WIP: Modding the Mandibles

[blue leader]

Hello, I'll start by saying I have never modded an official Lego set...so judge me with that in mind;)

I love the new Falcon, but like many, I'm not a huge fan of the mandibles. I think they are a little long, but they also look like they could be beefier. (height wise) They make the otherwise awesome set look a little...lacking.

I had some time and decided to make an attempt at making them look better. I very much dislike the front and didn't do anything to address that. Do you think they are too high now? Thoughts?

What have any of you done to mod the mandibles? Any good suggestions?

[wokajablocka]

I think it looks aright much better at this size than the origianl. I did try and get reference pics to compare but busy @ work but I can see an improvement. I would probably replace the 2x1 stud in the grebeling as it looks out of place. But apart from that I think your on the right track.

Wait until Fallenangel has a look, Im sure he can point you to some goo reference pics .

[JackJonespaw]

Looks quite nice. I would, however change the thickness of the mandibles down one plates. They seem a little tall.

[Brickadeer]

I think it looks better. If you ask for opinions about mods, it'd help a lot if you added pictures of the original built so people can make a direct comparison between the original model and the modded model.

[StoutFiles]

The system Falcon is difficult to mod to proportion because of the oversized cockpit. If that isn't fixed it will never look to scale.

That said, the mandibles do look a little better here. What extra pieces did you use?

[mortesv]

I completely agree with you critique of the mandibles, and I think your mod is a vast improvement

Here is a pic of a scale model - for reference Falcon

Edited January 19, 2012 by mortesv

[blue leader]

I apologize for not putting a pic of the original up...ran out of time last night.

I agree they could be one plate shorter...I'll try that this evening.

The cockpit is what it is, so i'm just improving anything else I can. As for parts, I used a bunch of parts from 7657 At-St. Basically I put spacers in to raise the height and greebled to fill in gaps...very advanced techniques here...:)

[The_Chosen_1]

Looks great so far! Like someone said above, I would reduce the height by one plate. But the vertical alignment is just about perfect.

I think the main problem with the System scale Falcons is the alignment between the mandibles and the body of the ship. Maybe that can be your next challenge...

[Huntleyfx]

I have to agree while it is a great improvement over the original set, it is not quite there yet. The idea of taking away 1 plate level on the mandibles might do the trick. Nice greebling though

[Brickdoctor]

I actually don't think the mandible height is the problem, though it does look better the way you've modded them. It's the height of the body that's the problem. If you look at the studio model, the Falcon is a rather thin ship. The problems with the proportions is a result of this being a System-scale model. The need to cram minifigs and a full interior in throws the height off.

[Fallenangel]

Correct. For example, you can see from the gallery Brickdoctor linked to that the rounded parts of the hull should not be as tall as the docking arms and quadlaser turret mount. The height issue is also quite evident when one compares the angle at which the jaws slope – far too steep. I would shave down the height before anything else, as well as the docking rings (remember Kiel’s comparison picture).

That being said, accuracy aside, the mandibles do look better this way. You may also want to consider replacing the 6x12 wedges with 4x8s.

[JackJonespaw]

That cockpit is way too big. Either make the body bigger or shrink the cockpit. This is why I think the midi and UCS Falcons were great, because they were proportionate all around.

Edited January 19, 2012 by JackJonespaw

[Fallenangel]

As much as I love 7778, and as much as I've preached its accuracy in the past, I can say for certain that many of the proportions are way off. The docking arms, for example; much too fat. The set is also, as we all know, elongated. The same, I think, could be said for the mandibles on 10179.

Those two are by far more 'Falcon-like' than any of the System renditions, though.

[blue leader]

Yeah, I'm not going for exact accuracy here. I am simply trying to mod it to look a little better sitting on the shelf. Yes a smaller cockpit is more accurate, but if I get that picky, I might as well scrap the whole thing and make my own. (Lego did a much better job than I ever could.)

I'll try to redo the mandibles tonight and post up.

[Mr Man]

Would the canopy peice on this set work better on the UCS version?

[blue leader]

OK so it took a few days (busy), but I 'lowered' the mandibles a bit. I would like to have them flow into the main body of the ship better, but I am at a loss as to how to accomplish that.

Here's a shot (not mine) of the original (for reference)

I made a few 'special' modifications myself...

I am happy with it and this is how it shall stay...looks much better on the shelf than the original IHMO...

Edited January 22, 2012 by blue leader

[LEGOman273]

OK so it took a few days (busy), but I 'lowered' the mandibles a bit. I would like to have them flow into the main body of the ship better, but I am at a loss as to how to accomplish that.

Here's a shot (not mine) of the original (for reference)

I made a few 'special' modifications myself...

I am happy with it and this is how it shall stay...looks much better on the shelf than the original IHMO...

Looks good. Better than the original as you said.

But why is a monkey in the cockpit?

[Lobot]

Your modifications to the mandibles are a definite improvement on the original, nicely done

However, to me the worst part of the official set is the Technic beams that are used underneath; they simply look horrible! And yes, I do appreciate that they really improve the stability of the set, and provide decent fixing points for the legs, but it wrecks the lines of it. If I ever gain enough talent I’d like to replace mine with something a lot less bulky.

Have you though about adding a set of LEDs to the rear ‘engine’? I did this to my old 4504 & it looked really cute

[Bellicose]

I just built my set up last night and already I'm combing the internets for mod inspiration, as certain parts of this set are really lacking...I like what you've done here! I'd like to clean up the technic mess under the ship; the beams are nice for structure but they're awfully naked and I'd like them to be a little less visible. Guess I need to find a ton of inverted slopes in light bley...

Unfortunately, as said, there just isn't a whole lot that can be done about the cockpit.