Tag Archives: Bob DeQuatre

Don’t neglect to invite this magnificent Maleficent

Disney’s Maleficent is one of the all-time great baddies – so great that she eclipsed her Princess and created her own franchise and became the face of Disney’s Villain empire. The witch’s dragon form has appeared in LEGO before as an official set, but at a scale that didn’t scream Mistress of all evil. Bob DeQuatre gives Maleficent her due with this towering tribute to the film’s final confrontation. The dragon is spectacular, making excellent use of a wide range of slopes in purple and black to match the cartoon curves. Poor Prince Philip doesn’t stand a chance. My favorite section, however, is the crumbling bridge and creeping vines. Bob’s best known for his incredible space and Star Wars builds, but after seeing this scene, I’d love to see him play more with castle creations.

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Party like it’s 2002 with Bob DeQuatre’s latest Neo-Ice Planet creations

Blacktron might be the most popular Classic Space subtheme in numbers, but all the cool kids stan Ice Planet 2002. It has amazing colors, chainsaws, and courtesy of the CMF space series, penguins in space suits. Bob DeQuatre heats up the Ice Planet Renaissance with his latest retro tribute, the Ice Falcon. The classic color scheme is there with the addition of medium azure for subtle gradation in the blues and a little extra black for those incredible engines. Of course a classic printed slope graces the nose.

From the front, the ship is sleek and studless. The engines bring in more greebling and cables. To give the ship texture while minimizing studs and seams, Bob incorporates Hero Factory leg elements into the engines. It’s a bit odd seeing a transparent color other than dark orange on an Ice Planet ship, but the glowing engines look great.

Best of all, as a modern Ice Planet ship, Bob makes room for the penguin co-pilot. Beautiful.

Keep chilling with more of Bob’s Ice Planet models

Summer Faction Festival invites you to show your true space colors [News]

LEGO has blessed classic space fans in recent years with minifig spacemen in new colors, callbacks to old factions, and a couple of re-imagined sets. What we haven’t had in ages is an actual new LEGO faction in the tradition of the 80s and 90s, when every year or two would bring in a new spin on Space. Over on the Eurobricks forums, Bob De Quatre is hosting a contest that lets anyone create a new faction based on a constrained color palette. It seems like an amazing way for veteran Classic Space builders as well as new voices in the community to celebrate LEGO’s space legacy with a creative spin. Large builds, small builds, and even just minifig-focused creations have a category, so why dust off those oxygen tanks and fire up your ray guns and sign up over at the Eurobrick forums.

Perhaps you’ll find your groove like Angus MacLane did with the totally chill Browntron faction (which pre-dates the Summer Faction Festival but fits the rules)

Contest rules after the break

An elegant spaceship for a more civilized age

You’d be forgiven if you couldn’t quite place where you’ve seen this distinctive vessel before. If you never played the Star Wars: The Old Republic massively multiplayer online roleplaying game or missed the official LEGO Star Wars version of the ship in 2013, you might not even recognize the hammerhead profile of a Defender-class light corvette. But it doesn’t take any familiarity with the source material to look at BobDeQuatre’s impressive model and hear a John Williams track or two in your head. The smooth hull, bold red-and-white color scheme, visible laser cannons, and subtle greebling at the equator are more than enough to evoke that quintessential Star Wars-ness that accompanies all the coolest spaceships.

Raising up a classic from the depths of 1996

It was a different time in 1996. Prince Charles and Lady Di call it quits just as Mad Cow Disease hits the UK. Coincidence? Nearly everything topping the music charts was vapid tunes we’d much rather forget but LEGO was doing some fun things. Among them was the 6190 Shark’s Crystal Cave from the Aquazone theme and famed builder Bob DeQuarte gives it a modern makeover.

I particularly like the plate-stacked ocean floor in dazzling colors and the crystal cave and aquatic plant life are not without their charms. But the real star of the show is most certainly that shark submarine staying true to its original color scheme and play features with the added inclusion of dark blue, which didn’t exist back then. There’s been a resurgence of awesome Aquazone and Rock Raiders set redos from 1996 and 1999 lately which, in my opinion, is far better than revisiting “The Macarena” or Cher’s “Believe”, respectively.

It’s time to raid some rocks with a revamped Loader-Dozer

Much like Aquazone, I’ve always viewed Rock Raiders as “even more LEGO Space.” And there was never anything wrong with more sci-fi sets, in the opinion of 12-year-old Kyle. These are the kinds of fond memories triggered by this wonderful recreation of 4950 The Loader-Dozer by Bob DeQuatre. Without using any parts that are distinctly from either of the mining-heavy themes, Bob captures the essence of this powerful equipment perfectly. The choice of scoop at this scale is dead-on, and the move from black to dark gray feels more in keeping with the rest of the design. I just can’t get over the stellar use of spinner bases from this Ninjago set for the hubcaps of its mighty wheels. It’s as if that was their intended purpose all along!

And please take a minute to admire the craftsmanship that went into an accurate rendition of the accompanying Rock Raiders’ antagonist: the fearsome rock monster. This posable version feels so much more play-friendly than the single-molded version from ’99.

All aboard the nostalgia submarine

People are suckers for nostalgia. This is a well-known fact that even the LEGO company has been tapping into lately. It is no wonder that this creation by Bob DeQuatre is hitting all the sweet spots. It is a rebuild of the 6175 Crystal Explorer Sub from the Aquanauts theme. This version is quite a bit larger than the original. The cockpit manages to fit 3 seats and a hatch to access the ocean. I am not sure, as it is not mentioned by Bob, but I can imagine quite well that the big trans purple windscreen from the Pop-up Party Bus was the starting point of this amazing build. To top it all off it even has working lights.

LEGO Creation of the Week (#7): CS Star Explorer by BobDeQuatre

Every week readers of the The Brothers Brick Telegram channel choose the Creation of the Week: one project that impressed all of us the most. Our most recent winner is Bob DeQuarte with his stunning LEGO Classic Space spaceship. You just can’t go wrong with a classic, right?

Meanwhile, the new vote is already on! Join our Telegram channel to follow all the best LEGO creations, latest news, and, of course, vote for your favorites. See you there!

V is for Classic Space! Wait, what?

Sometimes it takes several tries to come up with a clever name for an article and boy did I miss the mark with that one! That’s OK, famed LEGO builder Bob DeQuarte tells us this was his first time building a Classic Space spaceship and he struggled quite a bit, especially with the engine design. It took a few tries, experimenting with different engine sizes and placements but we think the end result was well worth the effort. Check out why we think building in the Classic Space style is well worth the effort and, while you’re at it, please let me know in the comments what a clever-er title for this article could have been had I have not half-assed it like a total schmuck.

Verdant dragon may cause a brushfire

Mythical dragons are no stranger to the LEGO medium, especially those of the elemental variety. But BobDeQuatre has provided us a nature-themed version as rare as a four-leafed clover. Two gorgeous, leafy wings spring up from the dragon’s wooden back, adorned with the occasional pink flower. A line of vines lead up to the beast’s rooted face, providing the same angular features as its scaled, traditional brethren. But the real success here is the design of the dragon’s arms and legs. Formed of rock, they blend into the build’s setting, leaving me to wonder where the landscape ends and the mythical wonder’s body begins.

Can’t make space wine without water

Building a colony on another world won’t be easy. It’ll require tons of resources that you better hope are available on the planet and that you can build close enough to them. Builder Bob DeQuatre is certainly aware of the issues that go along with settling new worlds. As a precious and necessary resource, water is certainly worth a hike to retrieve. This nuclear-powered, armored water tank, dubbed the Dionysus, was designed by the Mars Corporation to quickly transport water from remote extraction sites to the main outpost. Massive wheels and an armored body ensure that every drop makes it back safely. All while looking absolutely gorgeous with that white and red color scheme and interesting angles around that elevated cabin.

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Remember to stay hydrated, even when exploring Mars

How many glasses of water have you had today? I bet, fewer than you you should! Instead of yet another boring reminder, I’d rather share with you this fantastic water extractor built by BobDeQuatre. Named Poseidon, this machine is much more advanced than your ordinary LEGO rover. According to the description, this thing can melt extraterrestrial ice and lift water up to the surface. I cannot confirm if this is true, but I can totally confirm some great part usage in the rover’s design. The cockpit reminds me about the 31107 Space Rover Explorer set which uses the same combination of pieces; although, the Poseidon is much more massive and impressive. Now, go and get yourself another glass of water..!