My attempt to make the Tydirium Shuttle 75094 a bit more slick

[Schwizzle]

I will make this short and sweet. Because of my life/work schedule, I don't get a lot of wiggle room right now. To put it succinctly, most of us like the new Tydirium 75094 set. The one main criticism of it though is how unfinished it looks, top and bottom (too many studs out in the open on top, and the bottom, well, it's the bottom). I don't think much can be done about the bottom as I've only been able to find one white inverted tile (which is 2x2 I think). That being said, I am only on my 7th Star Wars model, and I haven't done an MOC, so I am willing and hoping to be corrected!

However, the top of the wings and shuttle's fuselage, that can be worked with, at least according to LDD. This my first time using LDD and so I'm hoping that how I've modded it works out in reality. A lot of the 1x6's went on spaces that had only one stud available. But since they are all surrounded by other pieces, I am hoping that the one stud is enough for them to just stay on.

Here it is, and I have uploaded the lxf file as well. All comments, suggestions, pointing out mistakes I've made are welcome as I am eager to learn. Note, on the 3rd picture, LDD wouldn't let me put the 2x4 in the same place as the other side. It is a snug spot, but I've tried a 2x4 tile in that spot and it works. I added in the ridges that the shuttle has, plus the black stripe/block (grey on some pictures) on either wing. Also, a price list is at the end (note, I did get some extra parts: got a corner piece to try something out, and got 4 extra 1x4 white tiles for another set I have.

Also, the background on all of my pictures when looking in Windows shows as black. Here it is white. If anyone knows of a way to take a screenshot and get a black background, please let me know.

Ok, I need to sleep now....I wanted to make a list of everything that I changed, but I really need sleep! Any grammar mistakes I blame on the droopy eyelids. Thank you for your time and for any comments you'd like to make!

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tydirium test revised3 by schwizzle1, on Flickr

2.

tydirium test revised1 by schwizzle1, on Flickr

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tydirium test revised2 by schwizzle1, on Flickr

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tydirium test revised by schwizzle1, on Flickr

FLAT TILE CORNER 1X2X2

Item: 14719

1

USD 0.15

FLAT TILE 2X4

Item: 87079

16

USD 0.23

FLAT TILE 1x3

Item: 63864

14

USD 0.13

FLAT TILE 1X2

Item: 3069

2

USD 0.11

FLAT TILE 1X6

Item: 6636

4

USD 0.16

FLAT TILE 1X6

Item: 6636

28

USD 0.17

FLAT TILE 1X1

Item: 3070

14

USD 0.08

FLAT TILE 1X2

Item: 3069

28

USD 0.11

FLAT TILE 2X2

Item: 3068

4

USD 0.11

PLATE 1X2

Item: 3023

8

USD 0.07

FLAT TILE 1X4

Item: 2431

18

USD 0.14 Sub Total USD 18.99 Shipping USD 2.95 Tax USD 2.02 Order Total USD 23.96

tydirium test revised.lxf

[rollermonkey]

Very cool.

Using tiles won't increase wing thickness too badly, but inverted tiles probably would. That said, I would like to see if you added the 2x2 white inverted tiles to the bottom, just for comparison.

[jamie75]

I really wish Lego would make Wedge Tiles, for things like this!!

Nice mod, I like it!! I will probably do something like this when I get around to building mine.

Jamie

Edited August 18, 2015 by jamie75

[Schwizzle]

Thanks for the replies! Will try covering the bottom of the wings/fuselage with the 2x2's in LDD this weekend. The only problem with doing that for real would be the weight like you said rollermonkey. Not only the weight of the 2x2's, but the layering isn't uniform underneath and would require putting extra plates on first to make a uniform layer, then you would have to put on the 2x2's.

Also, I'm curious to see how the weight distribrution will change when the landing gear is out. It's alredy kind of back heavy when the landing gear is engaged, so I may need to find a clever way of adding weight to the front and still be aesthetically pleasing.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Schwizzle

[rollermonkey]

I was thinking that if the bottom isn't all one thickness, perhaps only putting inverted tiles where the wing isn't at full thickness? The amount of uncovered antistuds would be the make-or-break on that idea, though.

[miles teg]

This is good, I've been wanting to tile my 75094 since I built her ! And not too expensive either

[belkor]

Thanks for the replies! Will try covering the bottom of the wings/fuselage with the 2x2's in LDD this weekend. The only problem with doing that for real would be the weight like you said rollermonkey. Not only the weight of the 2x2's, but the layering isn't uniform underneath and would require putting extra plates on first to make a uniform layer, then you would have to put on the 2x2's.

Also, I'm curious to see how the weight distribrution will change when the landing gear is out. It's alredy kind of back heavy when the landing gear is engaged, so I may need to find a clever way of adding weight to the front and still be aesthetically pleasing.

Did you get any pics of your modded Shuttle? Defo needs doing I think, the existing Shuttle looks like Lego ran out of budget and left the model for us to finish ourselves.

Cheers

[rollermonkey]

I've got a bunch of inverted tiles already on the way from BnP, I'll share here once I've added them to mine.

[rollermonkey]

I don't mind some studs as much as I dislike seeing plate bottoms. Here's my take on streamlining the wings:

The side wings aren't noticeably wider than the vertical fin:

More importantly, it doesn't introduce sag, and might actually strengthen the wings a bit.

Edited September 20, 2015 by rollermonkey

[belkor]

Excellent work - I'm gonna head off and place an order with BL. I think the cockpit sides also need doing as a minimum as far as studs are concerned.

[Schwizzle]

Did you get any pics of your modded Shuttle? Defo needs doing I think, the existing Shuttle looks like Lego ran out of budget and left the model for us to finish ourselves.

Cheers

I did finish the mod, but I haven't gotten any pics yet. Life got real, at warp seed: I have young kids that I needed to focus on more, and mom passed away recently too. Just haven't had the time, but I hope to have some soon!. I even modded the inside by getting rid of the thermal detonator crate so I could add in seats for C-3PO, R2, and Luke Skywalker (the Endor version).

I don't mind some studs as much as I dislike seeing plate bottoms. Here's my take on streamlining the wings:

<snip>

The side wings aren't noticeably wider than the vertical fin:

<snip>

More importantly, it doesn't introduce sag, and might actually strengthen the wings a bit.

Thanks for doing the work on the underside. I wonder how much the wings would sag though if I do the bottom like what you did. Will just have to try it and find out..

Excellent work - I'm gonna head off and place an order with BL. I think the cockpit sides also need doing as a minimum as far as studs are concerned.

Yep, love the cockpit more since I got it tiled. Doesn't look as proportionate, but oh well.... :-)

[Schwizzle]

Ok, I finally got some time to take some pictures! Note the addition of Luke, C-3P0, and R2-D2.

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[belkor]

Nice pics mate! This definitely finishes the shuttle off nicely, I'm gonna do mine like that too. Thanks for the post :)

[Schwizzle]

Nice pics mate! This definitely finishes the shuttle off nicely, I'm gonna do mine like that too. Thanks for the post :)

Thanks! No problem. Its finished state is much more enjoyable for me as well.

I got the new X-Wing from the Force Unleashed sets (Poe's X-Wing 75102), and I had to do a slight mod to it: the top wings are offset from the bottom wings (top wings back, bottom wings forward), and I couldn't stand them being like that, too much of a traditionalist I guess. It was easy to reposition the top wings further forward. Amazing how much more a model is enjoyable after you start learning/thinking about a different design.

[bataleon]

Fantastic! Thanks for the inspiration mate. It's like a mini UCS now :)

Edited October 11, 2015 by bataleon

[Schwizzle]

Fantastic! Thanks for the inspiration mate. It's like a mini UCS now :)

Thanks bataleon! That's high praise considering how awesome the UCS version is.

[ArchieNov]

Thanks, Schwizzle! I followed your idea about placing tiles over the Tydirium and it does look much sleeker now. I haven't touched the wings though as my local seller doesn't have any white 1x6 tiles in stock.

One mod idea that I would like to share in making the Tydirium look even better (at least in my opinion) is changing the color of the 2x6 light grey plates under the trans-blue engine tiles. I couldn't understand why the designer opted to use light grey plates for these. Moreover, using light grey plates underneath made the trans-clear tiles look rather dull and not very visually appealing.

So I replaced the two 2x6 light gray plates with two 2x6 white plates and here is the end result:

I believe the engines look like they're glowing brighter now and the color looks more consistent. Let me know what you think

[Schwizzle]

Thanks, Schwizzle! I followed your idea about placing tiles over the Tydirium and it does look much sleeker now. I haven't touched the wings though as my local seller doesn't have any white 1x6 tiles in stock.

One mod idea that I would like to share in making the Tydirium look even better (at least in my opinion) is changing the color of the 2x6 light grey plates under the trans-blue engine tiles. I couldn't understand why the designer opted to use light grey plates for these. Moreover, using light grey plates underneath made the trans-clear tiles look rather dull and not very visually appealing.

So I replaced the two 2x6 light gray plates with two 2x6 white plates and here is the end result:

<snip>

I believe the engines look like they're glowing brighter now and the color looks more consistent. Let me know what you think

Definitely like the white more. Will have to see if my local store has any white 2x6's.

[Missing Brick]

Nice mod but IMHO, when both sides of the wing need to look smooth, the only way to get a really nice look is to use bricks instead of plates. ie. make the side wings in the same way as the central wing.

[Schwizzle]

Nice mod but IMHO, when both sides of the wing need to look smooth, the only way to get a really nice look is to use bricks instead of plates. ie. make the side wings in the same way as the central wing.

Well, this guy took care of that for you : http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=116156