UCS Scale Scimitar Assault Bomber

[Walter Kovacs]

In medieval times, those seeking to learn a trade were apprenticed to a master. They would stay apprenticed until they produced a work that proved that they were worthy of being called a master; in other words, a master's piece. Although LEGO MOCing isn't a trade, and no-one that I know of is in a LEGO apprenticeship, if I were, I'd humbly submit this model for consideration.

The Scimitar Assault Bomber (Wookiepedia page) is one of the ore interesting TIE Alternates. Not technically a TIE (it only has a single Ion engine), it presented quite a few challenges. The cockpit is cylindrical, unlike almost all other TIEs. Behind the cockpit is a hexagonal section, which is always trouble in LEGO. To compound the problem, the hexagonal section narrows as it moves towards the cockpit. The rear of the hex section transitions into a rectangular sction, which is thinner, but wider, than the previous section. At the engines, the hull flares out. And the wings are concave, as opposed to the much simpler flat, bent wings of many of the TIEs (think: TIE Interceptor).

Here is the final result:

As you can see, the model is huge. It comprises just under 2000 pieces, and measures 23 studs long by 46 studs wide, which translates to 14" x 23" (or 58cm x 36cm, for those that prefer metric).

I tried something different for the wing design. Instead of using locking hinges like I usually do for bent wings, I used a series of technic angle connector #3 (and #1) and 2 x 2 plates with pin. The result was a wing design that was structurally sound, but very light for it's size. Just for comparison, the Cockpit section weighs more than one wing. The trade-off is that the wings cannot hold the weight of the model. It has to remain on the stand, or the wings have to be removed.

Again, I am using Pearl dark Gray hoses instead of Light Gray for the detail around the edge of the wings. The dark grey doesn't photograph very well, but doesn't look all that bad in real life. I am missing some running down the center of the wings. I had some more hoses, but they were too long, and are reserved for my TIE Defender, so I couldn't cut them down to size. I don't think it detracts too much. Here is a Side View for a better look at the wings. And here is a view that no Rebel base wants to see: a bomber coming right toward them.

Here is a shot of the back of the beast:

As you can see, I really went nuts with the details. This model is where I finally decided that if there are studs, they should be covered with some sort of detail. I gave it my best shot, at least. I also tried to detail out the front and back of the pylons.

By comparison, the sides of the hull are relatively bare. From what few source pictures I could find, there didn't appear to be much detail there at all.

The underside has very little detail, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise. You can see the rows of concussion missile launchers well in this photo. The concussion launchers were the first things I designed. I made them as their own section, and the are held in place by a pair of 1 x 4 technic liftarms with boss. The plating on the bottom of the model keeps them from rocking fore and aft.

The Engines:

The engines took several iterations to get something I liked. I tried a simple brick built section, but that didn't llok right. I tried a twin engine variation, but that didn't work, either. I like the way the arch bricks cradle the single engine. Ideally the black pieces on the outside of this section would be Light Gray, but apparently I don't own any 1 x 2 bricks with studs on the sides in Light Gray (or at least none that I could find).

The engine section clips on to the rest of the hull with 2 3/4 pins. The connection isn't great, but it works. It left a little gap between the hull and the engines :(

Cockpit:

The cockpit was a bit of a challenge. It needed to be big enough to hold a pilot and a bombardier, but according to my scaling, it wasn't all that long. I decided to put the pilot and his partner back to back, like in a Rebel Snowspeeder. That allowed an efficient use of space. As usual, I probably went a little overboard on the printed controls. It felt like it was necessary in the Scimitar's case. Here is a front view of the cockpit, minus the windscreen and side. Unfortunately it is a little blurry; the camera focused on the back of the cockpit, and left the foreground out of focus.

The Gallery has many more photos for you. Please feel free to peruse it at you leisure.

Comments and Criticisms are always welcome and encouraged. Also, I am certain that there are plenty of things I should have mentioned, but didn't. I'll answer any questions you might have.

Happy MOCing!

[Natman8000]

NIce work you've done here! I can see you put a lot of work into it. Keep it up, I love seeing your work.

[def]

This popped up a few days back on brickshelf.... utterly amazing. You are a pro.

[KimT]

Amazing piece of work you done there.

"I bow before thee"

Allow me to frontpage this.

[dunamis]

Wow, that is incredible!

I love the details.

I'd say this is a master's piece!

[Guss]

it's awesome man ! it's big and nicely detailed, and your cockpit is really cool, great job !

[CloneCommanderDelta7]

You really are the TIE moc'er!

[RileyC]

WOW :oh3:

thats awesome. I really like the detail on the ship.

I really like the seats in the cockpit its really well done.

I think that this is the best Tie alternative you have created yet. Great MOC!!

[Future74]

It's huge! Well done, it looks exactly like the picture on Wookieepedia

A well deserved front page.

[CommanderFox]

Once again Walter you have outdown yourself that things abeast and the Cockpit is MINT

Another great Tie to the collection

WELL DONE!!!

CommanderFox

[Dr. Steve]

Wow! Amazing Detail!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Walter Kovacs]

Wow. I've been Front-paged. I'm not quite sure what to say.

I didn't create any of my models for the accolades and glory (well, maybe just a little bit ), but to really push my understanding of LEGO MOCing and to force myself to develop techniques I had never used before. I still have much to learn.

What some of you may not realize is that all of the models I've created started out as MLCad files. The finished products that I've been presenting are the first time that I've put the bricks together. And for the most part, they've gone together without major modifications, which surprises me more than anyone.

I appreciate all of your comments. I will continue to create TIE Alts until I am satisfied with all of the results. I'll be on vacation next week, but the following week I'll have pictures of the TIE Phantom ready. Hopefully by that time I'll have solved the tecnical issues I'm having with the TIE Defender (the wings don't want to stay on the pylons . It's going to take some design modifications to make it work, which sucks. It's the only model I can display and still build the system sets from my collection. Back to the drawing board, so to speak.)

[cavegod]

I used your way of attaching the wings to the pylons, i can hold the whole model by one wing the connection is that strong.

[Lego Builder]

This is amazing , well done