Subject:
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Re: REALLY large models
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.space
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Date:
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Mon, 2 Oct 2000 20:42:56 GMT
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Viewed:
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476 times
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"Matthew" <moulton@hscis.net> wrote in message
news:39d7eb42.1078905@news.lugnet.com...
> Okay my next project (which I estimate to take at least a year or two
> to complete) will be a Star Trek Voyager type ship...minifig scale.
> Now I already know how I'll build the decks, turbolift, shuttle bay,
> etc. The problem is I'm wondering about stability. Now I know that
> because the saucer section will be around 10 base plates long I am
> going to have to use superglue to help keep the whole thing together.
> Basically each deck is going to be super glued, but then each deck
> will be sectional. So without the decks you'll be able to see the
> turbolift shaft and the bottom deck section. All the other decks will
> be stacked on top to make up the saucer. I also know that I'm going
> to have to make the rear of the ship VERY heavy in order to keep the
> ship from tipping forward on the saucer section. What I really don't
> know is how well a ship of this size will stay together. Has anyone
> had experience making something this big? How well does the glue hold
> things together? So far the biggest ship I've made is the Behemoth
> witch just under 3 road plates long and about two wide at it's maximum
> width. I did make the Behemoth completely sectional and it holds up
> okay but any bigger and I'm sure it wouldn't hold together if I picked
> it up. The other thing I'm wondering about is what sorts of methods
> have people used to make such ships sectional. So far I've mainly
> always used the male/female locking pieces like the original 6985
> Cosmic Fleet Voyager uses. Any ideas or suggestions would be GREATLY
> appreciated. Thanks! : )
>
> -Matthew
> -http://members.hscis.net/~moulton/
Wow. Just the saucer section alone is going to be that large? Isn't that
about 320 studs long? And then when you add on the rear it will probably be
about 600 studs long total right? Man my whole ship is only about 300 studs
long.
Well I am going to have to say that I would never glue my lego if there
were any other alternatives at all. Lets think about this.
-Consider building unobtrusive supports under the saucer section. Even
smaller 4 x 4 brick columns regularly spaced and attached to strong areas of
the saucer should work well. Or you could go with more of "dry-dock" look
(think of older ships with curved beams supporting them while being built.
This look might not be perfect but I think it has many advantages. You
won't need to worry so much about the rear of the ship being so heavy.
Believe me this alone will save you heaps of time. I mean think about what a
typical star trek ship looks like: it has all this mass up front with some
more mass lower but more or less in the middle of the length but then the
nacelles (sp?) at the rear are generally not that bulky at all. I believe
balancing this thing with out supports on the front of the ship would either
be impossible or at the least a nightmare. If this thing is going to be as
large as you say it is it will be around 14 feet or so long. Its gonna be a
monster.
-You say your creating your own model right? Its gonna be like voyager?
Well isn't that ship's saucer section a bit lower than other federation
ships? Think along those lines maybe. I believe the more compact and in line
the ship is along the vertical, the stronger it will be.
-Now some thoughts I have about the saucer. I don't know if your going for a
round or elongated oval look. Either way this is how I would (note that this
is how I would make it-- you might have a radically different idea) consider
making it. I would divide the saucer into equal fourths just like a pie. I
think that this would allow faster construction and the individual sections
would be much easier to handle and maneuver. I say build a VERY sturdy but
also VERY hollow superstructure using bricks, beams and 2x N plates to
sandwich them together. I mean make this puppy strong. Connect the four
sections with pegs and also plates below and on top of the brick beams. If
you could make the superstructure in a way that you could actually slide in
all of the decks along rails of plates that would be very cool. Each actual
deck would have its own smaller/ lighter walls separating it from the other
decks. There could even be a crawl space inbetween each deck below/above and
along the sides just like jeffreys tubes. For connecting the decks to each
other for personnel just line up the halls and turbolift shafts of each
unit.
wow I'm rambling but I love the subject of big ships.
-Now for the hull I recommend a very thin and very light construction which
primarily relies on the strong super structure support but also adds the
additional curvature to the structure.
-To get inside you just have the hull built so it can be easily removed and
reapplied in sections.
See how I think this thing would not need glue?
the saucer is made up of a superstructure consisting of cross sections of
brick beams made sturdy with plates. Its hollow to allow room for the decks,
make it lighter, and even save on pieces in a way. This whole thing is
supported by the pillars underneath which can distribute the weight equally
to the ground.
Now use a similar construction method for the lower middle area but this
will be resting on the ground and so will not need supports.
The nacelles in turn might need additional supports depending on how
large they are (probably 3to 5 feet long?) and at what point they are
connected by the ship's actual support. If the 2 ship supports that run from
the engineering area attach to the nacelles midway along their length then
you might not need additional support.
So total individual sections could be the 4 saucer sections with their
numerous individual decks which could slot in and out for play. The
engineering area which might be divided in to 2 midway down the cylinder.
And finally the 2 nacelles which could probably be built whole. All these
individual sections should be connected with something more substantial then
just pegs in my opinion. I ran in to a few problems with that method in an
earlier version of Bardiel.
I have all sorts of other ideas but my main point is that I don't think
you should use glue on this and you should consider the idea of external
support.
Check out my site for some fuzzy pictures on my ship STILL under
construction.
Check out how I made the superstructure in the pictures where you can
see inside the ship in unfinished areas.
Jon
--
Starship Bardiel
http://www.geocities.com/legotiel/Bardiel.html
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: REALLY large models
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| (...) significantly shorter opinions. I think that there is one thing you have to keep in mind here and that is that the Star Trek ships are meant to be built and used in space, where gravity is negligible. Therefore, for any earthbound building of (...) (24 years ago, 3-Oct-00, to lugnet.space)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | REALLY large models
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| Okay my next project (which I estimate to take at least a year or two to complete) will be a Star Trek Voyager type ship...minifig scale. Now I already know how I'll build the decks, turbolift, shuttle bay, etc. The problem is I'm wondering about (...) (24 years ago, 2-Oct-00, to lugnet.space)
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