Brick Vault Minifig Scale Slave 1

[AyeMatey]

I’ve only built two BrickVault sets (the newest X-Wing and Snowspeeder) but have been thoroughly impressed with both. This set looks like a must have. I’ve been considering the Falcon too as the built interior seems worth the premium potentially. 

[lenzie]

On 5/2/2022 at 11:34 PM, AyeMatey said:

I’ve only built two BrickVault sets (the newest X-Wing and Snowspeeder) but have been thoroughly impressed with both. This set looks like a must have. I’ve been considering the Falcon too as the built interior seems worth the premium potentially. 

Like you AyeMatey - I'm considering building their Millennium Falcon. it looks superb and I've not built my Lego UCS version yet, so I'm hopping that I can supplement the parts from the standard set to build the improved version released by BrickVault.

As far as this Slave 1, if I had not have built and modified the UCS version (mods here: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-94751/Simon Lenz/ucs-slave-1-modifications/#details) I would build this new one.  But I think as I'm happy with my modified UCS set I'll pass on this.

[AyeMatey]

On 5/15/2022 at 2:49 AM, lenzie said:

Like you AyeMatey - I'm considering building their Millennium Falcon. it looks superb and I've not built my Lego UCS version yet, so I'm hopping that I can supplement the parts from the standard set to build the improved version released by BrickVault.

As far as this Slave 1, if I had not have built and modified the UCS version (mods here: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-94751/Simon Lenz/ucs-slave-1-modifications/#details) I would build this new one.  But I think as I'm happy with my modified UCS set I'll pass on this.

The UCS is a really nice version of it so I can see the appeal of sticking with that one. Im glad they do side-by-side comparisons as it's very helpful and fair to both sets.

[neroart]

Did anybody here build it already? I am in the process and wondering at what point one should construct the temporary stand? I Am currently on page 250 of1350.

until now it is fun and surprisingly easy, guess the Hull will become more challenging eventually.

[muhkuh]

1 hour ago, neroart said:

Did anybody here build it already? I am in the process and wondering at what point one should construct the temporary stand? I Am currently on page 250 of1350.

until now it is fun and surprisingly easy, guess the Hull will become more challenging eventually.

Got the pieces but didnt start it yet

[Pyroness]

On 11/9/2022 at 1:04 PM, neroart said:

Did anybody here build it already? I am in the process and wondering at what point one should construct the temporary stand? I Am currently on page 250 of1350.

until now it is fun and surprisingly easy, guess the Hull will become more challenging eventually.

You probably already have your answer by now, but thought I'll respond regardless for others to know at the very least. The instructions will tell you when you should use the temporary stand. It's around the point where you build the structure that will be the foundation for the on boarding ramp. The stand is optional as you have an alternate option of having it hang off a desk, but I found the stand was way easier and allowed me to change the position of the slave 1 to me while building rather than me changing my position around the slave 1. It's not directly said in many areas, but the temporary stand uses parts that are reused in the main stand. As such, you can take it apart when the instructions have you build the main stand. 

I found the big reason the temporary stand exists is because of the 2 jetpacks parts used on the back for grebbling. They are one of the most protruding elements on the back at this point and will therefore bear most of the weight while on its back. They'll break off easily if you apply enough downward force or drag the slave 1 sideways. Depending on how far you are in the build, repairing them could require a fair amount of surgery. Near the end of the build, the jetpacks will be reinforced some more and the two main engines will be added that will take on the weight and protrude far enough that the jetpacks won't touch on a hard and flat surface. 

Overall, the building process was very smooth up until you do the curved shaping of the top and bottom. This is because you'll be doing a lot of attaching submodules and then removing said submodule to make adjustments to ball joints, hinges, or rigid tubes until the shaping looks right. The top portion can be fairly fragile until it's mostly to fully complete because it uses tension of the final assembly to be strong. Thankfully Marshall includes a video of him assembling that area to assist with understanding the instructions. 

Edited November 16, 2022 by Pyroness

[neroart]

Most difficult model I have ever built.... it's soooo fragile.... It's fun building but it is also driving me nuts :D I've built pretty much every star wars model from jerac, additionally quite a few others from brickvault, but this one at times drives me insane, like no other before :D is it just me or did others experience this as well. Just keeping the bottom together while attaching some of the exterior hull,....aaarrrgh don't know how many time I had to reattach large parts of the bottom, while balancing it in one hand. Yes the stand helps but placing it back on the bottom usually leads to its disintegration. Any tips on doing that?!

 

it is drop dead gorgeous, and the challenge in itself is fun...but I just had to let out my frustration here :D edit: bottom=back of the ship

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by neroart

[l0renZo]

My last haul of parts for this build is due to arrive tomorrow and I plan to build this beauty as my holiday project.

To read the difficulties encountered by @neroart, I would also be curious for any tips. 

[Pyroness]

@neroart and @l0renZo

I didn't encounter too many issues in regards to the back and assembling the foundation for the onboarding ramp, but that may have been because I built in a way that was different from how the instructions set it up. The instructions call for you to build the main body and then the temporary stand for doing the early delicate stuff. From there you build the full stand and then the final back details. What I did instead was I built the main stand first. This was because I didn't read that the temporary stand would be disassembled to reuse for the final stand and because I wanted to get all the parts used for the stand out of the way as they take up a lot of room in my sorting set up while I was waiting on some more parts to start the build of the ship. Having the main stand for the entire build allowed me to prop the slave 1 onto it whenever I wanted to do back detailing and without worrying about damaging it. I did have to take it off at points such as when doing the curved surfaces or the lower portion of the ramps and at those points I would use the temporary stand I had built separately, but the flexibility the main stand allowed me made things pretty easy. Thinking about it, I wonder if some of the problems you ran into neroart were from having the temporary stand placed in a way that it was adding stress to weak areas.

[STARHAWK]

On 2/13/2022 at 8:04 PM, Csaba said:

The windscreen from the UCS ship goes for stupid amounts so I'm not sure how they'll get around that issue.

Lucky me, that i have purchased 3pcs when the UCS was released. I was not able to purchase that set on day one in the Vienna store (although someone went in and took 2 sets right in front of me). I was angry and found an US store which parted out some of the sets - the main draw back then was that Boba minifig for 60-100 USD if i recall. The cockpit was for 6 USD or so :)   I have built a custom recolored version in TAN, DK TAN and a splash of DK Red (fitting colors for Tatooine).

So now i can still build 2 alternate colored firespray ships (3 is i cout also that purple version which i have too - purchased that set in 50% just for that cockpit)

Also i have acumulated 3 MISB Slave 1 in time + one that is open.

[l0renZo]

On 12/23/2022 at 4:31 PM, Pyroness said:

@neroart and @l0renZo

I didn't encounter too many issues in regards to the back and assembling the foundation for the onboarding ramp, but that may have been because I built in a way that was different from how the instructions set it up. The instructions call for you to build the main body and then the temporary stand for doing the early delicate stuff. From there you build the full stand and then the final back details. What I did instead was I built the main stand first. This was because I didn't read that the temporary stand would be disassembled to reuse for the final stand and because I wanted to get all the parts used for the stand out of the way as they take up a lot of room in my sorting set up while I was waiting on some more parts to start the build of the ship. Having the main stand for the entire build allowed me to prop the slave 1 onto it whenever I wanted to do back detailing and without worrying about damaging it. I did have to take it off at points such as when doing the curved surfaces or the lower portion of the ramps and at those points I would use the temporary stand I had built separately, but the flexibility the main stand allowed me made things pretty easy. Thinking about it, I wonder if some of the problems you ran into neroart were from having the temporary stand placed in a way that it was adding stress to weak areas.

Thanks for the insight @Pyroness. I will review the instructions in detail, but I may try the same method as you.

I understand that it is rather expected for a MOC of this kind to be sometimes more fragile to assemble, but if I can save myself some headaches I won't mind.

[neroart]

@Pyroness

How did you position it on its back, when you were assembling the outer round hull and the ramp next to it? Because that is my problem, using the temp stand or placing it on the table? 

[neroart]

Finally done, what a beauty! Of all the  Minifig scale models on brickvault, this is the one you just can't take your eyes off, where even after 10 minutes of staring you still find the tiniest new details. Lego at its limits :) 

But the building process itself, for me, was a nightmare. 

Question: are your wings also slightly droopy? Any chance of correcting that? 

[Pyroness]

The wings are going to be a bit droopy because of the weight and how the gears/axle connect. I have a idea that might improve it, but it not by much. I'll experiment with it when building the Jango version when it hopefully releases sometime this month.

As for your previous message, I did the shaping and assembling of those areas while having the slave 1 on its back. Was way easier for me and to move it around to get the right angles. It also let me take apart the rigid tube connection points to adjust the tension as needed

[l0renZo]

I finished this build a few weeks ago. It's a real beauty that pushes the limits of LEGO. I am more than satisfied with the final result.

As I expected, the building process was challenging. But less than I anticipated. Without being a playset, it's still a sturdy model, except for some small greebling, mainly on the back.

I followed @Pyroness advice and didn't even need to use the temporary stand. Around step 600, I mounted the ship on its stand and continued the assembly from there.

Unfortunately, due to lack of vertical space, it will be displayed in the landing position. I know it is almost a blasphemy since the ship is so elegant in flying position. I will probably make some small modifications since it is currently far from being perfectly flat. I will probably start by removing the two trans-orange dish from the main thrusters. If anyone has done similar tests, I'll take any suggestions.