Global 7500 LEGO model

SevenFive · Wed Jan 05, 2022 4:17 pm

Hello and happy new year,

As an aerospace engineer, I was fortunate to be involved in the Global 7500 program at Bombardier for 10 years. I wanted to pay tribute to all the amazing people who work on this aircraft and fly it. Since I'm also a lost cause AFOL (Adult Fan Of LEGO) who likes building with bricks, this project seemed like a great way to combine both passions.

If you like this model then I am humbly asking for your support on LEGO IDEAS:
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/edbaca4 ... 873f8a101f
The LEGO IDEAS platform allows fans to submit their own creations. Every trimester, LEGO designers will review all projects that have reached 10,000 votes and decide which one will become an offical LEGO set! It only takes a few minutes to create an account and you can support other aviation projects.

Built at 1/60 scale, the model has an impressive wingspan of 53 cm. With almost 1,500 pieces, it comes with a lot of features:

Help me make this model an official LEGO set by voting on LEGO IDEAS: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/edbaca4 ... 873f8a101f

Cheers

Newark727 · Wed Jan 05, 2022 6:01 pm

This is impressive! Good work!

ACDC8 · Thu Jan 06, 2022 6:54 am

As nice as it is, looking at current LEGO Ideas, Creator Expert, UCS sets - they're much more refined and less blocky. I'm not sure how the Ideas program works, if your submission gets accepted, does it get somewhat "cleaned up" or do they just take it as is? That would be an awesome build to add to my collection, but I personally don't think I'd buy it unless its cleaned up more, mainly the leading edge of the wings, horizontal stabilizer and nose - sorry, not trying to criticize or anything - and yes, I did cast a vote for you - good luck :thumbsup:

SevenFive · Thu Jan 06, 2022 3:55 pm

Thanks for your vote and don't worry, I welcome feedback so I can improve for the next builds.

LEGO is not an easy medium for building aircraft due to the small number of parts with compound curve surfaces that you typically find in modern aviation. There is also the matter of build stability and the desire to hide studs.

One solution is to build at a large scale, allowing more internal space for structural elements and more options for reproducing aircraft contour lines with very little studs showing. The downside of this is ending up with a very expensive model that is difficult to market or very expensive to buy.

As good as current IDEAS, UCS and Creator Expert products are, they don't have a single aviation product except maybe for the ultimate glider that is the Space Shuttle.

LEGO has done aircraft replicas like the Sopwith Camel, Fokker DR1 and Boeing 787 in the past. I think it's time they release new models that can benefit from the latest build techniques.

LEGO designers would definitely improve this Global model if chosen, maybe increasing the scale a little and trading more studs for smoother lines. It's fine balance, just like designing aircraft in real life.

ACDC8 · Fri Jan 07, 2022 8:49 am

SevenFive wrote:
Thanks for your vote and don't worry, I welcome feedback so I can improve for the next builds.

LEGO is not an easy medium for building aircraft due to the small number of parts with compound curve surfaces that you typically find in modern aviation. There is also the matter of build stability and the desire to hide studs.

One solution is to build at a large scale, allowing more internal space for structural elements and more options for reproducing aircraft contour lines with very little studs showing. The downside of this is ending up with a very expensive model that is difficult to market or very expensive to buy.

As good as current IDEAS, UCS and Creator Expert products are, they don't have a single aviation product except maybe for the ultimate glider that is the Space Shuttle.

LEGO has done aircraft replicas like the Sopwith Camel, Fokker DR1 and Boeing 787 in the past. I think it's time they release new models that can benefit from the latest build techniques.

LEGO designers would definitely improve this Global model if chosen, maybe increasing the scale a little and trading more studs for smoother lines. It's fine balance, just like designing aircraft in real life.

Glad you didn't think I was being over critical LOL :biggrin:

I think the same scale/price point as the Shuttle would be quite reasonable. Thats the tricky thing with LEGO, if you want the detail like moving flaps/slats, etc., then you'd need to scale it up - scale it down and you'll loose that option. Quite a few IDEAs sets are in the $200 plus range and sell quite well, and seeing that LEGO doesn't have any other non City/Creator 3 in 1 airplanes, I think it could sell quite well if the detail is brought up, definitely one of the nicer IDEAs submissions out there - kudos to you.

I think the Shuttle is one of the best designed sets so far, a lot of value for the price - especially when you compare it to the Star Wars UCS sets.

Titanic, of course, is by far the best designed sets hands down - its literally a masterpiece.

SevenFive · Wed Feb 16, 2022 2:47 am

Hello all,

finally got around to finish the physical build.

The stability and stiffness of the wing and wing/fuselage connection are very good (I guess those several digital re-designs paid off). Another unexpected bonus of using curved slopes on top of long plates for the leading edge is that it bends the wing slightly upward, similar to the way lift does on the real aircraft when flying. The only issue here are the winglets that rotate too easily.

The aft fuselage was another story. While the center fuselage is kept stiff by the cabin sides acting as I-beams, the aft fuse connection was using only stacked plates internally. It wasn't not enough to keep the tail from sagging, even before I put the engines on. I ended up adding a connection linking the studs on side of the curve wedges (below the tail) to the aft fuselage. The horizontal stabilizer connection to the vertical fin is the only section I'm still not happy with strength-wise (suggestions welcome please).

I was hoping the model would balance when sitting on the main gear but it's a little too tail heavy. A small stand about 1 cm behind the wheels does the trick. I wish LEGO made compact weighted bricks.

Next step is designing decals to detail the model (since I recently got acquainted with using Part Designer). I was thinking of doing the Netjets livery first.

If you like this model please support my project on LEGO IDEAS to possibly make it a REAL set: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/edbaca4 ... 873f8a101f

I'll leave you with a shot of the interior with top fuselage removed.

ACDC8 · Fri Feb 18, 2022 8:56 pm

Looking good!

Congrats on getting a staff pick from LEGO :thumbsup:

SeaDoo · Wed Mar 02, 2022 4:15 am

Thanks for sharing. I really like your interior work.

Sryforalls · Mon Apr 04, 2022 6:06 pm

Absolutely perfect for lego

Global 7500 LEGO model

Global 7500 LEGO model

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