UCS Slave 1 mod

[HamdenKid]

I'm not sure if I'm doing this right but here it goes! I thought this was a great set as it was but especially around the wings didn't seem accurate to the movie so I decided to change it. This is my first Lego mod or post on this website. This is my UCS Slave One I just got for my birthday a month ago I wasn't planning on modding it but I couldn't resist. I got some of my inspiration from Brick Vault on YouTube and also some other pictures on the internet, but Lego UCS Slave One mods are so hard to find so I decided to make this just in case anyone else wants to mod theirs.     Thank you for the anti-droop idea ArchieNov. I'll be happy to make a more detailed walkthrough if anyone is interested. I used $3.00 string lights from Walmart for the lights. I also modded the "wheel wells" and added more detail. I had to make a Brick Link order for most of the pieces though. And I do realize that the wings do droop, that is from the brown beams. Right now I only have 1x1 with studs on all the sides inside the brown 1x4s so if anyone has any better ideas I am open to suggestions! Constructive criticism is appreciated. 

more pictures here https://www.flickr.com/photos/142765447@N05/shares/20Yo23

 

The battery pack is a tight fit but luckily it stays in place without anything holding it

I used a little dab of hot glue to hold the lights in place

Unfortunately I did have to cut and drill through some Legos but you can't tell once it's put together

 

I put some electrical tape on the string lights I wasn't using because I didn't want the inside of the ship lighting up

Edited October 5, 2018 by HamdenKid

[HamdenKid]

Don't everyone talk at once 

Edited October 4, 2018 by HamdenKid

[stevej]

I've got this still in it's box as it was on sale recently - but it's an Xmas present. Looking forward to the build but will definitely do the anti-sagging mod.

Those lights look excellent. Any chance of more of a breakdown showing how they're fitted?

And yes, the paddles look more accurate. Not sure I'll make similar changes myself but it will be tempting.

Those lights though. :-)

Edited October 5, 2018 by stevej

[HamdenKid]

Thank you so much for showing interest! I can definitely explain how I put the lights together (I did have to drill a few Legos unfortunately) I just didn’t want to invest the time if nobody was going to use it. I can try to edit this post to show how I did it by tomorrow 

Edited October 4, 2018 by HamdenKid

[Kristof]

:D funny how sometimes quite interesting post gets ignored by most :D I have no clue why that is in this case.

The lights look cool, I am not fan of 3rd party mods but lights are somewhat allowed I suppose :D Not a big fan of the modded wing well arches. The double bulge design, despite providing some actual well space, simply doesn't have the right shape. I feel that the minor improvement is for heavy cost of damaging the looks in some other way here. What I really like though are your pictures. I am not sure if you have taken some particular care while taking them, but if not (and even if yes in a way) the result looks amazing. I wish I could photograph my Mocs like this!

[HamdenKid]

2 hours ago, krisandkris12 said:

Not a big fan of the modded wing well arches. The double bulge design

I know where you're coming from, I don’t really like how they’re shaped either but I’m not really sure how to do it any other way. I do think it’s better than the original Lego set though. If you have suggestions I’d love to hear/see them! Thank you for the kind words about the pictures I this is really my first time taking pictures of a lego set and I’m really happy with the results of those!

Edited October 5, 2018 by HamdenKid

[HamdenKid]

Here you gostevej! I hope this helps if you have questions don't be afraid to ask!

Edited October 5, 2018 by HamdenKid

[HamdenKid]

On 10/4/2018 at 6:16 PM, krisandkris12 said:

:D funny how sometimes quite interesting post gets ignored by most :D I have no clue why that is in this case.

I figured it out! people are just that speechless after they saw my mods! ?

Edited August 14, 2019 by HamdenKid

[Kristof]

@HamdenKid Sadly I don't have a solution either. I have seen a brick built arches using hinged wedge plates or curved slopes and such (i.e. Brick-Customs), which sort of approximate the shape better in some way, but that's always sacrificing the clean arch line. I really feel with the designer of the UCS set and I think his solution is very reasonable given there just weren't better pieces to use. I did think it was a major flaw when I first saw it, the lack of recessed wells, but by the time I did some thinking how better to do it, obviously with no success, I had to give him that the tradeoff for a good outside shape is justified here. Though many people used the double bulge arches the same way you did so it seems it appears acceptable for a lot of people. For me its just a major distortion :D

[HamdenKid]

6 hours ago, krisandkris12 said:

I really feel with the designer of the UCS set and I think his solution is very reasonable given there just weren't better pieces to use. 

So do you think it would have been better to just leave it as it was?

[Kristof]

I do but I realize its very individual personal preference. I happen to agree with the designer on this choice but Im fully aware some people perceive this solution better :)

[HamdenKid]

4 hours ago, krisandkris12 said:

I do but I realize its very individual personal preference. I happen to agree with the designer on this choice but Im fully aware some people perceive this solution better :)

What do you think of brick vault’s version?

[Kristof]

@HamdenKid Mind you, I haven't seen it before :D And I think it's a decent take, thanks for bringing it up. Obviously the shape is a bit off still but it has the recess and doesn't look twice bad!

EDIT: This reminded me of my old Slave I project that is on hold for quite many years now.

I remember I started with a vision of real minifig scale Slave I, and this was some months before this UCS set first emerged on the internet. But exactly because of this arch struggle (and other reasons) I decided to reduce the size and attempt for something smaller, yet reasonably accurate. The cockpit is the problem here, though, and I sort of lost the drive of working on it back then.

Things like this for me come down to the fact that sometimes when I notice an inaccuracy in shape, it just stands out and outweighs the positives. In a way I don't think I have ever seen a great solution for these arches on any scale lego model :D

Edited October 6, 2018 by krisandkris12

[HamdenKid]

Thank you for your thoughts @krisandkris12! One quick question, what program do most people use to build Legos online? I tried mecabricks and I couldn’t get it to work very well

 

Edited October 6, 2018 by HamdenKid

[Kristof]

@HamdenKid Idk about 'online' - that might actually be only Mecabricks. I tried it and it didn't feel intuitive enough for me either, although I know lots of people who work in it very smoothly and efficiently. When it comes to other digital tools, I was used to LDD for years and just recently I tried stud.io and it seems to be quite alright.

[HamdenKid]

Does anyone have any other comments/questions?

[DarthTrocious]

“Yeah. I got a question. Does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe?”

 

Edited August 15, 2019 by DarthTrocious
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