krispy

This is why I work in a dropbox folder and save often = insta-backups. Curious about your wing solution though. I've been looking at the hinges again, and I think if you are able to add 8 hinge pairs per wing (this is doable), it might be sturdy enough. As for the wing decoration. I think I have to come back from my previous statement. Rather than using 6L bars (part #63965), I used the 6.6L bar (patiostand, part #4095), and I think it looks much nicer. Even if the 2412b coating is a little disrupted by the clips. To illustrate the difference, I've done two quick renders posted below.

Well, I for one can't wait to see what you can come up with. I have no problem if you "Frankenstein" the designs (PM me if you need help); as long as we can give the Emperor better TIE fighters, right? And hopefully TLG will take the Cuusoo hint and update their imperial line for 2014, though I agree that our best hope at that is Episode VII containing TIE Advanced and Defenders (maybe even Star Wings). Anyway, I've been taking a look at the bley "cross beams" on the wings again; I wasn't happy with the way the rotated clamps (part #2555) disrupted array of grille tiles on the wing (yes, I coat my wings in 2412b's). I've now used a 1x6 tile (as you have used on the TIE Advanced) on a single round 1x1 plate (though I suspect a square one would work just as well). It's a bit wider, but also lower in profile. I'll post a piccie when the render is done (seriously... that bubble cockpit takes forever to render).

Awesome job! I love how you did that snow dune.

Working on it (I'm waiting for TLG approval) Guess what I was working on this week.... (a pretty version of the Tie Defender is still rendering, but it looks remarkably similar to yours ) So yeah, the idea of 9492-fying the Tie designs is something I definitely want! I've supported all the models! Having said that, I'm gonna go pedantic on you as I do have some points of critique: All models: The gray edges on the skewed sides of the wings are only connected with one hinge/clip. This means that the lower ones will sink down in time even if the hinges and clips are new. These strips will need at least two points of connection. Unfortunately that means the tips of the wings will be less sharp as you can see with my Tie Defender top view line drawing above. All models: I'm not too sure about the stability of the hinges that you use to connect the wing parts and get the angle. Though I haven't build these connections, I'm afraid they won't be able to support the weight of the model (as they are meant to bend). What was wrong with the original TLG solution (other than being a big bulky)? Tie Defender: the gray bars across the panels are straight (like the Tie Advanced), but they should be pointing towards the middle panel (like so: \ / rather than | | ). Tie Bomber: the only missing detail is the port on the front of the launcher. Shown here:

I like it. Not many changes you get to use lime bricks in SW fighters.

Not too shabby at all; back story and all! I love the coloring on it. At first I thought "It's pretty big... he LDD-ed it" but then I looked closer and saw you actually build it. Ace!

Well.. you can always make a batch of em.. (I personally don't tear down my models a lot; I have a starfighter cupboard ) Everything is a remix. I hope that people will improve upon my design; hopefully come up with cool things I didn't think of. And with a little luck, they'll share those improvements so I can build a better starfighter too! Ultimately, sharing the model is for my own gain too Sorry for going all philosophical on you guys!

I believe you can. You'll have to use custom material properties (more on this here). The downside is that the help pages on custom material properties are yet to be written... (but it is possible) You should move your baseplate then. If it's not in the shot, Pov-Ray won't render it. If it is in the shot (reflections and refractions count) it will be rendered. So to get what you want, you'll have to move your baseplate; there's no way around it.

"SAMP" is a new acronym for me (=n00b), but I'm guessing it has something to do with making your own stickers.... I've updated the main post with the new model file though (which you can find here).

Hmm.. looks like this year I'll only be getting the A-Wing. Definitely not enough Classic Trilogy or post-CT EU stuff (I'm not that big on everything set before ep. IV). I do suppose that leaves more budget for Bricklink

Great job Digger! Indeed very clever use of the threads.

Ugh.. and I suppose they have 64 core machines to do their heavy lifting? *jealous* I should make a mock up, but with my recent coloring explorations, I've added an extra pin. Thanks for the vote of confidence though As for the color.... Awesome.. that's the push I was looking for! Wait what!? Oh right, the original game didn't have textures. Just Gouraud shading. That does make me feel better!~ For those of you who desire more color, this is what I've come up with looking at the game models: I've expanded the color palette with more dark bley, blacks and reds. Note that the latter image (right or lower depending on your screen res), has a "sticker" photoshopped on the dorsal fin. I've been toying around with all kinds of construction techniques to get the same effect in Lego, but they just don't have the same effect or make the dorsal fin really thick. I figured it wouldn't be to hard to go out and buy some red sticker material and cut the stickers out yourself. Even though I ...erm... dislike stickers (with some passion), this seemed to be the best option. Thoughts?

The minifigs are ok? But other than that, I think that the 6208 set is a coarse approximation of a B-Wing at best. I do not like how they've shaped the majority of components (such as the s-foils and the cockpit). I get why it is the way it is, TLG has to consider a limit on no. pieces, playability and sturdiness, but I suppose it just doesn't do it for me.

Thank you guys for the kind words I agree though: it definitely needs "seasoning". I'll play around with the model some more today; see if inspiration comes to me (also I've gotta wait for my Tie Defender remix to render anyway... has anyone noticed that waiting for an image to ray-trace is like the digital equivalent of watching paint dry?)

Here's two for the Star Wars section B-Wing by krispy - LXF Alpha-class Xg-1 Star Wing by krispy - LXF

Minifig-scale Alpha-class Xg-1 Star Wing (06-03-2013) Small update replacing the pictures with a black background by ones with a light one. (06-03-2013) For improvement of general swooshability! I've updated the internal structure to something that is way way way more stable (I can't stress this enough). If you're thinking about building: use these new model files (2.0). Really. Throw away the old ones. The result? See? No more hanging parts and disintegrating sidepods! Much better. (02-03-2013) It's done! I've added a build report below (after the files section). You know what they say: "A bird in the hand is worth..." (01-03-2013) So it turns out that real brick building is still rather necessary if you're inexperienced with 100% from scratch MOCs: the sidepods weren't strong enough to support the wing weight, so they have been redesigned internally. Also my solution for mounting the ion cannons on the sail didn't work as well in real life as it did virtually, so that has been modified as well. I'd strongly recommend getting and using the updated model files(posted below) if you're serious about building the model. Also, expect a write up of the build soon (with pictures! ) (30-01-2013) This model is now on Cuusoo! Please consider voting for it if you want TLG to make it. Thank you! (31-01-2013) I've updated the model to v1.2. The differences are all internal; the model should be sturdier now. IMPORTANT: if you're gonna build it using LDD instructions, please consider using the model-in-parts-file. This will force LDD to generate the instructions per major component (there's 9 in total), making it much easier to build. I've also added a wallpaper-like scene at the bottom of this post! (30-01-2013) New colors and updated images! ..or better known as the assault gunboat from the X-Wing/Tie-Fighter game series (Mu 1 anyone?). You can find more background info at this Wookieepedia entry. It's one of my favorite craft from the games, but unfortunately Lego never released an official set of it so far. As this thing cannot be missing from my starfighter collection*, I fired up LDD. It's my first 100% original, from-scratch MOC. Yay! I'm not really sure if I feel this model is done: I'm starting to suffer from "model blindness". Also the fact that there doesn't seem to be a definitive model of the Star Wing in the lore doesn't help. It's not even in the Essential Guide To Vehicles and Vessels. The model is rather bleyish, but for the love of me, I couldn't figure out a color scheme. I've included the LDD model below if you want to have a go at it, though I suppose most imperial craft are bleyish. So I'm hoping that you guys and gals can comment on whether or not I've done a decent job so far. Here are pictures so you can make your mind up (or you can just download the model file below). (minifig included for size) Some background info TL;DR: keep scrolling! The files are down below According to the lore, this ship is 10 meters long, 15.1 wide and 7.2 high. If my calculations are correct, that translates to 32x48x23 studs (about scale 1:40ish, which is minifig-scale). I believe the model is about that size (anyone got ideas on how to measure models?). It has 689 pieces of which none are rare according to LDD Manager. The model features foldable wings as well as landing gear and holds true to my "no flick-fire missiles in my house" policy. The ion cannons on the dorsal fin can rotate. There's a cockpit and the pilot has a chair. Because there are two technics axles running through the model (they connect the pods), it should be stable and probably quite swooshable. I won't find out until I build it of course (which may take a while since building the B-Wing burned through my budget rather quickly). If anyone has a better idea on how to construct the cockpit with these angles, please let me know. At first I used transparent panels on the sides of the cockpit, but they gave me design headaches up to the point where I was tempted to cut off the top bit (with the studs) from the panels to give the pilot some more room and raise him a bit so he can see outside the window properly. This is why I went with the small panel / transparent plate setup. I wanted to use this Windscreen 3x4x3 as it was the only one that kind of matched the angles I was looking for (when you use it on its side anyway). Files The main model file: v2.0 Model in parts (for building instructions): v2.0 (in parts) Play around with it. Maybe one of you can come up with a color scheme. Let me know what you think (31-01-2013) Here's a group of Star Wings patrolling around an ISD (click for big). *See my B-Wing MOC post: I collect starfighters from the X-Wing/Tie Fighter game series in minifig-scale. The Build I've finally managed to real-brick build the model! So here she is: Turns out that although building with virtual bricks gives you a lot of freedom to experiment, there is no substitute for real-brick building. In this paragraph I shall share some things I've experienced while converting my virtual model to something real. First problem I had was with the ion canons on the sail. Turns out my old grey frictionless pins are not fond of jamming bars in them. So I've opted for the solution shown below (which still looks rather neat). Then there was my "ingenious" solution for mounting these two canons really low and close to the sail. The original plan was to use a brick with an axle cross and jam the pneumatic "T" pieces in there, which oughta fit according to LDD. Turns out, they don't. Well, they fit, but (probably due to wear or tolerance) the brick doesn't hold them properly. Below you see the more standard solution for the problem. Note that in the new model file it is done slightly different, which you can also see in the first picture in this post. And then there was sidepod stability... my biggest problem (as I had predicted and feared). My original design turned out to be very fragile. As the picture below illustrates: just the weight of the main wing was already enough to have the assembly split and come apart (notice the black gap in the middle grey part). I've come up with a redesign that kind of works (I'll get to that in a minute). This is the main reason why, if you have already downloaded a model file and intend to build this thing, you should get the updated model files I've posted here. The version number should be 1.5. Unfortunately, that rework of the sidepods didn't stop the axles that connect them to the main hull from bending. The result of that is a model that looks like Star-Wars-meets-Salvador-Dali (apologies for the slightly blurry picture). I've already modified the main hull so that a pair of extra axles is present near the read. This helps, but doesn't stop the hanging. I'm afraid that if I want to make is internally strong enough, I've got to go with an entirely different solution. Probably lose the axles and use beams/thick liftarms instead. I might play with that after I'm done building my Missile Boat (coming soon ). The solution I'm using at the moment to combat the hanging is simple: support the sidepods! As you can see, I've used a 1x16 technics brick and it works really well. Ideally, one would use a 1x14 brick, but I don't have one. Sure, the stand is a bit bulky, but nothing I'm currently annoyed with. So it suffices for now. Other than these issues, the build went rather smooth. I was particularly happy with the sides of the nose: they are much sturdier than I expected, allowing me to remove one of the 4 connection points so I could make the internal cockpit a bit sturdier. I'm happy with how big it turned out; getting a sense of scale is always difficult when you work digitally. I hope you've enjoyed my little report and good luck if you attempt to build this!

Thank you! Seeing as the part count is near to 1000: be prepared to spend somewhere between $120 and $140. I'm guessing that getting sand blue parts is a little easier in the US (most of my sand blue parts came from your neck of the woods), so that might help keep cost down. As I said in the opening post, not cheap, but well worth it IMHO.

And I think you've succeeded. The wings on the back do it for me: it is indeed a slice of awesomeness! Love the little Vader in there as well. Minor point of criticism: perhaps the shield should be curved/folded like the TIE-wings ( like so: \___/ ) as well for instant recognition from the front?

Awesome.. I especially like that it's to minifig-scale. It absolutely dwarfs the driver

I agree... it'd be nice to see the 8087 Tie Defender get a makeover in the 9492 Tie Fighter style. I think it'd be highly unlikely though, since the model only appeals to those of us who have played Tie Fighter.

Here you go!

Wow.. that's ambitious! And I thought bricklinking the 951 parts for my B-Wing was hard. Good luck with the project; I hope you'll keep us informed (I'm very curious about the end result). PS. Aside from the stickers, are you going to do any modifications on the build or is it going to be a "plain" 10179?

Thanks hrontos! It works like a charm now: I offer this little Serenity model as proof Took about 16 hours to render (on a i7 930), but it's well worth it. I reduced the number of iteration in the floor definition to 10. Seems to work quite well. Micro-scale Serenity by Krispy's brick stuff, on Flickr

Hello Kelso and welcome. Pretty much a n00b here too As for the brick cleaning: I've done mine in buckets with some washing soda (Vanish Oxi Action; "Vertrouw op roze, vergeet vlekken" etc.) which bubbled the grime and dust right off. Some people swear by putting their brick in pillowcases (put them in the case and close it by tieing it in a knot) and washing them in their washing machine at 40 degrees celcius. I've tried that, but in my case the knot always came loose, sprinkling bricks throughout my washer. Also, some say that if you use a hydrogen peroxide based cleaner, you can get rid of the discoloration in your bricks as well. Vanish doesn't do that though (my bricks are about 20 years old and the whites... well.. aren't any more ).