Dragon MOC

doctorsparkles · Post by **doctorsparkles** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 2:18 pm

Here is a model that I've been working on for the past week (my first MOC posted on this site).

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/docto ... ragon1.jpg

And the folder, when public (there's nothing else in there yet, though):

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=90087

Obviously, it's still in progress. It's built mainly from 2 copies of the new Prehistoric Creatures Designer set, and I drew a lot of inspiration for the model from there as well. In fact, as of right now, the head and most of the tail are taken directly from their T-rex model (I'll work on those once I get the wings and legs finished).
I'm experimenting with different leg shapes... I can't get any to work just yet.
My main concern is the wings. I would like to use fabric for more flexibility and to put less stress on the wings. However, I'm not sure how to attach the fabric and I'm also not sure if it will be able to support even the weight of the fabric. I would rather keep the wings thin and aerodynamic, but if I have to thicken them up for strength, I'll do it.
So far, the dragon is about 23 inches (58 centimeters) from head to tail. His wing span is 37 inches (95 centimeters), but his wings won't be able to stretch so far once finished. I'm guessing the wingspan will probably end up being 30-32 inches (76-81 Centimeters).
I'll be working on it over the week, and will probably have more pictures to post next weekend. Any comments, suggestions and constructive criticism is welcome.

Sir Terrance · Post by **Sir Terrance** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 2:43 pm

Looks good so far. To attach fabric, try getting thin stuff you can wedge between two plates. I really like the red and dark red color scheme. Very nice.

Luís · Post by **Luís** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 2:48 pm

Great moc. I think you should put the wings larger if you want your dragon to fly

.

doctorsparkles · Post by **doctorsparkles** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 2:49 pm

Sir Terrance wrote:I really like the red and dark red color scheme. Very nice.

Well, I can't take credit for the color scheme. That was yet another thing borrowed from the designer set. Thanks for the input, though.

doctorsparkles · Post by **doctorsparkles** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 3:08 pm

Luís wrote:Great moc. I think you should put the wings larger if you want your dragon to fly .

I was hoping to make the wings larger... much larger in fact. I wanted make him almost bat-like (I had the flying fox in mind, actually), so with the length of his body (minus the tail), his wingspan should be around 4 to 5 feet. Unfortunately, both my brick selection and the added weight make such a proportion impossible at this point.

Post by **SavaTheAggie** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 4:27 pm

You will be surprised at just how much stress a thing little wing can put on a joint. Even the strongest joints can snap like a twig attached to a long wing. I've not tested the strength of the new clicking joints, so if it works, great. However, I'd suggest looking into worm gears, when used correctly, they offer almost infinite strength to a joint. Unfortunately, I don't know if they'll be any use to you because of your dragon's body size, it might be a little to crowded for gears.

You have the right idea with using plates, though. Sandwiching and staggering plates adds a lot of strength to the wings themselves. For added strength, think about widening the wings at the base, using 2xX plates. The more studs that are involved, the harder it is for them to separate under stress.

Attaching fabric to wings can be tricky. For the Juvenile Dragon, I used the 1x4 plates with the tow ball that came on the Black Seas Barracuda that held the sails on, along with some black thread wrapped around the wing finger tips to help keep the wing attached. For Formeathan 2.0, I sewed several lengths of clotheshanger wire into a pocket in the leading edge of the wing, which was then attached to 2xX technic plates sandwiched in the wings by sewing nylon thread through the technic holes in the plate and around the clotheshanger wire.

No offense to Sir Terrance, but I find simply sandwiching the cloth between plates weakens the wings too much, and they end up coming apart under their own weight.

As for legs, you'll need to design legs with limits as to how far they can be posed. This way you can 'lock' them for posing, and the weight of the body can be held up by leg joints leaning on leg joints, and leg joints leaning on the body, and not the joints themselves. With that huge head, this is going to be important, unless you use a joint type that can hold up to the weight of your beast on it's own, like I said, I haven't tested the new clicking joint.

It's a good start though, I look forward to seeing further progress.

--Anthony

doctorsparkles · Post by **doctorsparkles** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 5:14 pm

I finished the legs today using two of the new click joints on each leg and then hid the joints with a variety of pieces. I had previously tested the T-rex legs to get an idea of how to go about building, and the legs buckled under the weight, so I went with a very simple design with an emphasis on strength rather than posability.
My next project is probably the head. With the legs put on and the wings altered slightly, the head doesn't look quite so large and the entire model looks a little more balanced, but I would like to have a head of my own design on there. Besides, I would also like to add a neck on, and the head is too heavy for that as it is.
I'll probably leave the wings as they are... just the frame. I don't have too many plates in the right color to work with right now. Also, when closed, they droop slightly and give the appearance of wings that are just folded against his body.
Sadly, I have no pictures to show just yet.

Post by **Robin Hood** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 5:28 pm

Looks good. I have made a draogin of my own. It needs better wings, and its picture won't be taken for sometime. Still I can appreciate the stress you might be going through.