[MOC][INSTRUCTIONS] Ebon Hawk MIDI-scale

[YodaSkate]

amazing! good job.

[Palajava]

This is possibly the last update on this project. At this point I think there is very little I could do to improve the design and as such I consider it to be complete for now. In the end, I do think I’ve managed to capture the general shape and look (far too shiny as it is) of the Ebon Hawk quite nicely with this model. Still, some unfortunate compromises had to be made all over to ensure things like structural stability and a compact size. There is certainly room for improvement, so I of course encourage others to either try and improve my design or to come up with one of their own.

You can find the lxf file (which can be opened with Lego Digital Designer) for this design and a stand for free behind the following link:

[OUTDATED]

If at all possible, should anyone make this model or make changes/improvements to it, you are welcome to share pictures of them.

Because some connections aren’t allowed in LDD and not all current parts are available for use, here are a few notes about the build and the few external parts present in the file:

•         The one triangular corner tile used in this build isn’t available, so an additional 26601 plate is used to represent it. Keep this in mind if you are planning on ordering parts.
•           The two 2x6 dark red tiles are used in place of the landing gear at the front of the ship.
•           The two cable pieces aren’t the right length and are there just to represent the two pieces of cable used to connect the engine exhausts to the rest of the build. The cable can be of any color and should be cut to the correct length.
•           The one dark stone grey 32000 is placed behind the 3938 to the left of the cockpit.
•           The remaining few parts should be put together to form two assemblies and be placed within the empty spaces inside the technic frame. They are one of the ways used for reversing the building direction.
•           The 1x2 inverted slopes underneath should be replaced with the 2x2 variant to correspond with the slopes topside. Due to unavailability, they are once again represented with the 1x2 inverted slopes.
•       Any color can be used for the two turntable bases but doing so requires covering the small area that remains visible with a piece of a sticker. This is unfortunate as I tend to like avoiding using stickers but also quite unavoidable because LBG turntable bases are excessively expensive.

Also, while I prefer the more curved look the back of the ship has with the rounded plates and macaroni tiles, it is very easy to switch from those to plates with cut corners and triangular tiles. Both versions have their advantages and disadvantages. If the latter look is what you prefer, change the parts accordingly. In addition to those parts just mentioned, the four 26601 plates should be replaced with regular corner plates of matching colors to make room for the triangular tiles.

I haven’t bothered finding out what it would cost to buy all the parts. There are a good number of new or recent parts used on the exterior of the ship, some of which are not yet very easy to come by. With that said, much of the interior is made up of just regular plates of various shape and sizes.

As there are currently no 2x2 wing plates in dark red I had to make them myself. What I did is cut a dark red 51739 in half. Very simple and avoids the effort of having to paint parts. Since these are shapes that do exist, just not in the required color, I saw no reason not to do required modification. If you don’t want to modify pieces, I recommend simply making these parts dark bluish grey instead. In a way, they are as accurate as the dark red when viewed from certain angles.

Thank you all for the feedback and appreciation. Happy building!

Edited January 25, 2021 by Palajava

[jimmynick]

This MOC is really nice, and I'm glad that you included the mechanical portion just above the windscreen of the cockpit - it often seems to be forgotten. I'm actually working on a system-scale Hawk at the moment - when you were doing research for this model, did you find any good images of the underside of the ship, or did you make things up? This has been something of a sticking point for me.

[Palajava]

In case you don’t want to go through the trouble of doing your own research on the model in-game or the game files, try searching for an Ebon Hawk paper model and its instructions by someone called Martinux. Those are apparently based on textures taken straight from the game files. I would still recommend going through the effort of playing through the games while keeping an eye out for details at all times. Just taking a run around the Ebon Hawk in-game can be useful for getting a better sense of things.

The one detail that I like the best in my version that I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else bother with in theirs is the little sloped projection right behind the gun turret and between the two angled sections. It actually may have been more trouble than it’s worth with how much I had to build around it, but I was adamant about getting that one thing right.  

[jimmynick]

That's a great resource that I didn't manage to find by myself; thanks for pointing it out!

[trayus9]

Hello! I'm eager to try my hand at building this one too. The Dropbox link doesn't work any more - would you be willing to share a parts list and instructions, or .io or LDD files? 

Looks awesome! 

[Palajava]

Thank you for your interest! As it so happens, I have been working on a set of instructions for a while now. They’re almost finished, and I only need to find the time do one final build from scratch using the instructions to see if any additional changes are required. I should be able to make the instructions available sometime within the next week. I will also make the .io file available at that time.

In the meanwhile, here are a couple of pictures to showcase some of the external improvements I’ve made to the model since my last post.

A gif of the Ebon Hawk rotating:

Spoiler

 

 

Edited January 24, 2021 by Palajava

[Palajava]

Getting things ready took a lot longer than I thought it would. Every time everything seemed finalized, I thought of something else to change in the model. This of course necessitated changes to the instructions as well. But I suppose you must commit at some point. In any case, the io. file for the most current version of the build is available through here:

[OUTDATED]

The instructions should become available just as soon as they clear the review process on Rebrickable. The first few pages of the instructions can be found in my Flickr photostream.

I managed to further improve the internal structure, making the build even more solid that it already was. The only relatively weak points are the side turrets, but there is little to do about those. Other than that, I'm very happy with how swooshable the build is. Even the challengingly narrow asymmetrical area that houses Kreia in KotOR 2 is strong enough to support the whole weight of the model if lifted there. Now I wouldn't recommend doing that too forcefully but still...

Any thoughts regarding the model as it now stands would be much appreciated.

Edited March 6 by Palajava

[Mandalorianknight]

17 minutes ago, Palajava said:

Any thoughts regarding the model as it now stands would be much appreciated.

At first glance I thought it was a UCS set, not a midi scale, that's how well you've captured the look of this ship.

[Palajava]

I've recently made some changes to the model. Most visibly I redesigned the central turret as well as the side-mounted guns. The latter especially are much improved both in terms of accuracy to the source material and stability in particular. An additional benefit is that 4L bar pieces can now be attached to simulate blaster/laser fire.

Unfortunately, the four 3x3 elbow tiles used to minimize visible studs aren't currently available in dark red, but I made these changes with them in mind regardless. I also used one half circle tile in dark red that isn't available just yet.

I will look into updating the instructions at a later time in the hopefully not all too distant future. I've also been working on a dark orange version instead of the dark red, but poor color availability still poses some issues.

[Mandalorianknight]

This thing is seriously like a work of art, I'm impressed how studless you've gotten it.

 

That said, I think there are definitely edits you can make. You see the new color coming next year? Reddish Orange/Sand Orange? The tomato soup looking one? Looks like a perfect fit for the Hawk's paint job.

[Palajava]

On 12/3/2023 at 5:52 AM, Mandalorianknight said:

This thing is seriously like a work of art, I'm impressed how studless you've gotten it.

That said, I think there are definitely edits you can make. You see the new color coming next year? Reddish Orange/Sand Orange? The tomato soup looking one? Looks like a perfect fit for the Hawk's paint job.

Thank you very much for giving such a nice compliment!

Since last time I've finally managed to obtain a couple parts in the new reddish orange color. It's a fantastic color for sure but unfortunately seems to face some issues when used in Ebon Hawk. Reddish orange has the opposite problem of dark orange where the first is too saturated and bright and the latter is too unsaturared and dull. Admittedly, it is difficult to tell conclusively without more pieces at hand. I had the dark orange version fully built on my desk for a couple of weeks and at its best in very particular lighting conditions it looks just as good if not even better than dark red does. Unfortunaly, most of the time dark orange looks much too yellowish and desaturated providing little contrast between itself and the other colors used in the build. After switching back to dark red I do greatly prefer it to the dark orange, at least most of the time.

Just for reference's sake here's an older render that doesn't account for color availability and lacks certain design changes I've made since creating it. This is what it can look like at its best:

I did also release upgraded instructions on Rebrickable for both the Ebon Hawk and a slightly improved stand which allows for manual adjustement of height and tilt. You can find all of that over here: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-63664/Palajava/ebon-hawk-midi/#details

I had to omit the 3x3 elbow tiles for now due to unavailability. Once they do become available, I will update the instructions again (actually I've made them already) along with any possible new changes.