mortesv

The internal structure uses the same basic principles of the UCS model - with big V-frames. However everything is much much stronger - using more technic bricks and liftarms to tie the frames better together :) The bottom panels are not done yet, they will not be held by magnets ;) Regarding the engines, yes they can be brick built, but they do not look any good at this size - I have tested both tile builds and even curved slope builds. While their shape in profile can look a bit better, they look too busy and begin to mesh too much with the background. When looking straight from behind an engine should look very clean. It will alway be a compromise building round shapes at this scale - the Star Destroyer engines does not look 8, 12 or even 16-sided either ;)

The UCS Snowspeeder - can't wait to mod it! :D :D :D

Happy May the Fourth everyone! On to the Imperial fleet! At the height of its power the Galactic Empire had more than 25.000 Star Destroyers in its fleet. These 1600 meter long, imposing vessels were bristling with high tech weaponry and were the backbone of the Imperial Navy. Supported by a full wing of 72 TIE fighters, of various configurations, a single ship could lay siege to an entire star system. The sheer size of the crafts were often enough to discourage attackers and send them fleeing. Any Rebel dreaded the sight of the bright, iconic wedge-shape at the end of a hyperspace jump, which meant almost certain doom. When Lego released the 10030 Ultimate Collector’s Star Destroyer back in 2003, it was one of the most ambitious Lego sets ever created. The immense model set a new standard for the size and detail of Star Wars sets TLG would produce in the future. The 10030 has always been one of my favourite sets, and the first post I ever did here on EB was a tribute to the 10030. I had modified and improved upon the set’s engine section and was, back then, pretty satisfied with the result. Over the years I have returned to the set regularly and added more bells and whistles - as a kind of meditation between building mocs. While still an impressive set, the 10030 looks somewhat dated today - especially when looking at the much more impressively detailed Star Destroyer mocs that are being produced by the afol community around the world. The 10030 has been standing on my shelf for more than seven years – but the time has come to retire the old ship and build something new! With the 10030 dismantled and added to a much larger parts bin, I wanted to create my own super detailed Star Destroyer moc. The goal was clear: as detailed and precise as possible. I wanted to match – and in some cases even surpass - the level of detail of the other modern Star Destroyer mocs. As per usual, I began this process by finding hundreds of pictures of the Studio model. This time it was the “Avenger” used for filming the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi – built by ILM. The final Avenger moc is a smidgen over 1m long (1:1600 scale) and uses approximately 7000 bricks. The Avenger. 1600 meters of Destruction and Fear! The Command Superstructure. I have tried to match the look of the detailing of the studio model. Many little details are found in the same places. I have used everything from minifig arms (around 250 of them) to small lever bases to produce the correct shapes and cram in as much detail as possible within the limited space. Comparing this area with the official model, you can see the proportions are very different. The official model’s command structure is much too small - probably to save weight and bricks. The Bridge. The bridge was interesting because ILM also created a more detailed close-up model of it. However, the two models differ in several areas, so what I did was to mix and match what I liked from each model. As you can see old 1 x 4 hinge plates make for wonderful detailing. Bridge Front. Here you can see the Imperial Class II type antenna array. Stowaways. The Falcon hitching a ride… Garbage Hatch. Before it is thrown out with the rest of the garbage. Main Cannons. These cannons have the power the penetrate a planet’s crust! Here they are represented by small miniifg wrenches. Back Hull Detail. When studying the studio model I discovered a ton of detail that I hadn’t noticed before. The backmost edge of the main hull is full of little details – as I have conveyed here using cheese slopes and “gold” bars. Hull Detail. The picture shows the gap where the main sensor array is housed. Using tiles for the hull plating was pretty straightforward, although I soon discovered that the pattern needed the right mix of tiles types to look convincing. It is also worth noticing that there are several places on the hull where the plating protrudes one plate – at this scale that probably mean an entire floor :) Engines! So much detail here, I don’t know where to begin. Again I studied the studio model closely and tried to get every little pipe right. The struts near the edge are made of droids arms – I even counted the struts on the studio model to get the correct number. Close-up of the pipes. See if you can spot the handle bars. More engines, more detail. I used the same wheels for engines as the official model since the have the perfect size for this scale – and that they are perfectly round. I tried making some cool brick built ones, but then I lost the contrast between the clean round shapes and the busy-work of all the piping detail. Middle engine removed. Just so you can see that I am not cheating and skipping details ;) The Side Gap. Housing sensor arrays, tractor-beam-projectors and minifig-arm-cannons. Main Sensor Array Close-up. It is always fun to find and combine obscure bricks to create details. Facing Death. A lot of different bricks were used to get the tip of the vessel to match up with the studio model. Making the detailing of the command structure be level while still crammed in within angled plates took a bit of trickery. What is with the blurred lower hull? Well that is a work in progress – another project came in the way ;) Chasing Rebels! I simply had to build my rebel fleet in 1:1600 scale to see how it would look next to the Star Destroyer :) I cross my fingers the Rebels will escape alive, but it doesn’t look good! Let me know what you think and May the Fourth be with You! A Day in the Life of a Lego Girlfriend...

@ecmo47 I am not sure what is going on with the amount of with 4x4 plates, I don't think I used that many to get the proper length. The engine glow looks great - good colour :) Maybe a 3x3 trans clear or orange on top for size?

This is a great looking build Darth! Nice, clean lines, very smooth! I could wish for some engine glow and the housings for the inner engines should be angled a bit shallower (but the last item is perhaps nit-picking :) ) Great job!

@Djuree personally I spent more than 1200$ dollars on this, but that is because the were are lot of experimentation going on during the design process :) Cjd223 have also optimized the type count so all in all it should be much cheaper than mine :)

Thank you Miro :) I still tweak the Tantive from time to time :) I wonder if TLG will ever make a corvette with a larger brick count. The previous versions look a bit plain be today's standard with a brick count similar to the fighters. A 150 meter ship needs a bit more to convey proper scale :)

It is going to be big, yet small :) Wedding planning is a lot like building lego - if you came to my wedding you would understand why ;)

Don't worry, I have a wedding to plan this summer - I won't be done until some time after that :)

And Home One would be 15,2 meters long (3,8km) ;)

@EKae my next release for the fleet is going to be bigger than the Nebulon, but also smaller - it is still very very early and might take the rest of the year to finish :) I will also make another post soon about a project not related to the Rebel Fleet :)

Dengar all the way! Best version of him yet :)

I have to go with the others - Slave 1 is an excellent set! I think you can also still get the x-wing and b-wing - at least in my local Lego Store. I would get: Slave 1 B-Wing TIE X-Wing Snowspeeder. The Death Star is not really an UCS IMO, but it is a very fun set. However it is crazy expensive :) The X-wing still suffers from the small-engines syndrome, which can be hard to overlook now that it is a UCS set (and even the second version of it) - so unless you plan to mod it you can skip that one as well :)

@Sean Whetstone thans for the ldd :) However, atlas' explanation seem to be the correct one. One of the official wikis support this as well: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/BTL-A4_Y-wing_assault_starfighter/bomber The 23,4 meters refer to the pre-Yavin version and the Yavin version is 16 (16,24) meters. Your y-wing is very good looking and super detailed, but it is to big for this scale. So at 2 meters per stud the diameter of the engines of your model could house two 6'6" guys on top of each other :) This picture from the ILM model shop should prove that the x-wing and Y-wing are not too far from each other in terms of length - the models are used for the same shots and built at the same scale :)

They need someone responsible in charge :) Maybe we should apply for the job @atlas :)

@atlas Thank for the picture :) I know that this is the most plausible explanation, but the confusion begins when the official sites name the model numbers of the Yavin type fighters next to the new stat - and also a new width of 16 meters which was never true with any version. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y-wing) The version Sean has made is the Yavin version which he has built to be 23,4 meters - so it is too big.

Hi Sean, great work! Your have really nailed many of the details here! I am a big fan of the docked A-wing on the airlock! Regarding the Y-wing, there is a "new length" that have begun circulating, that the ship is over 23 meters long. I think that is what you have based your fine model on. However the old official length is 16 meters which makes much more sense in relation to the X-wing (12,5m) when watching the films. So I would stick with the 16m version - otherwise an Y-wing would also be much wider than and X-wing is long, which is clearly wrong :) I would like to help you with the ldd, but then I might just as well release my own, which I plan to release with the instructions I am making - I hope you understand. I will say though, you are off to a great start here - and welcome to Eurobricks!

@EKae great job, it looks like it is flying! I think the larger ships will need strings though :)

Space is a general problem for a growing fleet. If any of you have any solution to hang ships from the ceilings, pleas share :) When the next addition to the fleet comes, it will surely be needed :)

The side tubes should be moved just one stud backwards towards the engines :) The Brickfair idea with one giant fleet is a great idea! Unfortunately I live in Denmark and the costs of moving everything to the US are a bit prohibitive ;) I do hope you get a lot of people's fleets together though - it will look awesome! Maybe I could join in via Skype? :D

Yeah, spare room is for losers. My kid won't get a room of his own, but he will have a sweet Lego collection to look at and not play with.

@ecmo47 Hi Scott, I actually tried this solution :) There are pros and cons with each method, but in the end it comes down to preference :) Btw, the side tube looks to be placed wrong in the ldd.

Welcome to EB and thank you! :)

I'll let it be up to Cjd223 to give an ETA - he is a busy man and I don't want to pressure him :)

I am just joking :) It looks good! When doing the model I tried to be as close to the studio model as possible - but 1mm narrower will not make it any less precise - just checked ;)