LiLmeFromDaFuture

[MOC] [WIP] The Command of the AT-AT

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There is certainly some innovative ideas used, especially the hip joint with the worm gear! Im not sure where you have used glue, but i do see a potential easy weakness, where the bottom of the legs join onto the ankle simply by the arch. That will be a lot of weight on just the arches that i believe there will be quite a bit of flex occurring somewhere.

Glue was only a demand for the knee connection to the legs, because it was very weak. Not that it wouldn't support the weight of the walker overnight, (just to think of it: you wake up in the middle of the night after hearing a loud noise and you look around to see what has happen, but to ultimately find that all your hard work into an AT-AT is in complete shambles—oh what a horror that would be *oh2*), however, this section would just crumble if not careful with bending the knees. Ankles would be a point of weakness. That was made clear after a plush Olaf decided to be a superhero and fly across the room to topple the gray beast into piles of pieces and save summer—"apologies Lord Vader, but the walker is not yet Olaf proof," is what I thought.

Joking aside, to counter the weight on the ankles, I simply adjust the position of the shoulders with the gearbox function; diverting the emphasis of stress onto the shoulders. Since the shoulders are structured around Technic beams, the stress would not be a concern here, but it could take its toll on the mold of the 24 tooth gear.

Edited by LiLmeFromDaFuture

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This is gorgeous. I really appreciate the ability to harness the blending of light grey and bley. Other neutral shades of Lego, especially when it comes to Star Wars are difficult to control. Well done! I'm very excited to see the rest.

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You didn't start the design process in the right order.

You should obviously have start with the legs ; the trickiest/critical part of an AT-AT.

Finding out at half of the design process that the legs need glue because of the scale chosen for the head is kinda meh. :/

edit :

Also thanks to Rebels we have a new AT-AT design to MOC

21806672174_293f3e8b16.jpg

do%20not%20want.gif?f-ed=1

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You didn't start the design process in the right order.

You should obviously have start with the legs ; the trickiest/critical part of an AT-AT.

Finding out at half of the design process that the legs need glue because of the scale chosen for the head is kinda meh. :/

Actually, the scale I have chosen is minifigure scale, and the way of determining the certain scale is pretty in depth. Though I have been building this since 2012, as of recently in early 2015 i built the head, yet the legs came in some where in between, and were a very tricky part to get the look right. The main mission for this AT-AT was to achieve the high accuracy of details that is possible with the given elements; beyond the concern of making it sound and solid. A part of this mission did include designing the legs as thin as possible, which ultimately, brought undesirable consequences. The legs could have stood well enough alone without the glue, but I was limited with how much I could fiddle with the knee joints, because the connection was weak. I only glued that joint to the legs, so it will be easy to work with—it would have stood fine on its own, just not easy to play with. But of course, I know just that reason wouldn't excuse the fact that I decided to use glue, so…

I traditionally would have started with the legs to determine the scale to a somewhat extent, but since I was going for exact measurements, I could have literally started where ever. Though with this other, smaller, sturdier, funner AT-AT I happen to be also building, I first started with armor plating on the sides of the body. However, since that was a simpler part, as considerably less sophisticated than this one I am building now, I count that I actually started with the legs, as indeed one of the critical parts of the build. I also took more liberty with the design and details of it too, as compared to the MF scaled one. The legs are thicker than probably should be at this scale, but I am okay with that, because it is greatly simpler, impressively sturdier, and all the more funner. I will admit that I am going to favorite this AT-AT over the other, but the MF scale one wins with its accuracy to details.

edit :

do%20not%20want.gif?f-ed=1

It is far to boxy for my taste and not completely traditional to what we are use to, but the legs look interesting, don't they?

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This is shaping up to be one slick looking at-at!

Thank you! It will be slick indeed, for the most part, as the legs are quite "studdy," but it will still look fantastic nonetheless. Afterwards, I am going to make another version of this walker yet scaled down, simpler, sturdier, SNOTier, and all the more fun.

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I don't get why people complain about the glued stuff,i honestly prefer a legal build but the accuracy and final look is way more important for me that using a few Modded parts and glue.

You're doing a fantastic job LMFTF and i can't wait to see this finished.

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I don't get why people complain about the glued stuff,i honestly prefer a legal build but the accuracy and final look is way more important for me that using a few Modded parts and glue.

You're doing a fantastic job LMFTF and i can't wait to see this finished.

It is a really serious topic, with the paramount reason that it degrades the integrity of the build, and maybe that of the builder. It is considered an unimaginative method for a quality build, as it contradicts the limitations that actually encourages diligence for ingenuity.

For sure I would definitely not go to extremes as to heavily modify, alter etc. a piece to suit such a need. With my priorities and the certain designs of some elements I had limitations with the structure and functionality of the legs. The connection between the leg segments, the knee joint, was weak, therefore I only glued that one part to the legs, so it will be easy handle when positioning, adjusting, fiddling, etc.

However, the fact remains that I used glue, which is still frowned upon.

Edited by LiLmeFromDaFuture

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It is a really serious topic, with the paramount reason that it degrades the integrity of the build, and maybe that of the builder. It is considered an unimaginative method for a quality build, as it contradicts the limitations that actually encourages diligence for ingenuity.

The way I see it is like this: it puts you in another category. A comparison would be a game's speedrun. It can be performed normally, or tool-assisted. Both are entertaining, but you expect more from a tool-assisted one.

So the thing is: as long as it's "tool-assisted", it doesn't really matter how much tool-assisted it is, or what emulator/techniques were used - a tool-assisted speedrun has to be the best speedrun possible, using any existing tool.

Which is why I'm saying, as soon as you enter the "MOC using illegal techniques", it doesn't really matter whether you've glued or cut one part, or all of them, you're kinda in that category. And it's not a bad category, it has produced amazing work, only anything in that category has to be a lot better than something in the "pure" category.

So that's what we were saying, it's a pity to enter that category for just a few glued parts and 1 cut part - better fully be in that category and cut/glue everything that needs to be, IMHO.

How much "unpure" is the MOC may make a difference for the author, but for the viewer, it's pretty much either in the pure category or the other category. So, for ex, if you're already in the other category, that "blue" part that's too blue, you could paint it - it won't really matter. And really, there are gorgeous painted MOCs out there, so it's not really to diss that "altered" category.

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The way I see it is like this: it puts you in another category.

First of all: hello everyone, I'm new here though not really new to the hobby :) .

Now, this is an interesting sub-topic. I'd say there are more than two categories (glue and non-glue builders ;) ) . The important factor, in my opinion, is WHY or WHEN you glue your model. If you do it because otherwise it would not stand on it's own, then your model is in totally different league than others. I'm not saying it's worse (or better), just that it should not be compared with non-glue MOCs because it's not fair. On the other hand, I'm building a big AT-AT as well and it does stand on its own (even though it contains various mechanisms and weighs some 7 kg) but I will not hesitate to use glue before I take it to an exhibition. Our events sometimes last a month or two and I'm not going to take such risk, when all it takes to topple such a fragile model is one decent kick on table's leg...

Anyway, LiLmeFromDaFuture, don't worry about your model being frowned upon - it's just different, not inferior.

Master builders glue models they create for Legolands (not to mention putting steel frames inside). Set designers glue models before they present them to assessment commitees. It is all a matter of purpose.

Regards,

dmac

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Master builders glue models they create for Legolands (not to mention putting steel frames inside).

I wouldn't even call those statues "Lego MOCs", because the only creativity in there is the original model/drawing, the adaptation to Lego is all automatic (I'm pretty sure it IS computer-assisted and automatic, btw), there is as much creativity as in turning a photo into pixels. I have very little respect for Legoland statues (if they were using slopes or special parts for more detail, that would be a different story) but hey, they serve a different purpose.

But glueing something that already stands on its own, why not. While I like things solid, to me the only rule is "it has to stand up for the picture", assuming that the connections are "legal".

However, in that case of something that can stand alone but is risky, I'd rather suggest a display stand/aid.

All I'm saying is, there are probably not more than 2 categories for most of us here, it's either pure or it's not. It's not a rule to obey, it's just something that affects our appreciation of a MOC.

(and for anyone who's not into Lego at all, it's probably all in 1 "made with Lego" category)

Edited by anothergol

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The way I see it is like this: it puts you in another category. A comparison would be a game's speedrun. It can be performed normally, or tool-assisted. Both are entertaining, but you expect more from a tool-assisted one.

So the thing is: as long as it's "tool-assisted", it doesn't really matter how much tool-assisted it is, or what emulator/techniques were used - a tool-assisted speedrun has to be the best speedrun possible, using any existing tool.

Which is why I'm saying, as soon as you enter the "MOC using illegal techniques", it doesn't really matter whether you've glued or cut one part, or all of them, you're kinda in that category. And it's not a bad category, it has produced amazing work, only anything in that category has to be a lot better than something in the "pure" category.

So that's what we were saying, it's a pity to enter that category for just a few glued parts and 1 cut part - better fully be in that category and cut/glue everything that needs to be, IMHO.

How much "unpure" is the MOC may make a difference for the author, but for the viewer, it's pretty much either in the pure category or the other category. So, for ex, if you're already in the other category, that "blue" part that's too blue, you could paint it - it won't really matter. And really, there are gorgeous painted MOCs out there, so it's not really to diss that "altered" category.

That is a nice explanation, and I am well familiar with analogy you have made at the beginning—it helps to understand this particular subject a bit more after my distant past of heavily modifying/altering BIONICLES. My purpose for gluing was towards longevity rather than a gimmick to solve impossible/illegal connections. Likewise I would have just glued the rest, and also for display purposes, but I always want to keep the opportunity open to follow up with improvements to the design. However, that was not the case for the legs, as I did as much as I can with the available elements—though I am always expecting new ones from LEGO. That grille part was a simple modification and I was surprise how nice that niche look—it filled up that area quite a bit rather than having just an open 1 x 2 space. Though, I would not go to extremes of heavily modifying a piece or even form a new piece out of fusing, because of my inexperience with making it look professional and clean. That is a good thing for me, likewise it encourages me to persevere and find ingenious ways to put together elements legally, which I am always in awe when it comes to fruition. However, you are right, once you go there and announce that you went there… well, your in another category now—but thanks for your great points and examples!

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Any progress or new pics? :)

Yes soon, but it will just be a small one. I plan to install two trans-red light bricks inside the head, for a dynamic glowing effect. This is something I always wanted to see and do myself for an AT-AT. It will be a easy implementation, as I only have to rig it inside, and will not have to worry about compromising the design or details. I bought the two lights some time ago and they came with batteries, fortunately in good condition. However, unfortunately, a couple of the batteries died out recently, and now I am tracking them down in local stores.

Though with progress, I am steadily approaching the infrastructure for the main hull, as I just shy away from this task and put it off, because I dread finding the best and perfect solution among so many possibilities. However, I am going into LDD to design this because of my currently limited resource of Technic elements.

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I'm very interested in your progress! The Ship looks great. Too bad you did some 'illegal'stuff, but hey, thats only my humble opinion.

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I'm very interested in your progress! The Ship looks great. Too bad you did some 'illegal'stuff, but hey, thats only my humble opinion.

Yeah it is unfortunate, but thank you for your compliment anyway!

its amazing :wub:

It sure is—thanks!

I'm following this with extreme interest! :classic: It looks brilliant so far!

Much appreciated!

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for inspiration, this new one is one of the best I've seen

https://www.flickr.c...8/in/pool-lego/

I don't know how accurate it is, but it looks damn good. Especially the use of old gray for leakings on the body, and the painted flags on the leg joints.

Feet joints look great as well, although I have no idea how they're attached, they might as well be glued.

Oh wait he even motorized the head (& guns!), there are video's in his album.

Edited by anothergol

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they might as well be glued.

Nope. As I said, I would only use glue before a long exhibition, just in case. Right now, there is not a droplet of glue in this model.

Thanks for you kind opinion, by the way, but let's not steal this thread from our host :) .

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Nope. As I said, I would only use glue before a long exhibition, just in case. Right now, there is not a droplet of glue in this model.

Thanks for you kind opinion, by the way, but let's not steal this thread from our host :) .

ah, so it's yours!

do you have a thread about it somewhere btw? I'd like to know how you managed to make those feet stand

Would be worth having a generic thread about AT-AT MOCing btw, as there are at least 2 people here actively working on a full-scale one.

I know I'd never start one of my own, but since Cavegod's version I want to have one, ideally one that gathers the best of everyone's MOC.

Edited by anothergol

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for inspiration, this new one is one of the best I've seen

https://www.flickr.c...8/in/pool-lego/

I don't know how accurate it is, but it looks damn good. Especially the use of old gray for leakings on the body, and the painted flags on the leg joints.

Feet joints look great as well, although I have no idea how they're attached, they might as well be glued.

Oh wait he even motorized the head (& guns!), there are video's in his album.

I won't go to say about any inaccuracies, but it does look mightily impressive. Especially with the accomplishment of motorized power functions for the head, and how his smoother (probably sturdier) legs put mine to shame :laugh:

Old light grey for the leaking is a nice touch, yet I forwent tiny details like this, with the use of plates, to avoid a "brick wall" affect as much as possible.

The ankles seem to function similarly to mine, that is, they slide and not pivot.

Importantly, they are light grey… unlike mine :laugh:.

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^Hmm, my guess for the ankles would be that they rest on fix pivot point, yet that one is offset a bit more forward/backward depending on which way the leg goes.

I'm still very curious (and not yet convinced about it's function) how your ankle will work with the body on. These technic connectors which hold the arch seem so insecure... :D

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^Hmm, my guess for the ankles would be that they rest on fix pivot point, yet that one is offset a bit more forward/backward depending on which way the leg goes.

I'm still very curious (and not yet convinced about it's function) how your ankle will work with the body on. These technic connectors which hold the arch seem so insecure... :D

From time to time, the arch does slide out from the half bush Technic pins that connect them to the connectors when held. But, exciting news, I am completely redesigning the ankles and the legs altogether, which will be a tremendous improvement from the unfortunately fragile & "studdy" legs I have now—above all it won't need crazy amounts of glue ; )

I will have an update on the progress of the refined design soon, and a special surprise for the community : )

Edited by LiLmeFromDaFuture

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