MOC - Grand Admiral Thrawn's Private Command Room

[TLaabs]

Hello Eurobricks!! I'm new to the forum and this is my first Star Wars MOC. Me and my fiancé have rekindled our lego passion over the past year and after amassing our collection of sets from TLG, we have begun the MOC frenzy now to satisfy our creative side.

As I've immersed myself deeper into the SW universe, I recently listened to The Thrawn Trilogy audiobooks, and I must say they are PHENOMENAL and Marc Thompson is an extraordinary narrator. His portrayal of Grand Admiral Thrawn really won me over and now is my favorite villain, although he is now 'Legends' and not official canon.

First, I picked up a stunning Thrawn custom Minifig from Christo, and after that I knew I needed an awesome display scene for him. I built this MOC completely from imagination aside from the nostalgic star destroyer bridge viewport. Below I have included an excerpt from the book to give reference to the design:

"...The Grand Admiral's new command room was two levels below the bridge, in a space that had once housed the former commander's luxury entertainment suite. When Pellaeon had found Thrawn, or rather when the Grand Admiral had found him, one of his first acts was to take over the suite and convert it into what was essentially a secondary bridge. A secondary bridge, meditation room, and perhaps more..."

"It opened at his approach, and he stepped through...into a softly lit art museum. He stopped short just inside the room and looked around in astonishment. The walls were covered with flat paintings and planics, a few of them human-looking but most of distinctly alien origin. Various sculptures were scattered around, some freestanding, others on pedestals. In the center of the room was a double circle of repeater displays, the outer ring slightly larger than the inner ring. Both sets of displays, at least from what little Pellaeon could see, also seemed to be devoted to pictures of artwork. And in the center of the double circle, seated in a duplicate of the Admiral's Chair on the bridge, was Grand Admiral Thrawn. He sat motionlessly, his shimmery blue-black hair glinting in the dim light, his pale blue skin looking cool and subdued and very alien on his otherwise human frame. His eyes were nearly closed as he leaned back against the headrest, only a glint of red showing between the lids."

"'Come here captain, lets take a look, shall we?' He touched a switch; and abruptly the art show was gone. Instead, the room had become a miniature bridge monitor, with helm, engine, and weapons readouts on the display circle. The open space had become a holographic tactical display; in one corner a flashing sphere indicated the invaders. The wall display nearest to it gave an ETA estimate of twelve minutes."

Untitled by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

Untitled by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

Untitled by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

Untitled by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

Untitled by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

Below you can see how the bottom of the 48x48 plate opens up to reveal the storage below for the interchangeable bases per the text (for interchangeable art museum/tactical bridge command settings)

Untitled by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

Untitled by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

Untitled by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

Here you can see the use of 1x6x5 swivel door panels to switch from tactical to art displays

Untitled by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

Untitled by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

Untitled by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

As you can see, the main display has the holo-displays in the double circle, with other tactical displays on the wall. I used the Avengers tower type of displays - I was actually completed with this MOC with larger 1x4x3 panels, until I saw that design and liked it much better, and those translucent blue pieces are quite rare, and gave it a more holographic look. I will probably use the stickers from the Avengers set for the inner ring just with the buttons and keypad, but am debating on some kind of custom stickers or decals for the display ring, something with maybe a tiny star destroyer readout, or something that will go better according to the text.

Additionally, I am torn with how the art museum display looks. While it says there are sculptures scattered around the room and on pedestals, I get the feeling from other excerpts in the book that the art is all holographically displayed as well. That being said, I searched Bricklink for any stickers/details pertaining to art. I am happy with the mix of alien/human art on the walls, but I think I would rather make custom artwork decals and duplicate the holo-display from the tactical command displays, so both interchangeable bases are identical in form, but different content on the translucent pieces themselves. Also I may go with some type of translucent custom minifigs and microfigs if possible, to replace the grey and dark grey sculptures in the middle.

I definitely prefer the tactical bridge monitor scene more, considering Thrawn was a tactical genius, although the art section still needs something more to pop, and Thrawn's study of cultures and species' artwork is what gave him the insight on their strategies, enabling him to have the upper hand and be a few steps ahead.

I added some more pics below, including the greebling technique on the outer viewport side of the display, making it look more star destroyer-esque. Need to add some greebling above the windows, and I also need to Bricklink another few trans-blue panels to complete the display rings. So it's 98% done, but I still consider it WIP for now. Once it is complete I plan on taking much better pictures to really do it justice. Lemme know what you think!!

Untitled by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

Untitled by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

Untitled by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

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*UPDATE: Below are the pics of the finished product as shown further down the thread:

Important changes include: Stickers for tactical holo-displays, redesign of art display scene for more accuracy, and additional greebling on the outside. Enjoy!

012 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

003 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

002 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

004 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

007 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

009 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

010 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

001 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

Edited April 14, 2015 by TLaabs

[Kodan Black]

Wow. That is phenomenal. The room itself is most impressive, but then the exterior view, the swappable center portion, the swing out storage ... clearly a lot of time and thought went into this.

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Great MOC - I like it how many variations are possible. Very creative!

[Jedi-Bendu]

F'in' fantastic.

[Graham Gidman]

Stunning work! Well done!

[Panthro]

Outstanding.

[lightningtiger]

AWESOME and creative indeed 'TLaabs'......Brick On again !

[HJR-Holland]

Is that Thrawn self-made or bought-in? I'd very much like a copy of it - he has a great face expression; better than my own MOC...

[Azrielsc]

Nice! The research and the thought processes in making this MOC is astonishing! And to have an active & supportive Lego MOC partner in your fiancé really helps as well.

Kudos to a brilliantly thought out diorama!

[JackoBoy]

Awesome!!! I'm a huge fan of the Thrawn series, what you've done here is a great representation of Grand Admiral Thrawn's little chamber abroad the Chimaera!! The overall look plus the playability in the set is outstanding! I think perhaps a holographic display bench that you could place the statues on will make it a bit better :). His statues were holograms themselves; they disappeared with the flick of a switch, ( I know you have states this as well, it's the books representation) however, keep the dark grey color, as that was the color the statues were. This is just my opinion man, it's your build!!! Great work :)))

Also, and I know this is stretching it, but a Rukh figure hidden in the shadows would have made me begged for this moc!!! :D

Edited March 27, 2015 by JackoBoy

[TLaabs]

Is that Thrawn self-made or bought-in? I'd very much like a copy of it - he has a great face exp<b></b>ression; better than my own MOC...

Its bought. Originally found on eBay and found the seller's site: http://www.minifigures.co.uk/category/minifigures-store/christo/

Awesome!!! I'm a huge fan of the Thrawn series, what you've done here is a great representation of Grand Admiral Thrawn's little chamber abroad the Chimaera!! The overall look plus the playability in the set is outstanding! I think perhaps a holographic display bench that you could place the statues on will make it a bit better :). His statues were holograms themselves; they disappeared with the flick of a switch, ( I know you have states this as well, it's the books representation) however, keep the dark grey color, as that was the color the statues were. This is just my opinion man, it's your build!!! Great work :)))

Also, and I know this is stretching it, but a Rukh figure hidden in the shadows would have made me begged for this moc!!! :D

I love that idea! I could def find some holo tables/pedestals to put the statues on. The same shape/size of the tactical displays would look good. And I looked alllll over for a decent head for Rukh, and I came across one from Chima on bricklink but it still doesnt do the Noghri justice and had too much of a bat-like nose. The steel-grey color is what limits the options for sure. If I can pull it off he'll be lurking back in the shadows ;) I just wish there was maybe a head mold thats comparable.

Thanks everyone for the compliments! Greatly appreciated!

[JackoBoy]

Oh sweet! I can get that there is not many moulds for him, it would be great if there was though :/ I certainly would grab a few for a little Noghri commando team ;) but keep up the great work!!! Maybe just experiment with some different types of stands for the command room! What you have here now is so inspiring in itself, I might attempt a little moc from the Thrawn series myself hahaha :D

Edited March 27, 2015 by JackoBoy

[Tariq j]

Great work, nice job on the greebling.

[Darth Malgus]

Incredible! I was waiting for the art and then I got to it, shame lego doesn't make Nohgri otherwise Rukh would've finished it off nicely. Great job Lego ahould pay attention and give us a Grand Admiral Thrawn.

[Lord Tyrus]

Wowee! This is great, though I personally didn't imagine Thrawn to be quite so closely surrounded by the art.

[Samppu]

My favorite character in all Star Wars -series and so far my favorite command bridge diorama over him.

Looks smooth and the changeable settings are a good idea. Next stage would be to add some other crew and hallways,

a corridor for Rukh, maybe? (;

-Samppu from Finland

[TLaabs]

Thanks for the compliments guys! Looking forward to adding the finishing touches soon!!

[MKJoshA]

I am in love with this build! I love Thrawn and your builds capture the books perfectly! I love that you have different art set-ups. Great work!

[ISDAvenger]

You captured his throne room superbly! I am a fan of the Thrawn Trilogy, the best trilogy ABY. Great job!

[lanesteele240]

You can tell everything about a civilization by their art work

[deanorth]

That's gorgeous, and well thought.

[Ax_Rex]

Awesome room! The designs on the side are amazing!!!!

[NorwichBrick]

Brilliantly done!

[TLaabs]

Here are more updated pictures!! The Thrawn MOC is officially complete!

I have added more greebling to the outside window of the Star Destroyer bridge viewport, giving it more texture on the outside:

001 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

Here you can see the stickers for the tactical displays. I mixed stickers from the Avengers tower with I believe the Hulk Smash Lab set and a couple other random ones, essentially anything that looked tactical and computer-ish. Much less hassle than attempting custom stickers, while still giving the same appearance:

003 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

002 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

004 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

005 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

006 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

And now for the art scene. Instead of having the sculptures scattered around the floor (although the book says there is artwork on the holo-displays, scattered around the room and on the walls), I decided that to stay as true to the book, I would make the sculptures appear to be projected from the same double-display ring that the tactical displays appear on. The whole idea was at the touch of a button, Thrawn could change from the artwork to a secondary command bridge. So I kept the same functionality and design of the displays, just changed what exactly it is displaying (art vs tactical readouts). I hope you enjoy the finishing touches on this MOC. I am proud to say I am done!

007 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

008 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

009 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

010 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

011 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

And here is a final shot of all my Thrawn Trilogy characters: Mara Jade, Talon Karrde, Joruus C’baoth, Thrawn and Pellaeon:

012 by A Couple of Bricks, on Flickr

[Azrielsc]

It keeps getting better! Love it!