Tag Archives: Classic Space

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.

First Contact

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.

Space Monowheel

A sleek homage to a timeless spaceship, spaceship, SPACESHIP!

In 1979, LEGO launched their first ever space theme, with it the Galaxy Explorer flagship that inspired generations of fans. Amongst them, builders like to recreate these classic spaceships with new pieces and designs. Tim Goddard, the co-author of LEGO Space: Building the Future, has presented us with his take on this iconic piece of LEGO history. While staying true to the original ship, Tim’s LL-928 flies with a perfect balance of smooth grey wings and a greebly hull. Through a great transparent yellow canopy, spacemen sit in a detailed cockpit complete with controls, cabinets, and cup of tea.

Galactic Explorer

Though he is an experienced builder, Tim perfected his craft by implementing various advanced building techniques. He has angled the wings with slope bricks that transition perfectly between each section. In addition, the smooth wings have a curved edge that is reminiscent of modern aircraft wings. The curved nature of the wings carries over to the rear section which conveys a bit of the rounded 1960’s sci-fi design. Last but not least, Tim stepped out of his comfort zone by engineering a working landing gear using functional Technic parts.

See some more modern takes on LEGO Classic Space, and check out more of Tim’s builds here.

The Sandcrawler...or Mooncrawler?

Hide your droids! Hide your ship! Or else the crew of this massive LEGO Sandcrawler built by Walter Whiteside will scrap and sell them in exchange for breakfast, maybe a nice mudhorn egg. As always, it is great to see a mashup between Star Wars and LEGO’s Classic Space theme. This time rather than a flying vehicle we have a brilliant blue Sandcrawler, but given its classic space look, I could see this mobile fortress making its way across a sandy and cratered moon.

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Crawling with Classic Space nostalgia

Are you shopping for a rover that can handle rough terrain? (Aren’t we all?) Then Blake Foster has all the answers you seek with this LEGO All-Terrain Classic Space Tank or AT-CST. It makes excellent use of this bubble windscreen as well as this Bionicle shell. If that is giving you just a touch of deja vu, that is because Blake recently used the same parts with this Grumpy Gnat. Blake seems to specialize in spacecraft that tickle the ol’ LEGO nostalgia bone. Check out our archives to see what I mean.

AT-CST

Batman, Batman, BATMAN!

Who doesn’t love a good mash-up? And when it comes to LEGO mash-ups, Classic Space is one of the more common themes that builders love to mash. Even LEGO Batman, who usually only builds in black, has joined in the fun, in this dynamic duo of vehicles by Stu Pace, which covers two Batmobiles from opposite ends of the modern Batman franchise. Both vehicles combine the classic space color scheme and iconic details of the source material very well.

Blue Bats

Classic Space Pirates is a win/win

We love Classic Space. We also love Pirates. So captainsmog has pulled a brilliant maneuver by combining the two beloved LEGO genres and the end result is just as charming as you’d think. I like how it is shaped like a seagoing vessel but functions as a space rover. Those beefy tires can handle any terrain outer space may throw at it. And the skeleton/spaceman as a masthead figure; that’s just cool. It conjures childhood memories of exploring outer space with my Classic Space sets…and also pillaging seaport towns. Captainsmog just might be a builder to watch out for. It seems we were equally smitten by this.

Classic Space Pirates

Whatever floats your goat

If you’re like me, you’ve probably lost plenty of sleep wondering if there will be goats in outer space. Thankfully, Andreas Lenander has built a LEGO diorama that ought to squelch our nocturnal worries. It’s a rather neat Goat Transport Facility on Epsilon IV that uses robots and other science-y stuff to make sure the future and outer space still have these lovable and occasionally delicious creatures around to chew your socks or whatever. Amazing details abound whether they be the repetitive use of ingots, well placed tire rims or flex-hoses. My favorite part would have to be the adorable goats in their own floating hermetically-sealed containers. You can say the containers are…totes-ma-goats. Tee hee. Hah! Am I right, people? Hilarious, right? No? OK, I’ll just let myself out. Sorry.

Goat transport - Epsilon IV

In Space no one can hear you mourn

Recently the world lost Jens Nygaard, a key LEGO innovator. While most news outlets were focused on Jens’ work as the creator of the LEGO minfigure, he was responsible for so much more. For example, did you know he was the creator of the classic Space theme? Builder Chris Yu did, and the Nygaard memorial fleet is their tribute to Jens’ genius. It’s said that grief is just love with nowhere to go. But sometimes we can take that love, listen to the inspiration it brings, and create something new.

This microscale collection of ships are decked out in the theme’s traditional blue and yellow colors. There’s a variety of cruisers, a fun robot, suitably chunky rocket, and even a micro-tribute to the theme’s astronaut minifgures.

nygaard memorial fleet

Chris won our 2019 LEGO Creation of the Year Award with another Classic Space masterpiece. It’s safe to say this is a tribute to a theme close to his heart.

The Brothers Brick Explore: LEGO Classic Space [Feature]

Classic Space – one of the perennial LEGO building genres, ever-popular amongst fans for its nostalgic nods to iconic official sets of the past, and the opportunities it presents to depict an optimistic expansionist vision of humanity’s intergalactic future.

This building genre takes its primary influences from the LEGO Space sets released between 1978 and 1987, and the follow-up themes released during the late-80s and beyond, when factions like Futuron, Blacktron, and the Space Police were introduced to the universe.

But the genre is about much more than just the official sets. Take a trip with The Brothers Brick as we blast off on our grand tour of LEGO Classic Space…

Click to read our in-depth overview of the Classic Space building genre

New orange spaceman joins the Classic Space LEGO minifigure lineup [News]

The old-school Classic Space astronaut is of the most beloved and iconic minifigures of the last 40 years, and later this year it will be available in orange for the first time. The figure will be an extra in the upcoming new edition of LEGO Minifigure: A Visual History from publisher DK. According to the Amazon UK listing, where it is available for pre-order, it will be available Oct. 1 for £30.00.

Originally available in black, blue, red, white, and yellow, the figure featured prominently in space sets for more than a decade across the 1970s and 80s. Recently, LEGO has been picking up on the nostalgia fans have for the simple spaceman and have been filling in the lineup with additional colors. In 2014 the Ideas set 21109 Exo Suit included a green version, and of course Benny from The LEGO Movie proudly wears an original blue suit. Last year for The LEGO Movie 2, he was joined by two rereleases of the white and yellow space figures, along with another new addition: the pink version, in 70841 Benny’s Space Squad. Now, DK’s new book adds an eighth color to the lineup, bringing us one step closer to having a space minifigure for every occasion.

The story behind LEGO’s 1981 Classic Space Christmas card [Feature]

Last year, we shared an article on vintage LEGO holiday greeting cards. The LEGO Group has established a tradition of giving their employees exclusive Christmas themed sets like the X-Mas X-Wing for the holiday season. Even longer than that, since at least the 1970s, the LEGO Group has produced special Christmas cards for employees (and, occasionally, the UK LEGO Club). Each year brings a new card, with artwork ranging from carefully staged minifigures to elaborate brick-built designs. You can find blank examples that were used to send personalized messages, as well as cards with printed holiday greetings from LEGO’s leadership, such as owner Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen.

Continue reading for the story behind LEGO’s spacey 1981 Christmas card.