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UPDATE - March 2023 - INSTRUCTIONS are still available via PayPal donation - just let me know or write me a mail to boonatix@gmail.com :)

Prevously:

Working on the instructions is close to the finish...

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WIP - Instructions by Brickmasta on Flickr

UPDATE - FINISHED on 22nd of April

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The Batwing - Front by Brickmasta on Flickr

See the Album with details and more:

https://www.flickr.c...th/13973416094/

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I would like to present my current WIP to you all and love to get some feedback on it :grin:

As soon as I saw the first Trailer for "The Lego Movie" I was in shock... a childhood dream coming true. With so many awesome creations in it. And one was standing out the first time I saw it: "The Batwing". I immediately knew that I needed to build this asap. Even though I just came back out of the dark ages by end of last year and was very fresh to all the building processes, parts and stuff... I thought It can't be that hard with having the model right in front of me on the screen. But it wouldn't be as easy as I thought... :wink:

I researched all the internet for more pictures / trailers, fortunately there was more released with special scenes and stuff for this Batwing. I did frame by frame analysis and took a whole lot of screenshots, scratching my head how and where to start. I had the best material of one of the turbines, so I just got to work on one of those!

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But then I was kind of lost... not enough details, not enough shots of the Batwing. And then somebody on Flickr linked me a video to the Lego Movie Videogame. Woah! There was actually a building process you could unlock in there for it. I had to get the game, started gaming until I was able to unlock this plan and rebuild it over and over to see how they did it. And got to the point where I finally started with one of the wings!

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The Batwing - WIP #003 by Brickmasta at Flickr

And the first challenge occured and I knew it would not be that simple / as easy as I hoped. The wing consists of 4 sections. And each section basically just featured 1 connector, making the whole wing completely unstable, bending and nearly breaking apart. That did not look good. So I got to understand that I won't be able to do a 1:1 true copy of it. The physics in the movie and the videogame are just easier / different because there is no real physics :tongue: So I got to work again and tried and tried and thought and planned... and found a solution! First step was to double and exchange the connections for each section:

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The Batwing - WIP #004 by Brickmasta at Flickr

But that was not quite enough and after some more thinking I had another idea, so I took the shot and gave the second wing a try with new elements in it and a stabilizer under the wing, connecting the sections and holding them together... and it worked out!

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"The Batwing" is going to be huge...!

That is my progress so far. I am now starting to work on the cockpit and will try out the connections from wing to cockpit asap because I have a feeling they also won't hold up that good... each wing weighs around 260gr wich is around 0,6 pounds. That is quite a lot to be held together by slim Lego connectors. Lets see how this will work out then :wink:

Let me know what you think! Appreciate every comment and input :wub:

Edited by Brickmasta

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Looking awesome so far. Keep up the great work! :classic:

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Brilliant!

As I said in the Movie Set Wishlist thread I am working on the exact same kind of project - have been copying the video game's footage and layouts and have built a rough version of it all in LDD.

I've now ordered all the parts and am about 2/3rds through building.

I'm finding the wings unstable too, but haven't myself quite cracked how I will make it stable yet. I also don't have the right kind of hinge yet to get the wings as flush as yours. Although my Bricklink order is due today, so who knows.

It will be interesting to compare our MOCs and see how we've created the same thing, but different!

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Great work. I've been replicating some of the models from the movie as well, and yes, you do get caught out as to how flimsy they are.

Looking forward to seeing this one completed

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What a awesome project, and looking very good. Good luck with the rest and keep posting :sweet:

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A real challenge is working on the main part, and I am running out of bricks... :wacko:

This is where LDD comes in handy... A never ending supply of bricks.

:)

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I really prefer building with my hands and real bricks... it takes longer but I can experiment better and see how it is holding together in reality. And this is crucial with this huge project since I already had the stability issue with the wings...!

Now I am starting to think about incorporating parts for a kind of podium stand / arm that will hold the Batwing in the air and also help with holding up the wings... lets find out if that is a good idea :laugh:

Edited by Brickmasta

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I'll sort out some pictures later of my build - not sure what the etiquette is when it comes to posting your comparable MOC in someone's thread though!

I have had the cockpit sans nose ready for about a week, but like the wings it has needed a lot of fixing to make it more stable. Certainly, as Brickmasta has pointed out, the digital version is not designed with actual physics in mind - for a start, the very basic Technic joints and fixings get yanked straight out of their socket when you attach a wing.

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Amazing project!

This might be a long shot, but perhaps going to your local Lego store and asking someone for some more information might turn over some stones.

Good luck with this awesome build! :wink:

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I've uploaded my pictures to Flickr - should I create a fresh thread (as this thread is about Brickmasta's build)? I don't want to derail his project - although I'm also wary of splitting the conversation! Or maybe I should stray over to the licensed section and start a thread there?

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I think it is OK to create your own topic, but maybe we could link to each others topic and tell people we are kind of working on it at the same time :grin:

Can you give me your FLICKr I am really interested in taking a look :wink:

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Coming along nicely I had to improvise on the red rockets in the front since the part is not available in red... the inner structure of the main cockpit is now more guessing and I had to make more improvements to make this more structured and stable.

I now have a finished idea in my head on how to get this Batwing set up and displayed safe and stable...!

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The Batwing - WIP #008 by Brickmasta at Flickr

Edited by Brickmasta

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Looks like real progress has been made, looking foward to seeing it complete!

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Batman is so excited, the cockpit is progressing well and the seats with the steering instrument is finished... Another discovery I made was that this seating unit is place "centrally" between the studs in the cockpit section... to allow room for the minifigs at the sides so they can sit in there.

Truly fascinating as I get closer to the finish line!

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The Batwing - WIP #009 by Brickmasta at Flickr

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Test fitting of a lot of parts to see if I am at the right height and all fits together as it should... looking promising.

The hopefully last Bricklink order is coming up soon as I know which parts are missing to finish it up, and then the work on the huge display base will start... dun dun duuuuuuuun!!

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The Batwing - WIP #010 by Brickmasta at Flickr

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