Warship Build 5 — Aegis Cruiser

Welcome to another Warship Wednesday. This week I thought that maybe it would be nice to talk a bit about how I design my ships. Maybe some of you could use the technique, or are at least curious. And what a better example than the surprisingly elaborated Aegis Cruiser?

Now, keep in mind that not all concepts would work for all designs and projects, but there are some general guidelines that I try to use. Maybe later I’ll try to elaborate on how to convert pre-existent sci-fi designs into Lego, or at least how I do it. Today we’ll just go into the process of construction itself.

The first thing I tend to do, and you can see it on the first page of the instructions, is to come up with a keel. I think this is probably the most important aspect, as the keel is what keeps your ship together. It is also where the base will generally apply force, so your model doesn’t buckle up when placed on a base.

Some models do not have such an obvious keel, like the smaller raiders I made some time ago. But the concept is there. If you go back to them, you can see that they have a central region that is made very compact and solid and it’s where the base connects to.

The idea for the first layer of details is that they ought to be bolted onto the keel. These form the structural connections for things like superstructure and other details. They also define the outline, as you can see. It is important that the outline truly comes into form here, to keep the whole thing solid. You see the nose, the engines, and the broadsides in this case. Smaller models just have the nose and the engines bolted onto it and they’re done.

Then you add secondary details. These are usually the giblets that give the ship texture and other outlying elements that make the whole thing come together. Here, sturdiness is optional. Some of these elements may not be really that solid but important to give the whole thing its personality, like the superstructure and the underside in the Aegis.

The base also requires some thought. How large do you need it to be? And where to connect it? The best solution for the latter is to connect it to a strong point in the underside, usually the center of mass. Guarantee that said point also flows directly to the keel or is part of the keel itself. This will keep the ship together and make for a stable model and base. In the Aegis, it actually connects to one of the secondary detail elements, but it is bolted onto the keel and is wide to allow for a good connection.

In a simple fashion, this is it. This is how I do it. Evidently that there may be other steps, but those are mostly dependent on each individual model. The general idea is what I have just told you.

I’m actually really happy with the Aegis. I think it turned out really good-looking and easily recognizable. The updated Aegis is among my favorite Warships in Battletech and it simply looks good.

What about you? How do you go about making your models? Which steps do you follow?

Let me know.