Of course, since I’m going back to the drawing board on this one, this post might as well never be written. In any case, what we have here is the original engine set up for Zeus — one large engine, two mediums, and two tiny. There probably would’ve been another large engine stacked atop that first one. I don’t know what — exactly — those little fins are supposed to be for … shields?

Next, we come down to these defensive positions. Inspired — clearly — by this guy’s weapon systems. Those gray round pieces are just place holders — I think these might eventually become anti-torpedo rocket launchers. Or space depth charges. I dunno. But I like the big industrial look. They still need tinkerin’.

I’m rethinking my concept for Zeus. I won’t lie — I want something that looks like a WWII destroyer. I’ve been reading a lot of fiction, and histories, and biographies lately about the people and the events that shaped this modern world, and it’s hard to escape the romantacism of the naval aspect of that war. I’m smart enough to know that there is nothing romantic about war, but a paragraph from CS Forrester’s “Sink the Bismarck!” comes to mind, but not enough for me to do aught but remember the bare outline — a British task force is ordered to sail from Gibraltar, despite the stormy seas, the imagery is that of an aircraft carrier and half a dozen destroyers rising and falling and swaying side to side against the powerful waves.

So I’m going to take a notebook to work tomorrow — er, today — and sketch out some ideas for a redesign. I want something bristling and prickly and looking like a spaceized-WWII destroyer. I mean, as much as possible, what with space engines and all. I’ll have to scrap the hull that I’ve got so far — joy!

… came across this guy’s website. He’s a Lego builder living in Japan, and I love some of his “micro-scale” starships. LOVE.

Which reminds me that I haven’t posted much on Zeus lately. I’ll follow up with some pictures today or tomorrow, but the lower hull is finished, and the engines are coming along nicely. I need to resort some of my pieces and clean up the room before I start on the interior stuff.

No, not that backside. Although Zeus will have a tailpipe (I think).

The hull of the Zeus takes up much of the length of a table in what I alternately term my “second bedroom”/”den”/”workroom”/”lego room”. I’m using a selection of 2×2 inverted slopes with “trays” — plates with greebling, flipped and held in place by gravity (and, well, technic bricks) for some underneath detailing. The sensor tower visible must be removed whenever the ship is “right side up.” Keen observers will note display stand mounts at various points along the structure.

Here’s a close up of a recessed area of greebling. I don’t know quite what these are supposed to be — oxygen converters? Valve shut-offs? Well, critical system components of some sort, but I’m sure glad I don’t have to be the crewmember who has to spacesuit up and take a walk on the hull to manually check some stray gauge.

Click below for an enlarged overall photo.

(more…)

Literally.

Lettering identification for the Zeus. U.I.W. (what does that stand for, anyway?), registry number One-Nine-Seven-Eight (my birthyear … totally coincidentally). Using inverted and regular slopes of different colors to give the illusion of paint, along with a break near the top to draw to mind the image of a stencil applied to the hull, and a bunch of space-suited crew-members using space-spray-paint-cans. While I’m happy with how the name came out, I’m not happy with the size – it’s much too large, so I’m going to try to shrink it down a little.

The “W” was tricky. To get the illusion while keeping it to a width of three bricks, I used a 1×1 brick modified (headlight) on the left-most “line” of the letter. Facing the headlight to the right, I used a 1×1 dark gray brick, topped with a 1×1 tan brick, that topped again with a 1×1 dark gray tile, which snugs up to the tan brick on the right. I’m happy with the effect.

Note, also, on the registry construction, the built-in spotlights to illuminate for the hapless smugglers or pirates who find this interdiction cruiser warping down on them. (Interdiction cruiser? What’s an interdiction cruiser? This project, I suppose. Don’t ask me what its purpose is. Er. Interdiction? And ventilating space pirates, I guess.)

Of course, a name isn’t going to scare Space John Silver off of a rich merchantman. Next on the pre-construction schedule? Cannon emplacements. Hard to make space pirates suffer from a irreversible case of explosive decompression without guns, y’know? These pose their own problems, but that’s another post.

Defined by Wikipedia as “a small piece of detailing added to break up the surface of an object to add visual interest to a surface or object”, the online encyclopedia even has a section detailing the use of greebling in Lego: “Greebles are used by many people who build structures, especially spaceships, out of LEGO bricks. These are similar to greebles used in movies such as Star Wars, except they are made only with LEGO. This presents a challenge, as it can be hard to create a “greebly” look with regulation bricks but the use of grilles, antennas, and clips help. LEGO bricks are also “naturally” greebled thanks to the interlocking studs, which can also help achieve a greebled look if used properly.”

I’m not planning on using a lot of greebles on Zeus, but when I do, I want to make sure it looks good. My favorite description of the proper use of greebles came from a long-lost website describing someone’s construction of a Millennium Falcon (his own design, not a set). Paraphrasing, “It’s important for greebling to look integrated to the design, not just applied to the surface.”

I spent some time last night working on some experimental greebling plates. Before I begin construction, I’d like to pre-prepare sections of greebling which can be incoporated into the design as construction commences. Some quick examples of greebling incorporated into a design:

On Chris Giddens’ Doulos.
At the rear of Dan Jassim’s Dragonstar.

In the parlance of the AFOL (Adult Fans of Lego) community, SNOT is an acronym referring to a certain type of building technique which encourages creative uses of the standard Lego brick — Studs Not On Top.

In gearing up to begin construction on Zeus, I’ve been considering how to utilize SNOT. While a much bigger project, Hogwarts features absolutely zero SNOT techniques — it’s a very standard “brick over brick over brick” construction (albeit on a large and tall scale).

Wracked by a bought of insomnia tonight — at least I’m off all day so I can take a catnap if the need hits me — I wandered around my den rooting through stacks of bricks, trying to replicate a design I found off Brickshelf. In short, I wanted to use two arch pieces, reversed (so that the studs faced out on both), with tiled pieces inserted between them to give the illusion of a door or a vent. Airlock? Emergency fuel dump? Let’s wait to see how it integrates into the design before deciding. I tried using 1×1 modified bricks with studs on two or five faces to get the reversed effect, but wasn’t happy with it. Instead, I decided to try to use technic pins — inserting the pin into the bottom of a 1×1 brick I used for spacing between the arches (total of three bricks and a plate), I could reverse the lower arch and snap it into place. For the door, I used six 2×2 yellow tiles, secured from behind by a 2×4 plate. With the cavity in the arches, the door assembly fits snug.

The Finished Design:

A rear view of the technique I used:

Blurry photos. Eh. It’s the middle of the night (or close enough). I’m going to try to get back to sleep.

I’m getting geared up to begin my first Lego project since I finished that seven-foot-tall castle in my living room (and, uh, no, the castle isn’t being demolished for pieces). Something I’ve been interested in building since even before I had an interest in building Hogwarts, I wanted to build a starship, although the details of what kind of ship were always a little vague and hazy (and still are, truthfully).

Anyway, I think it’ll probably make a nice summer project. What I’d really like to do is something I didn’t do with Hogwarts — a complete, detailed interior which is also, and here I face the most difficult aspect of the design — accessible, as well. In any case, I’ve found concept-art from here that I’m using as my “model” (it won’t be to that scale), although, like Hogwarts, I’m building from scratch — no plans, no designs, just a rough idea and a more pressing need to keep everything symmetrical (I do think it would be neat to have a shuttle “airlock” like the one on the Sulacco in Aliens).

I think I’m going to document this build more than I did with Hogwarts. Speaking of which, if you’re new to this blog and are asking yourselves, “Wait, this dude built a 7-foot-tall Lego Hogwarts?” You should just click here. And the answer is “Yes. Yes I did.”