drclark

I really like the alpha 1 rocket base tribute

Awesome MOC! - Can't believe its gone this long without a comment.... Love the combo of technic function with a system theme. Not clear from your video - is there room in the interior for minifigs?

That's really cool, and different. Looks similar to the high end doll house scale furniture.

Hey - thanks all for the comments. I've been tweaking my MK VII design and I am much happier with its appearance and believe its now much closer to the MK VIIB reference I was working from. I have rendered the update next to my original cut for comparison. brickshelf folder (when moderated) I move the wings forward by 2 studs, reworked the rear portions of the fuselage sides to eliminate the large sloped wedges and create hints of intakes just behind the cockpit. The rear fuselage tapers and wraps the upper engine better. I got rid of the minifig surfboard wing/tail tips and reworked the cannon mounts to eliminate the small gaps that were very apparent on the side and top views. The forward fuselage was also reworked to blend the wings better and eliminate some of the bulkiness forward of the cockpit. I like the look of the rear end much better as shown in the picture below and rendered in a similar view to my reference, but the rear portion of the fuselage is a bit more fragile with some pieces only attached by 1 stud... I decided to sacrifice sturdiness for overall accuracy. So, I am going to call this one done for awhile..... Thanks again for looking, drc

The update looks great. Proof that a MOC is never truly done

Very impressive. Wow.

I finally finished my first cut at the MK VII viper that was seen in the rebooted BSG series. It is built in the ~1 stud = 1 foot scale I have built my other models to. It is slightly longer than scale, but that is to compensate for the extra width that our overly obese minifigs require. brickshelf gallery when moderated In my research, I realized that there are two subtly different versions out there. The original has the wings blending into the fuselage all the way out toward the nose and has different shaped wings. The "MK VIIB" has the wings blending into the fuselage about the midpoint of the nose (and remind me a lot of how the wings on an F-18 blend into the forward fuselage). I chose to try to model the "B" model and used this site put up by one of the VFX modelers for the show as a reference. This was a difficult build to try to make all the angles come together and look "right" at this scale. The core is a 2x2 structure using the many bricks with studs on their sides that are now available. The model literally has "studs up" in all 6 directions to achieve the form. I did look at this excellent MOC of the MKVIIA by atomictoaster85 somewhat in the build process as it appeared much smaller and "true to scale" than other MK VII MOCs I have seen online. Given the shape of the rear fuselage behind the cockpit, there are only so many ways to achieve the "stepped" look with LEGO bricks at this size.and that portion of my model does look very similar. I don't know if I am satisfied with the large sloped wedges on the sides of the rear of the fuselage relative to the MK VII reference I was using and may continue to twiddle with it in the future. A minifig does barely fit into the cockpit, but as a result, the controls and instrumentation are not as detailed as I would normally like. Yet another compromise when trying to build at a smaller scale. I have been challenging myself to include fully retractable landing gear in these Viper models that closes cleanly. On the nose gear, I didn't quite achieve the effect I wanted. I had another nose gear design planned (similar to my LL919 model) but the nose structure became too compromised when I started deleting bricks to make room for the nose gear assembly. So I ended up using a simple hinge piece with a 1x2 brick. It works, but does interrupt the clean lines of the bottom of the craft. Lastly, I'm not sure I like the minifig surfboards for the wing/tail tips. I thought they would look cool, but are too wide for the scale I'm working at. I would also like to eliminate the gaps on the wing/tail cannons. Again, these are some things I might continue to experiment with. But overall, I believe the design is 90% there, and I am happy with it for now. Thanks for looking, drc

I like the concept and execution. My only comment would be the place on the race car where front wheels would have been looks a little empty. Maybe that's because you've maintained the look of an F1 racer so accurately... Seems like there ought to be a small pair of repulsor lift modules up front to compliment the rear "wheels" I wonder if it would be possible to use several LEGO magnets embedded below the tiles of the scene and on the car to actually levitate the race car in the diorama?

Really nice! It's always tough building in ldd to know how sturdy the model would be IRL. Love the renders too.

Been fiddling around with my BSG Viper models in LDD and decided to do a quick render of all of them together. Since the MK I viper is seen briefly in the museum hanger of the mini series reboot, I imagine that all of these models could have existed in either the original series or reboot series timeline. My fictional backstory is set in the TOS timeline since that is where my fondness for BSG began. Backstory from right to left: The Scorpion is a early precursor to the MK I Viper. I have seen it referenced as the "antique viper" or 6th Millennium Colonial Fighter. It is seen in the original series episode "The Long Patrol" when Starbuck stumbles upon a forgotten prison colony that pre dates the beginning of the cylon war. This vessel was phased out of service as the MK I vipers were introduced and many found their way into the hands of smugglers and pirates. I chose to depict this as a "factory fresh" model but have also modeled it as a beat-up, heavily used, weathered vessel as shown in the TV episode. I will be uploading more renders to its brickshelf gallery as I get time. The Viper MK I is the classic Viper from the original TV series. It was originally designed as a space superiority fighter/interceptor for fleet defense being catapulted out of launch tubes of a battlestar to rapidly engage an attacking force. It is highly maneuverable and boasts superior short duration speed and acceleration resulting from its turbo boosters. Its two laser cannons are sufficient to destroy enemy raiders though it is somewhat under-gunned to be used in the strike/attack roles. As the MK II Vipers were entering service in numbers, surplus MK I spaceframes were upgraded at fleet depots to the MK IA configuration, to better serve the strike attack role. Armament load out was supplemented by the addition of twin wing/tail tip rapid pulse rate laser blasters for strafing soft, unarmored targets and ventral hard-points allowed for carriage of 6 nuclear torpedoes enabling a full squadron to be a serious threat to an enemy basestar. Additional armor, jamming electronics and an enhanced sensor suite improved survivability rates. Provisions for external tylium tanks allowed for extended use of turbos allowing the strike vipers to make high speed runs through a target area. The increase in strike capabilities, added weapons and armor did adversely affect agility and dog fighting abilities. When loaded for attack missions, the MK IA squadrons would be launched out of the main landing bays since the Strike Viper was no longer compatible with the Battlestar launch tubes when carrying external ordinance packages. Working in conjunction with MK I or MK II escorts the Strike Viper squadrons enjoyed great success against hardened enemy planetary and capital ship targets. Building on the success of the MK IA, a number of MK I and MK IA craft were sent back to Starhound's factories to be re-manufactured into MK IB strike models. This involved upgrading the engine modules for increased power output for higher speed, an improved reaction control system to regain some of the maneuverability that was lost as a result of the added mass. This allowed MK IB models to self-escort themselves into target areas on strike missions as well as fill the fleet defense/interception role in a pinch if the MK I / MK II squadrons suffered heavy losses. If pressed into the fleet defense role, they could be launched from the catapult tubes when no external ordinance was being carried. Additionally, the nose section was lengthened to incorporate an improved sensor suite, network comm systems and higher capacity life support system allowing the MK IB models to also double as extended range scouting craft that could either outrun or fight their way out of a hostile situation. The MK IB excelled as a true multi-role craft. With the success of both the MK IA and IB models, Starhound proposed the ultimate evolution of the MK I platform with the MK IC "Super Viper" model. The spaceframe, wing and tail sections were heavily redesigned to allow incorporation of two additional laser cannons, improved sensor and jamming electronics. Engines developed for the MK II model were fitted as well as a sensorwave absorbing coating to reduce its target signature on enemy scanners. Intended for deep penetration missions into heavily defended territory, several prototypes were built and successfully tested. Despite meeting or exceeding all design parameters, the Council of 12 feared that procurement of such an obviously offensive oriented craft would jeopardize the ongoing peace talks with the cylon empire. Additionally, many members of the council balked at paying 1.5-2x the cost of a new MK II viper for what they viewed was an obsolete design. The handful of prototypes that were built were assigned to a special missions squadron aboard the Battlestar Pegasus before she mysteriously vanished. The MK II "Pit Viper" was developed as a successor to the MK I Viper in the fleet defense, interceptor and space superiority roles. It featured advanced engine technology and a spaceframe built from advanced lightweight quantum alloys that allowed sustained speeds equivalent to MK I models at full turbo output and unparalleled agility. It quickly proved to be a lethal dog fighter that the cylons had no equal for. In its first major fleet action, the two squadrons assigned to the Battlestar Columbia decimated 4 waves of cylon raiders sent from two Basestars allowing the Columbia and her MK IA squadrons to press an attack, destroying one Basestar and forcing the retreat of the other. It was believed that this was one of the factors that suddenly caused the cylon empire to pursue a peace settlement. As one of the preconditions of the peace talks the Council of 12, at the behest of Lord Baltar, agreed to reassign the MK II squadrons to the 12 colonies to be used only for planetary defense. Nearly all of the MK II squadrons were lost on the ground during the cylon sneak attack, with the few that got off the ground, quickly overwhelmed by superior numbers. Lastly, the MK VII ViperX project was a next generation research project aimed at revolutionizing the colonial space superiority combat capabilities. The advanced craft would have acceleration and delta-V performance that could produce G-forces that could exceed the physical limits of the human pilots. Planned to include the latest in artificial intelligence based pilot aids (to assist in recovery and prevent the craft's performance from killing its pilots), networked sensor fusion, its design represented a potential quantum leap in squadron combat tactics and capabilities. In fact the performance potential of the craft was so great, many military leaders were advocating the development of even more advanced AI systems that would remove the pilot from the system altogether to allow the craft to realize its full combat potential. Opponents of this controversial project insisted that the incorporation of such AI systems would be embedding the exact types of technologies that the colonials were fighting against in the bitter cylon war, with many fearing these advanced combat machines would eventually turn on their creators. To alleviate these fears, Starhound engineers decided to retain a human in the loop as the basis for the craft's design and were focused on developing advanced G-suits and looking into the physics of inertia modification to attempt to overcome the human limitations. Only 1 spaceframe mockup was built at the time of the cylon surprise attack. All records of the MK VII project were lost as a result of a direct-hit of a cylon nuke on Starhound's development center outside of Caprica City. After the attack the lone surviving Galactica had both MK I and MK IA squadrons assigned. As the Galactica assumed the role of protector of the rag-tag fleet of survivors, it was clear that the time for offense was over. The MK IA craft were sent to the Celestra to be stripped down and reverted back to their original MK I configuration as more fleet defense fighters in the alert tubes would be needed if the fleet was to survive its quest to find the 13th colony. Builder notes: Other than the Scorpion and the MK II, these are all basic variations of the MK I build. I really enjoy the ability to quickly explore slightly different build variations and color schemes in LDD. I will be updating this post as I get more individual renders of each version posted. Thanks for looking, drc

Looks like a great build in the making. Looking forward to frequent updates on your progress.

I like it. The challenge with using LEGO as "modeling" medium is balancing scale accuracy, structural integrity/playability, and piece/color availability. Given that minifig are too fat for their height, scale is always a challenge when building at "minifig scale". The other challenge is canopy selection. In general, LEGO has to produce canopies that work well in the rest of the "system" thus their designs are never quite perfect for any "true to scale" build. Everything is always a compromise. I think your rendition stikes a great balance between those compromises and looks like it passes the swooshable test. The only thing that I would criticize is the roundness of the rear end. I have found myself wishing for angular versions of the pieces you've used. This piece might work better for the backend and then you could construct an angular bottom using 1x2 wedges and tiles. Thanks for sharing! drc

I like the over all design and interior detailing. It has the feel of a forward deployed "sea basing" ship that that relies on smaller craft to ferry men and materials down to planetary outposts. It seems like there should be an airlock near the forward landing pad so the explorers and space cruisers can load people and materials from the holds. The forward platform seems like there wants to be more structure extending from the lower deck crew quarters. A ship this size, with a large crew, would require a lot of space devoted to engineering to house the powerplant, life support, and stores for consumables (fuel, food, water, etc) and that would be a good place for those kind of spaces. The engine array feels like it should be larger for a ship of this size. Great build, thanks for sharing. -drc

Great build. Like the use of the old exploriens wing pieces. I have never been able to use them effectively in a moc. I really like the hangar design. I would think that there should be anti-star fighter turrets distributed over more of the model and on the underside to give all round point defense. -drc

Love it! I never saw the show you are basing the design on. The interior cool, and I like the details like the hatches on the sides and above the drivers canopies. Did you consider that the bubble canopy would be a good spot for a gun turret (maybe as a variant of the prototype you are trying to model)

Love the ships! Are you doing "exact" 1/350 scale or best approximation with LEGO pieces? I have found that 1 stud = 10 ft is roughly 1/380 scale. Doing ships at this scale requires creative building techniques to achieve desired form/shape. And there are always compromises in getting the details sized correctly. I noticed the inveted 1x1 "with tooth" pieces used to paired with another 1x1 to represent a small boat on a few of the models. I thought that was a really creative use of that part for that particular detail! If LEGO could get over their issue with "contemporary military vehicles", I think a line of ships at this scale (similar to the architecture series) would be a good seller. They could do 1 or 2 a year mixing up commercial cargo ships and military ships both modern and historic vessels. There are plenty of museum ships that these type of sets might sell well in gift shops, etc. Drc

Cool! I'm not much of a mech person, but I can appreciate the complexity and design that goes into them. I really like how the hands/claws are built with the deployable triple chainsaws. The blue leg armor is interesting since at first glance it looks like a normal LEGO piece but is a plate with center stud and round tile. Ice planet was one of my favorite post-dark-age themes. The model might look more "in-theme" with a trans-orange disk on the front of the cockpit but the solid white disk does not look out of place. Also, the ice planet theme was centered around build, transport, and launching rockets with all the larger models incorporated them to some extent. Would be interesting to see if the rocket theme could be included in this design, maybe as a rocket pack that attaches to the back to allow it to fly. I really liked the concept art page too. What did you use to render the design and how did you light up the 1x1 round on the front of the cockpit? Again, cool build. drc

I finished a recent update to my TOS (MK-I) Colonial Viper in LDD/Bluerender. Thought I would render it with my MK-II version for comparison. The MK-I version is a major update over my previous versions and incorporates many of the building techniques from the MK-II version. Both feature nearly studless exteriors and fully retractable landing gear. It was quite a challenge to incorporate the landing gear while getting the shapes as accurate as possible in a "mini-fig" scale implementation. The cockpits are very cramped and not as detailed as I would typically like, but that was one of the compromises to achieve the overall form. Though, not apparent from the picture above, both models have studless under-bellies allowed by many of the newer "snot" bricks that are now available. The MK-II version contains 322 pieces and has been built in real bricks. It has been posted for some time and can be found in this brickshelf gallery The MK-I version contains 438 pieces and for now is a virtual model only. Other renders can be found in this gallery (when made public). Though previous iterations of the MK-I have been built, this one relies on many newer parts and will take some time to acquire via bricklink (if they exist in the desired colors). Thanks for looking, drc

Stunning build. Do you have any pics of the suspension and axle arrangement? I like the little droids on the trailer

Hey there - don't post much but the new xwing windscreen being available in trans-yellow inspired me to update one of my MOCs that I was never quite satisfied with until now. Backstory: In order to combat the increased incursions from the Blacktron forces and protect against their raids on commerce lanes, the Legoland Space Forces commissioned the development of a new scout and patrol craft. A decided departure from earlier, lightly armed, exploration craft, the LL919 is a high-endurance, single seat combat vessel designed to fill commerce escort, interception and interdiction roles. The Galaxy corporation developed a series of prototype craft from the successful LL901 light scout vessel. The basic spaceframe was stretched to accommodate an advanced high-power compact fusion reactor, a FTL jump drive, high performance sublight drives, additional armaments and an advanced AI system to assist with target tracking and identification and navigation on long patrols. The wing area was increased to accommodate additional radiator capacity to dissipate the heat generated by the advanced combat systems as well as improve trans-atmospheric performance. Armament features dual high rate blasters on each wingtip to engage smaller craft. Dual forward particle cannons and 6 under-wing hard-points carrying auto-seeking anti-matter torpedoes allow the LL919 to effectively engage heavy vessels. The FTL jump drive capabilities are classified but experts estimate that a jump drive in a craft this size would be capable of around 6 intersellar jumps before requiring maintenance and refueling. However, the craft does appear to have dorsal Bussard scoop which might allow the LL919 to extend its maximum endurance by travelling through dense clouds of interstellar hydrogen gas to replenish its fusion reactor. The craft features retractable nose gear and the ventral fins pivot to serve as the rear landing supports. The LL919 has had nothing but praise from the initial test pilots and it is now being rolled out to the LLSF's elite units. The photo below shows an LL919 wearing the famed "Scarlet Vipers" squadron colors. It is expected that the LL919 will be sent to equip all of the LLSF's patrol squadrons, replacing the current issue X-1 patrol craft, Cosmic Cruiser, FX-Starpatroller and other units, once Galaxy Corp. completes the initial Low-Rate-Initial-Production models and is authorized to begin full scale production. Link to brickshelf gallery Builders Notes: This MOC is proof that a build is never done. I have had different variations of this build in LDD for several years and I was never quite satisfied with the look. The new T70 xwing canopy struck me as perfect for this build so I recently re-designed the canopy section to include it. There is a "design progression" picture in the brickshelf gallery that captures many of the iterations of this design over the years. The nearly studless exterior features significant SNOT construction techniques. Total piece count is 343 bricks including the pilot minifig. The design is obviously inspired by the Buck-Rogers Earth Directorate "Thunder fighter" with the tail section somewhat inspired by the A-wing. For now, this MOC will likely remain a virtual creation as acquiring some of the pieces in the colors needed will be difficult. This is my first attempt a using "Bluerender" and I just want to say a big thank you to those who developed it. I found it very easy to use on my first go-around and can have the satisfaction of a more realistic visualization of this creation until I can find a color scheme I like that where all the elements are commonly available. One of the next things I need to try is to figure out how to include the classic-space logos in the render. Anyways - thanks for looking drc

Looks cool. I like the front-on shot. Looks similar in overall shape and layout to the space-police ship you posted but construction looks like it utilizes more snot techniques. However, I think it would look a little better without the top 1x4 tail piece.

I think part of the issue is that other than starwars, there appears to be no interest in the "classic" sci-fi / space genre. Think back to the mid70s / early 80s. The Apollo program was winding down, the Russians and Americans were experimenting with space stations, the shuttle was being developed, the Voyager probes were launched and Mars was "just around the corner". Star wars was a huge hit but there were plenty of other sci-fi TV shows and movies. Space travel at that time held a much bigger interest and fascination with the general public. The classic space line was launched during this timeframe. Somewhere along the line, space travel became somewhat routine except for whenever a disaster occurred. Other than starwars based properties, how many other sci-fi shows are out there that have more than a cult following? Couple that with the fact that most TV shows have to be dark, gritty, and edgy how many sci-fi shows appeal to a 5-7 yr old? (I could not let my kids watch the BSG reboot). So for little kids, there just doesn't seem to be the general interest in swooshing little winged spaceships around the house unless it's an x-wing or tie fighter... Any new LEGO sci-fi theme would need to have a tie-in with a cartoon like nexo knights or ninjago and/or video game to have any success and longevity. I think ours best bet for any space sets are one-off creator style sets, or near future exploration sets that get approved through the ideas process.

I like it with the jail attached. I thought it resembled a z95 headhunter. Might look cool if you continued the blue stripe along the side of the cockpit and up the inner 1x4 slope so that it connects with the wing stripes. Would also be interesting to see what it would look like with a trans red canopy in ldd/bluerender . Cool build!

Looks cool. I like the canopy pieces. If you dig around in the digital designer forum, there is a program called Bluerender that can make much better "photo-like" images from a LDD model.

The Vietnam era version (OH-6 loach) was commonly armed with an M60 machine gun operated by the rear seat door gunner on the right side and a fixed M134 minigun controlled by the pilot on the left side.