MOCs: British jets

[Ralph_S]

On Saturday the 27th of June a few members of the Brickish association will be displaying LEGO models at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. The museum is currently celebrating the centenary of the first all-British flight, and because of this my good friend Ed Diment (Lego Monster on flickr) suggested that the two of us build an aircraft for each decade. I had many other things to build, but have so far managed to complete two aircraft.

A Sea Harrier representing the 'eighties

A Eurofighter Typhoon, representing the first decade of the 21st century

This shot shows the two of them together

Pictures are links.

I may have a reputation for building models of jets, but lately I have mainly been building helicopters and WW-II aircraft. The last time I actually built a jet before I started building these two is about 6 months ago and the last before that was in April 2008. I suspect I was actually getting a bit tired of building jets all the time, but this seemed like an excellent opportunity to have another go at it. Both of these jets have a quite distinctive look, which made them interesting to build. I'm quite happy with how they turned out and hope you'll like them to. If you're in the UK close to Manchester, you may want to drop in. Entrance to the museum is free!

Cheers,

Ralph

Edited July 24, 2011 by Rufus
Indexed

[Teddy]

I may have a reputation for building models of jets, but lately I have mainly been building helicopters and WW-II aircraft. The last time I actually built a jet before I started building these two is about 6 months ago and the last before that was in April 2008. I suspect I was actually getting a bit tired of building jets all the time, but this seemed like an excellent opportunity to have another go at it. Both of these jets have a quite distinctive look, which made them interesting to build. I'm quite happy with how they turned out and hope you'll like them to. If you're in the UK close to Manchester, you may want to drop in. Entrance to the museum is free!

Cheers,

Ralph

Like them? I love them!

This is some great stuff Ralph_S.

All those nice little details you've put in there give these models just that little extra.

I think you really went the extra mile on these.

Good stuff alround.

[huck to flat]

Like them? I love them!

This is some great stuff Ralph_S.

All those nice little details you've put in there give these models just that little extra.

I think you really went the extra mile on these.

Good stuff alround.

Same for me, I especially like the first one!

[LEGOMAN132]

Very nice.

[Spyder]

They are both very accurate, and very detailed. I just love how you made the canopy for the first plane.

[Ralph_S]

Thanks guys. I often use non-LEGO for the cockpit canopies. The one on the Harrier however, opens by sliding the aft part back. that means I had no frame to attach anything to and needed a more rigid solution. This is one case where a LEGO A-wing canopy actually does work -albeit not without a few stickers.

I'm not sure whether these are any more detailed than any of my older models and they were built to a deadline (I still have one more plane to build). Nonetheless, I didn't want to compromise too much on their looks since they are for a public exhibit.

Cheers,

Ralph

[Bartram]

Nice work. Those look really great. Do you use pictures for reference when building?

[Ralph_S]

Nice work. Those look really great. Do you use pictures for reference when building?

Yes. I use a lot of pictures and I normally also use a three-view drawing in order to get the proportions right. I couldn't build things like this without proper reference material and looking for it is part of the fun.

Cheers,

Ralph

[M'Kyuun]

Ralph, been an admirer of yours for years. Love this Harrier; it's been one of my all-time favorite acft since the 80's, and you've captured it beautifully in LEGO.

Your B-1 Bomber model is especially impressive (I worked on those damnable leaky, constantly broke pieces of shite for 3 years).

Have you ever considered building a model of the YF-23? Now that's a gorgeously curvy bird. I'd love to see your take on it. I have the will and the LEGO, but not the talent. See my avatar for reference.

Edited June 24, 2009 by M'Kyuun

[Captain Green Hair]

Amazing job as always Ralph, they look exactly like the real thing, i'd immediatly recognize them if there was no text with it.

I also like the fact that you used more Lego parts in the canopies, big up for that!

[Ralph_S]

Ralph, been an admirer of yours for years. Love this Harrier; it's been one of my all-time favorite acft since the 80's, and you've captured it beautifully in LEGO.

Your B-1 Bomber model is especially impressive (I worked on those damnable leaky, constantly broke pieces of shite for 3 years).

Have you ever considered building a model of the YF-23? Now that's a gorgeously curvy bird. I'd love to see your take on it. I have the will and the LEGO, but not the talent. See my avatar for reference.

Thank you. I've always liked the Harrier, but until recently there were too many problems that I didn't know how to solve for me to attempt to build it. What made me do it now was discovering that the Sea Harrier has wings that are swept back at a much more convenient angle than the AV-8Bs that I'd always been looking at.

I suspect you have me mistaken for someone else, in that I actually haven't built an F-22. There are a few Lego F-22 models that I quite like, but that don't have a number of features that I would like my model to have: such as the side weapons bays or a realistically retracting undercarriage. I've been planning to build one for ages, but haven't found solutions for some of these issues yet. I also haven't figured out what colours to use. Apart from the first EMD aircraft, Raptors all seem to be painted in three different shades of grey, with light grey on the leading edges, a slightly darker grey on most of the rest of the airframe and an even darker grey in a disruptive pattern on the upper surfaces. Making it light blueish grey overall would be to light, making it dark blueish grey would be too dark, and the contrast between the two is larger than the contrast between the various shades on the real jet. What has also kept me from building one is that I actually don't really like its looks. I know it's very capable and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but to me it looks like an F-15 that has partially melted. IMO, the YF-23 looked much nicer and I'd love to build one.

I did build a B-1 -my largest and in some ways most complicated MOC to date. I can understand that people who actually maintain the jets probably have a rather different view of the plane than enthusiasts such as myself. I just love the looks of it. It's a pretty big jet, but looks very much like a fighter. I hope to build another large bomber in the non-too-distant future. I've been collecting parts for it for ages and may finally have the time to start building it during my summer break.

Amazing job as always Ralph, they look exactly like the real thing, i'd immediatly recognize them if there was no text with it.

I also like the fact that you used more Lego parts in the canopies, big up for that!

Thanks. they are distinctive-looking jets, but it's nice to know you think they are recognisable. I've always looked at using non-Lego parts as a compromise. If I feel I can make the canopy look at least as good using LEGO as I can when using my non-Lego solution, I'll obviously choose the purist solution.

Cheers,

Ralph

[prateek]

that Harrier is amazing

[M'Kyuun]

I suspect you have me mistaken for someone else, in that I actually haven't built an F-22. I did build a B-1 -my largest and in some ways most complicated MOC to date. I can understand that people who actually maintain the jets probably have a rather different view of the plane than enthusiasts such as myself. I just love the looks of it. It's a pretty big jet, but looks very much like a fighter. I hope to build another large bomber in the non-too-distant future. I've been collecting parts for it for ages and may finally have the time to start building it during my summer break.

My sincerest apologies for the confusion. I realized my mistake and deleted the offending remarks apparently too late. Mike Psiaki's F-22 was what I had in mind.

The B-1 looks fierce from the front, like it has back problems from the side, and like the back end of a turkey from the rear. It was inspired by, and borrows heavily from, the F-111, an acft I do find aesthetically pleasing. Nonetheless, you did a superb job on your model. Kudos again.

I share your distaste for the looks of the F-22. Its only favorable angle is a top view. It's boxy with an odd diamond cross-section. Just straight-up ugly, esp when compared to either its competitor, the 23, or it's precursor, the F-15, which has stood the test of time and still amazes. Admittedly, having seen both fly at an airshow, the 22 has some incredible capabilities and outflies the 15. I still think we got the lesser airplane, as everything I've read has suggested the 23 was the better performer. Politics won the day, and America lost.

[Ratshot]

I think those would make exceptionally good sets.

[Ralph_S]

that Harrier is amazing

Thanks. Out of these two it's definitely my favourite. It has an oddball shape, but that was great fun to build.

My sincerest apologies for the confusion. I realized my mistake and deleted the offending remarks apparently too late. Mike Psiaki's F-22 was what I had in mind.

The B-1 looks fierce from the front, like it has back problems from the side, and like the back end of a turkey from the rear. It was inspired by, and borrows heavily from, the F-111, an acft I do find aesthetically pleasing. Nonetheless, you did a superb job on your model. Kudos again.

I share your distaste for the looks of the F-22. Its only favorable angle is a top view. It's boxy with an odd diamond cross-section. Just straight-up ugly, esp when compared to either its competitor, the 23, or it's precursor, the F-15, which has stood the test of time and still amazes. Admittedly, having seen both fly at an airshow, the 22 has some incredible capabilities and outflies the 15. I still think we got the lesser airplane, as everything I've read has suggested the 23 was the better performer. Politics won the day, and America lost.

No worries. I'm not at all offended by you thinking that Mike's F-22 is mine. I wouldn't mind it being mine at all

I have yet to see an F-22 fly, but it's been years since I last went to an airshow and they'll probably not be frequent visitors to Europe any time soon. From what I've read, the YF-23 was faster and more stealthy, but Lockheed the YF-22 was seen as further developed and closer to the production version and because of that as being less risky. The B-1 does have a pretty fat rear end, but overall it looks pretty sleek to me.

I think those would make exceptionally good sets.

Thanks. I wouldn't mind LEGO do more aircraft in the same vein as the Fokker tri-plane or the Sopwith Camel from a few years ago, but I suspect that any sort of jet is too contemporary.

[Fluyt]

They are just incredible, especially the harrier. Great detail and very realistic. I don't think I've seen planes made from lego that were this awesome.

[M'Kyuun]

What's most lamentable is to know that such a model can be rendered in LEGO, but will never be offered as a set, unless TLG drop their "no contemporary war machines" policy. There's a certain logic there, I suppose, but their more prevalent conflict based sets and inclusion of more realistic fighter planes, such as the Agents' fighter, and Jamie's "Fast Flyers" sets demonstrate a subtle shift towards producing combat aircraft. I think they'd sell well if produced. I nearly bought a clone-brand set featuring an F-15 with Kadena's famous "ZZ" tail flash. I didn't though...I only buy LEGO.

[Ralph_S]

They are just incredible, especially the harrier. Great detail and very realistic. I don't think I've seen planes made from lego that were this awesome.

Thank you. I should obviously post more of them here! I have been building planes and helicopters for quite a while and by now have a collection of more than thirty.

What's most lamentable is to know that such a model can be rendered in LEGO, but will never be offered as a set, unless TLG drop their "no contemporary war machines" policy. There's a certain logic there, I suppose, but their more prevalent conflict based sets and inclusion of more realistic fighter planes, such as the Agents' fighter, and Jamie's "Fast Flyers" sets demonstrate a subtle shift towards producing combat aircraft. I think they'd sell well if produced. I nearly bought a clone-brand set featuring an F-15 with Kadena's famous "ZZ" tail flash. I didn't though...I only buy LEGO.

I think that this is one part of the market that for the time being will be dominated by the various clone brands. Megabloks in particular seem to have many military sets, albeit usually crappy. I can sort of understand why LEGO steer clear of contemporary military. They're a global company with a high profile marketing products for children and they don't want any sort of controversy. I'm just an individual builder and I've already had comments from various places in the world complaining about me building mainly American aircraft.

Of course, with LEGO not producing them, I have found my own little niche.

Cheers,

Ralph

[TenorPenny]

Love, indeed! The Harrier is damned near perfect, I do declare.

[M'Kyuun]

I think that this is one part of the market that for the time being will be dominated by the various clone brands. Megabloks in particular seem to have many military sets, albeit usually crappy. I can sort of understand why LEGO steer clear of contemporary military. They're a global company with a high profile marketing products for children and they don't want any sort of controversy.

Unfortunately, but resignedly, this is true. I received a MegaBloks Apache helicopter set for Christmas one year from my sister. It was well intended..no spite. Anyway, the techniques used were not so good, the pieces lacked grip, and some parts were missing, as I recall. The thing was huge, though. I had it nearly finished, but ran out of the pieces required to finish it. So i broke it down enough to cram back in its box, packed it away somewhere, and never looked back. In their defense, however, they've catered to a market they know their primary competitor won't touch, and they have had some interesting looking sets and set ideas over the years. But you truly get what you pay for in comparison to "the leading brand".

I'm just an individual builder and I've already had comments from various places in the world complaining about me building mainly American aircraft.

That's a bit ridiculous and small-minded, especially since America has produced a vast majority of the better known aircraft, especially military aircraft. Moreover, American aircraft are more globally recognized over European fighters due to their popularity by virtue of the toy market and American movies. Russian fighters also seem to enjoy a high level of reknown, esp the Flanker and the MiG-29. I'm familiar with some Eeuropean fighters by virtue of interest and military experience. However, outside of aviation media and video games, I'd say planes like the Mirage, the Saab Draken, the Panavia Tornado, and the Eurofighter are virtually unknown in the US, but I can't speak for other countries. I'd venture to say, however, over probably any other fighter aircraft, indiginous people living in the deep Congo hunting their meals with poisoned darts could probably recognize an F-15.

Of course, with LEGO not producing them, I have found my own little niche.

Keep doing what you do best! I love browsing your galleries, if only out of appreciation and envy of your skills.

[Ralph_S]

That's a bit ridiculous and small-minded, especially since America has produced a vast majority of the better known aircraft, especially military aircraft. Moreover, American aircraft are more globally recognized over European fighters due to their popularity by virtue of the toy market and American movies. Russian fighters also seem to enjoy a high level of reknown, esp the Flanker and the MiG-29. I'm familiar with some Eeuropean fighters by virtue of interest and military experience. However, outside of aviation media and video games, I'd say planes like the Mirage, the Saab Draken, the Panavia Tornado, and the Eurofighter are virtually unknown in the US, but I can't speak for other countries. I'd venture to say, however, over probably any other fighter aircraft, indiginous people living in the deep Congo hunting their meals with poisoned darts could probably recognize an F-15.

Keep doing what you do best! I love browsing your galleries, if only out of appreciation and envy of your skills.

Two occasions stand out: I had a person from Russia telling me that he felt I made a bigger effort when I build American jets and helicopters than when I build Russian ones. That seemed a bit odd to me, because I certainly am not conscious of doing so and I really like certain Russian aircraft and I think my Su-27 Flanker is one of my most attractive models. The other occasion was somebody from former Yugoslavia objecting to me writing that 'unfortunately an F-117 was shot down during Allied Force'. Anyway, the comments aren't all that important, but they do show that any sort of military stuff can be controversial.

Thanks for your compliments.

Cheers,

Ralph

[Guss]

Great model Ralph, as usual ! I love the front of the first one you showed ( the grey/white ) just amazing^^

[M'Kyuun]

Two occasions stand out: I had a person from Russia telling me that he felt I made a bigger effort when I build American jets and helicopters than when I build Russian ones. That seemed a bit odd to me, because I certainly am not conscious of doing so and I really like certain Russian aircraft and I think my Su-27 Flanker is one of my most attractive models. The other occasion was somebody from former Yugoslavia objecting to me writing that 'unfortunately an F-117 was shot down during Allied Force'. Anyway, the comments aren't all that important, but they do show that any sort of military stuff can be controversial.

Thanks for your compliments.

Cheers,

Ralph

Well, America has few fans outside its borders; heck, with all the mixed cultures within, there's dissent against such things as posting an American flag in schools. Our politicians stand up for illegal aliens. It's a strange country.

As far as the comments go, judging by that Harrier, you clearly favor Britain over all others, which of course, makes you an equal opportunity exo-UK hater. Of course, I'm kidding. Unfortunately, we don't all get along, and some people simply see the world in all its pleasantries and horrors with eyes and hearts bent by politics and religion. So sad for them. I'm glad you can rise above it. Play well, sir.