Walter Kovacs

Overall I like the design. As the good Colenol said, I like the backpacks off the side. My biggest beef is the grey set of wheels inside the tracks. I think it would look better if they were all grey or all white (white would probably look better, in my opinion). I understand completely if you have a limited brick supply, though.

Neither Flickr or Photobucket allow .pdf file uploads Yeah, I need to do some re-thinking on the TIE Defender. Overall it looks good, but the pylons aren't working at all. I'm just going to crank out a couple more TIEs, then come back to the Defender. I'll get a working design eventually.

I hate bumping a topic of mine that is sliding towards obscurity, but I felt it necessary to let those waiting for the instructions upload know what is going on. I have tried several times to get the instructions uploaded to Brickshelf. I'm not sure if it's a size issue (the first file is large, but the others are "small"), or if Brickshelf doesn't allow the .pdf extension anymore, but I haven't been able to get them to upload at all. If anyone has an alternate file upload solution, feel free to let me know. I'd like to get them out there for anyone to look at. They are definitely too large to be e-mailing around, so some sort of net based arrangement is required. Sorry I haven't been able to get this done.

This is simply amazing. Of all the things that are going on in this scene, and boy are there a lot of things going on, I think I like the big building just behind the CTT best. I don't know why. It just speaks to me. Though the Dewback feeding troughs are a nice touch. Who am I kidding. I love the entire thing.

Nice work so far, cavegod. I love the details under the main body. The neck looks very good, too. Is it going to be able to hold the weight of the head? Have you tested that yet, or is that something you're going to tackle when the time comes? Also, is the head going to have movement up and done, or just side to side? I might have missed this earlier in the thread, and for that, I apologise.

I agree with what Big Cam said above. The actual design is very good, and with a more consistant color scheme this would be an excellent freighter. A few interior walls will do wonders. I like the big engine near the back in the interior.

Unfortunately, no. I'm not made of mon...err, bricks. As it is, I've had to cull half of the parts I do use from my system sets, so my MOCs stay built just long enough to get some good photos and then are dismantled. I hope eventually to have enough MOCing parts to keep two or three of the best models together for display, but for now I need every part.

Funny, I went to my local Target yesterday looking for these sets, and they didn't have them. Great review. It only increased my desire to add these sets to my collection. I have all the other MINIs, I have to keep my collection complete, don't I?

There are no moving parts, everything is pretty much rigid. If I remember correctly, the key element that the entire model is scaled off of is the engines, of all things. I used a schematic of a regular Nebulon for the scaling, and used the model team wheel to set the scale. Keep in mind, that was over 4 years ago, so my memory may be faulty. It's not to scale with any other set (nor was it intended to be). And the Neb B-2 never appeared in any film, making it's first appearance in the TIE Fighter video game.

I've looked at these MOCs many times before, when gaining inspiration for my own Scimitar Bomber and TIE Droid. Excellent work all around. And the deal you got on those Interceptor sets is absolute highway robbery. I am jelous. I'd be curious to see what kind of interior you put into the TIE Droid "cockpit". Any possibility of snapping a quick photo or two? The interior I used doesn't feel right, and I'd like to see your perspective.

If it is, it is purely by accident. The scale was set long before anyone had ever heard of Midi-scale. It looks to me like the Midi Falcon is about 32 studs long. The engines section on the Neb B-2 is around 38 studs. Looks like the Midi Falcon is way oversized. I think the original MINI Falcon set would be a lot closer to the right size.

What, you don't think tose thin wings can support the entire weight? Actually, I have two specially designed stands for the model to rest on, one under each section. I didn't show them in the renders because they detract from the model itself. The model can be removed from the stands, although I doubt anyone would want to swoosh this behemoth. BTW, I should be able to upload instructions later today to my Brickshelf page. You'll have to wait for the gallery to go public again, unfortunately. Should be four .PDFs long (930 .jpgs make for huge .pdf files. I wish I could get LPub working on my computer.) I'm glad you like it. It's only 4183 parts. Less than the UCS Millenium Falcon. Still the largest MOC I've designed. And the only capital ship. And considering how long it took me to get a design I like, it will probably be my last capital ship.

Coming from you, Chris, that's a huge compliment. Your Minis are impeccable. And I, too am looking forward to seeing it in real photos. I'm working on them. I found a few steps that were out of place last time I flipped through the images, and I need to make a fix in the engines section. I could have sworn that this hinge had hollow studs.

The Technicolor Yawn used a different method for getting the angle. In that model, the center of the wing was a technic liftarm, and the attachment were technic bricks (a 1 x 12 and a 1 x 14) pinned to the first and third holes down. While this held the angle very well, it offset one of the cross members an odd number of plates. I think it was a half plate low, which is difficult to work around. When I started the current revision, the first thing I wanted to do was come up with a better support system for the wings. This revision, I only used one technic brick to hold the wings on. I am using a wall of 2 x 2 45 Inverted Slopes, backed by a large web of technic bricks (mostly 4 x 6 and 6 x 8, strong but light). My only concern is that there will be a vertical moment on this wall of slopes, but I think it should hold together pretty well. As for the weight of the wings, they should be significantly lighter than the previous incarnation. Most of the upper section is hollow, and the lower greebs are pretty light. The plates on the outside are only 2 plates thick in most places, so that shouldn't be too bad. I might be able to do a proof of concept mock-up, building an off color wing and half of the hull. That should allay most of my fears. I am pretty sure I have the parts to do that, at least. I'll post some WIP pictures when I do it.

Oh, I've already decided to build it. I just need the cash flow for the many, many Bricklink orders it's going to take.

The best part about this poll is that there are no losers. All of the UCS sets are fantastic in their own way. If I had to choose only out of the 5 UCS Sets I actually own, I would have to go with Vader's TIE Advanced. Great detail, and swooshable. And it's a TIE Overall, the Millenium Falcon is probably the best available, although the ISD is incredible as well. Such a hard choice Picking the best.

Nice review, def. This set was one of my more recent acquisitions. My wife went garage sale hopping, and bought a box of LEGO for $2. Lo and behold, an almost complete Pit Droid and an equally nearly complete 8001 Battle Droid were in that box! Plus two other sets that my son got to add to his collection. Overall, the set is really very nice. I avoided these Technic sets when they first came out because I thought they didn't look all that great. But I've changed my tune. They are very cleverly constructed, and look pretty accurate considering the lack of system parts. Now if I could just find large quantities of replacement elastic bands...

A few weeks ago, I posted a topic showcasing my UCS scale TIE Defender Rev 2. During the discussion, I mentioned that the wings needed to be re-designed to make them lighter. When the new wing design was finished, I found that the Pylons really needed a fresh coat of paint as well. Compounding it all, the rear of the model was supported off of the pylons, so that needed some attention as well. The end result is that I now have a UCS Scale TIE Defender, Revision 2.8: I settled on Rev 2.8, because the main hub and cockpit ball remained unchanged, so it wasn't quite a complete re-design. For reference, here are the front views of Revision 1 and Revision 2. Here's a Side View for your consideration. The profile didn't change much, though the wings became two studs thinner, the overall length was two studs shorter, and the middle section of the wing was also narrowed by two studs. The angle of the wings looks a little awkward, but locking hinges only allow 22.5 or 45 degree angles. I opted for the 45 degrees. If you think 22.5 would look better, I can always change it. I greebled the living crap out of the Pylons. It might have been overkill, but the result looks much better than it's predecessor. The Rear of the model also got a facelift. Here's a Close-Up so you can get a good look at the greebies on the back side of the pylons. I have uploaded the Instructions as a .PDF, should anyone be interested. I can get you a Parts List as well, if you need it. The full Gallery can be seen here, as well as Revision 1's Gallery and Revision 2's. The Cockpit Ball is the only thing that has gone unchanged among the three revisions. It could use a fresh look, but honestly I can't think of a better way to get the spherical shape quite yet. If anyone has some good ideas, I'll always listen. Questions, Comments and Criticisms are always welcome.

Hello all. It's been a long while since I posted any of my Star Wars MOCs. I finally got off my fat megablocks and photographed all of my TIE MINIs. I'll be posting them three at a time until I reach the end. MINI TIE Defender I decided to start from the beginning. The TIE Defender is probably the most recognized of the Expanded Universe TIEs. First seen in the TIE Fighter video game, it has become the favorite TIE alternate for many people, myself included. So my first MINI MOC was this version of the TIE Defender: 3/4 View Front View Back View The key piece of the the design was the Technic Hub with Three Axles, which at the time I designed this was brand new. The back view shows the distinctive cutouts in the wings, both on the front and back side. I thought the domed 2 x 2 Round Brick best represented the cockpit. It even looks menacing from the front. At the time, I thought the method I used for the wings was the best option for getting the outward swept look. They are a little bulky, but I think they serve this model well. MINI TIE Avenger After designing the TIE Defender, I found that I liked what I had done. And designing in the MINI scale presented a different set of challenges from the UCS scale I had MOCed in before. So I tried a MINI version of the first UCS scale MOC I had done, the TIE Avenger. 3/4 View Front View Side View Top View This craft presented a different challenge, with its large "deck" sitting behind the cockpit. Again, I used the click hinges to achieve the wing angles. This led the wings to be overly large, as can best be seen from the side view. This was the last time I used this method for a bent wing TIE. The top view really shows off the deck on the back. TIE Experimental M3 This was not the third MINI MOC I designed. I'm not exactly sure when I did this one. I include it here because it is the only MOC that is not 100% my design. In fact, the bulk of the design was done by Reto Geiger, in his TIE Interceptor. The TIE Experimental M3, first seen in the Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance video game, is basically a TIE Interceptor with warhead launchers slapped on the outside of the wing. Reto's use of a minifig torch for the wing supports made everything much easier. 3/4 Front Back Side Since the core of this model is not mine, there's not much to talk about. The warhead launchers are pretty simple, attached to the wing with a Clip Light Plate. That's all for now. Comments and Criticisms are always welcome. MINI TIE Defender Gallery TIE Avenger Gallery TIE Experimental Gallery, when moderated

Ah, but I always design in MLCad first. And I am working on two designs right now, a TIE Shuttle (that will also be converted into a better Bomber) and a TIE Hunter. Unfortunately, economics being what they are these days, I will have absolutely NO money for Bricklink purchases, so anything I design in the near future will have to remain in the virtual world. Unless someone else wants to handle the actual build. The Shuttle is probably 60% done. The hulls are done, the interiors and wings are non-existent. The Hunter is currently just a concept for making the S-Foils work. Once I get the kinks worked out, I'll probably build an off-color prototype just to prove to myself that the mechanism will work. Of course I'll post images and/or pics when I get that far.

@henryisazn: I sent an e-mail this morning with the parts list. Hope it helps. Sorry I never responded to you, cavegod. I went through a little mini-dark age over the summer, and by the time I finally saw your PM, it was a few months after the fact. At the time, I thought it was a little late to respond ot a PM. I've been mostly lurking the last year or so unless I have a MOC to show, or I have something relevent to add to a discussion (which is rare). I am trying to become a little more outgoing nowadays. Also, I topld henryisazn to contact you, cavegod, since the wings on your Defender actually want to stay on the pylons. I can get them to stick with my design, but I think it looks like utter crap. I've been in a "builder's block" funk for a while now, so I just haven't been able to come up with a design I like. In short (too late), I am still around, and I try to respond to anything snet my way, though some things slip by.

While I'm not a huge Train buff, my son is. I asked him recently if he would like to get into LEGO trains, and his reply was an enthusiastic "Yes". So I think I'll be spending a lot more time in this forum. To date, I've only done one train MOC, a Santa Fe FP-45: Unfortunately, that MOC was a Christmas gift, so it isn't in my possession anymore. Aside from that, I own two train sets: 4708 Hogwarts Express and 10132 Motorized Hogwarts Express. I've since bought a few trucks and bogie plates off of Bricklink to put the 4708 onto the same track as 10132. Makes the train a little longer. In addition, I have some additonal 9V straight, curved and a cross to make a figure eight track layout. Works pretty well. I think that any future MOCs will be based off of a Power Functions motive force. I'm assuming my 9V track will be compatable with the PF/RC track, as long as I don't try to switch my 9V trains onto the unpowered track. My son prefers diesel trains, so I think most of my MOCs will be diesels with freight cars and such. I look forward to interacting with you all, though I do tend to lurk a lot until I have something meaningful to say.

There's a story behind that lonely blue SBD. My wife bid on and won an eBay auction for the original RGS. In the description, the seller mentioned that it was complete, except for one blue SBD and the generic Jedi. So I immediately went out to BrickLink and ordered the missing figs. A few weeks later, my figs had arrived, but the RGS never showed up. We complained to eBay and got our money refunded, so that end worked out all right. But I'd much rather have had the RGS

I have been wanting to post in this thread for a while now, but I was waiting till after Christmas in case some new troops arrived (none did ). First up is the Fighting 143rd Battlefield Communications Division. The 143rd is a specialized division that ensures battlefield communications don't get scrambled and/or jammed. The generic Jedi serves as the division's commander. The Fighting 143rd For the phase 2 clones, I don't have any fancy backstory. Perhaps it's my lack of interesting vehicles for the phase 2 clones, or it's that I find the beginning of the Clone Wars more interesting. Or it could be that I just don't have that many clones. I know I have one more Clone Pilot hiding somewhere (read: I can't find him anywhere). Phase 2 Clones Finally, I have the Trade Federation and CIS troops. I included all of the droids that I own, including the ones which are vehicle sized, such as the Homing Spider Droid and Hyenna Droid Bomber. This makes the subject extremely large, and so it seriously exceeded the size of my photo backdrop. So I apologize in advance for any poor photo quality and cropping issues. Oh, and I didn't include the Pilot Droid from Dooku's Solar Sailer. I didn't think that one qualified. Trade Federation and CIS I would post my Rebel and Imperial forces, but A) I have them packed up right now, and 2) they are pathetically small compared to the Clone War era forces, so I haven't bothered to take photos of them. It's funny, I like the OT movies far better than the PT, but I love the PT and CW sets better than the OT sets. More variability and more interesting vehicles, I guess. If you're interested in seeing my entire collection, I have some photos that I took a while ago. I've added some sets since then, so the pictures are out of date, but you are free to see what I had back in April, for what it's worth. Here's the link to the Brickshelf folder.

Back in May, my In-Laws treated my family to a trip to Chicago. While one of the days was spent visiting Legoland (which was awesome), another of the days was set aside to visit a train museum. You see, my father-in-law is a train nut. While we were there, we saw this engine, a Santa Fe FP-45 (my father-in-law and son are the two people with their backs to the camera). On the drive back to St Louis, I came up with the idea of building this specific engine in LEGO for my father-in-law as a Christmas gift. I showed the MLCad model a few months back, and used the feedback from that topic to generate a second revision, which is what I ended up building. Here is the final result: 3/4 View Top View Front View Back View This model is meant for display only, so I created a display stand as well. There is even an engineer as well, but because the model is for display only, there is no easy way to access the minifig. All of the stickers used are custom, drawn by me. It would have been easier, perhaps, to order a sticker sheet from set 10020 (Santa Fe Super Chief), but the going rate is exorbatant. Besides, it meant a little more to me to do them myself. As always, Comments and Criticisms are more than welcome, but will be used more for a learning experience than any real improvements to the model, at least at this time. It's probably a little late to get any changes done, except perhaps to the stickers. I took lots of pictures, which can be found in the Gallery, when it becomes moderated. Also, I can upload the instructions I used for construction to Brickshelf, if there is any interest. Just let me know. They are mostly correct, though I did notice one or two errors that are easily fixed, but you have to be aware that they are there.