manglegrat

[LDD MOC] SA-43 Hammerhead from Space Above and Beyond

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Hi.

Another effort to build ships from old Sci-Fi shows in LDD - this time I've had a go at building an SA-43 Hammerhead from the under-rated 90's show Space, Above and Beyond. This is the attack jet the marines use against the bad guys.

Lots of source material to work from but the below were useful reference pics:

 

27161589964_79d1f167db_o.jpg

 

27168129893_89db2785db_o.jpg

And here she is:

27699084721_d25280f5d6_o.png

It's built in DBG but looks more like LBG in the images. I think you can just about see the embedded jet engines/fans in that pic - the "natural light" renders were a bit too dark to see the black turbofans hidden in there until I tweaked the levels and monkeyed around with multiple light sources.

The top gun turret rotates/elevates, the nose gun rotates, and the cockpit canopy pivots up around some clips at the front for the pilot.

Front view:

27773430545_9bd488ea33_o.png

Top-down view:

27161648814_54a3017887_o.png

Obligatory 360 spin-o-tron view:

Hammerhead%20v0.1.360.lightened_zpsysnatxna.gif

With my MOC experience I couldn't get all the angles and curves to work in this minifig-scale, so it's a bit chunkier/stubbier than the reference images but I think it's a fair approximation that captures the spirit. Good enough for version 0.1... :classic:

I wasn't able to get the cockpit unit to fully separate like in the pre-launch/post-landing sequences they had on the show. I thought that was a cool idea but couldn't make it work smoothly enough in the size I was aiming for while being a self-contained unit, so ditched that concept. I also left out landing gear - still have a lot to learn about building that... It's much better looking in flying mode for display, anyway! :wink:

And for anyone who's curious, the LDD file is here. No clues how well it'll hold together in bricks, but I think everything should be able to bear the weight...

Now to find some other obscure space-junk to build... :laugh:

Edited by manglegrat
Changed LDD file link to be from Bricksafe

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I had completely forgotten about that show. Thanks for the memory reboot. :)

Your rendition of the fighter seems real close. The canopy seems a little off though with the "peak", but every else is spot on.

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Thanks, Kwatchi! :blush:

Yeah, the canopy peak is definitely a divergence but I didn't want to use a 1-piece official one and couldn't find a way to make the shape of the back half blend in to the neck smoothly using any other existing windscreen parts (I did consider using the Grievous canopy as well, but it's far too big and still doesn't do the back half of the cockpit). Let's call it "heavily inspired by" this MOC. :sweet:

I also had some wifely feedback last night suggesting that it needed to be longer (the MOC, guys! :grin: ), so I extended the neck by 2 studs and smoothed the top surfaces with tiles not grilles. I also threw in some of the dark blue coloring from one of the pics above along the engine-fronts/wing-edges:

27193775843_48ee08f86c_c.jpg

Hammerhead%20v0.2_zps67m2uqpc.gif

Edited by manglegrat

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Nice, love too see a light grey version of that improved version with decals.

Maybe with one of the 'Wildcards' pilotting the craft, is the pilotpod also separable btw?

Can it drop down into the craft?

I'll never forget the

with Ronald Lee Ermey, similar to Full Metal Jacket.

"In space no one can hear you scream, unless it's the battle cry of the United States Marine." :laugh:

But also a small part where they pick up radio signals from the past, which have been drifting through space all that time...

Edited by -zenn

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Definitely like the improvement, looks like a mean ship

Thanks! :classic:

I'm playing with other screen options to remove the peak and the rim round the existing canopy, but I kinda like the rim and I'm just not satisfied with anything I've come up with yet (new X-Wing canopy, V-Wing canopy). :sceptic:

Nice, love too see a light grey version of that improved version with decals.

Maybe with one of the 'Wildcards' pilotting the craft...

Thanks! And yeah, that'd be sweet, but decals are beyond my talent! :tongue:

I'm sure with some more colour tweaks it's buildable in brick. It's very close as-is if you switch LBG for DBG - according to Rebrickable... only 4 reported colour errors.

Curse TLG for not providing all the parts I want in the perfect colours I want... How inconsiderate! :grin:

...is the pilotpod also separable btw?

Can it drop down into the craft?

Sadly no, I haven't gone back to see if I can redesign the cockpit to be a drop-in yet. I think it's possible in this version (the structure may require a redesign), so that may be a mini-project for me sometime soon... if I succeed I'll do an update!

If you want to have a go yourself then give'er and let us see how it works! Here's the updated LXF file. :wink:

I'll never forget the

with Ronald Lee Ermey, similar to Full Metal Jacket.

"In space no one can hear you scream, unless it's the battle cry of the United States Marine." :laugh:

But also a small part where they pick up radio signals from the past, which have been drifting through space all that time...

We had a binge-watch recently of the first 10 episodes (I think your signal scene may be in a later one) - I remember being pretty surprised when I saw the pilot the first time and Ermey was involved. He's a bit of an icon but kinda a one-trick pony (though it's an awesome trick). I loved his scenes in Frighteners...

Overall, it's still very watchable but the acting was terrible... and the Silicates are such an 80's hair-metal throwback! :grin:

Edited by manglegrat

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