Bob De Quatre

Lots of things have been said. I'll just add that I use LDD, not always but often. It's rare that I build a model exclusively on LDD now, but I still use it to quickly test some shapes or builds, and mainly to continue building on a model when I'm not at home.It's also great to keep track of some ideas, shapes or brick assemblies for later (I have dozens and dozens of files that have not yet been used in any of my builds). My main advice is: try to recreate MOCs that you like! Try to guess, imitate and reproduce the technique used. Some builders make their digital files available, try to look at them and build all or part of it. You'll learn a lot by studying others work. (Btw, many of my MOCs' LDD files can be downloaded here)

On the contrary, the build is very sturdy! Using vertical plates to join horizontal brackets add some tension to the build that makes it very strong, especially when using very long plates and several brackets, like here.

The Saturn V is more than 1 meter tall.

Introduction Hi fellow EB members! I have to admit, I didn't support this project on Lego Ideas. In fact, I'm not really convinced by the way Ideas works... But I have to say, they release some great sets, and the NASA Apollo Saturn V really looks like a great set. Let's see if it is as promising as it seems! Thanks to EB LUG Ambassador CopMike and the LEGO CEE Team and Designers for giving me the opportunity to review this set! Set information Name: 21309 NASA Apollo Saturn V Theme: LEGO Ideas Year: 2017 Pieces: 1969 Price: $119.99, GBP109.99, 119.99€ Resources: Brickset, BrickLink Packaging Unfortunately, my box got damaged during the transport, and due to its size, I know I wouldn't have made it justice, so I'll just use the official pictures. The box is pretty big, at almost 50cm height, 40cm large and 15cm wide. It shows a very nice Earth, Moon and stars background that really fits the set. On the front of the box, the Saturn V rocket is shown in all it's glory, with the first stage engines on. The back of the box has lots of detail pictures, describing all the different stages and modules from the Saturn V, and how it got from the Earth to the Moon... and back. Content of the box When opening the box, the first impression is "Wow, it's almost full !!". But you already knew it since the box is pretty heavy. A sealed bag contains a letter sized instruction booklet and the sticker sheet... wait no, there's no stickers in there! That means printed bricks everywhere! The bags are numbered from one to twelve, and lots of cool parts could be seen in them. Instructions booklet The 182 pages instructions booklet cover looks like an old technical manual, with wear and decolorations. Inside a few pages tell us about the story of the Apollo program and the Saturn V. The graphic designer did an awesome job at keeping that 60's feeling. The picture with the Lego designers is really fun, but also gives us a hint of what awaits us during the build: Michael Psiaki, which is pretty famous in the Star Wars AFOL community. The instructions themselves are easy to follow and really well thought. The rocket will be built from bottom to top, one stage after another. Build I'll stop talking and let you enjoy the build in silence, while you look at the content of each bag's content and the building progress. So? Convinced? I am! That set was so nice to build. I've never seen an official set with so many SNOT techniques. To tell the truth, I was feeling sad when I grabbed the 12th and last bag, I really wanted to continue building! Not something I feel usually... Let's play a game: close your eyes, imagine a bracket part of your choice, choose its color too. Done? Then open your eyes and look: that part is actually in the set's inventory!!! Ok, I'm exaggerating things, but seriously, the guts of the rocket are not only filled with 4x4x6 quarter cylinders, but also with almost 150 brackets of all sorts. Just look at the following pictures: Not so many spare parts for a build that big. But we got a spare astronaut! (In case we lost one in the vastness of space...) And now some pictures of the complete model. The Saturn V can stand on its 1st stage engines, but that may not be the safest way to display it. My favorite way of displaying the Saturn V as it shows the engines of each stage. But I'll need to build more supports. Interesting parts I usually take a picture of all the parts I find interesting in a set. I just grab the finished model and tear it apart to get the parts I want... I'll be honest: I didn't want to destroy the Saturn V! First, let's check the printed parts. We got 8 1x6 tiles in white, 4 with "UNITED" and 4 with "STATES" printed in red. A white 1x8 tile with small black rectangles. We also got printed 3x2 curved slopes, 4 with a US flag, and 4 of each letter for "USA". The landed command module 4x4x2 cone is also nicely printed, as is the 2x2 boat stud on the lunar module. What may be the best-printed part in this set is the 3 white microfigs (plus one spare) with their astronaut's suit. The astronauts also come with a US flag printed on a trans-clear 1x2 tile. There are no new molds in this set, but some nice new colors for some parts. The very end of the first stage engines is made with 3x3 dishes in trans-neon orange and half large barrels in pearl dark grey. As a builder I prefer small parts, and here we got some nice 1x1 round tile with bar and pin holder both in black and white! The 8x8 round tile in dark blue and the 6 1x6x5 rectangular supports in blue are also really nice. In addition, the set contains almost 150 different brackets and 150 3x2 curved slopes in white and black. Conclusion Design: 9/10 - The design looks spot! Parts: 8/10 - No new parts, but a lot of interesting ones like all the printed parts, the brackets, and parts in new colors. Build: 10/10 - Maybe the best building experience I had with an official set. Lots of nice techniques, Price: 8/10 - With a ppp of 0,06€, this set is rather cheap, and could be a nice source for some parts. Overall: 35/40 (88%) - I really, and I mean really, enjoyed building this set. I wasn't sure at first if I'll keep it assembled after the review, but now there's no doubt I'll display it somewhere at home. Truly one of the best Lego sets I've seen recently! If you're interested in space, you'll get this set. If not, you'll also get this set! There is a lot of things to learn during the build, and it makes a great display piece

I just finished the 1st stage and it's really great

Jim started a topic in the Special Themes forum. He ask for questions that he could discuss with the Creator Expert team at the end of the month. I tried to condense what has been discussed here about space sets in a future Creator Expert line. Correct me if I did it wrong.

In the Sci-Fi forum, there is a discussion about space sets, like classic space, M-tron, Blacktron... and it was said that a nice way to reintroduce space sets could be through the Creator Expert line. Those sets very popular in the AFOL community, and children that had the chance to play with those 25+ years old sets had a lot of fun. Any chance that this could see the light, and if not why?

I have to say, I'm impressed by the box itself... almost 50cm tall, 40cm large, weighting 2.6kg... Can't wait to open it and review the set

Some very interesting shapes and techniques used here. Good work Luc!

I think AG2 will be launched somewhere between June and July. Some new feature may be delayed though.

Thanks guys The solar panel printed tiles are from the set 70623

Not sure which one I prefer

My entry for the <a href="https://www.flickr.com/groups/898944@N23/discuss/72157681363323846/">Real World +200 Starfighter Contest</a> The DF-47 "Hawk" is a polyvalent starfighter designed by the Mars Conglomerate. Its main missions are patrolling the borders and escorting freighters. Its aerodynamic shape and control surfaces allow the DF-47 to fly in the low-density atmosphere of Mars. It is armed with two 19mm gun, firing perforating needle bullets. The fighter compensates its lack of armoring by an excellent maneuverability, using 16 RCS thrusters and a group of 3 CMGs, and a high precision radar coupled to the navigation computer. The DF-47 is equipped with the last generation LO2/LH2 hybrid rocket engine for initial thrust and acceleration, and six MPD thrusters to maintain speed. Two solar panels are installed on each wing and protected by a liftable cover.

I'm very glad to announce the winners of the Braaiiinnss!!! Contest There were a lot of good entries, and staff had to settle some ties. I hope you enjoyed this contest, by participating or just looking at the entries! To all winners, please send me a PM with your entry category and number, and your complete address, including country. Category A: The Wastelands First place: He tried to save his family By Heksu Second place: Home is Where the Heartbreak Is By Graham Gidman Category B: The Shelters First place: The Hideout By OrangeGareth Second Place: Snow Bunker By kritch Category C: The Machines First place: Zombie Trasher By Guy smiley Second place: The fighting cart By blackdeathgr Category D: The Survivors and Undeads First place: Zombie Eradicators By terryfay1983 Second place: 2.2360679775 Squared By (Nexus) BrickWarriors' choice: First choice: Infected By RC 1136 Second choice: Zomambulator By kritch

It looks more like a lighting variation on the conic part.

Soon.

I sent you a PM (and gave you PM access).

I've checked and couldn't see an option to remove "old" notifications. (you don't want to know how many pages I have...)

Sorry for not responding, I've been quite busy in the last days... So yes, AG has ended, and we're waiting for AG2 to launch... Well, maybe I should stop waiting and start doing what's needed... Whan AG2 will launch, we'll ask everyone to join (again) one of the 3(?) corps: OCTAN, Kawashita, MANTIS, ... Corps from AG will be there in AG2, don't worry about your lime collection

Hi guys. I need to produce a render of a spaceship that should look like a blueprint (no pun intended here ). What I'd like to do is: - blue background - bricks outline in black - no colors (all bricks in white) - no shadows - orthographic shots (top, bottom, and side) I'm pretty sure this could be done by tweaking a custom .sc file, and I'd be happy to spend hours to try and test it, but sadly I don't have that free time right now... So if you've already done something similar, could you help me?

Same here

It's a render, so yes, it's very posable!!

Entries are being processed by Cesar, the Contest's Entries Sorting Algorithm Robot, and results will be published as soon as possible (hopefully before the end of the week)! Thanks all for your patience and of course your wonderful entries

Thanks guys. I forgot to mention that the LDD file is available on my website!