[MOCs] Battlegroup Fulcrum - a Rebel Fleet

[DarthTwoShedsJackson]

The time has come for me to finally assemble a rebel fleet of my own. For this reason, I will post all my rebel ships for this fleet-building-project here, so that everything can be found in one place.

 

First - two basics for this project:

• The scale for all ships in this fleet is 3 studs equal 10 metres. However, I expect and don't mind deviations of a stud or two or the thickness of a plate - at the end of the day, I want the builds to be clean and sturdy, and not be a slave to increments of a millimeter or so.

 

On 30.4.2017 at 2:20 PM, krisandkris12 said:

You could use some better lighting for these pictures so it does proper justice to the model :)

Thanks, krisandkris12. Here's my take on the lighting for this project:

• Each ship in my fleet will come with a short description and/or history, and will be presented in a way that mimics the lighting schemes and space backdrops of the show and the movies. The lighting in these images is therefore deliberate - I use a single strong key-light and significantly reduced ambient light to create the lighting schemes of both the show and the movies, as opposed to the typical white light box.

 

The ARGUS III

This CR90 Corellian Corvette was attached to Phoenix Squadron and has been modified with a more powerful sensor array and some sensor cloaking capabilities. In the early days of the Rebellion, the Argus III was used by Ahsoka Tano - communicating as 'Fulcrum' - on espionage missions deep in imperial territory and to intercept secret imperial transmissions. Commander Tano used the information gained to organize the first missions for several fledgling rebel cells, especially that on Lothal and later for Phoenix Squadron. The last mission under the command of Ahsoka took the Argus III near Mustafar. After Commander Tano disappeared, the small battlegroup which has formed around the Argus III took the name 'Battlegroup Fulcrum' in honour of the former Jedi and mentor to many rebel cells. Battlegroup Fulcrum remains loosely attached to Phoenix Squadron, but is a specialized task force for tricky missions which often operates on its own and on several occasions in concert with other squadrons. The Argus III was present during the battle over Scarif following Admiral Raddus' call to battle, but even its powerful sensor array could not penetrate the closed energy shield of the imperial security complex. It sustained heavy damage during the battle, but managed to escape and was repaired within 60 standard rotations.

On 29.4.2017 at 9:20 PM, mortesv said:

I could wish for some engine glow and the housings for the inner engines should be angled a bit shallower (but the last item is perhaps nit-picking :) )

Great job!

Thanks, mortesv.  My latest brick-order including a few transparent orange dishes arrived yesterday:

 

On 1.5.2017 at 10:02 PM, TheNerdyOne_ said:

I think it looks great!  The engines are really nice, there's a lot of great part usage in there!  Looking forward to seeing more!

Thanks, TheNerdyOne_ - I'm happy to oblige :

 

HAULER B - 'The Lucky One'

GR75 transports are a dime and a dozen in the Rebel Alliance. This one has a history with the Argus III as a dedicated tanker to supply the Corvette on its long missions deep in imperial territory far from non-imperial fuel stations. The Hauler B's nav-computer was fed with encrypted data of secret hyperspace routes Fulcrum obtained from Jedi Master Piel during the Clone Wars before he died. It also is crewed by former smugglers who are expert at evading imperial inspections and customs checkpoints. While the Rebel Alliance's GR75s usually can count on fighters and blockade runners to safely escort them through armed opposition, the crew of the Hauler B had to learn to oftentimes operate on their own and become very creative in evading and outsmarting the Imperials. So far, they got away with it, which earned the Hauler B the nickname 'The Lucky One', even though its crew insists that there is no such thing as luck.

 

A-WING FIGHTER GROUPS 1 & 2

Battlegroup Fulcrum uses the A-wing as their standard fighter just like Phoenix Squadron to which it remains loosely attached. Three A-wings typically accompany the Argus III on missions. When not in action, these A-wings can be attached to the two docking rings and the passenger access lift of the Corvette.

 

That's it for starters, but more ships are to come since building at this scale is fun and challenging. Comments are welcome, plus ideas and suggestions what to add to Battlegroup Fulcrum and why.

Edited May 4, 2017 by DarthTwoShedsJackson

[mortesv]

Looking great Darth! I like your stories to give your ships personality and purpose.

Since I built my GR-75, I wanted to create a smaller more midi-scale version of the ship, I seems you have beat me to it - I might still give it a shot though ;) What is the brick count?

And it goes without saying that I have a thing for building fleets as well :)

[Moppo]

Looking great! Were you able to put cargo under the transport at that scale? :)

[Azrielsc]

This is getting so much better with so many "Fleets" popping up over in this forum! (Imperial, Rebel Alliance, Nerdyone's, and now Fulcrum!)

Would love to see some Y-Wings! Backstory could be that since The Ghost Team liberated the Y-Wings, they could have loaned Ahsoka with a few?

[DarthTwoShedsJackson]

12 hours ago, mortesv said:

Looking great Darth! I like your stories to give your ships personality and purpose.

Since I built my GR-75, I wanted to create a smaller more midi-scale version of the ship, I seems you have beat me to it - I might still give it a shot though ;) What is the brick count?

And it goes without saying that I have a thing for building fleets as well :)

I'm glad you like it, mortesv. I'm a fan of the vehicle- and prop-design since I saw the original trilogy in the cinema as a little boy, but without a story and characters who utilize them, it's all meaningless - which is why I always like to have a story with tie-ins into the official storylines for the models. Plus: that's a lot of fun.

 

7 hours ago, Moppo said:

Looking great! Were you able to put cargo under the transport at that scale? :)

Yes, if you wanted to, you could build little cargo modules using modified 1x1 bricks with coloured cheese slopes attached to them and directly attach them to the plate structure inside the shell. Right from the start, though, I imagined this vessel to be modified as a tanker, and I built the details inside the shell accordingly - representing fuel tanks and piping:

 

5 hours ago, Azrielsc said:

This is getting so much better with so many "Fleets" popping up over in this forum! (Imperial, Rebel Alliance, Nerdyone's, and now Fulcrum!)

Would love to see some Y-Wings! Backstory could be that since The Ghost Team liberated the Y-Wings, they could have loaned Ahsoka with a few?

Yes, there can't be enough fleets out there, can there? I'll keep the idea with the Y-wings in the back of my mind and see if I can come up with an interesting and plausible story for those - but the Y-wings were liberated by Ezra and Co. after they had to leave Ahsoka with Vader on Malachor just before the temple collapsed! Since the history of Battlegroup Fulcrum spans from the very early days of the Rebellion when Bail Organa and Ahsoka Tano organized the first fledgling cells to the Battle of Endor and beyond, there's a lot of possibility for vessels, characters and stories. I might even create some unique characters and personalities for this fleet, such as high-ranking officers, intelligence agents, fighter pilots, and commandos. This might even lead to some minifig-scale MOCs of smaller vehicles and ship interiors if this will grow into a full-blown photographic anthology - something that I had on my mind for a long time. Maybe I have too many ideas, but I'm of the opinion that it is better to have too many ideas and not be able to make them all come true than to have no ideas at all.

Edited May 5, 2017 by DarthTwoShedsJackson

[Azrielsc]

Best qu

2 minutes ago, DarthTwoShedsJackson said:

SNIP*

Maybe I have too many ideas, but I'm of the opinion that it is better to have too many ideas and not be able to make them all come true than to have no ideas at all.

Best quote ever when it comes to Lego!!!

[mortesv]

That is a sweet looking transport-tanker bottom! :)

What is the brick count? :)

[DarthTwoShedsJackson]

16 minutes ago, mortesv said:

What is the brick count? :)

Disassembling it into sub-builds and counting, it comes to closely around 380 parts - including the display stand. I didn't realize it is that many parts for such a small model - loads of jumpers, brackets and modified bricks and plates. Although, if you want to simplify the colour-texture of the shell-shaped hull plating, you can reduce it by several parts.

Edited May 5, 2017 by DarthTwoShedsJackson

[Moppo]

Those details are really nice!

[mortesv]

1 hour ago, DarthTwoShedsJackson said:

Disassembling it into sub-builds and counting, it comes to closely around 380 parts - including the display stand. I didn't realize it is that many parts for such a small model - loads of jumpers, brackets and modified bricks and plates. Although, if you want to simplify the colour-texture of the shell-shaped hull plating, you can reduce it by several parts.

380 seems reasonable considering the size - also a fine brick count for a midi-scale build :) The Midi Falcon and ISD are 350-400 +mine is around 900.

[Agent Kallus]

On 5/4/2017 at 8:18 PM, DarthTwoShedsJackson said:

The time has come for me to finally assemble a rebel fleet of my own. For this reason, I will post all my rebel ships for this fleet-building-project here, so that everything can be found in one place.

That's it for starters, but more ships are to come since building at this scale is fun and challenging. Comments are welcome, plus ideas and suggestions what to add to Battlegroup Fulcrum and why.

A hammerhead corvette would be a logical addition as bail gave those to rebel fleet.

 

Lovely fleet, this thread reminds of nerdy one's one but this time the builds are non-digital.

[EKae]

May I suggest making a Liberator-version of your CR90? :) Also, maybe a larger project: the Rebel's Quasar-class fighter carrier?