I'm just waiting for someone to mod this to be able to switch from land to flight modes without taking anything off of it (slide rails perhaps?) I don't own one yet but very interested in it and a wing flap feature would be all it takes to sway me.

^^Yep

The Command Shuttle is rapidly becoming my favorite ship - easily among my top 5. If I had a huge collection of black pieces I'd already be starting a UCS style MOC of this evil-looking vessel, but at this point it would be a Bricklink-intensive endeavor that I'm not willing to undergo...for now

So far, in my opinion, this Fathead Decal is the standard reference for a MOCer to use as a template for a large scale version in black - oh what a sight that would be...

Edited September 9, 20159 yr by lowlead

I'm just waiting for someone to mod this to be able to switch from land to flight modes without taking anything off of it (slide rails perhaps?) I don't own one yet but very interested in it and a wing flap feature would be all it takes to sway me.

That is what my mod achieves actually. Unless you mean not having to remove pieces from the original build at all.

Edited September 16, 20159 yr by Master Chief

Looks waay better with the wings like that.

The only thing that I could possibly give thumb up on this set (except minifigs) is the cockpit part. Unfortunately, it's fully outshined by these terrible wings... so far people only complain by it's angle but I wonder how can you guys be ok with that 'underside' which is actually facing up in V mode and which looks just terrible...?

I feel like the designer put zero effort in making these sides at least a bit eye pleasing. He just implemented the (rather controversial) folding function, added several random parts for reinforcement, some black inverted dishes along with couple sticking-out red techic pins and movie inacurate trans red plates for even more classiness and there we go, ready for manufacturing!

Ok, it's play set, not UCS... and perhaps rigdity is more important than look.... and that folding function was probably quite tricky to implement. But still I think the end result is awful and doesn't meet the design quality of average lego sets. Am I the only one?

Anyway, all of these mods are good, improving the original set rapidly. Though for me it would need quite dramatic change to those wings rather than just changing the angle.

Followed the Chief's lead and used the double technics joint method to mod the wings. The only real difference was that I used a raft of interconnected technic bricks to connect the 2 sides and stop the clutch force being overcome at certain points. The wings are heavy, and the force generated where the hinges connect to the fuselage is pretty large. This does mean losing 1 brick level from the rear compartment, but I wasn't bothered by that.

There is one problem with the hinge method though - they only connect 2 notches in to the fuselage on the hinge arms (see photo). This means the wings wobble a bit when touched, although there's no way anything will come apart due to the technics bricks used earlier. I reckon to really do this justice, it needs a bigger rebuild so 3 hinges per side can be used.

I sure hope im in the minority with fears that moments before the scene from the teaser we all use for reference, the wings were pointing at a 45 degree down angle, just before the shuttle prepares to land....

Edited October 17, 20159 yr by Dameronian

I'm just prepared to laugh if the shuttle in the movie itself has either moving or strictly vertical wings.

I'm just prepared to laugh if the shuttle in the movie itself has either moving or strictly vertical wings.

The mod covers both of those scenarios - the wings can be put in a number of positions including the original vertical.

**Edit** Hopefully all will be revealed tomorrow night when/if the proper trailer comes out!

Edited October 18, 20159 yr by belkor

Did anyone spot Kylo Ren's shuttle parked up on the shore line during the trailer? Wings upright and "collapsed" in landing mode:

Did anyone spot Kylo Ren's shuttle parked up on the shore line during the trailer? Wings upright and "collapsed" in landing mode:

Nice spot! I didn't notice that.

I'm just prepared to laugh if the shuttle in the movie itself has either moving or strictly vertical wings.

I predict they flap like a bird

^ :D Next gen of spaceship propulsion!

I predict they flap like a bird

in space? lol

Did anyone spot Kylo Ren's shuttle parked up on the shore line during the trailer? Wings upright and "collapsed" in landing mode:

Whoa, good eye! Completely missed this - all that frenzied motion. Really looking forward to seeing this vessel in action. Also wondering if it lasts for more than one movie - it's looking a bit vulnerable in this shot

Edited October 26, 20159 yr by lowlead

I predict they flap like a bird

Hahaha! Made me chuckle in the office!

Edited October 26, 20159 yr by Azrielsc

Followed the Chief's lead and used the double technics joint method to mod the wings. The only real difference was that I used a raft of interconnected technic bricks to connect the 2 sides and stop the clutch force being overcome at certain points. The wings are heavy, and the force generated where the hinges connect to the fuselage is pretty large. This does mean losing 1 brick level from the rear compartment, but I wasn't bothered by that.

There is one problem with the hinge method though - they only connect 2 notches in to the fuselage on the hinge arms (see photo). This means the wings wobble a bit when touched, although there's no way anything will come apart due to the technics bricks used earlier. I reckon to really do this justice, it needs a bigger rebuild so 3 hinges per side can be used.

I love your mod, I did the pin remove, but this gear technic is the best.... what is the part number for that joint? did you add the tech bricks? or is that already there? it looks to be a simple mod...

these guys? 44224 and 44225? And extra bits?

these guys? 44224 and 44225? And extra bits?

Yeah those are the ones. I needed a few extra technics bricks to build the cross spar (the dimensions of which are 2 x 18) and some black friction connector pins (part # 4121715) to hold them together.

Sweet, ordered... The ultimate mod would be to rebuild it with Black. But I have it, so this mod is good...

Yeah those are the ones. I needed a few extra technics bricks to build the cross spar (the dimensions of which are 2 x 18) and some black friction connector pins (part # 4121715) to hold them together.

I got this set for Christmas and am looking at installing your mod into mine - all I need are the 4 hinge pairs, 2x 12x1 technic bricks, 2x 6x1 technic bricks and some black friction pins, correct? The rest of the pieces can be found in the set? And I'm assuming the hinges are mounted to the wings using the existing technic connections and the red pins?

One final question - did the rest of the fuselage pretty much build as stock above your moc, or did that require much changes to fit? I really like the design of this set, but the inability to re-position the wings is really niggling me.

Thank you!

I got this set for Christmas and am looking at installing your mod into mine - all I need are the 4 hinge pairs, 2x 12x1 technic bricks, 2x 6x1 technic bricks and some black friction pins, correct? The rest of the pieces can be found in the set? And I'm assuming the hinges are mounted to the wings using the existing technic connections and the red pins?

One final question - did the rest of the fuselage pretty much build as stock above your moc, or did that require much changes to fit? I really like the design of this set, but the inability to re-position the wings is really niggling me.

Thank you!

Yep that's it. Apart from what you see in the second photo, everything else was repositioned and built as close as possible to the original design. Originally I re-used the axles that came with the set to connect the hinges to the fuselage, but later I swapped those for black pins as there was less wobble.

I used a mix of the red pins already used in the wings and black connectors to fix the hinges to the wings. The hinges bulge out of the wings slightly so some plates need to be repositioned too - but that is all I needed to do as far as the wings were concerned.

Cheers

Thought I'd post the wing mod that I finally arrived at. Other mods using Technic joints I've seen were either not illustrated enough, or ended up too wobbly. This mod requires some parts, but in the end it retains the shape of the original model (wings are RIGHT up against the body), and is as sturdy as you can get with Technic joints.

I started off from

, but it required some changes to actually work. So I can't take full credit for the wing part.

Parts Needed That Aren't Included In the Set

Some friction pins can be reused, so the ones shown above are what you need in addition (though the set does give you extras--I didn't account for that). Some part substitutions are of course possible, and most of the colors don't matter obviously.

Part List

4x 44224 Technic rotation joint with hole

4x 44225 Technic rotation joint with pin

4x 3702 1x8 Technic brick

4x 4519 Technic axle 3

4x 6587 Technic axle 3 with stud

2x 59443 Technic Axle connector

10x 2780 Technic friction pin

2x 32064 1x2 Technic brick with cross hole

2x 3004 1x2 brick (or anything that will fit)

2x 3710 1x4 plate

2x 3023 1x2 plate

Wing Prep

I won't tell you how to remove the wings from the stock model, or how to remove plates from the underside of it to get to the Technic innerworkings. Hopefully you can figure that part out. Once you're inside, this part should look familiar. I'm also only showing you how to do one side. It's up to you to figure out how to mirror the process for the other side.

Take the two 1x8 Technic bricks and add the pins as shown. Then attach the Technic joints.

Attach the Technic angled beams that you took from the wings as shown.

Place the assembly onto the wing, lined up with the bottom of the 1x16 Technic bricks. NOTE: You'll remove all four red pins from each wing, since you won't need them.

Insert the Technic axles as shown. You'll have to angle the L-beams slightly to get them through, so it's a little tricky.

Body Prep

You'll want to strip the rear section of the hull almost completely (including the rockets). Then insert a friction pin as shown.

Prepare the angled Technic brick with a friction pin as shown.

This one is tricky. You'll have to try to leverage the Technic L-brick into position as shown with the blue pins still attached, unless you decide to disassemble the front part of the hull as well (which I didn't bother doing).

Partially insert the 3-Axles.

Hold the axle connector into place as you push the 3-axles all the way through on either side. It's a little difficult.

Add a 1x2 Technic brick with cross hole.

Take the L-beam that you removed earlier, strip it of all the blue pins, and insert a friction pin into the elbow portion, then snap into the center hole of the brick.

Then add the pieces as shown.

Place a 1x2 brick here.

Begin reassembling this portion by adding the pieces shown here.

And here.

Reattach the back wall of the hull.

Place 1x4 plates here. The set gives you two red ones to do this but I made one blue to show them apart.

Add the 1x4 Technic bricks that were originally there.

(It was at this point I realized adding brick outlines would help.)

You need a couple studs here, but any shape/color will do as long as it fits. Also a 1x2 brick with a 1x2 plate on top.

If you ripped the ship apart like I did, this chunk should be easy to place back on.

Assuming you lined everything up correctly, you should be able to put this axle back in just fine.

And this axle on the back too.

The 1x6 inverted slope piece will have to be removed, and the 4x6 inverted slope will have to be moved one stud towards the center, to make room for the wings to pivot.

Put a 1x4 dark blay plate here, and a 2x2 plate here (one should be made available after you've done the previous step).

This small chunk goes back on.

And then you add everything else back exactly as it was before. That should just about cover everything. Hopefully it's easy enough to understand!

Edited February 5, 20169 yr by Reputator

Thank you very much for taking the time and the trouble to create a set of instructions. I know how much work that can be!

Also, it's great to have a version of this mod which has been tried and tested.

Thanks for the guide, nicely done. Do you have photos of the finished build? Cheers