Backward Matt
WIPtember, Day 2: "I've been framed"
So it looks like I still haven't given up on SHIPtember 2015, wohoo!
I got the frame mostly finished (it might get longer or shorter as I go along; queue the "where it stops, nobody knows" Willy Wonka .gif, please) today before assisting my paternal parental unit with his mediocre barbecue simulation. I also now that I'll be using bley, probably light bley, orange, and dark blue for a color scheme if all goes well. I also have a prow section that I'm pretty happy with, so there's that.
But that's not why I'm making this post; this is to explain the frame I'm using and why it's better than whatever you're using you filthy casuals I like it for the moment.
1.) My frame is built in segments made up of two 1x14 technic bricks, since I have enough of them, that are facing away from each other and held together with brackets and plates. The front plates in 1 and 2 are off so you can see inside.
2.) The parts in (bright) orange connect the segments together, with helps from the plates on the sides. The (aqua?) blue shows the brackets that the plates connect to.
3.) Here is an example of multiple segments. [sarcastic groan] Yaaaaay!
Even though the brackets and plates do a good job of holding the technic bricks in position, I still added spacers between the bricks (the 1x1 round studs in 1 & 2) for extra support when I'm trying to attach things to the top or bottom. I could have filled the whole thing with spacers, but it was strong enough as-is and I'd prefer my possible-yet-improbable-finished-SHIP to not weigh more than it has too, so some conservations here and there should work to cut a bit of weight. I also chose to use the round plates because, even though I have waaay too many 1x1 trans. yellow plates, the studs/round plates were already within arms reach and I found out that when I take the plates off to change something, the ridges on the studs would actually catch on each other (notice that they interlock) which, even though they're not enough to hold the entire frame together on their own, it's enough to not have the entire frame fall apart in your hands from removing the plates.
I also checkered/offset the brackets instead of lining them up; it's because the frame only has 1-stud-thick bricks as a center which prevents the brackets from being symmetrical, but doing them like this at least makes them sort of mirrored on both sides. (I also suspect that it might distribute the load more evenly, but that's just a guess.) For a two-brick-wide frame, I could just double up on technic bricks and use technic pins to hold them together.
Well, that's about it. I have an .lxf file of 1 for the curious, just remember that it's missing one side of its plates;
WIPtember, Day 2: "I've been framed"
So it looks like I still haven't given up on SHIPtember 2015, wohoo!
I got the frame mostly finished (it might get longer or shorter as I go along; queue the "where it stops, nobody knows" Willy Wonka .gif, please) today before assisting my paternal parental unit with his mediocre barbecue simulation. I also now that I'll be using bley, probably light bley, orange, and dark blue for a color scheme if all goes well. I also have a prow section that I'm pretty happy with, so there's that.
But that's not why I'm making this post; this is to explain the frame I'm using and why it's better than whatever you're using you filthy casuals I like it for the moment.
1.) My frame is built in segments made up of two 1x14 technic bricks, since I have enough of them, that are facing away from each other and held together with brackets and plates. The front plates in 1 and 2 are off so you can see inside.
2.) The parts in (bright) orange connect the segments together, with helps from the plates on the sides. The (aqua?) blue shows the brackets that the plates connect to.
3.) Here is an example of multiple segments. [sarcastic groan] Yaaaaay!
Even though the brackets and plates do a good job of holding the technic bricks in position, I still added spacers between the bricks (the 1x1 round studs in 1 & 2) for extra support when I'm trying to attach things to the top or bottom. I could have filled the whole thing with spacers, but it was strong enough as-is and I'd prefer my possible-yet-improbable-finished-SHIP to not weigh more than it has too, so some conservations here and there should work to cut a bit of weight. I also chose to use the round plates because, even though I have waaay too many 1x1 trans. yellow plates, the studs/round plates were already within arms reach and I found out that when I take the plates off to change something, the ridges on the studs would actually catch on each other (notice that they interlock) which, even though they're not enough to hold the entire frame together on their own, it's enough to not have the entire frame fall apart in your hands from removing the plates.
I also checkered/offset the brackets instead of lining them up; it's because the frame only has 1-stud-thick bricks as a center which prevents the brackets from being symmetrical, but doing them like this at least makes them sort of mirrored on both sides. (I also suspect that it might distribute the load more evenly, but that's just a guess.) For a two-brick-wide frame, I could just double up on technic bricks and use technic pins to hold them together.
Well, that's about it. I have an .lxf file of 1 for the curious, just remember that it's missing one side of its plates;