Anio

UCS Republic Cruiser

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gallery_101_23_281.gif

EDIT :

Professional building instruction available here :

You can email me at setechnic@gmail.com

/EDIT

Hi fellows,

Here is my latest MOC : a UCS Republic Cruiser.

6620726259_26337ee3c2_b.jpgUCS Republic Cruiser by Anio, sur Flickr

6620727021_feef34e7b7_b.jpgUCS Republic Cruiser by Anio, sur Flickr

6620727681_bb27d81ac4_b.jpgUCS Republic Cruiser by Anio, sur Flickr

The Brickshelf gallery with more photos : http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=491912

Note that I have been compelled to paint some parts. Not because I was lazy to order them, but because they have never been produced in the color I need (dark red). I will switch these parts as soon as possible..

My work began in mid October. Actually, I did not plan to do a new MOC in 2011. But well, I just wanted to start a little bit that project, just to see what I could do. And it turns out that I progressed very quickly on that MOC !

Indeed, I had a very good understanding of what I had to achieve, both regarding the structure (the most interesting part IMO), the look/finition/details and the size (the final model is 58 cm long).

I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to achieve a real structure from the cockpit to the engine for the model to be very well designed and strong.

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You can see some kind of SNIR to achieve the angles on the sides.

You can also notice some vertical technic beams to "lock/strenght" the structure. Indeed, a weak structure would actually not be a structure. O_o

Then, given that the tricky parts were designed, I decided to work on LDD. Everything went well, and that was very cool.

6620730073_5fd96737ea_b.jpgUCS Republic Cruiser by Anio, sur Flickr

6620728035_3c2c44f0ac_b.jpgUCS Republic Cruiser by Anio, sur Flickr

The engine are a bit heavy, and so not totally horizontal. But it's fine. They are only half a millimeter bent because of the weight.

That is the price to pay to get a very sleek (and simple) construction that do not damage the look of the ship.

Indeed, I absolutely wanted to keep the cylinders in 8 stud wide, with dishes on top. So, I mainly use a 8L axle with stop. The engines can not spin.

The build is very modular.

26.JPG

Another very interesting aspect of the build is that the front is built in an odd width whereas the back is designed with an even width.

It is the first time that I work on such thing. Well I confess that it is also why I choose the Republic Cruiser. This "problem" regarding the width was very exciting from a design perspective. ^^

42.JPG

I did my best to reproduce the radar and other sensors at the back.

6620731359_c59c4e9652_b.jpgUCS Republic Cruiser by Anio, sur Flickr

6620731847_0049855ca4_b.jpgUCS Republic Cruiser by Anio, sur Flickr

My greebs are dark bluish gray whereas they are red on the real ship. Will, I think that red greebs would not look very good on a Lego model.

Beside, they would have made the model totally dark red (in the hypothesis that enough parts have been made in dark red to achieve greebs). And it is IMO important to have some variations in the colors on a Lego model. So, I did them in DBG.

I am very pleased with the final model. I think it is very accurate regarding the shapes, proportions and colors. :)

Et voilĂ  !

I hope you like it as much as I do. =)

Instructions soon.

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Very nice! :wub: The annoying thing about this model is that it's actually releasable... and that it won't be. I love how you got the rear right (unlike TLG) and have a gap near the engines. One question; is the big front escape module removable?

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You're like a Savant when it comes to building LEGO anything.

The interior structure alone impresses me, and Siegfried is right, you nailed this. I'm all for painting parts if there is no LEGO alternative, as long as you can match the color and make it look good. Check!

Brilliant.

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Very nice! :wub: The annoying thing about this model is that it's actually releasable... and that it won't be.

I do not know if TLG will ever release a UCS Republic Cruiser.

But if yes, I confess that I think that it would be very close to my MOC which has IMO good compromises regarding details, colors, strength, accuracy and size (and so price).

The capsule is attached with SNOT (studs are upside down).

Even if it can be taken appart from the ship, I wouldn't say that the capsule can be detached.

You're like a Savant when it comes to building LEGO anything.

Unfortunately, few people (or at least not enough, IMO) share their techniques and give explanation on "how to do that" and "why to do this that way".

Thinking to "How to build a model" is really something interesting. Sometimes, I think on a model I will build 1 year later.

And many times, there are parts of the vehicule/ship, that I do not know how to achieve. So, I keep on thinking. And one day (often when I'm more or less sleeping in my bed :p), I get the right idea that enable me to work on the project.

This situation is very true for what will be my next project.

In short : it is necessary to understand what we build and what is involved in the build in order to built a model well (well means efficiently for me).

The interior structure alone impresses me, and Siegfried is right, you nailed this.

Nail ?

Well, I guess it means "achieve" or "succeed".

I like the structure too. Its shape is really interesting and not common.

The structure is the most tricky part to design since it has to match with all the other elements of the ship : cockpit, wings, capsule, greebs, etc.

Edited by Anio

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Yes, it's a common expression in the US.

Like "You nailed it on the head" like the head of a nail.

Basically saying this is pretty perfect. :classic:

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This really is a fantastic model Anio, not just as Lego but it stands up as beautiful in and medium especially in dark red :wub:. Without checking the proportions etc I say it's spot on, but the combination of the colour, scale, and shape make it one beautiful set.

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Another fantastic UCS MOC Anio! The ship looks stunning and I know just how much those dark red parts cost. :sick:

You have all the angles pretty much spot on and a few painted parts as stand-ins is ok. :laugh:

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This is really great work! I like your level of documentation as well:) I suspect this model is in scale with the UCS Blockade Runner?

By the way, I remember we had a little discussion regarding Legos SSD a while back (on youtube I think) and it is great to find you here :)

Cheers

Morten

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Absolutely fantastic! :sweet:

It's a shame there weren't any pieces in the right colour so you had to paint them. :sceptic:

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Aha! So this was why you were asking before regarding custom painting LEGO parts in dark red. :grin: And you sure did one heck of a job with it since the paint you used seems to be a perfect match with the standard dark red color. Well, of course the overall model is expectedly highly accurate and consistent with the quality of all your previous UCS MOCs. Brilliant work once again. :thumbup:

gallery_5203_163_10909.png

I do not know if TLG will ever release a UCS Republic Cruiser.

But if yes, I confess that I think that it would be very close to my MOC which has IMO good compromises regarding details, colors, strength, accuracy and size (and so price).

I hope so, and you have clearly demonstrated that it could be done at a reasonable parts count. Besides, TLG hiving us a similar UCS model will probably give you the right-colored pieces to replace your custom painted ones in this MOC. :wink:

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WOW there are many dark red elements on this. Great looking cruiser, much better that TLG system release. I will look great with the photoshoped disply card. :thumbup:

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Thank you all for your comments. :)

This is really great work! I like your level of documentation as well:) I suspect this model is in scale with the UCS Blockade Runner?

By the way, I remember we had a little discussion regarding Legos SSD a while back (on youtube I think) and it is great to find you here :)

Cheers

Morten

Yes, I did the math, and it turns out that the scale is very close to 10019.

If my Republic was built exactly at the same scale of 10019, it should be precisely 53 cm long (it is actually 58 cm long).

But in the Lego system, I think we can say that both model are built in the same scale.

It is possible we discussed on Youtube. Cause I answer many questions there.

Aha! So this was why you were asking before regarding custom painting LEGO parts in dark red. :grin: And you sure did one heck of a job with it since the paint you used seems to be a perfect match with the standard dark red color. Well, of course the overall model is expectedly highly accurate and consistent with the quality of all your previous UCS MOCs. Brilliant work once again. :thumbup:

gallery_5203_163_10909.png

I hope so, and you have clearly demonstrated that it could be done at a reasonable parts count. Besides, TLG hiving us a similar UCS model will probably give you the right-colored pieces to replace your custom painted ones in this MOC. :wink:

Thanks for blogging the model. :)

Looks great with more detail and in proportion compared to the LEGO version

Yes, obviously.

But keep in mind that the approach to adopt when designing a UCS model is very different from the one necessary to design a play set. ;)

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Impressive! Though i slightly prefer the militarized version with gun turrets and the white and red colours reversed, your model has been extremely well designed and i would be very tempted to buy this should this ever be released as an official UCS set. My compliments on a job well done! :thumbup:

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Impressive! Though i slightly prefer the militarized version with gun turrets and the white and red colours reversed, your model has been extremely well designed and i would be very tempted to buy this should this ever be released as an official UCS set. My compliments on a job well done! :thumbup:

Thank you. :)

The guns on the Fregate are nice.

But I choose the Republic Cruiser for 2 reasons :

- it is dark red. I love that color. Few ship do enable to use dark red. So, I choose the Republic Cruiser rather than the Fregate

- it has some nice details at the back with all the radars and sensors.

Well both models are still very similar technically speaking.

I could achieve a Fregate pretty easily with the Republic Cruiser I did.

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Excellent work as usual Anio :classic:

I really like the dark red color too so it's even better :thumbup: I hope to see you soon here or on our french cavern :tongue:

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I hope no one will mind me replying to this thread a few days late, because I'd like to say that this is my favorite LEGO rendition of my favorite Prequel craft... dark red looks beautiful, white trim is dead on, dark grey greebles are tastefully done, and the whole thing is generally bloody impressive. I would definitely agree that this is very accurate... probably as bang on as anyone would care to get at this size, in fact.

I'm quite taken with the excellent shaping and coloring of the prow, as well as the sensor array. I've got a hi-res picture of the latter up, and comparing to the assembly on your model, all I can say is, wow. I especially love what you did with the motorcycle handlebars and the 2 clip plates – it's a tiny detail, but it's clever as well as accurate to the source. And again, the dark grey works wonderfully here, offsetting the red nicely.

This one is really a keeper. Nice work. :thumbup:

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I hope no one will mind me replying to this thread a few days late, because I'd like to say that this is my favorite LEGO rendition of my favorite Prequel craft... dark red looks beautiful, white trim is dead on, dark grey greebles are tastefully done, and the whole thing is generally bloody impressive. I would definitely agree that this is very accurate... probably as bang on as anyone would care to get at this size, in fact.

I'm quite taken with the excellent shaping and coloring of the prow, as well as the sensor array. I've got a hi-res picture of the latter up, and comparing to the assembly on your model, all I can say is, wow. I especially love what you did with the motorcycle handlebars and the 2 clip plates – it's a tiny detail, but it's clever as well as accurate to the source. And again, the dark grey works wonderfully here, offsetting the red nicely.

This one is really a keeper. Nice work. :thumbup:

Thank you. :)

It is cool to read that you notice the details I included and appreciate the accuracy of the MOC.

And I forgot to give the link to the Brickshlef gallery. So, here it is : http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=491912

(I also added it in the first post)

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There's so much to love here. The shaping looks simple, but it's evidently actually quite complicated and perfectly done. The detailing and coloring are spot-on, as Fallen mentioned. The painted parts don't really bother me, though I am surprised that someone with as strict standards as yourself would be doing it. :laugh:

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Thank you, Brickdoctor. :)

There's so much to love here. The shaping looks simple, but it's evidently actually quite complicated and perfectly done.

The shape is not that simple. There are several uncommon angles to achieve.

The color scheme requires some SNOT here and there. And there is still the structure.

It make a lot of things. Moreover, the body of the model is not that big.

What is hard is to make everything fit well together.

The detailing and coloring are spot-on, as Fallen mentioned. The painted parts don't really bother me, though I am surprised that someone with as strict standards as yourself would be doing it. :laugh:

I have indeed very strong standards regarding the way I design my models. I try to be as close as possible to the standards a Lego designer has to face.

The main restriction I do not succeed to take into account is the ref number optimisation (ref, not part). Indeed, this requires a lot of time, and the design of one part of the model (the wings, for example) also depends on the design of another part (the capsule for example), precisely to optimise the ref number on the whole model.

I do not have enough time to achieve this. Moreover, it's hard for me to know exactly what parts are used where, and in what quantity, to optimise the whole build regarding the ref number. So, I do not consider this restriction.

I do optimise the part number, and take many other restrictions into account, though.

Painting parts is not a big deal for the approach I do have with my design process. Indeed, I really try to work as a designer. And in most of the case, the color is not a restriction they have to face. Actually, not on key parts. Some parts can NOT be changed and replaced by a part already produced. This is true for the parts that are very visible, and so plays a big role in the final look.

On the contrary, sometimes it is possible to ignore the "right" color.

For example, that part : 63868.gif

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=63868

It would have been cool to have it in dark red. But it does not exist in that color. So, I've used it in white (to attach the radar near the cockpit).

White, it's fine. And it avoids to create/paint another part.

Inside the model, generally, I also define a little color scheme. For instance, on the republic cruiser I choosed black for the parts that can be classified as "bricks", and dark bluish gray for those which can be classified as "plates". Well, this is a choice. I could also have choosen DBG and LBG.

This color scheme on the structure helps to understand how it is built, and to identify the parts that are used.

I do not use parts with odd colors (example, a green part or a yellow part in the structure) that are used in the model as a kind of mark for the kids (it makes things easier for them to compare their build with the instruction, instead of only black and DBG parts) given that I do not know exactly what are the rules to position these parts with odd colors.

Edited by Anio

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That's so pretty. :thumbup: You've nailed the shape exactly and I'm wishing I had one. And it's good to see someone explaining how they built this. I may look into that with my next MOC. You wouldn't be willing to share the .lxf file would you?

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That's so pretty. :thumbup: You've nailed the shape exactly and I'm wishing I had one. And it's good to see someone explaining how they built this. I may look into that with my next MOC. You wouldn't be willing to share the .lxf file would you?

It is cool you like it.

I do not plan to share the lxf file. Indeed, a friend and I will maybe release an instruction in the future.

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