[MOC] UCS Nebulon B - Medical Frigate 'Redemption'

[mortesv]

Every year I look forward to seeing what new collectors model(s) TLG will release. When the X-wing was announced I was somewhat disappointed (and mildly annoyed). I wanted something new! But instead of crying about it, I thought about which ship I wanted to build the most…

I have been modding UCS sets for a long time now - to the extent of more or less completely redesigning some of them. Thus I felt the lack of a new exiting set was my cue to design and build my very first UCS scale MOC.

The ship I chose to build was the Nebulon B. The model’s obscure and complex design has always intrigued me and I thought it was a good place to begin with the model I wanted the most.

I began looking at other mocs of the ship, large and small, when out of nowhere L-DI-EGO posted his excellent moc. However, I wanted the set to be at least 80 cm long but not more than 90cm - a good size for a UCS frigate class ship. Then I began designing…

LDD

Since my brick collection was limited I turned to LDD. I had used LDD before when constructing Cavegod’s AT-AT, but I hadn’t really constructed anything using the program. Using LDD suddenly bricks were free and I let my imagination fly. I turned to modellersmagic.com for reference shots of the movie model and began fleshing out proportions, constructing a sturdy technic skeleton and throwing on all the details I could see.

What I didn’t notice was that when tweaking the proportions my model began to slowly grow. I was confident I was over 80cm, but then I had a second look and my preliminary calculations showed the model would end up at 97,6cm… Ok, I might get above my 2500 brick budget - so 3000 was my new target.

When I had made the first version I still wasn’t satisfied with the model and began tweaking it further. Cavegod offered a few suggestions and some of them even made sense… Which reminds me; I should be sure to make a note that it was Cavegod who came up with the ingenious use of barrels for the housing of the static discharge vanes :)

When I was finally the done the model had surpassed 1m in length and the brick count was looong past 3000 and even 4000....

The Model

So here is what the finished model looks like:

The Nebulon is a feature rich and detailed ship. Even though it is symmetrical down the spine, it is interesting to see that different designers has sat on different sides of the ship and added kit bashed details using their own unique styles. I have tried to recapture these distinctive features on my model. This is apparent in the area leading up to the engine section.

Here the designer has added one large and one smaller tube and a single row of larger ‘windows’:

On the mirror side the design is based several rows of smaller windows:

Another place showing different styles is the two sides of the neck:

The other side sports the iconic viewport. Also the scale Falcon can be seen here:

The front ‘fin’ of the ship hold several interchangeable pods. I may not be apparent in the film but these pods are distinctively colored. Thus I grabbed the chance of putting some color on my model -grey can get a little boring :) Again the detailing is a bit different on the other side – underlining the ship’s almost organic look.

Building these pods was like building a bunch of separate smaller models, and a lot of fun! The green pod houses the command module:

The rear of the ship showing the engines is one of my favorite parts of the Nebulon B (I have a thing for starship engines). I have tried to capture the angles and details of this section as closely as possible while still improvising a bit.

Besides adding so many rows of plates in between the engines the real challenge was when I discovered that none of these angles slope at 45degrees – making the technic skeleton a little less straight forward.

Here is the whole thing from different angles:

Lastly, another shot of the Falcon:

I hope you like it, please comment!

And thanks to Cavegod and his other half for their feedback!

Edited August 5, 2013 by mortesv

[cavegod]

Looks Great! Lots of great Ideas too I love the transparency of the stand to name one.

[Brickdoctor]

Wow.

Your attention to detail here is incredibly impressive. I feel strange making a comment like this because it's not the kind of comment I make on an MOC, but I have nothing to specifically complain about because everything looks perfect and I have nothing to specifically compliment because I love the whole thing!

But let's see, to pick something out, I especially like the style of tiling. The way you tiled the hull reminds me a lot of the style of tiling I try to have whenever I tile an MOC, and you nailed it. And the bits of color are perfect.

(Going to blog this later; I just blogged a news item and they usually get a bit of time atop the blog.)

[mortesv]

Thanks mate, the transparent stands are the best feature, but I tried to downplay them in my description as to not steal focus from the moc itself

And thanks to you too Brickdoctor and congratulations with your must desserved promotion!

Just added another picture btw

Edited June 29, 2013 by mortesv

[M<0><0<DSWIM]

WOW! It looks like you've captured every little detail on this monster. Love it!

[ISDAvenger]

Now that is epic! Well done sir! I like how you incorporated color into the MOC to break up the monotony of all the grey. How strong is the center spine? Man, that is just one awesome MOC. I have been waiting for someone to do a Frigate of this scale. Superb work!

[Fuppylodders]

This ship never really interested me much as a model of Lego.... but the way you have done it just surpasses anything I could imagine it could look like!

I especially love the way the rear with the engines have been done, it is filled with greebles, but greebles that look exactly like they are supposed to be there and not just randomly thrown on for the sake of being put on it! How sturdy is it, does it require the support of the cylinders, or can it be held in the middle section?

Very well done!

Ive had advice from Cg before, I know it is always good advice and will always get you there in the end whenever you get stuck!

[mortesv]

Now that is epic! Well done sir! I like how you incorporated color into the MOC to break up the monotony of all the grey. How strong is the center spine? Man, that is just one awesome MOC. I have been waiting for someone to do a Frigate of this scale. Superb work!

Actually the model can be held in one hand in the center spine - so it is swooshable in way

The spine consists of 1x16 technic bricks and 2x16 plates

[ISDAvenger]

Actually the model can be held in one hand in the center spine - so it is swooshable in way

The spine consists of 1x16 technic bricks and 2x16 plates

Then that is the icing on the cake. Again, superb job in design and execution. I love it!

[Brickdoctor]

Actually the model can be held in one hand in the center spine - so it is swooshable in way

The spine consists of 1x16 technic bricks and 2x16 plates

Very impressive. I don't think I would ever be brave enough to seriously swoosh something like this, though -- just the way it's shaped and the amount of little greebles makes it look like it would disintegrate in my hand!

[Evil Porkchop]

Most impressive, and I agree it would have been nice to see TLG do something for UCS other than the X-Wing they went with.

[Outworlder]

looks great, very well detailed and accurate. I love large scale MOC starships... so much to look at. I def agree with you, theres a bunch of rebel medium-size and large capital ships, Lego has yet to make one outside of tantive IV

Edited June 29, 2013 by Outworlder

[Praiter Yed]

I never realised that there was so much colour on the Nebulon B . This could be one of those creations where it's acceptable to just write "awesome!", but I think I'll go with stunning!

Much as I like your transparent stand, I need to ask is it really sturdy enough to hold it securely? It looks like just a slight push could send it toppling.

[khatmorg]

Wow, that is absolutely beautiful! It looks like it came straight out of the movies, swap it out for a studio model and no one would notice the difference!

[mortesv]

I never realised that there was so much colour on the Nebulon B . This could be one of those creations where it's acceptable to just write "awesome!", but I think I'll go with stunning!

Much as I like your transparent stand, I need to ask is it really sturdy enough to hold it securely? It looks like just a slight push could send it toppling.

Well, it is not the sturdiest stand, but I have used the ship's inherent design to stabilise it. The model does not rest on the fin which mean that it serves to "pull down" the centre of gravity between the two cylinders. You can push the model lightly with a finger, but if you cat jumps onto the window sill, well then you are in trouble... :)

[Blondie-Wan]

That's an excellent model of an underrepresented vessel. I do like the splashes of color with the pods (I'd actually have tried to make it even more colorful myself, since I think LEGO models of Star Wars vessels tend to suffer if they're made as gray as the source material suggests they perhaps should be, but that's just a personal preference; there's obviously no denying the validity of your approach). And I'm glad to see you included the Millennium Falcon. Beautiful!

Edited June 30, 2013 by Blondie-Wan

[Brickdoctor]

And...

[mortesv]

And...

Thanks!

Actually the brick count is more than 4000 :)

[Lobot]

This is excellent, mortesv! :wub: :wub:

I'd love to see Lego sell this. A couple of weeks ago I would have suggested that you should put it on Cuusoo, but after their decision about Marshal's Sandcrawler it's probably best not to bother!

How many parts did you use? I'd love to see the LDD file..... I've been looking for another big Bricklink project

[TWP]

Wow! It's really astounding! Great work!

How much does this massive MOC actually weigh?

Did you thought about making an black UCS stand? I think that that would make it look even better!

[mortesv]

This is excellent, mortesv! :wub: :wub:

I'd love to see Lego sell this. A couple of weeks ago I would have suggested that you should put it on Cuusoo, but after their decision about Marshal's Sandcrawler it's probably best not to bother!

How many parts did you use? I'd love to see the LDD file..... I've been looking for another big Bricklink project

The Nebulon itself is just over 4k, then there is the stand and the falcon which are about 130 combined

Wow! It's really astounding! Great work!

How much does this massive MOC actually weigh?

Did you thought about making an black UCS stand? I think that that would make it look even better!

I havent weighed it, but I think over 3kg - but I really have no idea, it could be more.

Regarding the stand, I opted for transparent so it doest conflict with the model. Even though it could be held in the middle it wouldn't be very sturdy and having 3 black stands to support it would not be the prettiest I think - but I am open to suggestions

[Brickdoctor]

Actually the brick count is more than 4000 :)

Fixed.

Regarding the stand, I opted for transparent so it doest conflict with the model. Even though it could be held in the middle it wouldn't be very sturdy and having 3 black stands to support it would not be the prettiest I think - but I am open to suggestions

I agree. Two black stands would probably be okay, but the problem is that the height of the spine compared to the rest of the model means that at least one of the stands would be really tall, and it's not wide like the Star Destroyers, able to partially block the view of the stands from most angles.

[Bob De Quatre]

Great job Mortesv !

I always wanted to build a UCS Nebulon B, as it's my favorite OT ship, and was eagerly waiting for you to finish this build

That's an awesome build, I had to check the reference pictures as the Nebulon B I had in mind wasn't so detailed and so "colorful", but you did a great job capturing the shapes, angles and tiny details.

I think the colored parts are too much... erm... colored... could you have used some "sand" colors that would stand out a little less?

Concerning the stands, as a proud cat owner, I suggest using two brickbuild stands under the engine section and the front section (maybe in white), and keep the transparent stand in the middle. Is the stand under the water tank really necessary?

I would add some micro-xwing docked under the spine

Now I want one

[mortesv]

Great job Mortesv !

I always wanted to build a UCS Nebulon B, as it's my favorite OT ship, and was eagerly waiting for you to finish this build

That's an awesome build, I had to check the reference pictures as the Nebulon B I had in mind wasn't so detailed and so "colorful", but you did a great job capturing the shapes, angles and tiny details.

I think the colored parts are too much... erm... colored... could you have used some "sand" colors that would stand out a little less?

Concerning the stands, as a proud cat owner, I suggest using two brickbuild stands under the engine section and the front section (maybe in white), and keep the transparent stand in the middle. Is the stand under the water tank really necessary?

I would add some micro-xwing docked under the spine

Now I want one

Hi Bob :)

The colours I have used are sand green, sand blue, tan, dark tan, dark red and a little bit of dark brown. They are the most subdued colours I could find and are even more subtle that some of the colours found on the movie prop - which has hints of pink :)

The reason for the stand under the water tank is that if the model rest on the fin, the centre of gravity is directly above its resting place. This result in the model getting terrible balance. With stand on each side of the fin, the fin works as a pendulum stabilising the entire model. The tiny 'foot' under the fin doesn't hold any weight but is there to keep the pendulum from swinging too much if the model is pushed :)

I'll look into building a micro x-wing - to be in scale it has to be even smaller that the one that came with the 2011 advent calendar - which is even smaller than the recent planet series set :)

Thanks for the kind words :)

[Bob De Quatre]

Oh it's already sandy colors... my bad.

The stands are an issue for me, as my cat loves to play with Lego, and have a tendency to go where it should go (like resting under my Executer).

This Nebulon B MOC got some nice xwing, but maybe slightly too big.