[MOC] [INSTRUCTIONS] UCS Tantive IV - CR-90 Corvette

[WTFett]

The decals really give it depth!  Looking good :)

[Monkfiche]

On 2/13/2020 at 1:41 PM, WTFett said:

The decals really give it depth!  Looking good :)

They really do! The tricky next bit will be to figure out how to print them at a super high resolution 

[Monkfiche]

Starting to build...

Some little gaps I need to fill in, but otherwise it’s finally coming together.

Just splurged on the rest of the non-engine areas too... come on bricklink! :)

Also, Will from ultimatecollectorstickers.co.uk  can do a4’s worth of sticker sheets for £15 each, so will get some from him at the (very) end. 

 

[Kit Bricksto]

13 hours ago, Monkfiche said:

Starting to build...

Some little gaps I need to fill in, but otherwise it’s finally coming together.

Just splurged on the rest of the non-engine areas too... come on bricklink! :)

Also, Will from ultimatecollectorstickers.co.uk  can do a4’s worth of sticker sheets for £15 each, so will get some from him at the (very) end. 

 

Looking good so far! I really like your bridge mod. Would you send me the lxf file for it? I might just try redoing my own. 

15£ for an A4 sheet sounds fair enough. Is it glossy sticker paper? Still haven't added the UCS plaque to the model myself..

[Monkfiche]

1 hour ago, Kit Bricksto said:

Looking good so far! I really like your bridge mod. Would you send me the lxf file for it? I might just try redoing my own. 

15£ for an A4 sheet sounds fair enough. Is it glossy sticker paper? Still haven't added the UCS plaque to the model myself..

Sure, I’ll send something across shortly, though I’m doing my edits in stud.io so not sure if that outputs lxf.  I think so though...

Apparently the stickers are vinyl (same as real lego stickers??), can print up to 1200dpi, and A4 gets you something like 5 ucs-sized stickers or equivalent. The guy apparently does a lot of printing for companies that sell custom lego sets, so I’m sure it’s pretty good. Cheap enough to worth giving it a go. 

Edit - sent you a stud.io file across, as I can't export a different file without breaking my custom decals.

Also, a guy on reddit discovered that you can get stud.io to get pieces to emit light! It's obviously not indicative of the real model, but I mocked up something this morning for this:

Also, with a really cheaply rendered animation (I half like the crackly/glittering effect here, but it would probably go away / get better with more samples and higher resolution), which mainly is serving to get my imagination piqued about what else can be done.

 

Edited March 4, 2020 by Monkfiche
Added gif.

[waden34]

10 hours ago, Monkfiche said:

Apparently the stickers are vinyl (same as real lego stickers??), can print up to 1200dpi, and A4 gets you something like 5 ucs-sized stickers or equivalent. The guy apparently does a lot of printing for companies that sell custom lego sets, so I’m sure it’s pretty good. Cheap enough to worth giving it a go.

I bought some of his stickers and they are indeed just like the LEGO UCS stickers. Good quality for pretty cheap too.

[ijhammo]

On 5/7/2019 at 5:12 PM, Kit Bricksto said:

INSTRUCTIONS - AVAILABLE NOW!

Finally, after almost a years time, I have finished the instructions for this massive model and am happy to announce that I will be sharing them with you guys!

As the process of creating the instructions was very time-consuming I will be asking for 15€ as a small compensation for the efforts involved. If you're interested in building your own Corellian Corvette please contact me via PM or FlickrMail.

The Instructions will include the complete building guide as a PDF-file, the BrickLink-compatible XML-parts list and the LXF-file of the whole model.

Total parts count is 5708 pieces. Bricklink costs can vary depending on whether you go for all new pieces and what country you're in. 

Hi Kit,

New user so unable to PM you yet (for some reason) but would love to buy the plans. Could you PM me so we can sort it out?

Have just built the 2019 kit and was really underwhelmed by it. Absolutely love your build!

[ClassicLook]

Hi Everyone,

Finally, I've just finished my Tantive IV. It is a huge and long model! A had to make an extension to the stand, so it fits to the top of my furnitures.  I followed the instructions and part list strictly. My only modification is that I used DBG wheels at the engines instead of white. The UCS plaquette is not connected to the stand, it is removable.

DSC_0007 másolat by Gyula Herr, on Flickr

DSC_0014 másolat by Gyula Herr, on Flickr

DSC_0017 másolat by Gyula Herr, on Flickr

I would say, that I'm an experienced UCS SW builder, since I own many official sets, but this model containes so many clever solutions, that I wasn't expected. I think it's a higher level to build it. I really enjoyed the build of the core and cockpit. They are quite sturdy.

However, I had some issues to put the engines together. They are heavy and fragile. Some underside panels tend to fall down. I solved this by putting a 1x8 white tile underside:

DSC_0099 by Gyula Herr, on Flickr

As I assembled the ship, the "stem" of the lower-lateral engine broke off because of it's weight.

IMG_20200206_094516 by Gyula Herr, on Flickr

I tryed to put some extra bricks for more stud-to-stud connection. It looks more secure now, but I'm not fully satisfied with it.

The other problem is, that the middle engines hold the whole weight of the rear part and they tend to angle upwards a bit, since the are connected only with a few pins (or axles?) to the center part. My future plans are to make these connections stronger and secure the end of the engines as possible. Sometimes they fall off and it's hard to reconnect them without braking.

Otherwise I love this model, but the engines can be improved in terms of stability.

Edited April 21, 2020 by ClassicLook

[Rauhwelt]

The DGB engine pieces look way better than the white ones, imo. 

Great job

[Monkfiche]

Looks great ClassicLook. I’ve had a little break from it as I now have a new daughter, and combined with a 5 year old son in lock down, there isn’t much “me time” at the moment. Saying that, I’m now spurred onwards again and have just redesigned the walls in the middle section, started greebling the back of it, and have a gif rendering as I type!

[ClassicLook]

7 hours ago, Monkfiche said:

Looks great ClassicLook. I’ve had a little break from it as I now have a new daughter, and combined with a 5 year old son in lock down, there isn’t much “me time” at the moment. Saying that, I’m now spurred onwards again and have just redesigned the walls in the middle section, started greebling the back of it, and have a gif rendering as I type!

Congrats to you for your new child! I have a new son since 2019 October. I had also lack of spare time and space, that's why the project progressed slowly. I had all the parts at the end of 2019, but I could make the assemble just a few weeks ago.

[Monkfiche]

16 hours ago, ClassicLook said:

Congrats to you for your new child! I have a new son since 2019 October. I had also lack of spare time and space, that's why the project progressed slowly. I had all the parts at the end of 2019, but I could make the assemble just a few weeks ago.

Thanks, it’s all good fun getting used to a new baby. 

The engine section is definitely heavy - stud.io calculates it as about 3kg - half the weight of the entire ship.

I’ve raised the height of the cylinder-sections attached to the radar piece, and that means I have more space to add more pins etc. Not got around to that yet though... I’m currently working backwards through the ship rehashing my diorama at the moment, which has caused me to edit some of the technic structure. Good fun, but time consuming!

I’m also thinking that the cockpit might need a support as it might droop over time. At least my modded built version feels like that. What do you think? Kit?

I’m going to raise the height of the stand anyway (no point in detailing the bottom if noone can see it!), and potentially might create a technic frame (would be cool to angle the ship slightly too)... but not sure if that would look bad or not. 

[Kit Bricksto]

@ClassicLook Thank you very much for the extensive feeback! It is much appreciated and unfortunately confirms what I was worried about. The engines are definitely the weak spot of this model. If I ever get to it I will redesign their structure in a sturdier way. I hope you enjoyed the build nevertheless.

@Monkfiche I have not experienced any drooping of the cockpit on my version in the last year and while yours looks a bit heavier than mine I don't think that it should be too much for the structure of the "neck". And even if it is, I think you should be able to reinforce the neck itself without an extra stand. Having one under the cockpit would probably take away a lot from the elegance of the display and I would personally try and avoid it at any cost.
Keep us posted on your mods for the engine section. Maybe some of your ideas can help others strenghten their models too.

Oh and congrats on the birth of both your children, guys! May they grow up to be strong and healthy little builders like their parents! :D

[muhkuh]

Instruction avaible?:)

[Kit Bricksto]

3 hours ago, muhkuh said:

Instruction avaible?:)

Absolutely! PM me for the details. :)

[Monkfiche]

On 4/22/2020 at 12:16 PM, Kit Bricksto said:

 

@Monkfiche I have not experienced any drooping of the cockpit on my version in the last year and while yours looks a bit heavier than mine I don't think that it should be too much for the structure of the "neck". And even if it is, I think you should be able to reinforce the neck itself without an extra stand. Having one under the cockpit would probably take away a lot from the elegance of the display and I would personally try and avoid it at any cost.
Keep us posted on your mods for the engine section. Maybe some of your ideas can help others strenghten their models too.

Oh and congrats on the birth of both your children, guys! May they grow up to be strong and healthy little builders like their parents! :D

Thanks! 

On the cockpit, I think I might have a solution for my issue and can potentially connect the top of the cockpit (not roof) to the “gangway” bit. Then that should minimise the risk of droop for mine. 

I’ve not quite got round to the engine yet, as I’m working down the ship at the moment. My modded engines to allow the hoses to feed into the headlight pieces meant a weird LDU needed internally. I made it at the time, but it’s a messy workaround, and need to come back to it. 

I did start placing some technic parts at angles on stud.io to see what would fit into the engines too, but as you know, thats a big piece of work. Looking forward to that last. :)

Also, not sure if I’m wasting my time, but here is the current iteration of the centre diorama walls etc, with some proto greebling on the back. The stairs into the rear needed some change of the structure, but it’s still technic where it counts. This is my first time doing all this, so I’m sure there is a better way for everything I’m doing, but hey ho. 

Mp4 showing insides:

https://imgur.com/eQNazwZ

Edited April 29, 2020 by Monkfiche
Just realised the mp4 wasn't working. Updated post with link to mp4, and better (4k) image too.

[DefconWombat]

Beautiful work. 
I saw you ask for a PM to arrange buying instructions for this. 
for whatever reason I’m allowed to send 0 per day. Guess it’s because I’ve never posted anything on here. 

[LCdr Thrawn]

Really great MOC. Absolutely awesome. Tried to PM for instructions but wasn‘t able to send one, too. 

Best regards

Patrick

[Naixin]

omg this looks so much cleaner than the official version

[Krisproductions]

On 4/23/2020 at 2:30 AM, Kit Bricksto said:

Absolutely! PM me for the details. :)

Not letting me pm, but I would love to purchase the instructions! Tried messaging on Flickr as well, is there a chance you could respond somewhere lol? It's such a great design. 

[Omand]

11 hours ago, Krisproductions said:

Not letting me pm, but I would love to purchase the instructions! Tried messaging on Flickr as well, is there a chance you could respond somewhere lol? It's such a great design. 

You have to have 10 posts before you can PM Krisproductions.

[Magnuson24]

I'm constantly impressed with the ingenuity of work, time, committment and attention to detail for these MOC builds. Kit Bricksto! you are an amazing builder and visionary. Stunning detail! I'm excited to purchase your instructions, but like others haven't been on Eurobricks.com long enough. Will delve into making more posts so I can lend money to your cause and start my own build. My thought is to do the same ship but with blue instead of red.

[Kit Bricksto]

@Monkfiche I really like your modifications of the interior. I can imagine it as a cool display option to have your version opened up. :)

@Magnuson24 The blue version sounds cool too! I considered buying the parts to swap out for a blue version too but never got to do so. Looking forward to seeing your version. :)

@ everyone else: I hope that I replied to everyone who was asking about the instructions now. If I missed your request, please feel free to write to me again and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

Cheers and continue having fun building!
Kit

Edited June 10, 2020 by Kit Bricksto

[Monkfiche]

@Kit Bricksto Thanks, most appreciated! I’ve not had much of a chance to build more recently due to the family, but just built the blue & white x-wing, and watched The Force Awakens with my 5 year old, so I’m going to try find time to get into it properly again. 
 

Most recently I tried matching the movie model’s engines, like in this pic...

It fits fine in stud.io, but unfortunately due to the curvature of the real wheel/engine piece, it creates a huge amount of pressure when all tile pieces are inserted...

Still, I liked the idea, so I wanted to share. :)

[electricwave]

absolutely great work!