[MOC WIP] Moldy Crow

[millenniumf]

I'm pretty new to posting here. In fact, this is my first!

Recently I went through my collection of Lego and decided to reorganize it. Originally it had been arranged by color, but finding the piece I wanted turned out to be nearly impossible, so I decided to organize it by part type. It took a while, but I got them all done! Also, this is the first time I've clicked bricks together for the purposes of building a MOC in... jeez, probably 10 years! But I've been learning new techniques and such, and I decided to take on one of my favorite Expanded Universe starships: the Moldy Crow! 

I decided to start this one off by printing out a blueprint I made at the size I chose. The Moldy Crow's size is a wildly hot debate, but I've been analyzing it for a while (see: favorite EU starship), and it appears to be around 16 meters in length. So I used the standard scale of 3.2 meters per stud to get a length of 51 studs. It happens to match really nicely with the most recent X-wing kit, and feels completely natural with the size of the cockpit interior. 

I decided not to worry about mixing old and new bricks with this, because I wanted it to feel like an old, beat up ship, and because I had no qualms about using my teeth to get trouble bricks to detach when I was a kid, some of them have teeth marks. The majority of the shape is derived from using a bunch of jumpers and hinges, and since it's a WIP it'll probably change in some way. It's got some areas that I really want to improve as far as durability is concerned, especially when it comes to the engines and nose. The wing engines are derived from Brickdoctor's excellent build. I was going in a similar direction as far as shape, using the 2x3 plates with round ends for the front of them to hold the sensor antennas and radiator flaps, so I used his as inspiration for accomplishing the rest of it. But I decided to modify it somewhat to achieve a slightly more accurate shape, with longer antennas and shortening the length of the engines by one plate. I also added the lumpy boxes that are on top of the engines. The mounting arms for it were something I really wanted to improve on and make as accurately as possible, because they give the engines their unique three-way angling. So I used a Technic ball joint for the main one and some linkages to make the forward one. I'm planning on adding some hoses visible in the game between the engines and the hull. 

I'm pretty happy with how the cockpit turned out. I don't have any glass in the frames yet because I wanted to work out their shapes first. There are supposed to be four panes, but I couldn't figure out how to get three frames attached to the wedge plates, so I left it at two. It looks fine, IMO. I'm going to get some window glass and see if I can get panes in there after I get the rest of it figured out.

I decided to use Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso to stand in for Kyle and Jan, because obvious reference is obvious. :P

This build will also mark my first usage of Bricklink to purchase parts. I never considered it before, because I have a TON of Lego, or at least I thought. But after discovering that I only had eight of those plates with round ends, I decided to bite the bullet and go for it. Turned out to be a great decision, as I have all the parts I need to finish this build incoming in the mail! I might also use it to change out the color of some of the pieces I went with and get some lengths of plate that I didn't have in the right color for this build later.

Edited December 15, 2019 by millenniumf

[Cylo]

Nice! The pipe detailing on the back looks great!

[millenniumf]

Thank you! I'd really love any constructive feedback I can get. I'm sure I can get this model looking nicer or make the structure even stronger. I already rebuilt the main connecting spar for the engines, as well as the boxes that the fin engines attach to in order to improve their accuracy, but I'd love to hear what others think could be improved. :)

[Bricktastrophe]

The shaping is excellent, I'd wanted to do a HWK myself for sometime. Have you given any thought to tiling the exterior? I know there's still some debate as to whether it actually improves a MOC, but I think you could tie the frame together a little stronger with an additional layer of tiles and you might find your careful work to match the tricky window angles is highlighted a little more clearly. 

[millenniumf]

I thought about tiling it all, but I ran into problems with the angles on the nose and the windows. Tiling around them made them more pixelated and IMO detracted from the look of the MOC. I'm going to redo the tiles to make them more resemble the paneling seen in the game, but for now it'll be a mix of tiles and studs, which lends it a sort of boilerplate look to my eye. I wish Lego made more angled tiles...

I've been working to improve the look of the main features of the ship, mainly the engines and guns. I rebuilt the turret so that it looked more streamlined like it does in the game, as well as giving it the ability to rotate. It's supposed to be 3 studs wide, and I'm not sure how to add slope to the sides of the front half, so I think I'll leave it alone unless inspiration strikes me. I also added the larger radiator fins under the back end, improved the coloring of the engines, and rebuilt the blocky structures under the fin engines. I think the rebuilds look pretty good. I also replaced the 4x8 plate on the nose with a gray airplane wing, and it really streamlined the look a ton! 

The next thing I want to work on is raising the engine mounting points to be more in line with the blocky structures. The wings sit too low by about a stud or so, and the look would be much better if they were raised up. I'm not entirely sure how to do this and still use the ball joints, but that remains a problem to solve later.

Edited December 29, 2019 by millenniumf

[PixelProtectors]

I absolutely love this! You did such a fantastic job. The Moldy Crow is my favorite ship in the Star Wars universe. I made my own a couple years ago. I'll need to post it. I went with dark tan and it was a very difficult task getting all the pieces together. Took almost a full year to build. The only thing I couldn't get right are the windows on the sides. Needs a sticker piece. Or I might modify it with the angled plates like you did.

I'll take some pictures soon and post them in a separate thread.

[millenniumf]

I'd love to see your Moldy Crow. It's also my favorite ship, though honestly, I can't pick between this and the Millennium Falcon, so I usually say the Falcon is my favorite movie ship and the Crow is my favorite EU ship. Maybe it's because they're both named after birds, lol! I originally thought to go with dark tan or brown, but I didn't have the requisite pieces in my collection, so I went with gray and red. I'm actually thinking about replacing the red pieces with orange, because the in-game model's textures are gray and orange for some reason:

[gotoAndLego]

The orange is supposed to be a patina of rust, aging, and wear; I’d recommend going with dark-orange and medium flesh if you can.

Edited December 31, 2019 by gotoAndLego

[millenniumf]

Well, I would agree with you except that the orange seems to follow the stripe along the bottom of the nose. I think this detail is fascinating, because it's a dramatically different color scheme than the brown and red scheme seen in the cutscenes, like the cinematic model and in-game model were made side by side by two different people, and one of them didn't get the memo about the color scheme change. 

[PixelProtectors]

Hey!

I just posted my MOC on its separate page and gave you a shout out. Let me know what you think! :)

 

[millenniumf]

Been working hard on this one, fellas! I think I have it pretty much solid, maybe a little tweaking left to do here and there. I decided to tile the sides and I think it actually did end up improving the look of the thing! Let me know what you think. I left the nose a little bumpier to suggest wear. I also reworked the struts for the engines. They look much better now, and give the ship a more streamlined appearance, and I also replaced the front strut with a single Technic lift arm. This helped give the assembly a lot more rigidity and strength. I also reworked the turret mount to make it look more visually interesting. And last but not least, I built a stand for it out of Technic beams and tiles because it's impossible to fit landing gear to this ship IRL. I know that there was a scene in the game where the ship is landed, but it's clear that the landing gear were an afterthought and I just can't find a way around the problem. Maybe someday, but for now, it's not strictly necessary.

The model is still quite swooshable! Even the engines and fins behave themselves when swooshing it around, heh. I don't think there are many more areas that need strengthening.

Comments and criticisms are appreciated!

Edited January 13, 2020 by millenniumf

[PixelProtectors]

I really love how you've connected the side engines to the bottom. Any way you can take some better pictures of that? I'd love to make mine angled just slightly. Need some assistance. Thanks friend! :)

[millenniumf]

16 hours ago, PixelProtectors said:

I really love how you've connected the side engines to the bottom. Any way you can take some better pictures of that? I'd love to make mine angled just slightly. Need some assistance. Thanks friend! :)

Sure thing, man! :D 

I can take more pictures if you want, but I think that will cover it. It's a really strong structure for something that's relatively spindly, owing mainly to the angling of the lift arm. Also, I'm glad that I happened to have a 2x4 modified plate with holes for this, because it has anti-studs on it that allowed me to securely attach it on the back end.

Also, I thought it might look better with a hood ornament:

[PixelProtectors]

NICE!

And the hood ornament really makes the whole build come together quite nicely. Hahaha