[WIP] Futuron SHIP: The Needle

[Lasse D]

I am dedicating this topic to the slow progress of the construction of my first SHIP.

It is a command vessel in the theme of Futuron. It will be roughly 10 base plates long and feature some moving parts.

This ship is mainly a proof-of-concept. I'm trying to stress the bricks and see which kind of shapes look good in the scale. If you have ideas for input then please don't hold them back.

Here is how it has progressed thus far in April 2014:

The frame consists of a long triangle. This is hopefully strong enough for all the stuff I have planned to hang on it like a Christmas tree.

Adding the slopes ot the side wing turned out to be too heavy for the connectors to hold up!

I received an order of slopes to replace the rainbow of the front.

The right wing was added and in this picture the "field generator" in the middle is actually spinning - similar to the botanical garden of my

.

The ring connecting the two wings has been added, completing the flow that starts from the front of the ship.

The "FTL" drive rings have been added as well as the tail.

The frame is getting decorated and I the pillars for the FTL drive rings are more sturdy with the additional decoration.

I am currently working on the main thrusters.

That is all for now. I will post further progress in the comments to come.

[DuckBricks]

Whoah! I LOVE the spirals! Can't wait to see it teeming with Futuron figures!

[Missing Brick]

Wow. Very nice. Did a Lego lorry full of white bricks and black plates crash into your house or something? ;) Looking forward to seeing the finished ship.

[Lasse D]

Well... I have been saving up for this for many years now. The idea started back in 2007 and I have been ordering white, black and trans blue parts ever since.

Now it has simply become time for me to put those parts together.

Next step was to copy the thruster:

Here you can see how large they are compared to the ship:

Now I just have to make their internal structure and mount them on the frame.

[jeffnf]

Holy crap! This is the first time I've clicked on this thread, and I must say I'm impressed. I'll be watching for updates.

[Lasse D]

Yesterday I finally got to mount the first engine:

Update

Today the work continues with detailing along the frame. I tend to choose the solutions that take the longest to complete...

This detailing is expected to be done some time around 3AM or so.

Update

Decorating the frame continues. I have now finished decorating the aft section.

Update

I have finished the decoration of the frame primarily using 2x4 curved bricks. I had a bag of 500. Now I have 2 left.

Update

First try for adding fuel tanks. I can't find my white 4x4x6 panels, so I have to do with with these trans black until they turn up. These fuel tanks are, however, a bit too tall, so I have to find a more compact design.

Update

Sunday, May 4. This smaller and more rounded version of the fuel tanks turns out to work much better.

Update

It is time to mount the upper two engines.

Here is a close-up of the detailing.

Update

This will be it for tonight. I have added shielding for the detailing shown in the previous update.

Edited May 4, 2014 by Lasse D

[Lasse D]

One of my very first sets was 6830: Space Patroller

It was a wonderful set where the two engines could turn into robots. I will use this kind of robots as repair droids for the SHIP.

Coming soon, to a post in this thread:

- Repair droids charging stations!

- Even more solar panels!

- First level of the command bridge.

I can start working on this at 10PM tonight.

[Mutant Orc]

Wow... Brilliant stuff! You seem to be able to build and design some great huge ships...Have you ever considered building spaceships from the Start trek films? They were big and oddly shaped...

[Lady K]

Very impressive! Can't wait for the next update.

[Lasse D]

Thanks - I will keep up the updates. Here is what I managed to make today.

First there is this little guy:

Inspired by the set shown in the previous post he takes care of repairs and maintenance.

This is a large ship, so I have two of these pods, each with 8 repair droids:

The pods reside below the new solar panel section. This turned out to be a larger challenge than expected. As soon as the circles of bricks are not complete, the tension forces the structure apart. I had to come up with a less rigid way for constructing this section, and I have to rethink how to create the tail!

Wow... Brilliant stuff! You seem to be able to build and design some great huge ships...Have you ever considered building spaceships from the Start trek films? They were big and oddly shaped...

Thanks. I would love to one day to build something like the Narada or a Klingon Bird of Prey.

[VK-318]

Yikes. This, folks, is why them call them "Seriously Heavy Investments of Parts." Great work, Lasse D. How do you intend to power the rotating shields? I would assume not with the 9V train controller you used earlier? I would think that would be pretty ugly..

Edited May 7, 2014 by VK-318

[Flobnomdob]

This is marvellous! A very unique shape of SHIP, and I love seeng how it's coming along. This is pretty inspiring, even though I'd have to triple my parts collection to get anywhere near this sort of scale (16 robots is too much for me ) It looks as if it could be picked up and used as a gun aswell...

[AlmightyArjen]

This is huge... Great work!!

[Lasse D]

Thanks for the encouraging comments! I'm currently at the Eurobricks Event so I can't build as much as I want to.

There is, however, still time to put some parts together. Here are the pods which are used for Helm, Navigation, etc. at the bridge:

(Assembled in the chill-out area in Legoland Village, Billund... photo taken using my mobile potato)

Yikes. This, folks, is why them call them "Seriously Heavy Investments of Parts." Great work, Lasse D. How do you intend to power the rotating shields? I would assume not with the 9V train controller you used earlier? I would think that would be pretty ugly..

You are completely right. I will make a nice cover for the 9V power supply. It will become the living quarters and will be located below the bridge.

The current plan is to:

- Build/complete the bridge. I already have the part - I just have to put them together.

- Build the living quarters/power supply cover. This I still have to design the details of.

- Build a tail... which I still have to completely rethink!

- Add details such as small boosters for small course changes, antennae, greeble, more fuel tanks, etc.

And I have to be done by Thursday!

[TheOneVeyronian]

This looks absolutely stunning Lasse D! I will be watching for updates to this massive project, and I look forward to seeing the finished SHIP!

[M'Kyuun]

Looks great, Lasse D! I'm looking forward to seeing the completed model.

[snefroe]

looks great so far.

i would add some trans-orange light to the boosters, perhaps with electric light systems of lego technic

[Lasse D]

Thanks for the comments. I had to led you guys done for a while since I was too busy building, having to be done last Thursday.

Here are the updates I did not get to put up in time:

First I had the pods from the Eurobricks event mounted on a black frame for the front section. Lots of details to clear flat surfaces with studs.

Then came the bridge, complete with an Iron Throne, Arya considering her battle plan and a large table with the battle currently going on.

4 pods of manoeuvring thrusters were added.

I made the living quarters which will be used to hide the power supply. Unfortunately they require the frame to be flipped when being attached. Have you ever seen "The Core"? There was a plot point in something being stupidly designed because they didn't have time to do it properly... this is how I felt.

And as a last update before going to the event. antennae and greeble was added to the front.

looks great so far.

i would add some trans-orange light to the boosters, perhaps with electric light systems of lego technic

I should do something with moving thrusters - I can do that on my next SHIP :D

Up next: Pictures from the event of the final ship.

[droomangroup]

holy s**t stars. this is amazing.

[Majkel]

Wow! And with some moving partsit will be a real treat at exhibitions!

[Lasse D]

Thanks, but then you should see the final version... which I will show right now.

Here it is in the space layout of Klodsfest 2014 this weekend:

As you can see, Sir Bugge is back as well!

Side view. Here you can see how it is almost 10 base plates long!

The last thing I got to add was a shield or tail for the rear section.

The last profile shot before moving on to the details.

A close-up of the battle in progress. Arya seems to have botched a certain famous strategy,

The Iron Throne.

The full command bridge.

The antennae and detailing of the front.

Here you can see how the rings line up. The frame had a straight hole through to the front.

The repair droids landed on the floor more than once during set up.

And finally a close-up of the side thrusters.

This is it for now. I did not get to make a video, but I want to extend the ship for a 5 meter version with som new ideas. I will post new stuff in this thread once that work starts.

[droomangroup]

truly epic.

[AlmightyArjen]

Epic indeed, I'm speechless! Kudo's!

[emilstorm]

Thats a lot of interesting stuff in one build, pushing the brick to the limit. Just impressive!

[jeffnf]

Seeing "large" space engines used as tiny little maneuvering engines emphasizes the size of this beast. Well done indeed!