Boy, the state of the world is in a boil, isn’t it? It’s been so bad lately that it has turned some Canandians impolite. It seems you have to travel all the way to outer space to find people not getting their knickers in a bunch. Take these two industrious LEGO fellows built by Pascal for example. They are most certainly getting s done and seem pretty happy to do it. Wait a minute, on second thought they both look rather upset. What are they so grumpy about? I thought truckdriving was the happiest job in the world next to security guards and funeral directors! Perhaps they’re mad about having to wear helmets and face visors in the cold, unrelenting, unforgiving vaccuum of outerspace? Whatever their reasoning is, I’m sure we can turn their frowns upside-down with more awesome space stuff!
Tag Archives: Classic Space
Stick a fork in this rover – it’s done. Done right, that is
Inspired by the new wheel fork elements from 76179 Batman & Selina Kyle Motorcycle Pursuit, builder Carrier Lost has repurposed them into a something a little more out of this world. The Gamma Scanner is rover is dripping with Classic Space styling combined with more recent offerings like silver ingots and that all-important driver – Lenny from Benny’s Space Squad. The chassis is indeed pretty sweet, but my favorite part of this rover is that array of transparent-green sensors along the leading edge. Will Lenny find the gamma-powered Hulk in a crossover with the MCU? One can only hope.
If rovers are your thing, then be sure to peruse our Rover Tag for more grounded goodness.
When you love Classic Space and have a lot of it to haul around
We all love LEGO Classic Space, right? Sure we do, it hits us right in the nostalgic feels. But what happens when you love it so much that you have a lot of it to haul around? It turns out, The Brick Artisan has answered all our prayers and my weird premise with this Classic Space Compact Transport Rover. It can haul your barrels of toxic waste, whatever comes in those blue canisters (probably also toxic), and whatever that greebly doohickey is of questionable toxicity. Let’s just err on the side of safety and assume it’s all toxic. Thankfully these rovers were fitted with sensitive gyroscopic technologies and extremely responsive suspension so we’ve not shaking up things we don’t have to. This isn’t the first time we were totally delighted by this builder’s Classic Space stuff. Check out what I mean in our archives.
A Classic Space Paraflyer is a fun way to travel
LEGO builder David Roberts tells us the Classic Space Paraflyer is a fun way to travel over planets with any form of atmosphere. I’m inclined to agree, not based on my own experience, but based on the expression of the little space minifigure’s face. I mean, look how happy he is! You can’t be melancholy with a face like that. In fact, every last minifigure produced from 1978 to 1989 had this same exact smiley face. Whether they were robbing banks or laying up in a hospital bed they were damned happy to do it! While we may feature massive spaceships and elaborate castles, sometimes it is the little things that speak to us the most.
David’s fun little builds have spoken to us on several occasions. Here are all the times that we listened.
Eat your heart out, NASA
One small step for a minifigure, one giant leap for minifigure-kind. Builder Centuri Chan has created a fantastic spaceship to get the first two minifigures to Mars by 2028. Nostalgia certainly is a powerful force and the new buildable figures provided a perfect template for Centuri Chan to project their love for the Classic Space theme. This Minifigure Launch System, as dubbed by the builder, is a playful spin on the brick-built mega-figures that LEGO has begun to release. Littered with astronauts and robots, this crawler is on its way to the launch pad for further testing of this minifigure-inspired spacecraft. Two yellow pilots sit in the helmet, just above a wonderful, brick-built Classic Space logo while the rest of the crew tends their various assignments. I love the nod to Classic City sets and Octan with the white, red, and green tanks.
Checking out the back lets us see the boosters that Centuri Chan attached to the spaceman-spacecraft while also making us wonder what exactly the elusive orange spaceman is doing up there.
Always take some precautions when playing around with hypermatter
Fans of the Classic Space LEGO theme may be quite familiar with the prolific builder, Tim Goddard. Known for challenging the limits of the LEGO system and showing us the possibilities, he’s given us another great build to appreciate. This new ship, Dragons Progress, utilizes unique pieces combined in a pleasing and simple color palette for tons of detail and greeble. From the nose to the pointy bits protecting us all from the hypermatter static build-up of the experimental engines, this ship has a wonderful form that breaks the mold of the Classic Space theme.
Space goat from coast to coast
We all know the drill by now. Build a cool Classic Space-inspired LEGO rover, set it in a semi-realistic moonscape of barren rocks. That’s all good and well, because honestly who doesn’t love that? But what I love most about this rover by OA KD is that instead of a moon crater, there’s an adorable space goat munching on some space flowers. But let’s not forget the rover itself, which is a beautiful example of Neo-Classic Space–the modern interpretation of the classic theme from the ’70s and ’80s. While the eggbeater antenna and the little jarred plant are awesome, the detail I love most is those antique grey rubber tires on modern rims, because it looks so perfect for spacey applications like this. I’ve actually tried this on a build a few years ago and found it works great in the short term, but the rims were just a tiny bit tight causing the fragile old rubber to crack after a while, so caution is advised.
But OA KD didn’t just build a space goat and a little day-trip rover. They also built an awesome big rover with treads. It’s loaded with a few canisters for carrying moon plants, and has a cool trans-yellow cockpit courtesy of the old-school angular windows. Continue reading
Spending quarantine in outer space
I think everyone can agree that when lockdown started last year, it was the best time to get out our LEGO bricks and start building. I mean, what better things are there to do? You might as well build something big like a spaceship! That’s what Italian builder Tommaso Ferrarese did, with his aptly named FR2020 Quarantine.
This spaceship consists of over 4000 pieces in Classic Space colours, and is suited for prolonged voyages in the distant reaches of space. The double large windscreen gives the two pilots plenty of social distancing room to spend a long time in isolation. The two massive engines have enough fuel to last… however long lockdown goes for. I certainly wouldn’t mind spending lockdown inside this ship, as long as I have some LEGO pieces to build with!
Check out some more spaceship creations that people built during lockdown!
Functional Febrovery
Febrovery – the annual event where people build space rovers from LEGO. I (Mansur “Waffles” Soeleman) couldn’t say no to building a wheeled space vehicle this month. However, I decided to take a different approach: make it move, make it work, and make it Technical. The result is the Horizon Chariot – a massive, greebly shuttle transporter in a LEGO Classic Space livery. On the outside, it looks like a jumble of layers and pipes, but it’s merely a shell for a complex Technic frame with a working four-wheel drive with a double V8 piston engine, working steering, and soft pendular suspension. My favourite feature turned out to be a working tipping flatbed which launches the small LL-64 Arcade Hopper.
The spaceship belonging to the Horizon Chariot was more of a distraction than an afterthought. I wanted to incorporate a NinjaGo arcade pod into the build as the blue airtight section of Classic Space vehicles. I found it was too small for a big vehicle so why not make a smaller vehicle as part of it? That’s how the aptly named LL-64 Arcade Hopper was born. I just couldn’t stop myself from building a spaceship! With swing-down wings and a smooth underside, it’s really a step away from my usually greebly builds, but it turned out to be a beautiful two-seater shuttle.
Check out the Flickr album to see more photos of the rover and the spaceship!
Moon racers fight to the finish
Have you ever seen podracing in 1/6th of normal gravity? Thanks to builder Rubblemaker, now you can! In real LEGO high definition!
With a silent roar, four engines take off through the Sea of Tranquility, blowing up dust clouds visible from Earth. What you can only see up close, however, is the excellent detail work on each podracer. For example, look at the way each Blacktron engine is a sandwich of filters and fins, expertly crafted using flat brick pieces. Also, check out the dirt being blown up behind each pod; it definitely gives you the idea that these pods are flying along the lunar surface!
First contact
Bart de Dobbelaer never ceases to amaze me with his LEGO creations. Ever since his ‘The Life Aquatic With Clumsy Pete’ series, he has been making one astounding creation after another. First Contact is no exception to this. It features an out of this world landscape with a spaceship in a colour scheme that will send you on a trip down memory lane. The space crew is carefully conducting their work without noticing that their presence hasn’t gone unnoticed. Bart is a master at building alien creatures from obscure LEGO parts. He always manages to use the parts that I am never able to think of a good use for.
Benny’s wheelbike, wheelbike, WHEELBIKE!
Monowheels are a frequently used vehicle for steampunk characters, spacemen, and 4-armed cyborgs everywhere. And here comes one by martin.with.bricks in the Classic space theme, cruising over the crater covered landscape in style. The wheel has some serious tread, built using the ingot piece, and if you look behind the bike, you’ll see the clever use of profile bricks perfectly spaced to show the tread marks in the sand. The pilot seat is an excellent reflection of the classic space aesthetic.