[Star Wars] Docking Bay 327

[thesilverspyder]

Let me start off by saying that I have never built anything custom with LEGO before. I have a 3' by 2.5' table that displays my UCS Millenium Falcon. I want to (start out by) making the floor for docking bay 327. If you don't know exactly what I'm referring to, check here. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Docking_Bay_327 There is a great image of it that I'm using for reference.

I've already roughed out the floor in MLCAD. I figure I've got a few options, but I wanted to see what everyone here thinks.
1. Buy (6) 48 x 48 gray baseplates (which would give me a combined 3' x 2.5' baseplate area
2. Buy (6) 48 x 48 gray baseplates, paint them black, and then paint on the white parts
3. Buy (6) 48 x 48 gray baseplates, tile them with 2 x 2 black tiles or 1 x 8 black tiles and use white tiles for the white parts
4. Buy (6) 48 x 48 gray baseplates, tile them with black tiles and use white vinyl stickers to create the white parts

If I go the paint option, will that be considered ghetto?
If I go the tile option, i know i will need roughly 1000 1x8 tiles or 2000 2x2 tiles which would amount to $175 or so
If I go the tile and sticker option, will that be considered ghetto?

Your input is highly valued

[Mister Ed]

I don't know what constitutes "ghetto", but I can say that, IMHO, doing the whole thing with standard LEGOs would be the COOLEST option.

Myself, I have nowhere near the finances to consider such an option, so I can certainly understand if you didn't want to go that way.

What are you planning for the hole in the floor? I'm assuming it represents an elevator of sorts, so I suppose you could just have it in the raised position, flush with the rest of the floor.

[thesilverspyder]

I don't know what constitutes "ghetto", but I can say that, IMHO, doing the whole thing with standard LEGOs would be the COOLEST option.

Myself, I have nowhere near the finances to consider such an option, so I can certainly understand if you didn't want to go that way.

What are you planning for the hole in the floor? I'm assuming it represents an elevator of sorts, so I suppose you could just have it in the raised position, flush with the rest of the floor.

I agree solid LEGO would be the coolest, but I have to admit that the vinyl sticker option might look best. As far as for the hole in the floor, I don't want to get this topic off track, but, I plan on making a working elevator and cutting a hole in my table for it.

[onions]

Even though you're not showcasing anything, this thread should belong in MOC showcase since you are seeking help.

[huck to flat]

I don't know what constitutes "ghetto", but I can say that, IMHO, doing the whole thing with standard LEGOs would be the COOLEST option.

Myself, I have nowhere near the finances to consider such an option, so I can certainly understand if you didn't want to go that way.

What are you planning for the hole in the floor? I'm assuming it represents an elevator of sorts, so I suppose you could just have it in the raised position, flush with the rest of the floor.

I agree solid LEGO would be the coolest, but I have to admit that the vinyl sticker option might look best. As far as for the hole in the floor, I don't want to get this topic off track, but, I plan on making a working elevator and cutting a hole in my table for it.

i think thats just the coolest idea! no1: the floor and no2: the elevator in your table. I think it would be really hard to make the 'arrow' shapes on the floor as it is there, paint ruins the pecies for future use , and you would have all the studs sticking up, so i'd say the vyinl one, and i'd be really stoked to see it done finaly.Not sure how you'd make a working elevator (carerning of track here) but one that moves up and down independantly with opening doors would be cool. you could even add elevator music and a bell 'ding' sound

goodluck . lookforward to seeing what you make!

[twentythree]

I too am building a Deathstar landing bay but it is going to display all of the different types of TIE fighters. It is made from 4 - 48x48 extra large gray baseplates. To create the elevator platforms I chose to add brick baseplates over the entire display and then leave open shaft areas for depth. I will be placing stormtroopers in the shafts to give the appearance that they are coming up through on a platform. The surface of the baseplates is covered in 2x2 black tiles (as you came up with as well) and it has approx. 1866 of them. It would be closer to 2300 but I have a huge wall on the last 4 rows of studs across all 4 baseplates, 4 TIE displays, 2 elevator shafts, and the platform station from set 7666 Imperial Inspection covering some space. My suggestion is to either go to your nearest Lego store pick-a-brick (mine is 1hr away in Orlando) or use S@H to order them. Sometimes you can find large numbers of tiles from Bricklink vendors for decent prices but the shipping is usually a dealbreaker due to the bulk. I used about 3 large cups to get around 1900 tiles for about $45 plus tax. It was a sweet deal. As for the white arrows, you're idea of stickers is probably going to work best if you want accuracy. I hope this helps. MTFBWY

p.s.
Thanks for the photo link. I have been pausing my dvd on that scene to help with details in my build. This is much better.

[thesilverspyder]

awesome twentythree! I can't wait to see what you're doing. You know, the new death star has a working elevator so I'm thinking of borrowing the tech from that and applying that knowledge to my model. I figure the inside shaft of the elevator will be bricks. I've just got to figure out the mechanism to roll the elevator up and down and be hidden under the table. That way, you can reach under the table, twist a knob, and there won't be any hardware on the surface. I think I just might do vinyl stickers because it would be easy, cheap, accurate and good looking. I can do it if LEGO can do it.

I just might start another topic soon when I get to the elevator build. That might get interesting... I mean frustrating.

[roguebantha]

This sounds like a great project!
Another option is to use normal bricks on there side, I've used this method to make the docking bay in mini scale and was able to put in the elevator shaft and brick build the arrows without too many problems. Obviously I needed alot less bricks in mini scale!
This method may be cheaper than tiles and would allow more fine detailing of the floor.

[thesilverspyder]

This sounds like a great project!
Another option is to use normal bricks on there side, I've used this method to make the docking bay in mini scale and was able to put in the elevator shaft and brick build the arrows without too many problems. Obviously I needed alot less bricks in mini scale!
This method may be cheaper than tiles and would allow more fine detailing of the floor.

Thanks, I like your idea and I've been thinking about it all day. I'll try re-modeling the floor this way tonight in MLCAD and see what I get.