8 replies to this topic

[Plastemaurer]

Hello Everyone.
I'd like to share with you my latest MOC, the

RS-41 "Dragonfly"

The "Dragonfly" is a surveillance and reconnaissance spacecraft used by the Free Planets Alliance Forces. It was developed by Experimental Design Bureau 51 "Yang" (location classified) and is produced by EL Facil Small Craft on El Facil and Anaheim Electronics on various locations.


The RS-41 is powered by a Mr. Fusion FR-009 nuclear fusion reactor and propelled by seven Korolev IE-7 ion engines for spaceflight and two General Engines JE55A4 jet engines for atmospheric operations. Although it is designed for atmospheric conditions, the RS-41 cannot enter planetary atmospheres by itself, but has to rely on other means of transportation.


When in full operational mode, the antenna mast is raised and the three dishes are aligned as needed. The two big main antennaes can point to almost any direction. On non-atmospheric conditions, as in space, on planetoids or moons etc., both mobile and stationary operation is possible, however on atmospheric conditions only stationary operation is possible.


The cockpit can detach from the main hull in emergencies or when the pilot/operator wants to return to a nearby supply base or ship.


When left by the operator, the RS-41 is controlled by an AI of classified abilities. However, autonomous operation of the RS-41 is only advised when it is stationed on any kind of celestial body (planets, moons, asteroids, etc.), in a stable orbit or at a Lagrangian Point.

There are more pics on my Brickshelf

Update:
Now with LDD4 file. Download it here: firefly.lxf

Had to make some adjustments on the engine, for LDD does not allow for certain connections, it seems.

Comments and critiques are very welcome.  

Edited by Plastemaurer, 21 November 2010 - 11:09 AM.

[KielDaMan]

Great "Dragonfly" ship Plastemaurer, you really captured the overall dragonfly look, most especially in the front. The use of the trans-yellow domes to resemble the dragonfly eyes is very clever. I also like the fact that the cockpit is detachable from the body. Impressive work!

[lightningtiger]

Excellent space ship with an escape ability - so COOL !
Great work and keep on bricking 'Plastemaurer' keep on bricking !

[Plastemaurer]

KielDaMan, on 23 August 2010 - 09:56 AM, said:

Great "Dragonfly" ship Plastemaurer, you really captured the overall dragonfly look, most especially in the front. The use of the trans-yellow domes to resemble the dragonfly eyes is very clever. I also like the fact that the cockpit is detachable from the body. Impressive work!

Thanks.    Actually, I did'nt plan on making it dragonflyish, it merely happened along the way. Initially I just wanted to build a version of the 6887 "Allied Avenger" with only modern day parts and an updated design. Some of the characteristics of the new parts forced me to redesign some aspects of the ship, most notably the size. The hinges on the dome canopies (the only suitable replacement of the old octagonal canopies I could find) for instance are of the locking/clicking type and need extra stengthening on the clutch. Thus I had to make the cockpit wider and taller and to keep the scale the whole ship had to become bigger. That, on the other hand, enabled lots of possiblities for streamlining, more details, additions, functions, etc... The end result is the "Dragonfly", by the way my first post dark age MOC.  

lightningtiger, on 23 August 2010 - 10:52 AM, said:

Excellent space ship with an escape ability - so COOL !
Great work and keep on bricking 'Plastemaurer' keep on bricking !

Will do, will do.  

[Leo-J]

Neat cockpit! And what better to fly it than a female ace pilot!  

[Bujimuji]

I very like how the detachable cockpit-it remind me Insectoids.

[Dino_Bot]

Insectoids Part Deux? This is amazing. I love Insectoids and this fits right in.

[TheWarden]

Hrm, I missed this. Great. I was about to say that the color scheme seemed a little too random for my taste, but saw that you have the grey going through to the back and I think it works. What might work better is coordinating all the trans colors, or picking two if you have the pieces.

I like the VOAT variant aka "Variant on a Theme" aka the old Blacktron cockpit (but I say variant because you used the domes instead of the hexagon cockpit.) I think it looks good and haven't seen that before.

I think the back could use a little more detail. Perhaps the sensor array could have used some associated greebles?

Wings are a bit thin. Maybe tiles or one more layer of plates would look better?

Random idea. Since the back can be a standalone station, perhaps a small (fold-away?) console for walk-up operation would be interesting.

Anyway, I love the overall shape, nod to neo-90's sets, and the insect references. Welcome out of your dark ages!

Cheers.

[Plastemaurer]

Leo-J, on 25 September 2010 - 01:42 AM, said:

Neat cockpit! And what better to fly it than a female ace pilot!  

I only employ ladies to pilot my ships. It's a matter of personal preference. Too bad there are only a few individual female faces, or females in general in Lego (licensed stuff not counting).

Dino_Bot, on 03 October 2010 - 10:23 AM, said:

Insectoids Part Deux? This is amazing. I love Insectoids and this fits right in.

Hm, Insectoids was during my dark ages, so I hardly know anything about them. But based on pictures I saw on Brickset, I'm not sure I would have liked them. However, they do have some great Minifigs.

TheWarden, on 07 October 2010 - 05:45 PM, said:

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Thanks for the comments and suggestions, TheWarden. I will try to use some of them on my next project (trans colors and wings, not so sure about greebles).
Hm, isn't VOAT variant a case of RAS syndrome?