[MOC] 1.4 FD P-Tower & DF.9 Turret from the Battle of Hoth (Instructions for DF.9 now on Rebrickable)

[Roses]

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DF.9 Instructions + Studio file on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-111749/RosesMustBuild/hoth-df9-turret/

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These two are the last builds in my minifigure-scale-ish Battle of Hoth series to accompany the UCS AT-AT, and now join the Hoth AT-ST and Snowspeeder.

I've been a fan of the 1.4 FD P-Tower (AKA Hoth Dish Turret) for a long time, so building a detailed, minifigure-scale-ish one was a lot of fun. It was a surprisingly difficult build - particularly the back!

I don't think I ever built a DF.9 Turret before, mainly because of its smooth, slightly conical shape which proved difficult to build without specialized pieces. The 5x5 arch pieces from 10295 Porsche 911 gave me the boost to try and figure out how to build one of these turrets. A bunch of 1x2 & 2x2 curved slopes and some tricky SNOT & hinges work later, and I think it's got a pretty decent shape.

You can check out my minifigure-scale-ish Hoth AT-ST & Snowspeeder by navigating to my profile, or on my Instagram account, where all my builds go: https://www.instagram.com/rosesmustbuild

I'd love to make instructions for these two in the future, since they are rather small and easier to disassemble & reassemble. However, due to some illegal/dubious techniques used, it'll have to be detailed photo instructions, unless there's a LEGO instructions-making software that can handle illegal techniques? It's been years since I used LDD's automatic instructions feature, so I'm a little lost on how most MOC creators go about making instructions

Edited May 16, 2022 by Roses

[azanderk]

These are awesome!  Great job.  If you need help with instructions or understanding how to use Stud.io, please feel free to reach out. Dont feel bad, I'm pretty sure most MOC's use illegal techniques 

[TeddytheSpoon]

These are both great! Love the dish turret in particular, wouldn't mind a breakdown to be able to make my own...

[KimT]

20 hours ago, TeddytheSpoon said:

These are both great! Love the dish turret in particular, wouldn't mind a breakdown to be able to make my own...

I second that suggestion. Please do share details if you are ok with doing so.

[Roses]

23 hours ago, azanderk said:

These are awesome!  Great job.  If you need help with instructions or understanding how to use Stud.io, please feel free to reach out. Dont feel bad, I'm pretty sure most MOC's use illegal techniques 

Thank you! I'll keep in mind to check out Stud.io and how it handles illegal techniques when I get around to making instructions

22 hours ago, TeddytheSpoon said:

These are both great! Love the dish turret in particular, wouldn't mind a breakdown to be able to make my own...

2 hours ago, KimT said:

I second that suggestion. Please do share details if you are ok with doing so.

I'm glad you like the P-Tower, it was the trickiest of the two to figure out. I can't make instructions right now due to schoolwork but I'll be updating this topic as soon as I make digital instructions or shoot a photo breakdown in mid-spring.

.

[Roses]

Free instructions + Studio file for the DF.9 are now available on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-111749/RosesMustBuild/hoth-df9-turret/

I'd love to listen to any feedback for future instructions, since this is the first time I'm making any for a MOC. I'm planning on making some for the dish turret next.

[Mandalorianknight]

2 hours ago, Roses said:

Free instructions + Studio file for the DF.9 are now available on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-111749/RosesMustBuild/hoth-df9-turret/

I'd love to listen to any feedback for future instructions, since this is the first time I'm making any for a MOC. I'm planning on making some for the dish turret next.

Honestly, if it wasn't for the text notes (which are helpful in building it), I wouldn't know it wasn't a real instruction booklet. If you don't mind me asking, how'd you make them? I've had a couple people asking for instructions for stuff and I cannot figure it out.

[Roses]

29 minutes ago, Mandalorianknight said:

Honestly, if it wasn't for the text notes (which are helpful in building it), I wouldn't know it wasn't a real instruction booklet. If you don't mind me asking, how'd you make them? I've had a couple people asking for instructions for stuff and I cannot figure it out.

Thank you!

First thing I did was rebuild the model on Bricklink Studio, which was a very quick process. The program has an instructions mode that allows you to modify and rearrange steps. It wasn't until after finishing building the model that I noticed that the instructions mode isn't automatic like Lego Digital Designer, which was the only other digital building software I had a tiny bit of experience with. In Bricklink Studio, while you are building the model, each brick placement you make counts as a "step", which are kept on record in a small window on the bottom right of the screen. If you build your whole model without paying attention to the steps (that is, without creating any new steps), when you go to the instructions mode, your instructions will have one single step, asking you to place all the pieces in the model at the same time. You need to create new steps in the steps window as you are building your model, so that when you go to the instructions mode, you have as many steps as you created while building. I'd recommend watching a short tutorial on Youtube, I skimmed a few and got the hang of it pretty quickly.

[Mandalorianknight]

3 hours ago, Roses said:

Thank you!

First thing I did was rebuild the model on Bricklink Studio, which was a very quick process. The program has an instructions mode that allows you to modify and rearrange steps. It wasn't until after finishing building the model that I noticed that the instructions mode isn't automatic like Lego Digital Designer, which was the only other digital building software I had a tiny bit of experience with. In Bricklink Studio, while you are building the model, each brick placement you make counts as a "step", which are kept on record in a small window on the bottom right of the screen. If you build your whole model without paying attention to the steps (that is, without creating any new steps), when you go to the instructions mode, your instructions will have one single step, asking you to place all the pieces in the model at the same time. You need to create new steps in the steps window as you are building your model, so that when you go to the instructions mode, you have as many steps as you created while building. I'd recommend watching a short tutorial on Youtube, I skimmed a few and got the hang of it pretty quickly.

I've used Stud.io multiple times a week for YEARS, and I've never noticed instruction mode. Thanks for letting me know about it. Ironically, I've usually kept track of steps, just because of "step view" making it easier to physically build models originally built digitally.

Also, I totally forgot to comment on that df9 turret. Best base I've ever seen, and a pretty darn good top as well.

[rocka5438]

Hi, these designs are great! Is there a Stud.io file avaliable anywhere for the 1.4 FD turret?

thanks!

[macaron35]

The turret is impressive and agressive in dark gray !