My First LDD... AT-AT minifig scale!

[Fuppylodders]

OK, so I was going to do my first MOC as a Landspeeder, and I had never used LDD before so was going to attempt it on that. However I got shown a link to an awesome moc of a landspeeder to which I would love to bricklink the pieces and build it... meaning it would not be my own design....

Back to the drawing board!

So I have been contemplating wanting to make my own AT-AT minifig scale, and I have always thought I would start at the head as it is a pretty simple place to start from, as well as the fact that I am completely new to actual MOC's, I have little to no knowledge/skill in techniques in putting things together to hold strongly (you will see a couple of examples!). I am to do the neck next, then the lower body, then the upper body, then the belly, then the legs. (I have ordered 2 snowtrooper battlepacks so I can have a couple troops and 2 land speeder thingys to put inside it xD)

So, Ive set about by starting with the floor of the head. I then figured out how to put the front armour plate on, and make the viewing hole... I then made the interior to what it currently is, and then took the seriously arduous task of making the side armour plates as well as putting them at all the correct angles... That took FOREVER!!! the twisting, and turning, and tilting and not moving because it is hitting invisible brick edges <.>

(((I don't like the front viewing hole as it is atm, so if anyone has any ideas Im willing to listen... I just hope i don have to resort to starting the front from scratch and then going the SNOT route :( But i will if it works!)))

Anyways, I shall now link to some pics of my progress!

But quickly, I was wondering if anyone can help me figure out how to strengthen the top of the rear wall as it is not actually joined to anything like the side walls, it is just built from the floor up, with the lifting tilting up roof...

PS, the bricks are dark and light grey because it helps me to define the different bricks easier while in LDD, but this will be made from Light gray, not bluish (mainly to save on monees :P)

Random bit of info, 309 pieces used so far ^_^

***edit: top 2 pics are newest update of head complete. Is it possible to get a part list from LDD? If so, how?****

Please, ANY help is appreciated!

Edited January 26, 2012 by Fuppylodders

[JackJonespaw]

Very nice start! But...doesn't LDD have stormtrooper helmets? I really like this!

[Fuppylodders]

Very nice start! But...doesn't LDD have stormtrooper helmets? I really like this!

It is entirely possible, but I just wanted something to go by, as I was keen to get started... Then I saw how many minifig items there were, so i just went with what I could get ^_^

[brickbuilder]

Looking great, I love the details on the inside.

Edited January 25, 2012 by brickbuilder

[North Lego Star]

Wow this looks really nice, I love the Head looks like 5 or 6 minifigs could be in there at once...can't wait to see th rest

[Oxus]

Im such a failure at LDD compared to you haha, can't wait to see the finished product.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Great LDD project, I like the inner transparent pannel

[Fuppylodders]

Im such a failure at LDD compared to you haha, can't wait to see the finished product.

This was my first attempt at using LDD. You should have seen the sides of the head initially... then you'd see I was a failure then too xD

Dont give up on LDD, its actually a pretty decent but easy tool to use, it just takes determination, and a bit of time :) There is NO way I could design this if I had to order bricks because my spare lego amount is very minimal. This way it allows me to reach the ends of Lego and back again =D

Dont give up!

@northern star

Yes, that is what I had intended to do, as I <3 minifig scale vehicles, and the AT-AT is such an iconic vehicle that I really love, and it as so much possibility to do awesome little features on it.

The screen is supposed to be a projected holographic screen, its the best I could think of :(

Still need help on connecting the top of the rear wall to the side armour plates though!

[Mr Man]

That's a really great interior Fuppylodders, I like the little holo-display screen at the back. The outside of the head looks great as well especial the front view.

[mortesv]

Seems like your are off to a good start

It is great to see a minifig scale AT-AT MOC. The official models are too small and many of the (very nice) MOCs out there are too big (for minifigs that is )

I assume you use the 22.5m - 23m height estimate to decide the size of the model compared to the height of a minifig?

There is a blueprint of the AT-AT here - but I assume you already have one

[Fuppylodders]

That's a really great interior Fuppylodders, I like the little holo-display screen at the back. The outside of the head looks great as well especial the front view.

I have to say, i couldnt be happier with the interior =D took some figuring out about the front console too, because of the little lever block that is in the middle of the front console, the holo thing took some doing too.. but <3 it =D Still not too keen on the front viewing hole though :<

[Fuppylodders]

Ok, finished the head now! ****updated pics into the first post**** (if i should be posting them in this post, please let me know :)

Added the bits to the rear interior walls, figured out a way to attach the top of the rear wall to the side walls and get the roof lifting up nicely while having it finish at the very rear, not 2 studs short like in the first pics i posted, also completed the underside cannons after some very difficult work of it :o Mainly figuring out how to do the rear 'wheel' bit of the cannons...

And yes, there is 4 pistons on the rear of the head ;) Im hoping I can get that idea to work for the neck, but I havnt started it yet, so we shall see!

Can anyone tell me how to extract the parts list for it from LDD? Ive managed to get the auto instructions to be made (although slightly bugged half way through, but manageable :P)

[Mr Man]

Ok, finished the head now! ****updated pics into the first post**** (if i should be posting them in this post, please let me know :)

No updating the first post is usually fine, but also including them in the above post so people can tell at a glance which pics are new would be great as well.

The head's looking fantastic now Fuppylodders, the chin cannons look great, and the interior looks fantastic. The head could be a set by itself .

[Fuppylodders]

No updating the first post is usually fine, but also including them in the above post so people can tell at a glance which pics are new would be great as well.

The head's looking fantastic now Fuppylodders, the chin cannons look great, and the interior looks fantastic. The head could be a set by itself .

I thought about that but I didnt want to spam the thread with pics >.<

Is it possible to get a parts list from LDD for my project? Ive had a look but I can only see how to get the build instructions etc (which make me lol the way it decided to put it together :P)

[Mr Man]

I thought about that but I didn't want to spam the thread with pics >.<

Is it possible to get a parts list from LDD for my project? Ive had a look but I can only see how to get the build instructions etc (which make me lol the way it decided to put it together :P)

Nar we love pics .

Have you asked here?

[Fuppylodders]

I am currently having a bit of a dilemma....

It is regarding the Rear section of the body. The vehicle bay and the engine bay.

Various sources state that the engine bay is on the upper deck with the speeder bike bay being on the lower deck (both rear section). Yet other sources state that the speeder bike bay is located on the upper deck while the engine room is located on the lower deck...

I do not know which to do!

As it is, with the (body's) forward sloping roof, it will be able to be lifted up like a normal hatch would... If I had the speeder bikes in the upper deck, I could use this method to explain how the speeder bikes exit the AT-AT.

If I had the speeder bikes on the lower deck, I would not need to fuss about with the rear top sloping roof bit being able to open enough to get the bikes out, but just as a 'viewing' area to see inside the engine bay. The speeder bikes could simply come out of the bike bay through doors to the central staging area where the large side boarding doors are and exit through there.

Which should I do? :(

Secondly, I can not clearly see how the troops go from the upper deck to the lower deck. Information on this seems to be invisible. Images do not clearly define this either, and I am positive the tiny forward and rear escape hatches on the sides are for emergency only, not their only way of getting on/off it. For the time being I have created 2 access hatches which will have ladders, but I would like someone else's say/knowledge on how access really is attained...?

Many thanks! =D

[Fallenangel]

None of that is outlined in either the films or the studio models (the question of how one gets in and out of an AT-AT remains unsolved to this day), so I say ignore secondary 'canon' sources and build it whichever way you like!

That being said, Star Wars: Complete Cross-Sections (easily the definitive canon source for the fabricated innards of Star Wars vehicles) and Star Wars: Incredible Cross-Sections before it put the engine room on top and the speeder bikes on the bottom, so I would go in that direction. As for the upper deck, I recall the Kenner AT-AT having a hatch on its side through which troops could enter and exit, so it would be reasonably safe to speculate that troops from the upper deck could simply jump out through said hatch rather than rappelling down as troops on the lower hatch do. Canonically, the AT-AT kneels when deploying troops, so it’s certainly possible. Granted, this isn’t supported by film footage at all, but then again, neither are any of the other things I’ve mentioned.

However, hull plating is a different story entirely. Unless you plan to cover them up, I would suggest finding a better alternative to hold up the troop section than the ‘stepped’ slope bricks you’ve got now; that’s sure to cause issues with angles later on. It may also be worthwhile to go a bit further with the shaping of the head, as it looks rather polygonal at the moment. This image does a fairly good job of illustrating the gentle curves sported in that area. Good luck!

[Henchmen4Hire]

Have you tried turning on the "brick outline" option in LDD? Would help you a lot in differentiating the bricks from each other

[Mr Man]

Various sources state that the engine bay is on the upper deck with the speeder bike bay being on the lower deck (both rear section). Yet other sources state that the speeder bike bay is located on the upper deck while the engine room is located on the lower deck...

I do not know which to do!

I would put the engine bay in the lower deck where it's closer to the legs it's driving and to explain hoe Luke blew the AT-AT up so easily (he threw the grenade directly into the engine).

[Fuppylodders]

@Fallenangel

Thanks for the advice, I think I may just go with it. With regards to the sloping bricks creating difficulties with the side panels, I hadnt thought too much about them at the moment, only I have basic ideas in my head of which I have done the sloping bricks to suit. It will create difficulty, but I will also have more difficulty in creating the side panels so they actually fit on the LDD version with their weird angles, so I think I shall create the skeleton, and then when I have the actual lego to build it, I shall then go about making the side armour in real life.

As for the head, I can see exactly what you mean and to a point I do agree, but to do that would mean (from my lack of knowledge) restructuring a lot of it and possibly starting it over... I think I am happy with it for now =D

I would put the engine bay in the lower deck where it's closer to the legs it's driving and to explain hoe Luke blew the AT-AT up so easily (he threw the grenade directly into the engine).

I was thinking the same thing, but then, all the grenade did was set off about 4/5 small explosions that triggered the head to blow up(logic? xD). Nothing indicated it was actually the engine room. I think due to that, I will go with speeder bikes on the bottom, and say they were the little explosions which blew up something which triggered the head to explode causing the thing to topple over because the actual body remained intact (if an engine room exploded I would imagine that the whole thing would have blown up leaving nothing left to topple over, and because the actual drive engines for the legs are underneath the AT-AT in big cylinders. The third engine (the one inside the AT-AT) is I would imagine a power generator for the engines below (?) or the filtration/atmospheric exchangers stuff :o

Either way, thank you guys, your comments have inspired my decision!

[Mr Man]

I was thinking the same thing, but then, all the grenade did was set off about 4/5 small explosions that triggered the head to blow up(logic? xD). Nothing indicated it was actually the engine room. I think due to that, I will go with speeder bikes on the bottom, and say they were the little explosions which blew up something which triggered the head to explode causing the thing to topple over because the actual body remained intact (if an engine room exploded I would imagine that the whole thing would have blown up leaving nothing left to topple over, and because the actual drive engines for the legs are underneath the AT-AT in big cylinders. The third engine (the one inside the AT-AT) is I would imagine a power generator for the engines below (?) or the filtration/atmospheric exchangers stuff :o

Either way, thank you guys, your comments have inspired my decision!

Ah yes I forgot it blew up the head, well your solution will still be great.

Edit: 1842^nd post.

Edited January 28, 2012 by Mr Man

[Foremast Jack]

PS, the bricks are dark and light grey because it helps me to define the different bricks easier while in LDD, but this will be made from Light gray, not bluish (mainly to save on monees :P)

Whilst using a combination of light and dark grey pieces on Star Wars sets is common, if you're solely doing it to help distinguish single pieces I would suggest that you go into "Edit" - "Preferences" and check the "Outline on Bricks". This will make it SO much easier to do what you're trying by varying colour. (You should note that the outline function taxes your system a little more, but it isn't usually noticeable (for me at least) until you break the 15,000 brick mark inside a single project.)

Is it possible to get a parts list from LDD for my project? Ive had a look but I can only see how to get the build instructions etc (which make me lol the way it decided to put it together :P)

I use a secondary programme called "LDD Manager" but with the update that was just released I know some sort of parts-list function was added but I'm not sure how to access it. I think it was something like you have to create the building instructions then after that is complete there is an option to view pieces.

[Fuppylodders]

Firstly, ty foremast jack, I used the parts program to get a bricklink list. All parts for the head are now on order, about 80% of the parts I have received... so soon as I get the rest, the head will become reality!

And now why I dig up this thread again :P

I'm having problems figuring out a way to make angled plates for the bit of armour covering the 'hips', on the side but underneath the body. As you can see in the picture, I have used 1x2x3 inverted sloping bricks temporarily, but I can't really see a way I can effectively use bricks while keeping it all angled inwards, so I would like to use plates instead. However my lack of experience is stopping me from knowing a technique how to do this. I cant really use the 1x4/4x4 plate hinge assembly because gravity will just pull it out of its angle and will just become vertical...

I could use the 1x2 hinge bricks, and actually do it brick style, but then how would it be stopped from drooping to vertical?

Any ideas/suggestions would be huuugely appreciated!

(ps also, can a mod change my title of this thread to WIP AT-AT.... please? I forgot to type it in originally)

All progress pics can be seen here:

(if link doesn't work, just search Daft Vader1 and go to LDD AT-AT)

This pic also shows the technique I'll be using to get the increasing angle for the joining of the armour plates. I havn't seen it used by anyone else for anything (although I'm sure I'm not the first to think/use this!). I feel that this is often either overlooked, or just not done for whatever reason. I wanted to attempt it and I think it'll work out ok!

Edited February 26, 2012 by Fuppylodders

[Brickadeer]

It looks pretty good so far

I'm very curious about the legs and feets, and how they'll fit to the overall shape of the modell.

[Fuppylodders]

This^^

Its making me think the head looks slightly too small now =/ Although I have an idea which is very simple which should hopefully sort it out...