31 replies to this topic

[mortesv]

Hi guys! This is my first post here so bear with me :)

This summer I finally got my hands on a UCS 10030 (bley). It was actually my first UCS (I have 12 now). Being a huge Star Wars and Lego nut I was completely in love with the model. But, as with all loved ones, after a (short) while you begin to notice what you perceive as "flaws" and want to change them. Luckily changing a Lego model is MUCH easier than changing a real person :). The problems were, for once, the Tantive IV was out of scale, but that was quickly fixed. More importantly, when looking at the level of greeble detail on the model, the engine section seemed sorely lacking - as seen below:



Thus I began a long process of looking at the movies, deciding on what details I liked and ordering the brickd on BrickLink. I have documented the entire process in pictures, but for now I'l just post a few pics of the final result:



Over 400 bricks has been added to the engine section and surrounding area.



I don't have the best camera in the world, but what do you guys think?

Let me know if you want more pics :)

[JackJonespaw]

Ooh, I love the SNOT-ed version! I just watched A New Hope, and I must say, it looks fantastic! Much better than the original Lego set.

[cavegod]

it makes me want to build it again and add the details you've added, this is how lego should have done it in the first place!

[Hollander]

Hello and welcome. Always good to see a new face around.

As a greeble-lover, I find your modification of the 10030 Imperial Star Destroyer lovely. The official, non-modificated version sets pale in comparison. The amount of greebling you used is very balanced; not too much, not too less. More greebles at the centre, and less around the edges.

So, any plans on modificating 10030 even more? I would love to see that.

Edited by Hollander, 21 December 2011 - 05:31 PM.

[Fallenangel]

Welcome to Eurobricks, mortesv! Before anything else, I think your modification of 10030 is fantastic! What was arguably one of the less interesting parts of the set is now just as impressive and eye-catching as the bridge tower. This definitely does the engine bank justice!

Having said that, I've got a few pictures of the studio model's rear at the moment, and there are a few comments I'd like to make, but before I say anything, I'd be interested in seeing the pictures from the process you went through to complete this project.

Pictures of the presumably modified Tantive IV would be nice as well.

[Clone O'Patra]

This is a great MOD!  You've displayed the best mentality about sets, here; if there's something wrong, make it better!

Welcome to EB and…

[pjschard]

A vast improvement from the original!

[Mr Man]

Fantastic job mortesv and a great first post . It's a nice mixture, enough greebles to make it stand out and look detailed but not so many that it looks silly.

[mortesv]

Wow, thanks for the nice feedback guys- you make me blush :)

This is really a great forum - and you guys have really made some amazing models! I feel a bit ashamed I didn't find this place earlier, but anyway it is a delight to find equal minded (insane) people :)

@Hollander About further modding; well I never think I really stop - there is alway something to tweak :) I have added a few plates a few places elsewhere on the model to give it a bit more texture in line with the real thing, but it is nothing substantial:



See if you can spot the added plates :)



A few plates below as well + another view of the new engine detail.

@Fallenangel. I have been looking a photos of the real thing as well :) My goal with the mod was to convey the same sense of functionality and detail of the real ship (perhaps even more :P ) - and not necessarily carbon copy the details. I know I could probably have gotten closer to the real ship, but I decided to find a balance between copying and fantasising about how this thing might actually work. Besides, modding the with the angled studs and the limited "resolution" of Lego bricks (each stud/tile represent roughly 13 meters in real life :) ) represented some interesting challenges, that forced me to think creatively rather than following a blueprint :). However, I'm always open to suggestions for possible improvements, so please comment :)

Lastly is a pic of my modded min Tantive IV. Length wise it is almost completely to scale with the ISD. I have just removed bricks from the stock model so I know that it is perhaps not the most sleek model :) However, I still wanted to keep the bulky engine section where each individual engine is preserved - so at this scale the model would always be kind of bulky :)



I will post more UCS mods in the near future :)

[lego envy]

Looks great IMO too......I don't see why lego doesn't put this kind of thought into some of there sets??  Can't wait to see more..

[Fallenangel]

I must say, mortesv, the pleasant and enthusiastic demeanor you exhibit in your posts is quite amiable.

Regarding comparisons to the real thing, being the accuracy freak that I am () I had known for some time that 10030 (grand as it is) had conspicuously omitted the trapezoidal blocks housing the emergency engines. They're such prominent structures that I was certain you had good reason for leaving them off in your well-informed modifications, and hearing of your decision to find a balance between replication and speculative recreation, I approve of this significant yet tasteful deviation from the source material.

As for the Tantive IV, in case you wish to develop that model further, Tim Goddard's done some nice experimentation in that scale with a number of similar models, so I would definitely recommend looking into it.

One last thing – the last picture made me notice the cheese slopes you've added around the edge to represent the ridges in that area. Very nice.

[wokajablocka]

Awsome modding on this ship. Those engines look so detailed now compaired to TLG version. You have put in some effort thinking about your design and bricklinking parts.

[Appswasere]

Really nice man, starting to get ideas for my own ISD too..

[mortesv]

fallenangel309, on 22 December 2011 - 01:51 AM, said:

I must say, mortesv, the pleasant and enthusiastic demeanor you exhibit in your posts is quite amiable.

Regarding comparisons to the real thing, being the accuracy freak that I am () I had known for some time that 10030 (grand as it is) had conspicuously omitted the trapezoidal blocks housing the emergency engines. They're such prominent structures that I was certain you had good reason for leaving them off in your well-informed modifications, and hearing of your decision to find a balance between replication and speculative recreation, I approve of this significant yet tasteful deviation from the source material.

As for the Tantive IV, in case you wish to develop that model further, Tim Goddard's done some nice experimentation in that scale with a number of similar models, so I would definitely recommend looking into it.

One last thing – the last picture made me notice the cheese slopes you've added around the edge to represent the ridges in that area. Very nice.

Thanks for the kind words! :)

Regarding the emergency engines, I was actually in kind of a dilemma - perhaps I still am :) Even though I like the result I got, I'm still thinking if they could be more accurate. The basic problem of making them look like the film version with the trapezoidal blocks, is that the superstructure of the model is fundamentally different. The film version seem to slope inward much further, where the Lego version is "cut short" by the the plates where the engines are attached. Thus it would be hard to get the same effect of depth.

But perhaps there is an elegant solution to this - I just haven't found it yet. The idea I have come up with so far is to place plates on hinges just above and below the middle gap - and then place the engines on hinges on top of the sloping plates (to make sure they have the right angle when placed on the sloping plates). I suspect this approach would sacrifice some of the detail I have already made and make the section more flimsy looking.

Alternatively there might be a pure "brick solution" to this? Hmm, just got an idea... :)

Anyway, I'm glad that a fellow detail freak approves of my design choice - I can get quite obsessive with my models and go back and forth with even a single brick multiple times :)

Regarding Tim's work - I'm already a big fan of his. I actually copied his mini Falcon and I use it as a scale model next to my modified UCS Blockade Runner - Pictures will come when I get around to making a post about that project :)

Cheers

Morten

PS: Completely unrelated - since I am a newbie here, could someone tell me what I must do in order to be able to view my own profile? - it gives me an error message saying I am not allowed to view user profiles

Edited by mortesv, 22 December 2011 - 11:42 AM.

[Concept]

You have inspired me to mod my 10030 but it will have to wait until I actually build it for the first time.
Love the detail you have added.

[Mr Man]

mortesv, on 22 December 2011 - 11:08 AM, said:

PS: Completely unrelated - since I am a newbie here, could someone tell me what I must do in order to be able to view my own profile? - it gives me an error message saying I am not allowed to view user profiles

Until you have 10 posts you can't view it .
I love the extra greabling over the main body of the ship as well, I really might get this set now .

[mortesv]

@Concept - Looking forward to seeing your Mod :)

@Mr. Man - You should get this set ASAP - It is really beautiful and just by looking at it you can actually hear John Williams music - not kidding! :) Make sure to get it in "bley", since it is much easier to get extra bricks in that color. I also think it looks better in bley, especially next to the SSD and the DSII :)

PS: Thanks for the advice :)

Edited by mortesv, 22 December 2011 - 01:54 PM.

[Mr Man]

mortesv, on 22 December 2011 - 01:54 PM, said:

@Mr. Man - You should get this set ASAP - It is really beautiful and just by looking at it you can actually hear John Williams music - not kidding! :) Make sure to get it in "bley", since it is much easier to get extra bricks in that color. I also think it looks better in bley, especially next to the SSD and the DSII :)

Yeah that's the problem if I got this set I would have to have to get the DSII and SSD for a big display .

[mortesv]

Mr Man, on 22 December 2011 - 02:04 PM, said:

Yeah that's the problem if I got this set I would have to have to get the DSII and SSD for a big display .

How is this a problem? I see it as a HUGE bonus! :D

If you have trouble with finding space and financing, I found this little equation quite helpful:

         Furniture < UCS

The idea is that if you sell your furniture you can afford the UCS models - and you free up space in the process!

No need to call me a genius - that would be stating the obvious :P

[b4p]

am i the only one that kinna likes the old grey better?  i dont have it displayed near any other legos, though.  the old grey gives it a more realistic look IMO; the bley color is really awesome, but it's more cartoony and less gritty.  maybe if i had bley i'd like it more than old grey; it's hard to tell.

awesome mod btw; i'd do something similar to mine, but the engines are facing a wall so it would be a waste of time

Edited by b4p, 22 December 2011 - 03:17 PM.

[Brickmamba]

i don't own this set or am too familiar with it but that engine looks awesome, great work

[Mr Man]

mortesv, on 22 December 2011 - 02:26 PM, said:

How is this a problem? I see it as a HUGE bonus! :D
If you have trouble with finding space and financing, I found this little equation quite helpful:
         Furniture < UCS
The idea is that if you sell your furniture you can afford the UCS models - and you free up space in the process!
No need to call me a genius - that would be stating the obvious :P

Nothing would please my parents more for Christmas if I sold the sofa for this Lego set .

[jadedomg]

This really adds a lot to the model and when I rebuild mine I will have to do something similar

[yellost]

Wow, untill I saw your MOD, i never realised how lacking that section of the model was. I'm definitely keeping those pics for reference when I come back to mine (right now it's sitting in my bedroom halfway across the world and I don't know yet when I'll see it again  )

The first thing I MODed on mine was the shield generator dome on the bottom. (I see you haven't added one, so I decided I would point you somewhere ^^)

Great work on the greeble. It looks fantastic.

[Tuskano]

yellost, on 02 January 2012 - 04:02 AM, said:

The first thing I MODed on mine was the shield generator dome on the bottom. (I see you haven't added one, so I decided I would point you somewhere ^^)

Ohh... good idea.  With these and the engines I know what I might be working on once I pull mine out from the storage unit.  I at least wish I had a bedroom to leave mine at lol.