[UCS] [WIP] [MOC] Venator Class Star Destroyer

[atlas]

I think an issue with this which you can easily resolve is the size of the inverted canard part of the wedge (just imagine the venator is an ISD with part of the hull cut out, I'm referring to the rearmost section of the ship which is separated from the front by the cutout shape of the venator). At the moment it looks out of proportion to the rest, if you made it a bit bigger the whole thing would look much better 

[Ellisss_2]

Hello, @atlas 

I am very confused as to what you mean. It is most likely my fault.  If you do not mind can you get an image of the Venator and circle the part you say is out of proportion in a program such as paint and upload the image here.

Kind regards, Ellis.

[Ellisss_2]

Hello, Guys!

I finally got my UCS Venator frame complete! To my surprise, all the hinges worked and aligned correctly, I had my doubts with the model being completely designed in LDD. It's so much bigger in reality than I imagined. The parts were only 45 GBP! I will be ordering the parts for the engines and tail soon!  

 

Thank you for reading!

Kind regards, Ellis.

Edited May 17, 2017 by Ellisss_2

[VaderFan2187]

Looks really good! Can't wait to see the whole thing in real-life 

[Kristof]

I love that table! :D Mate glass on sawhorses, couldn't be more stylish. Good luck with the build :)

[Ellisss_2]

10 hours ago, VaderFan2187 said:

Looks really good! Can't wait to see the whole thing in real-life 

Thank you!  It looks much better in reality, than LDD!

10 hours ago, krisandkris12 said:

I love that table! :D Mate glass on sawhorses, couldn't be more stylish. Good luck with the build :)

Thank you, I know I love my table too! 

[VaderFan2187]

20 minutes ago, Ellisss_2 said:

Thank you, I know I love my table too! 

Nice keyboard too  love the colors.

Presumably that computer is where you have your LDD? So the Venator is meeting her digital ancestor :D

Edited January 15, 2017 by VaderFan2187

[Ellisss_2]

5 hours ago, VaderFan2187 said:

Nice keyboard too  love the colors.

Presumably that computer is where you have your LDD? So the Venator is meeting her digital ancestor :D

The computer is indeed where I have the LDD! 

Keyboard Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Razer-BlackWidow-Mechanical-Keyboard-Programmable/dp/B00OBPTZ6U

[Ellisss_2]

Just thought I would do a size comparison of my model against Primus' Venator so far. Unfortunately, I could not find an LDD for the original Primus' Venator, so I used a modified version. I believe it is the same size, correct me if I am wrong. I have no clue who this belongs to, if you know who owns it comment!

Kind regards, Ellis.

Edited May 17, 2017 by Ellisss_2

[Kristof]

Good comparison.

This iteration of Primus design is by Bob K. (mocpages, Ideas). It retains the original shaping and geometry, most modifications went towards these cool engine thrusters, whcih are redesigned by Bob and also adding of these lever-blasters, which i rather dislike :)

I'm quite suprised how substantially bigger is your front section - I thought it was more or less the same as Primus design. That really proves you took your own way to create it, which is great!

What is not great is the rear part. These wings look really weird on your versions, Should have been longer, more towards sides and back as well. Also the narrower 'neck' where these docking bay door is should be a bit longer. Basically, from a quick look, your front part, which looks proportionally very well, is of about 1/5 bigger than Primus. Given that the proportions in his design are quite accurate, you should try to make every part bigger by the same proportional amount.

Overall, I am positively surprised by the front portion of your ship, fingers crossed that you can master the rest of it as well. Good luck!

[Ellisss_2]

1 hour ago, krisandkris12 said:

Good comparison.

This iteration of Primus design is by Bob K. (mocpages, Ideas). It retains the original shaping and geometry, most modifications went towards these cool engine thrusters, whcih are redesigned by Bob and also adding of these lever-blasters, which i rather dislike :)

I'm quite suprised how substantially bigger is your front section - I thought it was more or less the same as Primus design. That really proves you took your own way to create it, which is great!

What is not great is the rear part. These wings look really weird on your versions, Should have been longer, more towards sides and back as well. Also the narrower 'neck' where these docking bay door is should be a bit longer. Basically, from a quick look, your front part, which looks proportionally very well, is of about 1/5 bigger than Primus. Given that the proportions in his design are quite accurate, you should try to make every part bigger by the same proportional amount.

Overall, I am positively surprised by the front portion of your ship, fingers crossed that you can master the rest of it as well. Good luck!

 

Thank you, Kris!

I know the rear is horrible, it is because I have not done it yet!  The proportions do look a bit off, I will see what I can do. The back will look longer once it is completed, which should help fix the proportions! I was surprised too when I compared my design to Primus', I am pretty impressed with myself, to say the least, this being my first LDD MOC. 

Kind regards, Ellis,

[VaderFan2187]

1 minute ago, Ellisss_2 said:

Thank you, Kris!

I know the rear is horrible, it is because I have not done it yet!  The proportions do look a bit off, I will see what I can do. The back will look longer once it is completed, which should help fix the proportions! I was surprised too when I compared my design to Primus', I am pretty impressed with myself, to say the least, this being my first LDD MOC. 

Kind regards, Ellis,

Yep, I think you need to widen the wings at the back a little.

Great MOC though :)

Edited January 19, 2017 by VaderFan2187

[Ellisss_2]

1 minute ago, VaderFan2187 said:

Yep, I think you need to widen the wings at the back a little.

Great MOC though :)

 

Thanks, I'm on it! 

[Kristof]

A lot of Venator images and renderings are, I think, misleading. For instance, I have this book of 'incredible cross sections' which is usually considered great refference, But the venator in it is heavilly off. I also think that many screenshots from games and animated series are a bit untrue.

As much as I studied the original design that trully appeared in EP III, I found these renderins to be the most accurate in terms of overal proportions (not the details like greeblings etc)

http://jasonmartin3d.deviantart.com/art/Venator-Star-Destroyer-Side-149783502

http://jasonmartin3d.deviantart.com/art/Venator-Star-Destroyer-Side-149783502

I very much encourage you to checking those. Many builders tend to built they Venators to flat and wide, while the original design doesnt seem to be the case. These 'blueprints' seem to scale well with the fabulous huge lego Venator built by Erik Varszegi, who as a proffesional most certainly had the best references, so that's another reason why I trust these to be accurate :)

[Ellisss_2]

22 minutes ago, krisandkris12 said:

A lot of Venator images and renderings are, I think, misleading. For instance, I have this book of 'incredible cross sections' which is usually considered great refference, But the venator in it is heavilly off. I also think that many screenshots from games and animated series are a bit untrue.

As much as I studied the original design that trully appeared in EP III, I found these renderins to be the most accurate in terms of overal proportions (not the details like greeblings etc)

http://jasonmartin3d.deviantart.com/art/Venator-Star-Destroyer-Side-149783502

http://jasonmartin3d.deviantart.com/art/Venator-Star-Destroyer-Side-149783502

I very much encourage you to checking those. Many builders tend to built they Venators to flat and wide, while the original design doesnt seem to be the case. These 'blueprints' seem to scale well with the fabulous huge lego Venator built by Erik Varszegi, who as a proffesional most certainly had the best references, so that's another reason why I trust these to be accurate :)

 

Thank you, those reference images look great! I always thought that to be the case too, every Venator picture is different, I swear!  The thickness looks correct so far, as the top plating is thin, but the bottom plating a lot thicker. I will remember this when I come round to designing the bottom plating. Luckily I designed the engines with a large depth, to meet the bottom plating. Thank you again,

Kind regards, Ellis.

[dmarkng]

Any additions to the physical build?

Looking forward to seeing more WIP pics =)

[Ellisss_2]

4 hours ago, dmarkng said:

Any additions to the physical build?

Looking forward to seeing more WIP pics =)

Hello, @dmarkng

No, unfortunately I do not have any more additions to the physical build. Going to get a Bricklink/Pick a Brick order in soon. I am aiming to finish the model by March. I will keep you update on my progress.

Kind regards, Ellis. 

[Ellisss_2]

I was very unhappy with the plating, to begin with, due to it overhanging the greebling too far. I have redesigned the plating to suit the models angles better. (Right Original, Left Current). 

Please help me with improving the model!

Thank you for reading, 

Kind regards, Ellis.

Edited February 9, 2017 by Ellisss_2

[Kristof]

Ellis, from my perspective, this is a step to the dark side :D Ok, less pathetic, it's not a good move. Three reasons that may convince you:

1. Your original plating doesn't overhang all that much. Pretty acceptable I think. A bit more, but see reason 3 for better solution.
2. New design suffer two major flaws. First the awkward step at the front - idk how about you but for me that would be reason enough to pull back, Second, the cutout piece where twin side turbolaser is is pretty much gone. But it should be there and it should be prominent. It's significant feature and your original design implements it nicely!
3. Much better way to reduce overhang is to insert one or two layers of plates BENEATH your greebling. In fact, the increased depth allow you to play more with the greebling, possibly creating some more interesting features and various layers there. 

All in all, I vote for the original plating.

Btw I see you worked on the back section of the hull some. Improvement, but still a bit short in my opinion. If you' like to hand me over your lxf file, I can propose what I think would be closer to accurate :)

All best for further design!

[Ellisss_2]

20 minutes ago, krisandkris12 said:

Ellis, from my perspective, this is a step to the dark side :D Ok, less pathetic, it's not a good move. Three reasons that may convince you:

1. Your original plating doesn't overhang all that much. Pretty acceptable I think. A bit more, but see reason 3 for better solution.
2. New design suffer two major flaws. First the awkward step at the front - idk how about you but for me that would be reason enough to pull back, Second, the cutout piece where twin side turbolaser is is pretty much gone. But it should be there and it should be prominent. It's significant feature and your original design implements it nicely!
3. Much better way to reduce overhang is to insert one or two layers of plates BENEATH your greebling. In fact, the increased depth allow you to play more with the greebling, possibly creating some more interesting features and various layers there. 

All in all, I vote for the original plating.

Btw I see you worked on the back section of the hull some. Improvement, but still a bit short in my opinion. If you' like to hand me over your lxf file, I can propose what I think would be closer to accurate :)

All best for further design!

5

Firstly, thank you for such an in-depth and helpful response! After some careful consideration (jk 3 seconds) I shall revert to the original plating design. Check your Eurobrick's mailbox you should see the LXF file.

Kind regards, Ellis.

[Ellisss_2]

Update 

Thanks to the help and ideas from @krisandkris12 I have in my opinion vastly improved my Venator!

The wing shape has been modified to better match the wide ends of the Venator's wings. The tail has also been redesigned and made 6 studs wide like Anio's Venator instead of 4 studs wide like before. I have also redesigned, extended and heightened the bridge. Currently, I am working on larger thrusters too, as the other ones were too small. Overall, I think I have made my Venator bulkier like it is meant to be, as it was very sleek before.

Please help me improve this further, by commenting your ideas below! 

 

Thank you for reading!

Kind regards, Ellis.

Edited February 9, 2017 by Ellisss_2

[VaderFan2187]

Looks really good @Ellisss_2! However I don't think the trans light blue goes well with the dark red on the bridge, is that accurate?

[Ellisss_2]

16 minutes ago, VaderFan2187 said:

Looks really good @Ellisss_2! However I don't think the trans light blue goes well with the dark red on the bridge, is that accurate?

Thank you VaderFan!

Nope, it is not accurate, I removed some of it more of a detailing idea really. 

[Ellisss_2]

Update

I have finished the wings, tail, engines and bridge now, I am pretty proud of it! Maybe the tail needs lengthening at the back, though.

I can now finally move onto the lower wings!  

 

Thank you for reading!

Kind regards, Ellis.

Edited February 9, 2017 by Ellisss_2

[Kristof]

Very decent progress! I agree on longer tail, but not by that much. Three to four bricks longer and it should do the trick :)

Isn|t it possible to replace these two 4x4 45 degree wedge plates on the wings with single 8 by 8 one? You would get rid of this ugly cutout dent in there and also obtain more rigid construction.