darththeling

J-type 327 Nubian Royal Starship [Conversion from 7961 Sith Infiltrato

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There's something suggestive about the figures assembled for the third incarnation of TLG's take on Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator. We've got Padme, Panaka and Qui-Gon Ginn. They were all aboard the queen's ship of course! Why hasn't TLG made a royal starship yet? Everyone knows we don't have a ship for Queen Amidala from Phantom Menance and despite the incredible amount of screen time we spend aboard that ship (most of the film moves forward with the action centred on that very ship) I wouldn't bet on getting an official release anytime soon. This is also the screen time vs. Lego kit issue with Cloud City, but that's a discussion for another thread. ;)

I've read elsewhere and on these forums that it is "unbuildable." Well, every AFOL knows that there is no such thing as unbuildable with a construction toy like Lego! I am light on a few key grey pieces... please imagine in the pics below that they are all the same grey color. ;)

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Allow me to present a very rudimentary attempt to convert this latest Sith Infiltrator to a ship that closely resembles the royal starship. The overall shape of the Infiltrator lends itself to the character of the Nubian ship, really just getting the engines correct was key. Of course the scale is off, but that is a problem with the entire Star Wars line in general, nothing to lose sleep over. I cloned the configuration of the engines from the instructions from the 7660 Naboo N-1 Fighter. Special care was taken to maintain the overall shape of the ship from the top view, trying to make the lines of the ship connect with the royal transport. This meant an extended nose, a rounder aft section and a smoother transition from the neckline to the main core of the ship. I still haven't figured out how to include the cockpit... should it be a printed piece? At the moment I can't remove the piece in the space in question as it keeps the front and the back part of the ship together!

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The result is a ship that, at close glance, passes for the royal cruiser and at the very least, gives Queen Amidala a place to be stored! I hope that TLG figures out that they can do this ship on a reasonable minifig scale but until then, this will do. I have plans with all that dark red so I intend to scoop it out and replace it with white and beige like the throne room.

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I added a very small landing ramp specifically so that Maul could have a place to escape; the door doesn't really lead into the ship.

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The non-Queen, non-Jedi characters still fit crammed into the interior of the front section. Decked out in white in may better resemble that area of the ship from the film. Gotta find a decal that represents the hyperdrive generator, any ideas? I figure a few 1x4 bricks should form it nicely. We need a reason to land this ship on Tattooine!

This was not a very difficult conversion, it took a number of flat grey pieces but you'll need to Bricklink a grey version of the 7660 type engines. The engines could have gone a bit bigger but for now I'm satisfied with these. If I ever find a goldmine I may send this away to get chromed up!

Shout outs to other great builds on this ship - setechnic's incredible chromed ship with video, as well as Gunner's incredible LLD model!! I find both of these projects to be exciting and inspiring.

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That looks pretty accurate to the movie. The scale of it is pretty nice too.

I've always found it laughable how everyone thinks it's unbuildable (I mean there's a rendition of it featured in an official Lego video, not to mention the brick built versions we've seen in the games). There's probably a better reason why Lego has stayed away from all versions of Padme's famous mirror ship. Oh well, maybe in the future we'll see an actual set of this (One can hope anyway).

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Looks quite nice! It's a shame not all pieces are from the infiltrator.

Like you, I also discovered the similarities between the scimitar and nubian - in fact I've converted it myself! But I used only pieces of that sith infiltrator, the gungan sub, and naboo starfighter&vulture. Only difference, mine looks a bit better, has more detailed interior, landing gear and more. Only it is still a bit WIP. :)

But yours is too great!

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