My first LDD SNOT.

There comes a time in ones life when one has to try something new. Lego Digital Designer (LDD) 2.0 had just come our, and the placement tools were working a lot better than the earlier version. I decided to make a space ship, and to make it a smooth as possible.

To get a smooth build you need to eliminate studs on top. I have since learnt that this technique is called Studs Not On Top (SNOT). There is one brick that helps a lot wiht that in this build. It is a double high 2x4 brick with an array of 2x4 studs on the two largest sides. With a cunning arangement of these built into the core of the ship I ended up with studs pointing to the cokpit, atop a stack of 2x2 cylinders, and studs facing the rear, as well as studs to top and bottom. I even had side facing studs, the red lattice piece just before the engine pods.

LDD has a ray tracing engine built in, and a series of back drops, so after building your virtual model you can rend it. Then you can buy it. Of course you can't buy this one, it's too old and the parts library has changed. Hey ho, that's life.