Progress journal for the creation of General Grievous' command ship, the Invisible Hand.
About this creation
The idea with this page is to keep something of a journal for the construction of my first large scale MOC, General Grievous' Invisible Hand. Looking at others' creations, I often find myself wondering how long it took, how difficult it might have actually been, and the steps involved. So I thought it might be fun to post some "progress reports" as this lengthy, and expensive creation trudges along...we'll see if I survive the process! (Also, there's always the hope that it may serve as a personal reminder to me never to attempt something so ludicrisly elaborate and difficult ever again. Although I tend not to listen to myself when stirred by some creative delusion of grandure!
So anyway, here goes a bold attempt at what may amount to nothin'. But then again, as Ferris Bueller said..."Only the meek get pinched. The bold survive!"
October 22, 2007
Sooooo...After my last entry work on the moc has intensified to near fever pitch (I think I even broke a sweat once or twice - I know I broke a nail, anyway!), and progress is once again...low and behold...actually starting to show. My initial goal with these entries was to let y'all in on the details of building a complex moc, but so far I can't seem to find the words to describe how #*@! difficult this thing has turned out to be. Which, by the way, has lead me to the belief that we lego enthusiasts are true masochists...for never has such misery been so effin' fun!!!
 I started work on the rear section in the same way I did the front, using castle wall bricks as supports. Once reinforced, these wall pieces have proven to be excellent for support, and I've been pleasantly suprised when picking up this beast to find how strong it appears to be. The important word there being "appears." My wife still finds me twitching in my sleep with bad dreams of the whole thing collapsing on me. Ah well, nothing a little prozac and some ambien can't fix!
 Here we jump forward through several days worth of experimentation and some eventual decision making, for the interior area above the hangar bay. The wall supports had to come out for this section, while the black area you see is the portion that will be visible from the outside, between the exterior panels. This section actually took a LOT more work than expected! It had to fit properly between the exterior panels and simultaneously have strong support, while not dropping too low (which would cause it to interfere with the interior view of the hangar. It was at this point that I concluded...this ship is the Devil.
 Here is a pic of the finished interior of the hangar bay, which I'm really pretty pleased with. Most of it won't actually be seen very easily, but I really liked this area and wanted to give it my best shot. It includes: greebs along the two opposing walls that reflect interior images from the movie, custom labels for the smaller doors, a massive custom label for the hangar floor (underneath which are tiles), ceiling details such as grid work and housing mechanisms for ships, and my favorite...a crane arm that's moveable (used for moving crafts and supplies around the hangar). I'd have loved to include a replica of Anikin's busted-a$$ fighter, but it would've been the size of a crumb, and aparently Lego hasn't started their line of micro-greebling yet...hmmmmmm...perhaps they should?
 And finally, we've got a shot here of the exterior of the hull above the hangar bay. It took a few more tries after that last prototype seen in Journal Entry 4, to get the right dome shape. Eventually, though I won the "battle of the Wedges" and managed to find a combination of wedges and hinge plates that did a fair job. Once again I managed to pick a ship that's all a bunch of domes or curves...see!!! I'm tellin' ya, we're all a bunch of masochists!!!
Next entry: "The Light at the End of the Tunnel" or "How to Go Broke on Bricklink!"
Thanks for stoppin' in. Now stop screwin' around (like me) and go do something productive with your time!
Comments
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I like it |
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May 29, 2011 |
So much work! But how did you design it? How did you decide you would need that amount of each brick? I've seen you were buying on Bricklink. I find Lego Digital Designer convenient for that. |
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I like it |
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December 24, 2009 |
All you AFOLs are just amazing!!! Everything looks perfect in this one! |
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I like it |
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July 5, 2009 |
greeble, greeble, greeble. |
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I like it |
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February 5, 2009 |
kool, check out my invisible hand project?> |
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I like it |
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November 16, 2008 |
you have WWWAAAAYYYYYY too many legos, this is so detailed thats its amazing! |
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I like it |
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June 24, 2008 |
You know what would be nice ? if you would add some mini (micro) droidfighters/gunships, I already saw the finished version but it's interesting to check out the work in progress, the hangar is quite big |
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I like it |
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January 18, 2008 |
Just thought I'd go back and look over your whole construction process. I must say, it definitely gives a greater appreciation for the project. The level of detail put into each piece - such as the hangar and the studless design - is truly inspirational. I really need to try my hand at a S.H.I.P. someday... although it wouldn't come close to this project, I'm sure. |
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I like it |
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January 14, 2008 |
I like your use of raised tiles as greebles. Many stand to learn a lot from your work. |
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I like it |
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November 7, 2007 |
one word, AMAZING!!!!!!!
best ship ive ever seen we're all pullin for ya buddy
but one question of all ships why did you choose this one? |
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I like it |
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October 30, 2007 |
Dang nabbit...missed another one. This is intense, Mark! I love it so far. Excelent work on the slopes and the construction. I already noticed the shield greeble that Anakin blows up - awesome. Your wedge-shaping is masterful. |
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I like it |
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Heather Braaten October 25, 2007 |
You have put my little house to shame. I shall now commence hiding under my rock. Excellent. |
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I like it |
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October 23, 2007 |
"Building a large scale MOC is a path way to many abilites, some consider to be unnatural.." "Is it possible to build such a MOC?" "Not from a noob." |
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I like it |
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October 23, 2007 |
Great to see some more progress. The hangar bay looks FANTASTIC! The shape of the hull is looking good too. Can't wait for the next installment! |
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I like it |
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October 22, 2007 |
You aught to make some mini fighters for the hanger |
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I like it |
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October 22, 2007 |
Wow this is just making us more anxious too see the finished product! -Bob |
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I like it |
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October 22, 2007 |
Wow this is an impressive ship, the detail is fantastic. Nice work. |
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I like it |
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October 22, 2007 |
Its looking better and better every time. Fight through the pain... |
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I like it |
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October 22, 2007 |
Beautiful, as always, and I have often thought to myself that I must masochistic for putting something back together for the Nth time. Or building an element 20-times only to realize that it was the first iteration that looked the best. The ship is certainly progressing and it look like your efforts are going to result in a beautiful model. I hope I get a chance to see it at one of these Lego conventions that I read about, if I ever get the chance to actually go to one. Lee. |
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