Improved Resistance Troop Transport 75140

[PaulPrime]

I was not interested in this set until I saw it half priced. I intended to buy it as a cheap source of pieces but I ended liking it a lot and spending time modifying it to make it cooler. Yes, it is that good.

Most of the changes were done for aesthetic reasons, like filling gaps, adding tiles or the steering bar for the pilot. Changing how the top part opens was a must because the original hinges took away too much of the interior space. I will let the pictures speak by themselves.

The mods are not too difficult to replicate, but let me know if you would like to see more pictures or further explanations.

I hope you liked it.

[Japanbuilder]

I love how you doubled the storage capacity for the weapons. The rest is also well implemented. Opening the edges of the interior is also a very good move. I am able to squeeze about 10 figures into the craft in the vanilla model but the two at the very edges are hard to place and take out. That small rework in that area does improve troop placement. Closing the gaps a bit more is also a good touch as the film model is more boxy compared to the LEGO set which seems a bit too sleek around the pilot's cabin in particular. 

This was by far my favorite set from 2016 and I am glad you took the time to show it some love. 

Edited March 8, 2017 by Japanbuilder

[PaulPrime]

Thank you for your comments, Japanbuilder. Now that you mention the film model I was looking for some good pictures to compare and continue improving the Lego model if possible, but I was able to find only this picture.

Aside from the colors and landing gear I think the model is very accurate. I have to add one plate with handle to the floor of the cabin, and I wil start thinking about a landing gear using the technic pieces between each module.

[Japanbuilder]

In the film when the craft is landing you get a good glance of the underside of the pilot's cabin from the opposite side to the shot above. It seems the housing next to the pilot's cabin runs right along to the cockpit but the build used by LEGO is a pretty decent approximation. Admittedly that is a very hard area to modify in LEGO since the shapes of the pieces to make a pilot's cabin that uninterrupted from the housing to the cockpit are either too round, too sleek, or would force the build to be extended in unsightly ways towards the engine exhaust. 

Still as I said before your mods are great and very practical since they make the primary role of the craft a bit more convenient (transporting an armed group to and fro). 

[PaulPrime]

Thanks again for your nice comments. I understand what you say about the cabin and I can't find a way to make it more accurate. I will think about it, but in the meantime I have made some more minor mods.

Landing gear! It is not pretty, it is not very useful, but it is retractable and it works.

 

I had to cover the missiles.

And this is how the landing gear was done, using what I have at hand.

[PaulPrime]

So I finally built an armored canopy. I'm very happy with the look achieved, and athough it's different than the movie design I think it's better than the official sticker. The canopy can be opened as before but I changed the disk for a plate with is more easy to push, and made the side door openable as well.

If you want to replicate this mods and need  instructions just let me know.

Cheers!

Edited June 13, 2017 by PaulPrime

[Romanos]

looking good ;)

 

[Calanon]

Looking good, I like the mods you made quite a lot. Have you considered using a bucket handle for a control yoke? Admittedly the minifig can't properly grab it but it looks good and is what I've done in my TIE fighter and LEGO have done with the new TX-130 model.

[PaulPrime]

On 2017-6-13 at 7:22 PM, Romanos said:

looking good ;)

 

Thank you!

19 hours ago, Calanon said:

Looking good, I like the mods you made quite a lot. Have you considered using a bucket handle for a control yoke? Admittedly the minifig can't properly grab it but it looks good and is what I've done in my TIE fighter and LEGO have done with the new TX-130 model.

Thank you very much, Yes, I considered the use of bucket handles, but as the steering bar was designed to be properly grabbed by minifig hands and there is enough space inside the cabin I decided to use it instead. I don't discard to use bucket handles in other projects, although I prefer the use of minifig hands and bars like this.

 

[PaulPrime]

Let me introduce you THE POD! After checking the leaked pictures from the new Resistance Transport Pod set 75176 I wanted to try to implement (at least some) of the new play features to my good old smaller pod from 75140. Of course the previous improvements remain so I will focus on the new additions.

The detached pod look like this.

New guns on the side.

Replaced the technic disc with a much easier to activate piece in order to open the cockpit.

A larger technic plate 1x3 was used as the height of the pod is one plate higher now.

If you remove the side panel you will find a tray with a gun.

Remove the top to find an old round friend.

This red thingy looks menacing.

There are three "layers" in the back. The lower one houses the missile, the middle one the tray with the gun and the top one space for BB-8.

When not in use the new guns can be stored behind the "gun pod" and almost out of sight.

Why not to free tthe inner space in this pod as well? There is barely space for a minifig and a control panel.

It was fun to find a way to implement even more play features in such a limited space. I hope you like it.

 

 

Edited August 15, 2017 by PaulPrime