Henchmen4Hire

For the MOCers here, do you guys have a "base" you always use to start building a train engine/car or do you just wing it and see where the pieces take you? I've never built a train before so I'm not familiar with how long/wide they have to be or even what pieces I need to use to make them compatible with train tracks. I use LDD, is it possible to build a functional train in it? What "wheels" do I have to use?

Was going to make a robotic spider but it ended up like this instead lol. (The grey parts are supposed to be metal) -The abdomen can move all the way up and down for cool action poses.

Kinda nifty:

Every day brings new horrors for the security force of R&D Lab 16. Lately, rumors had it that the scientists there were experimenting with local wildlife, implanting mind-control technology, enhancing them with bio-weapons to create a ferocious cyborg army. The security team knew eventually something would go wrong and they would have to deal with the deadly mechanized chimeras that emerged from that hellish lab... The Winged Serpent Leech combines the power of a boa constrictor with the life-draining appetite of the blood-sucker. The creature's green toxin glands are prominently displayed and can deliver the corrosive substance through its tail-stinger. Fangs and stinger have been replaced with metallic counterparts capable of puncturing a soldier's armor. Flight ensures no prey can escape, be it animal or man. Just having some more fun with hinges :)

Here's an image :) I like it, it's very cute

I knew if I called it "The Purple Phantom" I'd get comments like "Why doesn't it look like The Phantom!?!?!?", can't win them all! http://www.myfreewallpapers.net/comics/wallpapers/the-phantom-the-ghost-who-walks.jpg It's LDD, just turn on Outlines and Advanced Shading

One of the fastest fighters known in this corner of the galaxy, The Pink Phantom has enough muscle to outrace and outmaneuver almost anything. Four arcing side-cannons and two fixed front-mounted cannons are a danger to everyone in its sights, but those aren't the only weapons this beauty holds. The sharp jagged silver rim around the ship is made of one of the hardest metals yet discovered, skilled pilots have been known to deliberately side-swipe opponents at high speeds to shred their ships into ribbons! This ship also comes in the popular "Black Widow" scheme. But who are we kidding, this ship is just another undercover cruiser for those sneaky Space Police!

Yar, also turn up Advanced Shading, you need a decent graphics card for that though.

There's nothing more Sci-Fi than a cop in a space laser tank! That crushed 8-wide car makes me cry though

Thankssss! Honk honk! It's roughly in scale, technically the fig should be even smaller (maybe cut off the head) but what can we do

There's nothing more SPACE than a big honking rocket. :)

Those poor ghosties are just trying to enjoy a scenic trip through the haunted countryside and here come those obnoxious Monster Hunters to ruin the experience! Someone needs to stop those jerks! Where's our Hero Hunters theme!

Thanks! To be fair, I didn't want to make a Blacktron spaceship, I wanted to make a semi truck that resembled what their trucks might look like before their space age began (like a concept car). I posted this in City but it was moved here, so I can see why it's confusing seeing a normal truck in Sci-Fi! I'm using LDD, I just have the "Outlines" option turned on to see the bricks better. (go into Preferences and click the little Outlines box). Those fire trucks in your sig make me want to build some rescue vehicles from Batman Beyond Also, I learned that you shouldn't post something on MOCPages late in the day because you won't get very many views. It's best to post something around 8pm to 9pm Pacific Time, after the "Popular Today" list is cleared out, since that's a common place visitors click on.

That's funny how the world works, I was doing some research into trucks (I haven't built one yet) and was reading about how they have bases like this that are modified for many different jobs. Now here you are posting great examples

Put a big honking rocket in the middle, everyone loves rockets!

Alrighty, here you go: This ended up looking like a mishmash of different themes, looks like there's some Tron, Road Warrior, Rocketeer helmet, The Blot (Mickey Mouse cartoons), and maybe even some Alien Queen thrown in! I wanted angles on this thing, there's a nice "X" shape going on: Roomy interior, semi-wraparound dashboard, attachment points to store weapons and secure cargo. I should probably add a door there or something so it's not so gaping. Roof comes off easily. Didn't want to leave the rear wheels bare so I covered them. Didn't want to use bulky smokestacks so I added vents instead. Lots of room underneath to add some pipes, driveshaft, axles, etc. Some greeble - I want to use a magnet to attach trailers, I just can't find the magnet in LDD.

Thanks guys, I finished it a few minutes ago but I need some sleep, will post pics later I like the prototype idea, it could be hauling the very first spaceship Blacktron used to launch their organization into space If anyone wants to design something feel free to post it!

UPDATE: Added new pics I think there are enough great builders of traditional semi trucks that I don't feel I can contribute much to that subject, so I figured I'd make a themed one instead. Maybe this is what Blacktron trucks looked like a few years before flying vehicles were brought into mass production. ...obviously a WIP I just wanted to use hinges and see where they took me. Usually I don't use them in LDD because they're a hassle to work with, but I'm glad I used them here. The hood is sloped by one plate and it's enough to make the truck more interesting than if it was just square. I'll fill that missing 1x4 hood tile if I ever build this for real (it bumps into the slopes above the grill by a hair) Don't know what looks better, showing more or less of the grill: There's enough room to build an engine under the hood: In the future, all vehicles will have trans-colored elements in odd places for no apparent reason haha

If you want minifig scale you need at least 5 to 6-wide for the smaller cars, 7 to 8 wide for "regular" cars, and sometimes 9 to 10 wide for big things like 18-wheelers (though you can get away with making them just 8 wide). You'll also need bigger tires than those of course :) I think that rod will look great once you figure out the proportions a little better.

Nifty build, can't finish because of LDD issues, but still good. Wish I could strap rockets to it lol EDIT: Spoke too soon DEATH RACE PORSCHE!

:/ Neither does the acetone if you dilute it. And it works faster.

The lines look kinda pixelated, thickening them up and using vectors (pen tool) should help. (assuming they're printed on paper/labels anyway)

I use acetone for this kind of thing. If it's strong acetone then you have to work VERY quickly before it eats the plastic. If you get weaker acetone you can take your time rubbing, similar to Brasso it sounds like. Acetone will take off the "shine" of the plastic though. You can also try Mr Clean Magic Eraser, it's basically very fine sandpaper.

I love those old signs, the letters look hand-drawn and personalized, not like the generic computer generated stuff of today. The stickers are going to be great

Whatever building it's in, it's cool lol (Oops, didn't mean to post ) Now that I look at it closer, it really is a lightsaber handle... meh haha. I liked it better when I thought they were wheels