Raskolnikov Posted October 26, 2015 Posted October 26, 2015 I've completed the basic structure of an Imperial Star Destroyer MoC that I've been working on. Figuring out the overall shape and how to support so much weight was a big issue. Now, all I have to do is "fill it in." So I thought I'd ask for some feedback at this point, before I finish it up. I use imgur, so here's the album: http://imgur.com/a/skees There's more detail in the descriptions. The model is intended to be playable, with a full interior and a large complement of vehicles. I also want the exterior to be as accurate as possible, while not sacrificing much in the way of durability or playability. So feedback that furthers those goals would be especially appreciated. Quote
anothergol Posted October 26, 2015 Posted October 26, 2015 that looks massive, what's the weight so far? Quote
Raskolnikov Posted October 26, 2015 Author Posted October 26, 2015 (edited) that looks massive, what's the weight so far? It's about 31 or 32 lbs, at the moment (like 14 kg?). I expect it to top out at about 45 lbs or so. It's very dense. But the support frame is solid as a rock, at least in the back half of the ship, where it has two layers of "ribs" and lots of beams that make right triangles. The front is supported only by the sides of ship, so it will "flex" somewhat when it moved. That seems unavoidable if you want to leave a large hangar space up front. In any event, most of the weight is situated on top of the reactor bulge, so not much weight rests on the front stand. When the bridge goes up, it might even balance on the reactor bulge without a stand, I dunno. That'd be neat. Edited October 26, 2015 by Raskolnikov Quote
Lobot Posted October 26, 2015 Posted October 26, 2015 That looks absolutely amazing, Raskolnikov! :wub: What are the overall dimensions of it? It looks like you've replicated the angles and overall shape perfectly, I can understand how it's taken you 6 months to build so far! Have you had any thoughts about the overall weight, and whether the frame will be able to support it? It looks very solid at the moment, but by the time you've added the bridge, engines etc it's bound to be under quite a bit of stress. Please continue to post updates, I'm sure that a lot of members will be interested to see your progress, me included! Keep up the great work, it's going to be a masterpiece! Quote
Raskolnikov Posted October 26, 2015 Author Posted October 26, 2015 Thanks, Lobot, I'm glad you like it! It's about 140 cm long, and I think the weight will be about 20.5 kg in the end. I think the frame will be alright, since a lot of weight is distributed over the back half of the ship. There's not one beam down the center holding the weight -- it's more like a big truss bridge. So if you were to push down at the very back, it wouldn't just stress one beam downward, it'd also "pull" on the dark bluish gray beams that you can see in the pictures, exposed at the back. Those beams, in turn, are connected with vertical and diagonal supports to a set of beams that go along the bottom, as well as to the sides of the ship. Quote
Tariq j Posted October 26, 2015 Posted October 26, 2015 Honestly, stunning work, you've captured two aspects of a Lego set; accuracy and playability and combined them into one huge model, which I think will turn out excellent. I think, as Lobot said, the key thing here is weight. As long as you keep that in mind I think it will turn out great. Keep up the good work. Quote
Redbeards_Rum Posted October 26, 2015 Posted October 26, 2015 What sorcery is this? Its amazing! Quote
atlas Posted November 20, 2015 Posted November 20, 2015 This is tremendous. I like your little sentinel shuttle too Quote
Raskolnikov Posted November 23, 2015 Author Posted November 23, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the encouragment everyone. Here's a picture from about a week ago: http://imgur.com/w17Ui8K I'm testing a few things in this picture, so those parts aren't final, of course. Overall, it's really moving along now. I think a lot of the required effort was towards the beginning, when I had to come up with an overall design that would probably work. Now, it's mostly a matter of adding bricks and filling in detail. As of last night, the engine section is essentially complete. If you turn one of the engines on either side, it rotates the gun turrets in unison. When it's done, I'll probably make a video to show features like that and how it comes apart. Edited November 23, 2015 by Raskolnikov Quote
Regimus Posted November 23, 2015 Posted November 23, 2015 Holy hell, this thing is incredible. Good job! Quote
Jourianbax Posted November 26, 2015 Posted November 26, 2015 It looks amazing... and BIG! How do you intend on making it playable, and who is going to play with it? Keep up the good work! Quote
_Samibotss_ Posted November 26, 2015 Posted November 26, 2015 It's so massive! But I hardly see any playability with a set of that size. Usually when LEGO Makes playable sets, they make them atleast small enough to be carried around... This looks more of a UCS Set, and I can hardly imagine anyone playing with this Quote
Reputator Posted November 26, 2015 Posted November 26, 2015 Thanks for the encouragment everyone. Here's a picture from about a week ago: http://imgur.com/w17Ui8K I'm testing a few things in this picture, so those parts aren't final, of course. Overall, it's really moving along now. I think a lot of the required effort was towards the beginning, when I had to come up with an overall design that would probably work. Now, it's mostly a matter of adding bricks and filling in detail. As of last night, the engine section is essentially complete. If you turn one of the engines on either side, it rotates the gun turrets in unison. When it's done, I'll probably make a video to show features like that and how it comes apart. I like that you incorporated play features into it. Most people only focus on just making a model, and making it look good. Quote
Raskolnikov Posted November 26, 2015 Author Posted November 26, 2015 (edited) Well, yeah, in terms of playability, it's certainly too large to be moved around. There is no swooshability. But that's pretty unavoidable with something of this size and weight, so I'm trying to make it playable within that constraint. That includes typical play features: turn one of the engines and it turns the gun turrets, for example. The ship also has a complement of vehicles that fit in the interior and can fit through the hangar bay opening, so you can land a ground party and deploy fighters. The ship will have an interior for minifigures that will be modular and pretty accessible (although you will have to just play around certain technic beams). That was a challenge, since the stronger you make something the harder it is to take apart, sometimes. To make the interior available for play, you can slide off the top panels in less than sixty seconds (it's never going to be instant, since the top panels come off in eight different sections right now, and there are some "locks" that keep that panels in place). Also, while the ship should not be picked up when assembled, it can be rotated easily. The back is not on a stand, it just rests on the "reactor bulge," which is very sturdy. Almost no weight rests on the front stand, so if you gently lift the front you can rotate the whole ship. The ship also can rest on the ground without any stands (it just won't be parallel with the floor since the front would tip forward). So yeah, it's meant to be a UCS "plus" model in size and accuracy -- but I'm going to try to include all the playability that I can. Edited November 26, 2015 by Raskolnikov Quote
Pointblank Posted November 27, 2015 Posted November 27, 2015 I've completed the basic structure of an Imperial Star Destroyer MoC that I've been working on. Figuring out the overall shape and how to support so much weight was a big issue. Now, all I have to do is "fill it in." So I thought I'd ask for some feedback at this point, before I finish it up. I use imgur, so here's the album: http://imgur.com/a/skees There's more detail in the descriptions. The model is intended to be playable, with a full interior and a large complement of vehicles. I also want the exterior to be as accurate as possible, while not sacrificing much in the way of durability or playability. So feedback that furthers those goals would be especially appreciated. This is simply amazing. This is so much better than getting a UCS ISD for whats its asking today. How many pieces in total? And would like more pictures for techniques used (especially the angled underside, and foundational support) Quote
YSDWDY Posted November 27, 2015 Posted November 27, 2015 Awesom Star Destroyer model. Keep it up! Thanks for posting. Quote
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