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Legos, anyone?


danth

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I guess maybe they could already be making their own in-house design for one?  I can't really think of any other reason they wouldn't want to make it, unless there are some severe structural problems with it that they couldn't resolve.  The 9-stud diameter on the tank seemed like a difficult stretch, but he seemed to get the whole thing to hold together on his prototype.

At least I don't think there are any rules saying he can't re-submit the design, so we'll have to see if maybe it still has a shot of happening. 

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Yeah, kinda surprising that the Shuttle wasn't chosen as a nice follow-up to the Saturn V. I don't think the stand-alone gantry has enough appeal on its own; it would have to be accompanied by some sort of spacecraft, which would raise the price dramatically. The F-15 would have been cool, but I get why they wouldn't do it, as grey rebuilds would start popping up everywhere, or folks would just start arming it with missiles as-is. Human nature is pretty transparent when it comes to any kind of war-making paraphernalia. ;)

I'm not interested in any of the next round models, although I have to admit that all three of the seaside buildings are lovely; just not really my cup of tea, as they say.

What I'm waiting for is Voltron. I'm hoping against hope that new stronger ratcheting joints need to be designed to make it work. If not, I'm still thinking it's going to be a pretty damned cool set, one of the best official mecha sets by far. And, I'll finally have a Go-Lion Voltron. Feeling optimistic.

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33 minutes ago, Stemp Fester said:

Don't know why anyone would be worried about the Shuttle not making it through Ideas - it's not like Lego doesn't have a history of releasing it in some format...

It's the "some format" point that's the issue.  People want the NASA shuttle, in the same scale as the Saturn V, not some gonkified SD version for minifigures, or any otherwise mis-proportioned model.

Edited by Chronocidal
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So I decided to go for broke on a new UCS-style X-wing, and the scale shot straight to an 8-stud engine diameter, which works out really well across the entire model so far.

I don't know how many newer methods of setting up the wing mechanism have been attempted, but I only remember the gearing in the original UCS set being incredibly ineffective and sloppy, since it didn't use a single centerline pivot to counter-balance the wings.

So, decided to try a different approach.  No gearing at all, and rotating the opposing wings around a set of three of the AT-AT-style ratcheted leg hinges.  The front and rear ratchets will keep the wings from rocking, and the center will just add extra strength, since the wings will be beefy.

winghinge.jpg.50c24f455cc9bac1cc03eec7b0d4cbb8.jpg

I probably won't have near enough of the right pieces to build up the entire thing once it's designed, but I'm going to give this mechanism a shot this weekend.

Realized this never posted, so here's one set of wings almost complete.  Still need to reinforce the intake structure, and I might have undersized the wings by a couple of studs.  The scale should be a little closer to a 7-stud diameter for the engines, so it throws things off a little.  Really happy with how the wing planform is coming together though.

winghinge2.jpg.c132ac86205e20613b4b7101087bbb2e.jpg

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I'll be really curious to see if any of this construction holds together.  I think I have enough to at least build one wing section, and the pivot mechanism.

Anyway, the "easy" part is all laid out, now I get to figure out the fuselage, and how to make a set of cannon mounts with a 3-stud diameter. :p 

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This actually only uses 1250 pieces currently, which surprised me, but I figure it's due to how many large plates I've got buried in the wings.  That in itself concerns me, since I don't know if I have anything that big in that quantity.

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Not to take away from Chronocidal's amazing work on his uber-UCS X-Wing, but....

As a follow-up to my comments regarding LEGO's Tracker I  https://shop.lego.com/en-US/Tracker-I-75185 , I recently built it's nemesis from LEGO's Star Wars Freemaker tv series, the protagonists' ship The Arrowheadhttps://shop.lego.com/en-US/The-Arrowhead-75186   While this set was pretty much a straightforward build, unlike the more innovative construction of the Tracker, I still found it an enjoyable experience, and the final model is sleek , lovely from any angle, highly swooshable, and has room inside for all three Freemaker siblings and their reprogrammed battle droid.  I feel the need to mention that the youngest of the Freemaker clan actually comes with the Tracker I  as a prisoner, so both sets are needed to have a family reunion.  As far as the designs of both ships go, AFAIK, both originated within LEGO, although I'd imagine, as in the past, everything needs to be approved by Lucasfilms. But it doesn't elude me that these are two really nice designs that, IMHO, eclipse many of the recent Episode films' designs. Thought I'd share my impressions, since they're not part of the main SW lore, they might slip under the radar. Worth the money, esp since both are now on sale at Wally.

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Thanks for the heads-up, I do like a lot of the elements in both those sets.  I'll have to see if the local one has them in stock.

Took a break from the X-Wing, and been reworking my UCS Shuttle though, at least digitally.  Been really happy to find a lot of people have uploaded LDD files for older models, since I don't have the floor space to scatter pieces everywhere at the moment.

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I'm going to have to check out some of the newer LEGO CAD options in the future though, since LDD isn't being updated, and it's missing a lot of newer elements.  The blue brick exhausts are placeholders for the flat 2x2 quarter circle tiles available now.

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LDD version 4.3.11 is available, although AFAIK, only 4.3.10 installs from the LDD webpage. To get 11, right click the download button, copy the entire url, and then manually change  4_3_10.exe to 4_3_11.exe.  Should look like this:  https://lc-www-live-s.legocdn.com/downloads/ldd2.0/installer/setupLDD-PC-4_3_11.exe

Restart LDD, and in view, select Extended. You should have the expanded palette including most of the 2017 new elements. Hope it works for you. Cheers!

Credit to Eurobricks user loading....  for the info.

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Hmmn, cutaway jet engine on LEGO ideas:   https://ideas.lego.com/projects/f18a11c6-f704-4827-b06a-fba84e5818df

LEGO does seem to like "educational" stuff.   And presumably the Rolls-Royce license is a lot easier to get than others. (plus, I recall RR recently having like an "official" model of an engine done for them, by LEGO themselves---massive, like 1/4 scale or something)  

::edit::  OK, it wasn't recent, but it was huge:  1/2 scale

 

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That Rolls Royce engine is cool. I've never seen that before, so thanks for posting. Structurally, that had to be one of the most challenging models for the LEGO Master Model Builders to figure out, since there's a lot of weight, not to mention motion. Those inlet fan blades are beautiful just on their own. As for the Ideas submission, pretty neat. However, to do it any justice as a real set, I think LEGO would have to maintain the scale to preserve the functionality, and that would make it expensive. Moreover, I think its appeal would be limited. But, as you say, it is an educational piece, a cool model by its own merit, so maybe they'll surprise us if it reaches 10,000 votes.

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On 1/28/2018 at 3:55 AM, M'Kyuun said:

LDD version 4.3.11 is available, although AFAIK, only 4.3.10 installs from the LDD webpage. To get 11, right click the download button, copy the entire url, and then manually change  4_3_10.exe to 4_3_11.exe.  Should look like this:  https://lc-www-live-s.legocdn.com/downloads/ldd2.0/installer/setupLDD-PC-4_3_11.exe

Restart LDD, and in view, select Extended. You should have the expanded palette including most of the 2017 new elements. Hope it works for you. Cheers!

Credit to Eurobricks user loading....  for the info.

Thanks for posting that link, I’ll have to grab it. We put out the Xmas village and every year, but I’ve been disappointed by the last couple sets. I then had the idea to design a similarly scaled version of our own home to add to it.

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Had a look at the local wally-world, and mine didn't have the Tracker or Arrowhead on sale, but they did have the U-Wing and the TFA Poe X-Wing marked $15 off.  I'd been eyeing both of those sets as parts sources for my UCS Shuttle mod (the long white 12x3 angles and black 9x4 wing plates, among others), so that was extremely good timing.

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  • 2 weeks later...
2 hours ago, kanedaestes said:

Welp. Finally got the new UCS Falcon. Now to have a place big enough to display it and the original one from ten years ago 

Or combine the two to make one that's even bigger! :lol: 

Seriously though, I've seen quite a few ideas floating around of combining certain aspects of both sets to improve the design even further.  One popular mod seems to be replacing the bendy rigging parts for the exhaust with banks of hinges and vents plates.

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Nice display, Kanedaestes. 

https://www.brothers-brick.com/2018/02/17/lego-unveils-marvel-76105-hulkbuster-ultron-edition-available-march-3rd-news/ 

I've been hoping for a set like this, and it explains why the Ideas submission was passed over. The only red flag for me is, looking at the hip connections, this thing has no fore or aft movement of the legs, so from the waist down it's a statue that can do a variable static A-stance.<_<  I can't understand why they won't develop some new ratcheting joins for these larger mecha. Frustrating.  Still gonna get it, but that limitation will always bother me.

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Not yet, but the day is still young, and it continues through to tomorrow. One caveat, LEGO may be producing it, but they're being very judicious about what they're releasing to the public at TF this year. So, unlike previous years, they're not allowing pics of summer sets. I think it's going to be very limited as far as what is disclosed, and we may only see a few new sets for which official disclosures have already been made and sets that are already out. Sucks.:(  IMO, it's a strong measure being taken to limit the number of knock-offs, especially in China.

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A new somewhat Minifig scaled X-Wing would go so well with the new UCS Millenium Falcon.

That reminds me that I need to find a UCS Millenium Falcon first. I probably stop by the Lego Store in my area and see if they have news about the distribution. I fear that they might have some on stock which is bad since I need to buy a new computer this month. ^_^

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Yeah when I got mine I asked my store on Monday and they were out. Then I got my tax returns and asked Wednesday and they had a few. I quickly ran to Mall of America and got it. I do feel being tax season it may be hard to get as people receive their returns. 

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My entire LEGO philosophy is that there should be a toy version of everything I'm into and if it doesn't exist, then I should probably make it.  One of my other loves is fighting videos games such as Street Fighter and the Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers) series.  I can't get enough of the animations and quick action.  Life doesn't really afford me the chance to play through something like the latest Wolfenstein with little ones running around, so fighting games that aren't Mortal Kombat are great, quick entertainment.

I don't think that I have shared the following here before, so here is a little of what I've put together:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/18239022@N00/albums/72157680021630454

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Phobos/Huitzil is really a great mech design.  There is an infinite level of anime magic that goes into his and Hsien-Ko/Lei-Lei's attacks.  The animation in the Darkstalkers really is something else. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/18239022@N00/albums/72157682928186050/with/34402483364/

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I feel like I am reaching a limit on how close I can approximate the looks of these figures so I'm pondering customizing some Marvel figs to get closer to stuff from the games.  Still it's been fun and I have a few left to finish off before I can post more which means a few more lots to buy off of bricklink.

Edited by Mazinger
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I don't know who the top three figures are (purple guy, yellow guy, and the wolf guy), but Chun-Li and Blanka are immediately recognizable. LEGO can ceratianly be a harsh taskmaster when approximating the look of people (I have no talent for it), but for what you want to do with them, those work well.

Moko is a builder I'm familiar with who excels at this sort of thing- just an incredibly talented builder who builds across all spectrum of things, but does an amazing job with figures, and getting their details just so.

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I'm really unfamiliar with Darkstalkers in general, so I only know a couple of the characters that are commonly seen in other places, but I recognized the design for Hsien Ko immediately, mostly from seeing that sort of character style in multiple other places.

Darkstalkers_Hsien-Ko.png

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https://www.thebrickfan.com/   

Scroll down a little. For brevity's sake, a Reddit user has posted that the upcoming Voltron Ideas set will retail for 179.99 Euro, approx. 199.99 USD. No info is given in the article as to the identity of the poster or his source, so grain of salt. However, if the info proves valid, it'll be the most expensive Ideas set, and likely the largest as well. I'm more excited for this than getting a copy of the UCS Falcon, and this is the first news we've had since the announcement. True or not, I thought I'd share it.

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