ve been pulling my hair out though trying to work out if there is way to use technic lift arms to connect the outer engines all the way down to the main block. I don’t think there is space (which made me think of widening the engines even more… but that would mean lengthening the ship lol)… but will try again. I am a little concerned about the pipes too, as there will be strain. However, if the pipes are put in warm water first, they are much easier to curve around things. The addition of the pipes did mean widening the individual engines though, so the insides are heavier. Tbc if it all works out, but it’s fun trying. Happy to share all files once done. :)

Been away for a while due to family stuff and also my gpu not being supported by studio, but wanted to share some new wip on my cosmetic changes. Can’t remember if I mentioned before, but I widened the engines by a small amount… which was a tonne more complicated than it sounds. They do add heft now, and are heavier, so the technic internals are also longer and more secure too. All WIP though (and yes, I need to remove the red from most of the engines)! Have a lot more to share in the short term… but not the files for now, as lost all my custom decals, so will need to recreate them all.

What I would do, and have done... build some... edit some... order more... build some more... edit that build... order more. That way you never have to open your 2nd box. :)

Hey, my ones at least are DBG.

@gottabekd it’s hard to know. Only Kit will know how many instructions he has sold, and even then, collecting all the pieces may mean less people build it. And even less of them will likely post pics here. In the end, it’s all optional, and you can build it whichever way you think looks best. :)

@Kit Bricksto Thanks, most appreciated! I’ve not had much of a chance to build more recently due to the family, but just built the blue & white x-wing, and watched The Force Awakens with my 5 year old, so I’m going to try find time to get into it properly again. Most recently I tried matching the movie model’s engines, like in this pic... It fits fine in stud.io, but unfortunately due to the curvature of the real wheel/engine piece, it creates a huge amount of pressure when all tile pieces are inserted... Still, I liked the idea, so I wanted to share. :)

Very cool. I love the internals - I am going to have to study your work with a fine tooth comb!

Thanks! On the cockpit, I think I might have a solution for my issue and can potentially connect the top of the cockpit (not roof) to the “gangway” bit. Then that should minimise the risk of droop for mine. I’ve not quite got round to the engine yet, as I’m working down the ship at the moment. My modded engines to allow the hoses to feed into the headlight pieces meant a weird LDU needed internally. I made it at the time, but it’s a messy workaround, and need to come back to it. I did start placing some technic parts at angles on stud.io to see what would fit into the engines too, but as you know, thats a big piece of work. Looking forward to that last. :) Also, not sure if I’m wasting my time, but here is the current iteration of the centre diorama walls etc, with some proto greebling on the back. The stairs into the rear needed some change of the structure, but it’s still technic where it counts. This is my first time doing all this, so I’m sure there is a better way for everything I’m doing, but hey ho. Mp4 showing insides: https://imgur.com/eQNazwZ

Thanks, it’s all good fun getting used to a new baby. The engine section is definitely heavy - stud.io calculates it as about 3kg - half the weight of the entire ship. I’ve raised the height of the cylinder-sections attached to the radar piece, and that means I have more space to add more pins etc. Not got around to that yet though... I’m currently working backwards through the ship rehashing my diorama at the moment, which has caused me to edit some of the technic structure. Good fun, but time consuming! I’m also thinking that the cockpit might need a support as it might droop over time. At least my modded built version feels like that. What do you think? Kit? I’m going to raise the height of the stand anyway (no point in detailing the bottom if noone can see it!), and potentially might create a technic frame (would be cool to angle the ship slightly too)... but not sure if that would look bad or not.

Looks great ClassicLook. I’ve had a little break from it as I now have a new daughter, and combined with a 5 year old son in lock down, there isn’t much “me time” at the moment. Saying that, I’m now spurred onwards again and have just redesigned the walls in the middle section, started greebling the back of it, and have a gif rendering as I type!

Sure, I’ll send something across shortly, though I’m doing my edits in stud.io so not sure if that outputs lxf. I think so though... Apparently the stickers are vinyl (same as real lego stickers??), can print up to 1200dpi, and A4 gets you something like 5 ucs-sized stickers or equivalent. The guy apparently does a lot of printing for companies that sell custom lego sets, so I’m sure it’s pretty good. Cheap enough to worth giving it a go. Edit - sent you a stud.io file across, as I can't export a different file without breaking my custom decals. Also, a guy on reddit discovered that you can get stud.io to get pieces to emit light! It's obviously not indicative of the real model, but I mocked up something this morning for this: Also, with a really cheaply rendered animation (I half like the crackly/glittering effect here, but it would probably go away / get better with more samples and higher resolution), which mainly is serving to get my imagination piqued about what else can be done.

Starting to build... Some little gaps I need to fill in, but otherwise it’s finally coming together. Just splurged on the rest of the non-engine areas too... come on bricklink! :) Also, Will from ultimatecollectorstickers.co.uk can do a4’s worth of sticker sheets for £15 each, so will get some from him at the (very) end.

They really do! The tricky next bit will be to figure out how to print them at a super high resolution

Hi guys, I finally started building the cockpit at the weekend (good news, the window area all works fine in real life), then did some bricklinking, then did some more changes (probably the wrong order...). Need to put a line in the sand... anyway, here is a small animation of how the cockpit is looking at the moment: And a static shot: And possibly the final decal for this:

Very cool! Looking forward to looking through the gallery more.

Thanks and happy to share the files with those who purchased from Kit. Good idea to do it once I’ve built it though, as no doubt small (and large!) issues will pop up in the actual building process. The supporting structure is largely the same, though it’s changed up a bit for the cockpit, gangway, and individual engines. I do need to review it for the section around the radar though, as I raised that section up slightly, so that could make room for some strengthening of the structure there.

I saw the new Battlefront (?) Star Wars trailer a few days ago and there is a CR-90 or CR-70 / other variant in the trailer. Of note, we have a shot that may give a new / probably contradictory size guide to the ship: It got me editing my file again, and whilst I did try replicating that shot... it looks a little silly in Lego. :) Here are a few renders of the ship currently - I’ve still got to get the “wings” to connect to the middle section, but it’s coming along. Guns are probably finalised now - they have full rotation and can fire at any target that can see them. Slight amount of artistic license there, same as the undercarriage bits. Gangway slightly modified on the outside too (slopes), which required... recreating the internal structure - with double layered technic square/rectangle bits, which reach slightly into the cockpit - to provide more stability. Radar slightly modded as well from last version to also allow it to rotate / point anywhere. I’m not quite sure how to replicate the “sheath” bit on the engine tubing, but came up with a potential solution in the pics. Middle section grey fronts now also connected up. Most important current change though I found a legal (I thought I’d have to cut it lol) way to fill in the corner gaps on the engine-connecting piece. That was doing my head in, so happy to figure it out. I’ll add a pic into the gallery below so you can see what it looked like before. Watching the film on Saturday, so no doubt there will be some other inspiration for us coming along shortly! Current other renders: https://imgur.com/a/vUbNZ0S

@ClassicLook Feel free to post your in-progress and other pics - it’ll get us all fired up again! :) I’ll try do some more interior work this week and get some renders done too. Looking forward to seeing more of the cr90 (or is it a 70?) in ep9 though, and not going to finish my tweaks till after that.

@Brick-Wombat thanks - most appreciated! @Kit Bricksto I still need to revisit the engines, but I just need to add two odd-LDU beams inside, and those should reduce their weight and also make them more robust. Even like that though, they aren’t as robust as yours so I might need to see if there are more technic pieces that I could buff up the interior with. Here is a very draft / highly broken / needs internal greebling of a rearranged interior (Leia’s corridor area is a few studs higher, so it will also have an extra reinforced framework underneath to support the bigger weight.) The inspiration for this was the new ISD UCS - Vader isn’t on the ISD!! So if he isn’t there... where else would he be? :) And some more pics (will add a few more onto here as the renders complete): https://imgur.com/a/hS0K5L7

Here's a quick update on the engine piping. It'll definitely have to be a soft 3mm hose that is used here, as the rigid and the soft flexible axle (received) are both too... rigid! Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/X0cuTbS You can see some other small tweaks - the smallest, but biggest is the increase of height / width of the engines by a small amount (a tile's amount I think), but that single tile is spread evenly above/below and sides of the engine. I think it is worth it (so far...), but this odd LDU stepping does cause the internal rigging to be much bigger than the originals. These contribute significantly to the new part count ... 8900 pieces ... will come back and review the internals at a later date ...

Does anyone know if it is possible get the flexible technic axles to sit in the same position, like I have on the engines here? Or am I wasting my time? No idea how posable they are. I’m thinking it *might* work if they are both tight and rotated / twisted at one end, to introduce torque to them. https://imgur.com/a/zgSScFi

@KristofOn the centre line, it’s just the first attempt - I’ll play around with it still. I can’t remember the name of piece I used in that pic, but I was mainly surprised it fitted reasonably well (though that big piece combined with the “eyebrows” and grill piece at the front being slightly offset, means I have three things needing rigged underneath... it’s painful). I’ll have a go at a a smoother centre line and come back here (edit: https://imgur.com/a/ubJ5HdM). Should be (is) much easier to rig it underneath I’ve also tried stepping heights of 4LDU and 6LDU (current is 8LDU I believe), to try and make the steps smaller, but instead use more steps (edit: some examples https://imgur.com/a/mnKGoio). That also doesn't really work, as it becomes very obviously blocky (at least on renders). I’m hitting walls a lot, but a bit of me is just going to buy bricks for all my main cockpit variants, and see how it goes. Edit 2: rotating gif with smooth centreline. https://imgur.com/a/MPO9P4s