1. Introduction 1.1 Thematic background 1.2 Practical background 1.3 Quick Demonstration 2. The MASS System 2.1 About 2.2 Standard 2.3 Uses 3. The Wegmullerian Container 3.1 About 3.2 Standard 3.3 Uses 4. Miscellaneous 4.1 To Do 4.2 Closing 4.3 More Examples 1. Introduction 1.1 Thematic Background More than half a century ago, galactic freight slowly crawled past a level that pushed bulkbreak freighters to their limits. Mirroring the containerization of planetary transport, engineers from across the galaxy drew up plans for a spatial container system that would make interstellar cargo easier to handle. The containers were designed, largely upon the urging of the industrial giant BC Inc, to complement a ship building standard that had been implemented within the Confederate League almost a century before before, helping ease the transition towards containerization. 1.2 Practical Background I've had the idea since I built my first full scale space MOC more than a year ago: Modular construction. Having been a train builder up until then, I realized that trains are modular to a degree in and of themselves: one can arrange locomotives and cars in whatever order one pleases. The moonbase is also a great example of modularity, and I believe there is a castle standard as well (Though I am truly not familiar with it). I wanted a spacecraft standard. The idea is similar to that of a moonbase: if enough people have spacecraft modules, they could put them together into a very large spacecraft. Thus, over the course of a year and several ships, I came up with a reasonably consistent standard - largely just a modification of the moonbase system, and thus, a complimentary system on the most part. On the remark of a fellow Baylug member, I am thus presenting this standard to the general Lego community. On a side note, what is being presented here is actually two standards: One for the general construction of spacecraft, and one for the Wegmullerian intermodal container. 1.3 Quick Demonstration So here are some MASS parts and Wegmullerian containers. We'll start by assembling some of these parts into a basic combination: a cab, airlock, and two somewhat disproportionately large engines. Now we've got a fast courier or a tug. Let's give it something useful to do. In the case of bulkbreak cargo, an open unit can be attached to the back of the ship. Living quarters can be inserted in the advent of a long voyage. Most Lego cargo is apparently in the form of those 4x8x4 train containers. Hence, a unit has been built to hold those. It can also haul Wegmullerian containers. Simply connect the crates to the back of the airlock (We're blocking the airlock, but in the case of an emergency, they'd disconnect the crates). If too many containers make the ship unwieldy, groups of containers can be articulated. Those containers are actually really quite useful, they can be used as permanent internal sections of ships. Four 12 length containers can be used as a temporary moonbase corridor. Did I mention this was an intermodal system? Train cars for the Wegmullerian containers. 2. The MASS System 2.1 About MASS stands for "Modular Augmentable Space Standard". This acronym gets four points across: One for each letter. As mentioned, the MASS standard is based off the moonbase, and is therefore, hopefully, designed to be remotely compatible. There are only two "official" rules to the MASS standard, and a number of "recommendations". 2.2 Standard Due to my incompetence with most Lego CAD programs, I am turning to a CAD system affectionately know as "Napkin CAD". All figures are not drawn to scale. At all. Figure 2.1: Corridor Face a) Like the moonbase standard, the MASS system is built around corridors, and connects with other modules at the end of corridors. b) The corridors are thus indentical to ends of moonbase corridors, save the extra row of holes above and below the corridors for extra stability. c) The corridors do not HAVE to have to extend past the plane of the surface in which they are set, though it is recommended to leave one to two studs of leeway. Figure 2.2: Basic MASS Module a) As with moonbase modules, corridors can extend perpendicular to other corridors. With the MASS standard is is possible even to extend them at diagonals, though the logistics concerning inter-modular compatibility is not something I want to think about. b) There is no standard as to perpendicularly bisecting corridors should be placed, so two corridors on two ships may not necessarily match up. c) Corridor openings should, however, be placed on the same level relative to the bottom of the ship. This is so standardized landing gear (Still in the works) can be implemented. See 4.1 for details. Figure 2.3: Accessories a) Accessories such as engines or gun turrets can be attached to MASS modules through the above template. I would have spaced the two beams by two plates if it had been vertically symmetrical. b) MASS modules themselves can be connected side by side with the appropriate connection pieces. Figure 2.4: Example This is an example of a simple ship using the MASS system. It is comprised of 6 elements: a cab, two endcaps, an open 3 way module* and two engines. One should note that connections A, B, and C are with corridors and connections D and E are with the accessory standard. * The difference between an "open" and "closed" module: An "open" module's corridor ends are exposed to the outside, whereas a "closed" module will have built in doors that eliminate the need for "endcaps". The "endcaps" in questions are essentially the same ones that one would put on the ends of moonbase modules. 2.3 Uses Above all, the MASS system is for building spacecraft. In general, I believe that the system is superior when it comes down to building smaller ships under the C1 SHIP classification, but I've built MASS ships up to 150 studs with some difficulty. It is certainly not out of the question to just line up fifty modules and call it a C6 SHIP or something to the extent - it's possible to do a lot of things in space, the ship just won't be swooshable. The module possibilities are quite large. I've been able to build a variety of different ships using the MASS standard, MASS modules can be anything from a simple endcap to a train container carrying module to an airlock to a entire crew quarters. Personally, I think the system works best in it's ability to "mix and match", just like the moonbase standard. 3. The Wegmullerian Container 3.1 About The Wegmullerian container has a different history from the MASS system. David Wegmuller, a fellow Baylug member devised an earlier version of the container in [early 2006/late 2005?], whilst the MASS standard was still in modification. It was only a few months ago that I decided to incorporate a modified version of the container into the MASS standard, though it now seems to be a perfect "base unit" for the MASS system. 3.2 Standard Figure 3.1: Basic Wegmullerian Container a) The faces of a Wegmullerian container are identical to the faces of MASS module corridor connections. b) The basic lengths of Wegmullerian containers are multiples of 12. This is a measure of standardization and it allows four basic container units to form a 48 stud long moonbase corridor. c) The features of the "rings" that make up the ends of the container allow the containers to be stacked. The top of each "ring" consists of 2 jumper plates and two 2x2 tiles. The bottom of each "ring" consists of 2 1x2 plates and a 2x4 plate. d) The body of the container, the area between the two rings, should fit within a 5.66x6 Brick/Stud area, with 5.66 Bricks as a height, and 6 Studs as a width. 3.3 Uses Though it may not seem like it, the Wegmullerian Container itself is almost as flexible as the MASS system as a whole. There is no limit to the actual length of a container (Though I think 48 is the real practical limit) as long as it fits within the 5.66x6 Brick/Stud area. Ultimately one has as much flexibility with the Wegmullerian container as, say, a 6 wide train modeller has with a 6 wide train. One can add doors, windows, interiors, and whatnot. It is in that sense, the Wegmullerian container becomes a "base unit" of the entire MASS system. Also, the Wegmullerian container is not an exclusive space MOC. As I pointed out, one can easily mount it on freight cars and build an entire train of Wegmullerian containers. It is a box like any other box. Especially those train containers. 4. Miscellaneous 4.1 To Do The MASS system is not complete, I simply believe it is appropriate to present what I have at the moment in order to receive feedback, etc, before I continue. a) The main item I want to add to the Standard is standarized landing gear. I want an easy to build mechanism that can lift a ship all the way up to moonbase height, and still fold up into relative obscurity beneath a ship's hull. I have built and tested a working prototype, but I believe it is ugly, hard to modify, and certainly piece consuming. A ten brick high landing gear will allow all equipped modules to become temporary monnbase modules, adding to the modular value of the system. b) I also want to figure out a system for the connection of multiple corridors within modules. At the moment, the MASS system is designed largely for single corridor, smaller ships. I thus want to determine a standard for modules with two or three or four or N corridors above and below or side by side with the original corridor. This will allow, for the most part, constuction of larger ships which are not just simple trains of MASS modules. c) Finally, this is more of a comment than anything: I wanted to standardize the lengths of the modules to the 12/24/36/etc of the Wegmullerian containers, but decided that would eventually make the system too rigid. 4.2 Closing A friend of mine originally wanted to name this system the "NYUS" (Not Your Usual System). In a way this is a very appropriate title. For the most part, the MASS system is indeed, not your usual standard. In retrospect, the MASS system seems to be an obvious extension of the moonbase standard. It may even be too obvious, I suppose, as I'd have thought someone else would have thought of the idea before I did. For that matter, I think it may not be as practical as I may have envisioned. Indeed, I still have my doubts as I am writing this. Nevertheless, this is simply an idea. If you don't like it, you certainly don't have to endorse it. I thought this was a good idea, and I still think it is a good idea, I just want to see if anyone else thinks the same way. I would also like to thank three specific people for contributing to the development of the MASS standard: Justin Lan is a long time friend, fellow Baylug member, and a chief source of inspiration - he's the one who came up with the "NYUS" idea. David Wegmuller is the originator of the Wegmuller container. I am tentatively putting his idea out there without his expressed endorsement, but I haven't had a chance to speak to him for a while. Bill Ward is a fellow Baylug member who prompted to me to document the MASS system. It is thanks to him that I have just spent an afternoon typing this up. There's probably a lot of stuff I wanted to say and missed, I will update this page accordingly if interest is shown in the MASS system. I can be reached at bradlycolin AT gmail DOT com for any comments, questions, and/or criticism. 4.3 More Examples And some more examples, specifically of my "mix and match" ideas. As if those old engines weren't oversized already. Kagurazaka becomes a merchantman. Like a limo... but not quite. Ok, so not like a limo either. Complete Brickshelf Gallery The End!