Colonizing alien planets is the adventure of a lifetime, but things don’t always go as planned. This LEGO radar outpost by Douglas Hughes supports a group of colonists and space marines in their efforts to tame the wild unknown. The best part about a radar outpost with treads is you can make a not-so-quick getaway when the going gets rough.
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When you need to defend your outpost from aerial attack, you need an anti-aircraft Ballista. Like this one built by Douglas Hughes, which features not one, but two substantially armed turrets; one sporting rocket launchers, the other, twin machine guns. The cab is very well sculpted with angled panels, and that blue striped detail is a nice touch.
The vehicle is based on the Anvil Ballista from the multiplayer sci-fi game Star Citizen. But Douglas didn’t just build an amazing vehicle, he motorized it (maybe you noticed the cleverly integrated control box on the side) and lit the cab as well.
The Wheel of Time is a classic series of Fantasy novels by Robert Jordan, first published in 1990. One of the empires in the Wheel of Time universe is known as Seanchan, and it inspired Douglas Hughes to build a LEGO version of a Seanchan Greatship. According to the builder, the Seanchan style is a fusion of medieval European and Asian influences. For example, the figurehead is European while the trio of ribbed sails are reminiscent of Chinese junks. I love the sculpting of the bow and the ornate detailing running the entire length of the ship. The golden hawk figurehead looks stunning and doubles as a reference to Artur Hawkwing, one of the Seanchan empire’s earlier leaders.
Do you ever get the feeling we are living in a simulation? One of the greatest cinema moments of the nineties has been brought to life in LEGO by Douglas Hughes in this scene from The Matrix where Neo asks, puzzled, “I know Kung Fu?” Morpheus looks at him quizzically and challenges, “Show me.” Douglas has captured the simple complexity of the dojo beautifully, adding special lighting for the sword racks. With its stark lines and contrasting colours, Neo deftly dodges one of Morpheus’s relentless attacks.
