GLAP23

Ninjago Movie Screen-Accurate Mech Recreations

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I just took screengrabs from the movie to use as reference to build mine.  I've only seen the movie two times I think, but I have pored over every last scene with the Destiny's Bounty and the Green Ninja Dragon Mech dozens of times, pausing repeatedly to take screen captures on my computer then sorting and storing them in folders.  There's also a very high-resolution poster from IGN with Master Wu and the Bounty in the background that has been useful for a number of the side details and counting studs for measurements. There are surprisingly very few areas that are too hidden to see decently enough if you comb through the whole movie.

I've built mine piecemeal, ordering parts as I figured out what I'd need for the next section.  I started with the dragon heads, then the upper decks, counting how wide and how long to build the plate foundation, then copying the tile and plate pattern, then moving on to the raised rear section, then the awnings and the side bits that hang on.  After that I built the bottom of the ship separately and had to bring the two halves together (luckily, I managed to get the width spot-on).  Right now I'm attaching the flying engines, looking for dollhouse-scale plastic plants to fill the planters, and figuring out how I want to do the sails.

One minor annoyance is that certain layout details change from scene to scene.  On the decks, the barrels, crates, pots, planters, lanterns, and other things are moved around and parts of the ship are removed to allow for fight choreography or so that they don't get in the way of a virtual camera move or a pretty shot.  Even the layout of the tiles changes in a few shots (the 3D model likely got updated a couple of times during production).  Doors to the inner chamber that houses the ultimate weapon appear and disappear (I assume they are meant to slide open somehow) and even completely change pattern from bamboo plate windows to Ghostbusters Fire Station doors for no reason.  Speaking of the ultimate weapon chamber, it exists in two completely different scales in the movie.  A couple of quick shots show it at the same scale as the rest of the ship, but others have it about 3x larger for more dramatic effect.  When the ship is upside-down near the end of the movie, all of the planters, plants, and lanterns onboard are just gone.  The 'covers' for the flying engines just magically disappear when it takes flight, so you have to decide which way you're going to present it when built.  If it is a boat, then you don't even need the engines, because they evaporate in boat mode, but if it is flying, then you need the engines but not the covers.

Another annoyance is that it is an odd number of studs wide.  That's right, it is mildly asymmetrical.  Best I can figure is that this was done so that the ultimate weapon chamber could have the ultimate weapon holder sit right in the middle of the 'floor' plate pattern as it were.  On mine, as it is built now, I have an edge on one side that is 1 stud wide, and just nonexistent on the other.

I've made quite a few small changes on my model that just make it easier to deal with in real life vs. 3D land where you can cheat a bit here and there.  The big 64645 hull sections at the front of the ship simply cannot align the same way that they do on the movie version, so mine is off by 1 stud there.  I had to change the hanging sections that run from bow to stern because there's no practical way to build them like they are in the movie because of range of movement and clearances.  For instance, the towball and socket pieces that are used for the planter boxes absolutely cannot articulate as far as they are shown in the movie, so I flipped the orientation of mine to gain more articulation.  I still have no idea how those long things attach to the ship at the front in the movie version. Either it is hidden or just doesn't exist.  To physically support that much weight, I used three hinge bricks per side in the middle of each one, and another hinge assembly at the front to hold that bit up high enough to look 'right'.  Surprisingly, the front hinged part that the dragon heads sits on can actually support its own weight if you build it as the movie model team did.  The frontmost section of mine is regular hinges and clips, and the rear is the kind of hinge plate with fingers. 

The interior of the lower decks is left completely up to your imagination and however you want to structurally support everything.  Mine has a few different styles of arches and inverted curves.

The masts are a whole thing in and of themselves. In real life they are extremely tall and quite heavy. I added extra rigging from the front just to keep them from toppling over backwards.  In the movie, the shown rigging would only help them topple more easily.

Another other issue is that a number of parts are not available in the same colors as shown in the movie.  That's just par for the course with recreating these things though.

Good luck, happy building, and you had better have a big space to display this thing.  In those last pictures of mine, it is taking over 1/4 of my dining room table that seats 6 people comfortably.

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Hi there, how many of the ninja's mechs can be made irl? By that I mean, how many mechs have parts that haven't been made in specific colours yet? 

Edit: Never Mind

Edited by The NexoNinja402

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6 hours ago, legoman23 said:

How did you make such perfect sails?

I laid the mast framework down on the cloth, positioned everything by eye to roughly match my reference, marked the positions of the towball pieces, used a ruler to draw the straight edges with a mechanical pencil, freehand sketched the rest, and cut it all out with some fabric scissors.  I've already shortened the bottommost section of the main sail by removing one 59443 and trimming the sail to look more proportional since that picture.

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15 hours ago, blue72 said:

I laid the mast framework down on the cloth, positioned everything by eye to roughly match my reference, marked the positions of the towball pieces, used a ruler to draw the straight edges with a mechanical pencil, freehand sketched the rest, and cut it all out with some fabric scissors.  I've already shortened the bottommost section of the main sail by removing one 59443 and trimming the sail to look more proportional since that picture.

Nice job, looks really good!

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HI GUYS! So nice to finally get onto this website. I have been trying to sign into this website for so long, and I finally got on.

Edited by Glitch7

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On 2/23/2021 at 5:23 PM, blue72 said:

Very, very, close to being done with this one.

blue72_destiny_bounty_2021-02_23.png

To think that Lego can't even get the sandbags right in the set.

On 2/23/2021 at 5:23 PM, blue72 said:

Very, very, close to being done with this one.

blue72_destiny_bounty_2021-02_23.png

Blue72, I love how you did the real plants! Is there any way you can show us the inside? Also, when was the last time GALP23 made mech recreations?

If GALP23 ever sees this comment, I recommend trying to create a screen accurate Temple of Fragile Foundations, even though it's huge.

Edited by Glitch7

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1 hour ago, Thedoctorwedwhistle said:

Glap23's working on the Garmadons mech

ok thx

5 minutes ago, Glitch7 said:

ok thx

Also, which mech? His Shark like mech, or the Garma Mecha Man?

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The Garma Mecha Man

Go to Bricksafe to see all of his projects that he's done, such as the Ninjas vehicles and Garmadons shark army vehicles    

Edited by Thedoctorwedwhistle

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Hello Everyone!

I have not been on here for a long time, as for my absence I have been working on the Ninjago Movie streets and just of this year, started working on Nya's Water strider.

I can't wait to show my progress on both of them.

Edited by Ninjago_fan2123

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Nice to meet ya (I'm a new member)! Also, has GLAP23 finished the Ice Tank?

91301569-3508-4e5d-9b23-3f49fa886c60_1.1013f117f337d1f3a33307487dca175e.jpeg.14934e2ed0a5b60c92758111feff8df8.jpeg

I got this cool new poster. If anyone likes it it's on Walmart. (Just search up Lego Ninjago movie poster and scroll down).

Edited by Glitch7

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I got the poster a while ago. It's awesome.

Someone should attempt to build the screen accurate fire mech. It's not that big. I bet you could buy 2 of the sets and maybe have the right pieces and enough pieces, but you might have to buy some pieces, too.

Can someone show me a quake mech size comparison? I can't find one.

You should also attempt to design the Ice Tank

Edited by Glitch7

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22 hours ago, Glitch7 said:

COOL! Can you show me a picture?

You just have to scroll through this thread and you'll find it somewhere. His isn't that accurate... GLAP23 I'M sure will tackle it in his own time. Patience pays off in the end. 

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On 2/23/2021 at 5:23 PM, blue72 said:

Very, very, close to being done with this one.

blue72_destiny_bounty_2021-02_23.png

I never thought I’d see a Lego boat as gorgeous as 70618, but here we are! This looks stellar!

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Hey guys!

 

I was wondering if anyone could help me find the piece Outercable 80mm in the color reddish-brown and Outercable 144mm in black.

I have been looking endlessly for these 2 pieces and every time I try finding them they always end up being completely different Hose rigid or different Outercables with different lengths.

If anyone does find these 2 pieces, please send me a link to a website that does have them or where I can find them under a different name :/

I have also tried using meca bricks, LDD, or even Studio by using the name of the piece and found no leads.

Edited by Ninjago_fan2123

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