My first MOC: a Super Sylph jet from Yukikaze (work in progress)

[Martin_B]

Quite a few of my friends are fellow SF fans and in a recent pub discussion two of them mentioned that they'd ordered models of the 'Mave', a jet plane from the anime series Yukikaze. We've all watched and enjoyed it, but I'm more of a fan of the 'Super Sylph', a jet design from earlier in the series. I flippantly said, "I don't like the Mave all that much and if the model of the Super Sylph isn't available any more, I might as well make my own." I have a copy of the series on DVD and I've also read the novel that it's based on; for whatever reason, there's a helpful list of the dimensions and specs at the end of the book. I used the anime adaptation's portrayal of the Super Sylph - and some photos of that now-discontinued model made by Alter - as inspiration for my own version.

There are a few Lego MOCs of the Mave on Google Images, but there was only one of the Super Sylph that I found during my researching, on MOC Pages...and that's not been built yet as far as I know. I didn't want to copy someone else's work so to be different - and get more detail - I decided on a Technic scale, which by my reckoning is 1/20 rather than 1/40 of the 'Minifig'. The end result then will be roughly a metre in length...which is a daunting prospect for the first Lego project I've worked on since I hit the Dark Ages in my early teens!

I've posted some photos on G+ as I went along, but if anyone has comments or constructive criticism I'd be really grateful. There are certain aspects of the build that I'm really happy with, but it's always helpful to get an outsider's perspective since I've been working on the thing on and off for several months now. I'm actually glad it's almost finished!

[DraikNova]

Wow. That´s beautiful. And big too. The only part which looks a little off is the part between the two cockpits.

[vynsane]

Wow, that's impressive work. I can't believe you gave it working landing gear!

[Commander Wolf]

This is definitely very impressive for a first MoC. The prototype has a lot of characteristic curves too, which I consider difficult to model in Lego. Will definitely be interesting to see how you handle them in the finished product!

Edited October 23, 2012 by Commander Wolf

[Si-MOCs]

That's your FIRST moc?!?!

Wow.

that's ... really freak'n good.

Only thing I could think of is maybe you want to build a sturdier stand?

It looks like you have some problems using just the old monorail stand.

[Martin_B]

Thanks for the advice and kind words!

@Draiknova: yeah, the gap between the cockpits is a bit 'thick'. I might remove the black bricks between them, but I'm not sure how to fit a thinner dividing 'frame'. Studless plates might work...

@vynsane: the landing gear works, but sadly the model's too heavy for it to support the full weight.

@Commander Wolf: yeah, there are a lot of curved edges and odd angles. I'm pleased with how the wing outline and engine intakes have turned out, but the 'spine' part behind the cockpits is going to be the final hurdle. The design reminds me of a Russian MiG-29 or SU-27, which I've always thought are a really interesting shape.

@Si-MOCs: yep, my first MOC since the Dark Ages kicked in. I've never gone away from minifig scale before, so it's an interesting challenge. I might go back to 1/40 in future, mainly because of the size! Duly noted on the stand though - this one's a temporary thing while I work out how to build a better one.

Hopefully it'll be finished early next month...I'll keep you posted!

[DraikNova]

Well, you got off to a great start with your AFOLship.

[Martin_B]

I think it's now completed! I've built a new stand for it, which isn't quite as good as I'd hoped, but it does the job all right. The area where the pneumatic tube (for the landing gear operation) exits underneath happens to be right near the centre of gravity where the stand attaches...which is what I intended, but through more luck than judgement, I must admit!

Overall view

Head-on (the length seems to have confused my camera's focusing!)

The underside. It's hard to see in this shot, but there are two light/dark grey jet engines inside the intakes.

Side profile. Trying to recreate the curved shape was HARD. I'm still not completely convince I got it 'curved' enough.

View from the rear. Another two of those jet engine assemblies inside the jetpipes, except they're black and I'm relying on October daylight!

View from directly overhead, showing the outline that I spent ages agonising over. Ignore the goofy footwear.

I just checked the landing gear and yes, it does still work now that everything else is in place. I'll try to get a shot of that when my camera battery's recharged. I've uploaded the full size photos to Flickr if you want to see them in higher res.

[Flare]

Wow - fantastic! Really impressive work here!

[DraikNova]

Wow! The area between the cockpits looks much better now and the engine work is absolutely perfect!

[Ludzik]

This is just beyond impressive!!!

[Martin_B]

Thanks everyone!

The stand doesn't look very good and creaks ominously so I'll replace it with something made from Technic beams next week. Here's a close-up of the engine intakes and undercarriage with the landing gear down:

It 'works' in that it moves, but without the stand the landing legs would just collapse! A shame really; I never did think of a workaround for it.

[Si-MOCs]

Very very impressive first build.

The pneumatic landing gear is fantastically cool feature.

I also love the wing shaping - really great job!

So.... what's next?

Are you keeping this together?

Do tell!

[Martin_B]

@Si-MOS: thanks! It's currently on display in my living room. Quite a few of the parts, especially early on, were taken from my existing collection but I want to keep it together for as long as I can so I'll just replace those via Bricklink or something. My next MOC will be a Classic Town layout using the Airport Shuttle monorail, but as for my inner SF/anime fanboy? Good question! I'm a huge Macross geek, and the plane/mecha designs in that are fantastic - they transform between jet and robot modes, which would be a challenge to recreate but look really cool. My personal fave of the franchise, Macross Plus, celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2014. I might do a fan tribute build for that, since the plane designs are awesome!