evancelt Posted February 2, 2021 (edited) I got started on a new pirate/imperial MOC yesterday evening and thought I’d make a little tutorial as I went about how to make a SNOT (Studs Not On Top) base. This is how far I got in about 90 minutes, will post again when I make more progress. First off, credits to @Ayrlego for showing me how to make this sort of base originally with his Watermill WIP thread. ------------------- STEPS: 1. Make the shape of the base with plates. You want to end up with a 2-layer thick shape made of plates. I think it looks most natural if you only ever shift the edge border by 1 stud at a time ------------------- 2. Once you have a 2-layer plate, add a layer of bricks on top, but leave a 1 stud empty space around the edge. That’s where SNOT bricks are going to go ------------------- 3. Place SNOT bricks around the outside. On the corners, use SNOT bricks with 2 studs on adjacent sides. If you need to buy SNOT bricks in bulk, yellow ones are pretty cheap on BrickLink. When done, you’ll have a base that is 5 plates tall (2 plates + 1 brick). That 5-plate height is important, because 5 plate height is exactly the height of a 2x plate on its side ------------------- 4. Attach 1x and 2x plates to the SNOT sides. You’ll need to build up the sides with more plates to make the border transitions smoother. ------------------- 5. Place plates on top of the base, covering the SNOT bricks. This will start the visible part of your building base and also make the SNOT bricks secure. ------------------- That’s as far as I got in one 90-min sitting! I love that this SNOT base is super sturdy, which comes in handy when I'm moving it back and forth from my building area to a kid-proof storage area. I also love that imagination is the only limit when it comes to shape! Hopefully this little tutorial helps others get started with it. Edited February 2, 2021 by evancelt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jack Sassy Posted February 2, 2021 Once again you treat us with a nice tutorial, Captain. While I'm sure many members here know these techniques, I am happy to see step-by-step tutorials of them, mostly because I'm more used to a classic Lego building style - using a lot of big pieces. Thank you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Count Vroskri Posted February 3, 2021 Can't wait to see it finished @evancelt! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
evancelt Posted February 4, 2021 Made some more progress on the edges of the base, adding more plates, tiles, and slopes. Not sure how much more I’ll end up adding to the edges at this point. Time to start focusing on the top! Probably the last update until I post the finished thing in the Brethren of the Brickseas subforum later this month! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
evancelt Posted February 6, 2021 (edited) Posted up the completed build in Brethren of the Brick Seas Edited February 8, 2021 by evancelt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
