[MOC] A little starfighter I built

[tuireann]

Hi, I built this starfighter. I call it the FA-97 Raptor. If you have any construcive criticism, fire away!

 

It's a Bricklink studio model at the moment, even though I built the prototype in real life legos. But I changed some of the design when I built the digital model.

I classify it as a heavy fighter.

Built by Star Brick System Technologies, it's got a very small cargo compartment at the bottom, two heavy laser guns, two mega disruptors, two fast reaction superthrust thrusters and of course a level 8 brickspace engine.

The state of the art Suresnap-3000 landing gear on display here. The glowing red of the two mega disruptors can be seen at the front.

Behind the cockpit is the removable emergency survival kit (red), on top of the replaceable oxygen tanks (not visible).

In the back, the engine department with a replaceable Polymer-Ion Battery.

Detail view of the cockpit.

The pilot, standing between the battery, oxygen tanks and emergency survival kit.

Edited May 29, 2024 by tuireann

[MonkeyJay]

Nice design, and the colors fit him well. The equipments for the pilots are really cool :-)

[GeoBrick]

It looks quite sturdy and sweeping at the same time. The coloring is indeed fitting.
I like the functionality you put into it, and the way you use those 2x4 wedges to taper towards the cockpit front, it keeps the ship 'airtight' so to speak with the canopy you used.

All in all, it reminds me of a cross of a Star Wars Republican A-Fighter and Buck Roger's Earth Directorate Starfighter

[MonkeyJay]

1 hour ago, GeoBrick said:

All in all, it reminds me of a cross of a Star Wars Republican A-Fighter and Buck Roger's Earth Directorate Starfighter

Weird mix, but I does actually match pretty well ^^

[tuireann]

Thanks for the comments, I'm really glad you like the colours!

5 hours ago, MonkeyJay said:

The equipments for the pilots are really cool :-)

Thank you :) I have an idea to create a mechanic with an equipment cart that can replace the consumables (air, power) after each mission.

3 hours ago, GeoBrick said:

It looks quite sturdy and sweeping at the same time. The coloring is indeed fitting.
I like the functionality you put into it, and the way you use those 2x4 wedges to taper towards the cockpit front, it keeps the ship 'airtight' so to speak with the canopy you used.

All in all, it reminds me of a cross of a Star Wars Republican A-Fighter and Buck Roger's Earth Directorate Starfighter

You have a good eye :)

Sturdy and sweeping is an excellent way to describe the look. I found it a bit odd when I first built it, but I think it's distinctive. It is indeed in the A-Wing/Buck Rogers vein, those are two of my favourite film designs. But I think it turned out to not be a copy of those ships.

You can actually fit a different canopy on the ship...

The shorter one makes the dimensions look slightly more harmonious, but I think it looses some of its distinctiveness with it. I was struggling with whether or not to make the back longer to accompany the length of the canopy, but again the dimensions, while slightly odd, make it look unique.

I think the idea for wedges in the cockpit comes from an official lego A-Wing?

I want to tinker with the ship a little bit more and then release the instructions on rebrickable. I'd say it's about 95% ready for release atm. 361 parts including the pilot.

Edited May 30, 2024 by tuireann
spelling

[TeddytheSpoon]

Very nice! I like the colour scheme and the shaping is lovely - a hint of A-wing for sure.

I think it looks better with the shorter windscreen; although the longer one is still good, the shorter one makes it feel a little more aggressive IMO. The only suggestion I would make is to not have so many grille tiles, particularly around the outside where they could be replaced with either different greebling or just tiled over.

Edited May 30, 2024 by TeddytheSpoon

[tuireann]

14 minutes ago, TeddytheSpoon said:

Very nice! I like the colour scheme and the shaping is lovely - a hint of A-wing for sure.

I think it looks better with the shorter windscreen; although the longer one is still good, the shorter one makes it feel a little more aggressive IMO. The only suggestion I would make is to not have so many grille tiles, particularly around the outside where they could be replaced with either different greebling or just tiled over.

Thanks :) I actually think that the longer canopy makes it more aggressive... I gues that's down to individual taste.

But I had planned to include both canopy options in the instructions.

Do you have an idea what I could use instead of grilles? I like them because they make the ship look greebly, solid tiles make it look a bit boring. Keep in mind that, while I plan to sell the instructions (along with an interactive pilots manual that I'm working on), I won't make them very expensive and I don't want people to have to dish out hundreds of dollars, euros, whatever for the parts either, which is why I went with the nice, cheap grille tiles.

[GeoBrick]

2 hours ago, tuireann said:

Do you have an idea what I could use instead of grilles? I like them because they make the ship look greebly, solid tiles make it look a bit boring.

You might get away with using 1x2 cheese slopes on the wing tips before the engine inlets, placed back-to-back with the low side on the outer part and the inner side connecting with the slope towards the cockpit. Such a setup might look like a better 'air-intake' for the enginge inlets.
And maybe one of the three grilles before the cockpit canopy to a normal tile.
If you have them at home, there's those 1x3 modified tiles you could use on the bottom instead of the plates. Removes a number of the 'dots' those 1x(insert length) plates you used there. Gives for a more finished look on the ventral parts of the ship.

[tuireann]

23 hours ago, GeoBrick said:

You might get away with using 1x2 cheese slopes on the wing tips before the engine inlets, placed back-to-back with the low side on the outer part and the inner side connecting with the slope towards the cockpit. Such a setup might look like a better 'air-intake' for the enginge inlets.
And maybe one of the three grilles before the cockpit canopy to a normal tile.

I tried the cheese slopes but they're kind of an unnecessary protrusion at the side. But putting a tile in between the grilles at the front is a good idea, thanks.

 

23 hours ago, GeoBrick said:

If you have them at home, there's those 1x3 modified tiles you could use on the bottom instead of the plates. Removes a number of the 'dots' those 1x(insert length) plates you used there. Gives for a more finished look on the ventral parts of the ship.

I see where you're going with this... but the 1xY plates at the bottom are actually for stability, especially on the engines. Replacing them with 1x3's wouldn't be a good idea.
And I don't mind the dots. This is Lego after all, if someone builds this ship from my instructions and decides it needs legs, wheels, a house or a dragon underneath, they should be able to stick them on without changing the original build.

Edited May 31, 2024 by tuireann

[Space Coyote]

I love this, very sleek and stylish, the color scheme kind of reminds me of the new city space sets but different, like it could be from a separate faction.

[tuireann]

3 hours ago, Space Coyote said:

I love this, very sleek and stylish, the color scheme kind of reminds me of the new city space sets but different, like it could be from a separate faction.

Thanks :)
I wouldn't call it a faction... the fighter is built by Star Brick System Technologies, a subsidiary of MultiCorp (all hail the glorious board members). I'm doing a little world building around that at the moment, which I will hopefully have done soon... at least enough so that I can release the instructions with some context.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Very cool!

Great colors

[Corydoras]

Looks nice. However, if it really is a starfighter, then it should have some armaments, yet I don't see any guns/cannons/etc. on it.

[GeoBrick]

41 minutes ago, Corydoras said:

Looks nice. However, if it really is a starfighter, then it should have some armaments, yet I don't see any guns/cannons/etc. on it.

Check again the pictures of the ventral side. There's two black guns to see there.

[Corydoras]

1 hour ago, GeoBrick said:

Check again the pictures of the ventral side. There's two black guns to see there.

Oh, I see them. They are quite well-concealed.