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I am working on re-designing my exo-suit hangar to fit the display case in the Lego store. I envision one side being the inside of it and the other side being the out side if it. The structure itself will be predominately gray. I want to keep the story flow focused and simple so I want to avoid Easter eggs or things that look out of place. The inside’s theme should include 3 or 4 minifig scale fighters around 8 inches in length. The outside should include a “zero G” style construction or repair scene.
Here’s what I would like help with from other builders (they should not be predominately gray in color so they stand out from the hangar):
3-4 fighters- all identical expect one should be the ace pilot’s craft that really stands out.
Space construction crew and equipment- Ideally, this will hand on the outside wall of it using technic pins.
Maintenance Mechs for the inside for fighter craft supportLet me know who is interested in what. (tagging the usual space folks & Paula)
@zaximillian
@willmcdine
@arcadiumsol
@randomdan
@tfdesigns
@erunaamo
@digivolution
@bengood921
@paulamaluFighters: my G-Fighter series are all 32×32 studs, which is also 10 inches square. 8 inches square might therefore be pretty tight, even at 24 studs square.
I recommend 16×16 square to 20×20 at most. It’s also reasonable to make this wing of spacefighters narrower and longer in individual footprint.
I’ll take a look tonight to see if I can bash out four cockpit boxes right quick. If I can, the parts selection there in cockpit and common canopy might set the tone. The Ace craft is best festooned in big color splashes over the same general livery. The main problem after that is getting the right figs for pilots and ground crew.
Fighters: my G-Fighter series are all 32×32 studs, which is also 10 inches square. 8 inches square might therefore be pretty tight, even at 24 studs square.
I recommend 16×16 square to 20×20 at most. It’s also reasonable to make this wing of spacefighters narrower and longer in individual footprint.
I’ll take a look tonight to see if I can bash out four cockpit boxes right quick. If I can, the parts selection there in cockpit and common canopy might set the tone. The Ace craft is best festooned in big color splashes over the same general livery. The main problem after that is getting the right figs for pilots and ground crew.
The challenge here is that the fighters will be in front of the inside wall of the hangar, thus creating the front facing stage. when facing forward to the display, the the main door will be on the left side and some architectural/ large greabling con the far right. The three fighters will have larger than minifig size Mechs for craft support. Since the back of the display will be an outside scene (narrower then the inside), there is not a huge amount of space. I cant wait to see the pics of your fighter concepts.
@whitesidewjw , here’s how the design process went so far:
Step 1: Lay out crucial parts. For me, this meant keeping the cockpit box in mind, as it will determine the base color. I have (4) Black Wedge 6 x 4 Triple Inverted Curved, part 43713. This was to form the bottom front of the cockpit box and the nose of the fighters. I checked to see if I could make it longer, and yes, I found (12) Black Slope, Inverted 45 4 x 2 Double, part 4871, to extend the cockpit boxes into longer fuselage bodies, so this should be good. Black becomes the primary color.
Step 2: Keeping this in mind, I decided on brick built wings, as this is definitely part of your design catalog. I knew I had a bunch of black Slope 65 2 x 1 x 2, part 60481, and black Slope 33 3 x 1, part 4286, and black cheese slopes, so those three angles formed the front edge wing shaping.
Step 3: Often, in building brick built wings, I need to break the brick standard down into plates to fit in hardpoints for weapons, refueiling ports, and color blocking, so now I needed a contrast color. White sprang to mind, as I knew I had a fresh supply of 1×1 plates. White and black checkerboard immediately followed.
Step 4: I then decided to design fhe wings as wide and thin, much like the 8×4 wedge plate, as I wanted a different wing shaping than what I normally do, and blending some elements of your style with my own. This meant that, with studs out, the checkerboard had to run parallel to the fuselage. This is fine, as vertical lines along the craft, even broken ones, lend a hint of speed.
Step 5: Pleasantly, during the design process in LDD, this meant that halfway along the wing, there is a spot with 5-6 studs, perfect for a three-wide plate built checkerboard pattern that uses my black and white 1×1 plates.
With a leading cheese slope, it gave me many different pixelated options, from blending white-LBG-DBG-black into a fading stripe to forming colored fades. Instead, I decided on a figure 8, which fits perfectly.Now, the fighter wing is called the “Crazy 8th” as a result.
Step 6: Next, looking at the wing widths, with a 6-wide cockpit box planned, that’s too wide at 20-22 studs. My answer is to have the wings fold up along a fork-and-stub connection at the junction of wing and fuselage, much like the Star Wars Imperial shuttle. Unfortunately, I do not have those connection bricks or plates in black in the right amount to bear the wings’ weight. I *do* have them in LBG, and that’s a good option, as greebling in LBG is the standard, so I’m going to go with that at mechanical, engine, and weapon hardpoints.
In summary, I’m still gathering parts, keeping a fighter wing of 4 in mind. It looks like I’m going black as a base color with white as the secondary and LBG on the greebling and mechanicals based on my part collection. I do want a splash of checkerboard color mixed in with the white and dotted around the craft, and that will likely depend on the canopy and/or engine flare and energy weapon colors. The Ace craft will have a different color splash, possibly a ranking difference displayed in the color blocking somewhere on the craft, bold enough and large enough that it is obvious, while not detracting from the general color blocking of the craft.
Everything is still in the design phase, and designing the cockpit box and fuselage will determine a lot, including connection type options.
This is my new challenge: build FOUR of the same starfighter craft without buying or acquiring new parts.
Tonight I’m going to try to pour parts into four cockpit boxes and maybe start brick building them, ventral surface upward, so I have something physical.@whitesidewjw has suggested that it would be cool to have a maintenance & refueling mech “pit crew”. However, it’s best to know the color blocking first so that crew can be quickly visually connected to the craft they’re working on. I’m leaning in a black-white-LBG direction, but that may change as I start putting other elements together and determine the best color “splash” on the starfighters. Therefore, the figs might be better determined after the craft are built.
@whitesidewjw has suggested that it would be cool to have a maintenance & refueling mech “pit crew”. However, it’s best to know the color blocking first so that crew can be quickly visually connected to the craft they’re working on. I’m leaning in a black-white-LBG direction, but that may change as I start putting other elements together and determine the best color “splash” on the starfighters. Therefore, the figs might be better determined after the craft are built.
I totally agree. – If you do end up going black & White in the craft, what do you think about green as the major color for the pit crew? Whatever color you decide, I can’t wait to see pics of the fighters.
For the outside “construction crew” What dot you think about M:Tron?
Paula indicated that the next AFOL day is January 18 and that would be a good day to remove the winter display, partly because the store will open early. Of course, the new display installment does not depend on the removal of the current display because the new display will be using a different display case.
Paula indicated that the next AFOL day is January 18 and that would be a good day to remove the winter display, partly because the store will open early. Of course, the new display installment does not depend on the removal of the current display because the new display will be using a different display case.
I chatted with Paula a couple days ago. The hangar display will be going in the back display on AFOL day. I will be dropping off the hangar part and Rich’s fighters with Tom Frost. I cannot be there that weekend since I will need to be out of town. I think there is still some room for a few small mechs and some minifigs. This is a small display measuring approximately 20” wide by 19.5” tall by 15” deep. The size limits how much can go in it.
Paula indicated that the next AFOL day is January 18 and that would be a good day to remove the winter display, partly because the store will open early. Of course, the new display installment does not depend on the removal of the current display because the new display will be using a different display case.
@greg , so we are meeting to take out the Winter display on 1/18?@greg , so we are meeting to take out the Winter display on 1/18?
yes we can, but Paula was flexible about it – does that date work for you?
@greg , so we are meeting to take out the Winter display on 1/18?yes we can, but Paula was flexible about it – does that date work for you?
Ok. 9AM on 1/18. Thanks!
I added an album in the LUG Gallery for this display and uploaded Tom’s pic. If anyone has or takes additional pics, send them to me or post them here and I’ll add them to the LUG Gallery Album. To view, click on the “Gallery” tab at the top right corner of this page, and then go to page 3 of the Gallery and click on the “LEGO Store Display Spring 2020” album.
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