SWAT Strachan
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Everything posted by SWAT Strachan
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I picked up my new B-Wing a few days ago, and after building it I was left a little underwhelmed. The overall design of the model is OK, given its size, but there was something about it that really bugged me,,, The wings. They seem out of proportion to me, too large for the scale of the ship, and it makes the final model look rather spindly. I've already modified mine to reduce the size of the stabiliser wings, and to let them sit closer to the body when folded. However, this is what I have planned (if I have the necessary parts that is): After making an LDD model of the B-Wing using the official build instructions, I've been having a bit of a tinker with the ship, and I think I've made a few improvements. Modified B-Wing .lxf file Changes... Shortened the s-foils. Redesigned the wing-tip cannons (and got rid of those irritating missile shooters). Shortened the main wing and gave it a straight edge, mimicking the UCS version. Moved the weapons pod a little higher up to make it look a little more sturdy. Altered the lower wing mounting points so that the wing is now aligned with the axis of the ship. Bulked out the body in a few places, and filled the void behind the engines. Things to do... Thicken the 'neck' where the cockpit joins the rest of the ship. Increase the size and move further forward the flare between the cockpit and the two cylinders, to match the flare on the main wing. I'm a loooooooooong way off from making anything as impressive as Jerac's Chimaera, but we all have to start somewhere .
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Yeah that part's a little annoying, as the Interceptor is still my favourite by a long way, but because of the wing design I can't risk including it with the set, as Star Wars based sets are very unlikely to ever pass the review stage on Lego Ideas. It's a pity though, as that giant UCS AT-AT just hit the 10k mark, but because of the license, the size, and the cost (probably over £600) it'll never make it (although I'd quite happily buy one!).
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(Click the image to find this project on Lego Ideas) Well I finally got it approved, this is my Vampyre Squadron MOC It consists of five vessels, two fighters, a gunship, a tank, and a missile boat. I based the design on an earlier MOC that I came up with, an Imperial Ice Speeder, but as I know that Star Wars MOCs are very unlikely to succeed on Lego Ideas, I revamped (arf :D ) the design and eventually came up with these five. The Gunship The Strike Fighter The Naval Fighter The Missile Boat The Tank I did also make a sixth model, but as it's blatantly Star Wars based I had to exclude it from the final collection. It's a shame really as out of all the ships, it's by far my favourite. The Interceptor These ships are now listed on the Lego Ideas site, and any support would be greatly appreciated. Now, Lego didn't like me including this image, and I had to remove it before I could get my submission accepted, but I think it looks pretty cool, and I put a fair bit of work in to it :D. I know it's a bit cheeky posting this to try to gather some support, but as no-one that I know is in to Lego (just me) I don't really have any other means of spreading the word. Either way, opinions are welcome :).
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Well Lego did release the Hailfire Droid from Star Wars, which is in essence a rolling missile platform, so hope springs eternal . The AI module was a last-minute idea, I had to think up something that could replace the Astromech droid that I incorporated in to the original design, so it had to fit the same 2x4 slot as changing the slot size would have meant going back to square one with the whole design. As for the 5-in-1 idea, I can also see that working with kids as they could swap ships with their friends, building up their own unique collection.
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Ion drives are only really of any use on long-distance and long-term flights. They might sound all science-fictiony but in the end it's just another form of rocket, and as such still has to follow Newton's laws of motion. The problem is that the mass of the ions being expelled is so low, that the acceleration effect is tiny, and takes a long time to generate any significant speed. Given how most space vehicles seem to ignore all the laws of physics and act as if they were flying through an atmosphere, my bet would be for a gravitational displacement engine. In short the vessel generates a gravity 'bubble' in space which draws the ship towards it, as the bubble position is moved the ship follows it, which would allow for the tight turns and possibly even the aerodynamic behaviour.
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I've just a spent a few days making these icons for my PC, and I'm that pleased with how they came out that I thought some of you might like to use them as well. These are all 256x256x32 Windows icons with transparency and work best with a dark desktop, I've also included "feature" alternatives in case you want to use the icons for the Recycle Bin (the Sarlacc is perfect for this purpose, so much so that I've included a sound file to use as the emptying effect HERE, just right-click and save). Note for Windows7 users... If you find that after changing the Recycle Bin icons, they no longer change automatically to show if the bin is empty or not, just follow these instructions. Click on the Start button and type REGEDIT in the search box, then click on regedit.exe when it appears in the list above. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Explorer / CLSID / {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} / Default Icon In here you will find three entries (default, empty, full), each one showing the file path to your custom icon. Edit each one in turn and add ,0 (comma zero) to the end of each line without a space (so for example %userprofile%\path_to_icons\sarlacc.ico would now become %userprofile%\path_to_icons\sarlacc.ico,0) Once all three have been changed, close REGEDIT and refresh your desktop. The Recycle Bin icons should now change automatically when filled or emptied. Click each preview below to download the same image in the .ico format. More to follow, I'll take requests too as long as the .lxf files exist .
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Added... Customised minifig-scale B-Wing (open & closed wings) UCS B-wing (opened & closed wings) UCS R2D2 (walking & rolling) V-Wing (flight & landing modes) UCS Y-Wing My Imperial Ice Speeder MOC (linked & separated)
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More icons added...
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Actually the ones in my signature are photographs, not renders, but I think I still have the originals saved somewhere so if there's one in particular you're after let me know.
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Any future Millennium Falcons (they would go very well with a new UCS version ), X-Wings, Dagobah sets...
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Mynocks.
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Yeah, good luck with that .
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In the last couple of weeks I have bought... All of the Microfighters 75055 Star Destroyer 75040 General Grievous' Wheel Bike 75054 AT-AT 75050 B-Wing (bit of a let-down that one) 75051 Jedi Scout Fighter Plus a crap-load of non-Star Wars sets too. Yes, I am a fully paid up member of the AA (Assemblers Anonymous). Total set count now is 219...
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Anyone else a little disappointed with 75050?
SWAT Strachan replied to SWAT Strachan's topic in LEGO Star Wars
Right, I think I've nailed it. 573 pieces including the minifigures and separator tool (127 extra over the stock model, mostly small parts though), which I think would be worth an extra fiver on the price. Now a few pictures (loving POV-Ray ). Overview... I've extended the cockpit by one stud, and make the neck three studs wide, it doesn't look quite so delicate now. The cockpit also has an additional control panel and I moved the two targeting lasers on the nose a little closer to the middle. The proton torpedo launchers are now mounted on the engine section rather than being attached to the neck, this allowed me to beef up the ammo pod and position it closer to the engine intakes (matches the same pod on the main wing). I've redesigned the s-foil weapon arrays so they look far closer to the 'real' thing. The black 'brick with bar' excuse for a blaster is gone, along with those pointless spring launchers (God I hate those things...). The s-foils are more substantial now, and despite LDD's over-sensitive collision detection system, will lie flat against the pod at the top of the main wing. The main wing now has a straight leading edge, but with added detailing, and the sensor indent. Lastly I've moved the smaller cannon/blaster/ion/whatever one block down, as it should be. The lower pod is also removable again, I've gone back to the two technics peg attachment method as I needed to extend the main wing by a couple of studs (to balance the look of the ship with the upgraded s-foils). Last but not least, is the .lxf file. If anyone has the parts to actually make this mod, I would love to see it in real life! Sadly I'm a 'Lord Business' when it comes to Lego, so I have precious few spare parts. -
LEGO Star Wars 2014 Pictures and Rumors
SWAT Strachan replied to Erdbeereis's topic in LEGO Star Wars
I'd give it a 'meh' at best. Where are the TIE Fighters, that's what I want to know! Isn't it about time we had a bomber and interceptor built to the same standard as the 9492? -
Not strictly a photo I know, but I put my modified 75050 B-Wing through POV-Ray (something I've never used before) and this is the result, well, with a little Paintshopping .
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Anyone else a little disappointed with 75050?
SWAT Strachan replied to SWAT Strachan's topic in LEGO Star Wars
524 in it's current state. So it would still be viable at the £49.99 price point. mind you that's excluding the other two minifugures and accessories, 536 if you include them and the Lego separator tool. -
Anyone else a little disappointed with 75050?
SWAT Strachan replied to SWAT Strachan's topic in LEGO Star Wars
That's not exactly difficult . -
Anyone else a little disappointed with 75050?
SWAT Strachan replied to SWAT Strachan's topic in LEGO Star Wars
I know that the canon B-Wing does have an angled edge on the front and rear of the main wing, but it's such a fine angle at the front that I don't think it's really feasible to recreate it. Truth be told, I think it looks better straight anyway . However, I have taken the other suggestions on board, and I have extended the s-foils nearer to their original length, and repositioned the sensor indent in the wing. The cannons now line up with the sensor indent when folded. I've also brought the wing hinges closer to the central axis of the ship which has made the s-foils pretty much the perfect length, and now when you fold them down, they rest on the upper part of the main wing. Updated .lxf file... Attack mode will always look the best. I've tweaked my redesign again so that the s-foils do fold very close to the main wing, the updated .lxf file is just above so you can have a look for yourself . -
Anyone else a little disappointed with 75050?
SWAT Strachan replied to SWAT Strachan's topic in LEGO Star Wars
I have the UCS version but this is my first minifig scale B-Wing. The 75050 set does have some decent weight to it but it's all in the main body, the wings are just way too thin and in the case of the main wing not even the right shape! I don't have much in the way of spare bricks so I can't carry out the modifications yet, but I'm seriously considering it. Thanks . The first picture is indeed my modified version, and the second is how it looks if you follow the official instructions. There are still some other changes I need to make, primarily reinforcing where the main wing connects to the body. -
[KEY TOPIC] Official LEGO Sets made in LDD
SWAT Strachan replied to Calabar's topic in Digital LEGO: Tools, Techniques, and Projects
My eyesight is pretty poor when it comes to colours I'm afraid. I did try the light nougat for the figures but it looked too dark to me (could be my monitor colour settings too). I shall amend the files shortly . Done . It's not too obvious that I'm new to this is it . -
My DeviantART Star Wars gallery Yeah, I've been making these for a while now .
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[KEY TOPIC] Official LEGO Sets made in LDD
SWAT Strachan replied to Calabar's topic in Digital LEGO: Tools, Techniques, and Projects
Morning sir.Yup, I noticed my mistakes this morning, I did post it rather late last night so it was a bit rushed :D. I'll fix the post when I get back from work as for some reason my tablet won't let me edit it. -
[KEY TOPIC] Official LEGO Sets made in LDD
SWAT Strachan replied to Calabar's topic in Digital LEGO: Tools, Techniques, and Projects
75050 Star Wars B-Wing - Episode VI (2014) LDD version 4.3.8 B-Wing 75050 .lxf file Stickers not present (3 x orange circles for wings and 4 x patterned strips for ring behind cockpit canopy). Printing on minifigures estimated. Pilot's helmet substituted with part number 99254 as B-Wing pilot helmet not currently available.