MoC: Container Freighter with a Splash of Art Deco

[Commander Wolf]

Hi all, I'd been out of Lego for a number of years thanks to school and whatnot, but recently I had the chance to dust off my Lego and build this ship.

Well, like the tile says, I'd it's something like "container freighter with a splash of Art Deco". I wanted to make something with unified construction, unified styling and a focus on the form of the ship, and not just spam greebles. To that end, I think it turned out pretty well - at least compared to what I'd done in the past, but I'd like some thoughts.

The ship isn't terribly large at 68 studs, but there's a bit of SNOT and stuff in the engines, spars, fins, and such.

BrickShelf gallery when moderated. I hope the pics aren't too big.

Edited October 16, 2012 by Commander Wolf

[soccerkid6]

Very cool freighter! The uncovered studs give it the classic space feel and the shape looks very functional I also really like the black/yellow to show where the containers are loaded.

Keep on building

[Bob De Quatre]

Really nicely done, I like it

[lightningtiger]

Very interesting space freighter 'Commander Wolf', I like reminds me of the freight ships from the original BSG and a little throw back to the style of ships from B-5.

Brick On 'CW' !

[DraikNova]

Awesome! Very creative and has a functional look too it.

[Wedge09]

Very good work :thumbup:

I like a lot the color pattern and the structure

[rongYIREN]

I'm really digging the freighter, love the open frame.

[vynsane]

Nice! It has that very utilitarian feel to it, completely bare-bones (which seems to be the point, so mission accomplished!)

[Commander Wolf]

Thanks for the remarks, guys; it gives me some confidence. Any suggestions for changes or improvements? I am currently working on a second ship, so I'm trying to see if there are lessons I can take away from this one.

[Hrw-Amen]

It is really nice and does fit well with the classic space theme. If I was to make something like that in Mini-fig scale (Which I think your ship is?) one thing I would try to include would be an escape pod or at least a little shuttle or something like that. Maybe it could be docked around the back where your airlock is located?

[vynsane]

Any suggestions for changes or improvements? I am currently working on a second ship, so I'm trying to see if there are lessons I can take away from this one.

If it's going to be another cargo hauler like this one, I could see some sort of crane or manipulator arm on rails above or below the container area, for loading/unloading. I also think the engines could/should be larger - it's going to be hauling a lot of cargo, after all. There are also opportunities for some understated greebles, like on those 2x4 plates in the rear of the engine pods.

[harton]

I like it this is a really simple idea. It is so simple in fact that I will not be surprise if in the futur a company is inspired by your idea. It is the best idea for a cargo, because it is not so heavy! And the propulsor are really great located. Well done!

[DraikNova]

Make sure your colorscheme fits with the ships role. You've done that very well on this one. However, if you build minifig-scale, and the ship is for long journeys, give it a larger cockpit.

Edited October 15, 2012 by DraikNova

[Commander Wolf]

if you build minifig-scale, and the ship is for long journeys, give it a larger cockpit.

See, this is what makes sci-fi interesting; all the world views are so diverse since it doesn't exist yet. Even in minifig scale (which it is; there is a small interior), I tend to think of a ship of this size much closer to a truck/train/plane than a sea-going ship, and hence the interior is designed with that sort of accommodation in mind, though I could totally see it going the other way. And you could always argue about how automated your systems should/shouldn't be - I used to do civilian ships with multi-person flight decks, but more recently it's like what exactly is there to control here?

I also think the engines could/should be larger

This is also an internal debate I had going too: early on I was planning to use round engines with some hubs around a round 4x4 core, and these looked pretty beefy, but they didn't match the rest of the styling. At first I thought the current slab engines were indeed a little small, but the 2x8 bank of thrusters had the same area as the original 4x4 core, so that's how I ended up convincing (or rationalizing) myself that it was ok.

Also arm and pod noted. Probably not for my next ship, but I like nonetheless. Just didn't occur to me due to my truck/train/place schema.

[DraikNova]

Actually, in my opinion, the small "engines" on this kinda fit more with the idea of an exhaust on a truck, which fits gloriously with the rest of the concept.

[TenorPenny]

It looks great loaded with some cargo.

[Si-MOCs]

Agreed with the rest, that looks very nice.

Has a nice 'industrial' feel to it. Not fancy industry but gets the job done.

The engines are a bit small relative to what could be loaded, but in my mind it's the a tortoise type ship. Not the fastest way to get your cargo, but i'll tug slowly along and get the job done!

My other thought is maybe add some sort of gantry crane or something to move cargo around :)