[MOC] Desk-Scale Star Wars fleet

[simplethinker]

 

Back when the original Lego midi-scale sets came out, I fell in love with the idea of having models the size where they were small enough to display, but large enough to have detail and be cool.
So, I set out first with my all time favorite capital ship in Star Wars, the Venator Cruiser.  I roughed out the main idea, and kept tinkering with it ever since.  That was 6 or 7 years ago.  I was a beginner, so needless to say that it took  four years of tinkering, remodeling, overhauling, and learning that got it to where I was satisfied.  

 

My thoughts about midi-scale, or desk-scale as I call it, were to focus on capital ships, since it seemed cool to have the largest ships in star wars on my desk.  I also had the benefit of there not being very many people that had done capital ships at this scale.  

As a result, I built my next favorite capital ship, the executor.  If you see the other photos, it was a good attempt, but it wasn't the greatest.  Luckily, I found @skayenhere on Eurobricks who showed how to make the dimensions correct, though his is much, much larger.  One good overhaul and viola!, the current model.

(compliments of @skayen)

It was around this time that I discovered Bricklink, which expedited the process.  A lot.

I decided to give it a go with smaller craft, starting first with a ship I came to love, the Ghost from Star Wars: Rebels.  This time, design to completion only took a month (working on it off and on).  It was also on this one that I tried my hand at custom sticker work as you can see on the cockpit and front turret.

Then, I saw Rogue One and had to have a U-Wing.  That was a pain in the butt as I designed and bought the parts only to realize that the wings were way too heavy to be supported by only a clip.  I redesigned them to be lighter, but I still had to give up the functionality of the wings folding outward.  I’ve seen others be able to do it, but I didn’t have the techniques to figure it out without an entire overhaul (which I don’t have the motivation or patience to do).  It looked good, and that was enough for me.  I left the clip in to make it  look like it could though :D.

Then, I had to hit the Resurgent battle-cruiser that was introduced in The Force Awakens.  There wasn’t much source material at the time (pre Last Jedi) and I'm glad it turned out as well as it did.  

 

All the while, I'm getting better and better at designing and building, so it went from four years to completion, to two, to finishing two in a year, to now three in a year.  They aren’t the most complex builds you’ll ever see, but that’s part of the style of this collection.

Now for the Falcon.  I hadn't dared do something so iconic since it'd been moc-ized at every conceivable scale innumerable times.  But, I studied and saw one niche scale where it hadn't been given justice in my eyes, and I went for it.   Another driving factor is the Ultimate Collector's Series Millennium Falcon that had been released that same fall to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Episode 4.  I wasn't going to pay $800 dollars for a set, as cool as it is, and I didn't have anywhere to put it even if I did.  Time to crank out the desk-scale experience. 
Two months later and there it was, my greatest thus far.  It weighs two pounds.  
I managed to finish it before 2017 ended, making it my 40th anniversary celebration piece.  

Be sure to hit my flickr to see a couple of timelapses of me building this sucker!

The latest I’ve done was inspired by @Inthert when he modified his excellent U-Wing into the junker version that appears in Star Wars: Rebels.  I thought, “why not? I can so the same thing!” and voila!  I’ve since shortened the wings a bit from these pictures so they are more accurate.

Here's some pictures of most of the fleet on a wall:

Their public debut and my first Lego Con, Brickslopes June 2018:

I hope you enjoy.  

- Jordan Fridal 
aka simplethinker

Every model has one element, idea or technique that I borrowed from someone else.  So thanks to Erik Varszegi, V1lain, Tim Goddard, @Inthert, @sparkart, Palleon, @DarthTwoShedsJackson,  @skayen, @Brickdoctor, and the LEGO Group!  I’ll leave it as a challenge to all of you to look through the photos and figure out which elements came from where.

Edited October 22, 2018 by simplethinker

[Cylo]

Nice! Your U wing was my favourite! 

[simplethinker]

Thanks!

[Ellisss_2]

Awesome builds, makes me want to do something similar for my desk!

[simplethinker]

These models made their first public debut at Brickslopes 2018 this last June where the Falcon won the administrator’s-pick prize the Cody’s Choice award.

[WTFett]

These are awesome!  Do you have instructions to release/sell?

[danielwerner]

1 hour ago, WTFett said:

These are awesome! Do you have instructions to release/sell?

Wondering the same thing. :)

[stormtroopercaptain]

I love you falcon. That size really works well how thin the falcon is vs it’s width is perfect. I wish lego had kept midi scale  around. It would be nice collection and display size. 

[tfcrafter]

That Ghost is fantastic!

[simplethinker]

4 hours ago, WTFett said:

These are awesome!  Do you have instructions to release/sell?

 

2 hours ago, danielwerner said:

Wondering the same thing. :)

I have instructions for the falcon on rebrickable, others are forthcoming

[azzer86]

Great work, these are amazing! The instructions interest me too, especially the Venator.

[WTFett]

For the falcon:  https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-17948/simplethinker/desk-scale-falcon/#bi

Looking forward to the rest @simplethinker

[simplethinker]

Thanks, you bet, @WTFett   Be sure to let me know how it turns out with the instructions, it was a pain in the behind to get them generated and uploaded 

[ChiefPie]

They look great!

[simplethinker]

@ChiefPie, thanks!

On 10/18/2018 at 9:15 AM, stormtroopercaptain said:

I love you falcon. That size really works well how thin the falcon is vs it’s width is perfect. I wish lego had kept midi scale  around. It would be nice collection and display size. 

My thoughts exactly, which is why I took matters into my own hands.  Funny, I’ve had some say the falcon is too thin, so thanks for the compliment.  proportions are very important for this collection’s purpose.

[sed6]

What a fantastic set of models! I particularly like the Falcon. Thanks for getting it on Rebrickable for others to enjoy. Well worth your effort!

Edit to add- got any pics from the side and of the underside? I'm curious what you did for the landing gear. 

Edited October 20, 2018 by sed6

[Maranar]

These are awesome! My favorite is the venator cruiser!

That scale is really perfect, enough detail without going absolutely bonkers on parts.

[simplethinker]

7 hours ago, sed6 said:

What a fantastic set of models! I particularly like the Falcon. Thanks for getting it on Rebrickable for others to enjoy. Well worth your effort!

Edit to add- got any pics from the side and of the underside? I'm curious what you did for the landing gear. 

Good suggestion, gotcha covered with some renders from Stud.io

[sed6]

3 minutes ago, simplethinker said:

Good suggestion, gotcha covered with some renders from Stud.io

Exciting! On Flickr?

[simplethinker]

@sed6, they are now

[sed6]

3 minutes ago, simplethinker said:

@sed6, they are now

Thanks! Well done. Question, if we purchase instructions, do we get a pattern or something for the canopy windows?

For those too lazy or inept, here's a link to SimpleThinkers Flickr pics. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/simplethinker/

[simplethinker]

36 minutes ago, sed6 said:

Thanks! Well done. Question, if we purchase instructions, do we get a pattern or something for the canopy windows?

No, the canopy is from the official lego midi falcon.  I put the item number from bricklink for that piece with the stickers already applied in the description.  I also did so for some of the 2x2 round tiles that also have stickers.  Please read the description and replace the pieces in the parts list according to instructions.

Also, thanks for the flickr plug

Edited October 20, 2018 by simplethinker

[Brick-Wombat]

14 hours ago, simplethinker said:

@ChiefPie, thanks!

My thoughts exactly, which is why I took matters into my own hands.  Funny, I’ve had some say the falcon is too thin, so thanks for the compliment.  proportions are very important for this collection’s purpose.

 

The "thin-ness" is exactly why I like it. The official midi Falcon is too bulky. I'm looking at it now debating whether I should cannibalise it for the requisite parts. 

[simplethinker]

@K_W WHY IS THIS EVEN A QUESTION!!?? DO IT!!! ?

[sed6]

5 hours ago, K_W said:

 

The "thin-ness" is exactly why I like it. The official midi Falcon is too bulky. I'm looking at it now debating whether I should cannibalise it for the requisite parts. 

I totally would! Rebrickable will tell you exactly what additional parts you need.