Tag Archives: Febrovery

Unmasking a clever build technique

As Febrovery 2022 comes to a close, we here at the Brothers Brick Bullpen thought we had seen every variation on space rovers there was to see. But builder Scott Wilhelm had a trick up his sleeve that we weren’t expecting: a half-track rover built from a giant Bionicle mask. That’s right, the giant curved mass of dark red that you see below is the main gate from Set 8759-1 Battle of Metru Nui. Scott has cleverly crafted a minifigure cockpit on the mask’s forehead, and cramped all manner of glorious greebles into the mask’s negative space. While the mask was only ever available in one set, this rover might have the LEGO Group looking to see if they still have the mold on file.

Mobile Reactor Transport

This rover has some sweet rims, bro!

Get ready to lapse into a diabetic coma because this new LEGO rover by Robert Heim has a sweet secret. The tires are made with six tasty sweet cupcakes found in the DOTS Creative Party Kit. With a beatbox from the VIDIYO line used as the cockpit, Robert is having a creative party indeed.

Spaceport Fire Rover

This alternate view shows the guns aimed and ready to shoot sweet sugary goodness directly into your piehole. That reminds me, I could use a snack! While I raid the cupboard for some confectionary treats, click the little blue link to see the other awesome and sometimes unusual rovers featured this Febrovery.

Spaceport Fire Rover

The mean, green roving machine

You can tell that LEGO builder Dan Ko had a great time when designing this intriguing rover. February, or shall we say Febrovery, has been a great month for rovers and we’re not even done yet. This one features a pilot that is a bright green ducky that can only be had in 2019’s Series 19 Collectible Minifigure Shower Guy. Shower Guy, huh? Clearly he’s doing it right as none of my showers have ever been as fun as he seems to make it. I believe it is because my shampoo is not tear-free, in fact it promotes tears. Anyway, let’s wipe away our tears and see why Dan Ko is having the best life ever!

The NNJ Rover

A pair of roving rovers running rampant

February is one of my favorite LEGO months, Because it comes before Marhikoma, and for Febrovery, when builders from around the world create rovers inspired by the classic space car. This pair of rovers by Isaac Snyder are a perfect blend of nostalgia and modern sci-fi, with smooth large wheels and an open cargo bay, the big rover reminds me of the ground vehicle from the Mass Effect video game franchise, and while I know this only shows how old I am, a bit of the classic arcade game Moon Patrol. The smaller one looks like it rolled over the hill from the lunar lander from NASA. My only question is, will the small one fit on the cargo bed. Judging by the hinged tailgate, I’m guessing it does.

Whitetron UCT-6 and SOV

Bubble trouble in the desert

This LEGO Desert Tiger tank built by Andreas Lenander is chock full of great personality. It’s a creation that proposes more questions than answers. Like what is is doing there? What purpose does it have? And what is with that pink-helmeted driver? And most importantly, would they hang out with me? Because whatever trouble that driver is getting into, I most assuredly want to be a part of it! Those tracks are brilliant and even the ground and spires are brick-built using clever techniques. What’s not to love, really? There’s plenty more to love when you click the little blue link to see what else Andreas has done.

Desert Tiger

Rugged rover vibes abound

We’re halfway through FebRovery and the models keep coming. Stand-outs can be hard to find but LEGO builder Julius Kanand has provided us with a near-future gem worth gushing about. A collection of old and new parts, the builder certainly had fun figuring out the finer details in this model. The suspension, which looks a lot like a Coilover suspension in each arm, is full of functioning parts, including the spring suspensions used near the central body. This is a pretty smart way to usefully integrate the suspension so that the body stays relatively still as the arms move up and down to respond to the terrain. Those big, classic wheels provide plenty of clearance under the body along a retro-future vibe to match the Classic Space planet logo used in the tailpiece. There is a ton of nice parts usage in this build, including the skateboard communications array, along with the storable helper bot that the green spacemen must be unloading here.

Rover 2

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That little alien critter almost was Monorover roadkill

Sometimes LEGO releases parts that are so big, they seem challenging to use in a build of your own because they are so noticeable. Frost isn’t afraid of a challenge and is actually quite well known for using odd big pieces in their builds, just take a look at their gallery. The windshield of the Pop-Up Party Bus is such a piece. It is huge, it is trans purple and it only has been used for this one set. Frost used it in their Monorover. The build features only one wheel, hence the name Monorover. But that one wheel is massive! Which goes along great with the big purple windshield.

FebRovery 2022 Part 11

If you peek through the windshield you’ll notice a really nice angled display using the 1×2 round plate and the angled bar with stud. The colour scheme of this rover also is to die for. The teal compliments the purple and the trans purple wonderfully and the grey gives it that Classic Space feel we all know and love. Frost also proved that, even though LEGO Vidiyo didn’t last long, they produced some stellar minifigures.

A space rover that really pops.

You’ll feel like you’re floating on air as you traverse the harshest alien landscapes in this bubble-based rover by Andreas Lenander. With Febrovery upon us, your social media feed is probably filled with new builds that pay tribute to classic space rovers. One way for a rover creation to stand out from the pack is an unconventional wheel. These giant trans-clear half spheres are a perfect candidate for that. Not only do they give the rover a lift up, but they let us see through, so we can admire the detail of the cracked landscape, made from slopes laid on their sides. One has to wonder though, with such a bubbly ride in such a fascinating landscape, what’s got that spaceman looking so angry?

Bubble rover

A round of remarkable rovers

February is behind us, and so another Febrovery also comes to an end. The month-long tribute to the classic space rover brought us many charming and clever space rovers, but there are still rovers trickling in and I couldn’t let these gems by Andreas Lenander go unsung.

A good rover is not just about the vehicle, but the terrain it is built to traverse, and this one features a fractured surface filled with glittering jewels. But as Andreas says in the title of this model, it is all about the wheels, and these built wheels have bite. I’m talking about the tooth element used along the inner edge of the rims.

OCS-82

And speaking of wheels, this rover comes with double wheels in front and enough ground clearance to deal with the most rugged ground the universe can dish out. The stark black and white colors and the lights make me think Interstellar.

MR-28X

When remote learning is really, really, remote.

LEGO Master Builder Tyler Clites dips his toe into FebRovery waters with his Space School Bus. Tyler’s image description gives us some nice context for the theming – “I think having a kid has me thinking less about weaponry and more about the more mundane details of life in space.” Mars is far enough away for socially distanced learning, right? There are a lot of great details to enjoy here, but my favorites are the smooth curves in the rear cabin and and the dark red structural beams. And those frying pan details in the center of the layered wheels are just *chef’s kiss*  levels of quality.

Space School Bus

If space school busses aren’t your jam, then maybe you’ll like this awesome chopped rusto-mod version from our archives!

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.

Febrovery - Horizon Chariot and 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!

A black and white ride for the Red Planet

Here’s a fun fact: while here, on Earth, we often design our vehicles to merge with the environment, on Mars, the more attention your rover gets, the better. And since the planet is red, even black and white will do. Cole Blaq knows how to make a rover remarkable with an unusual cockpit structure while keeping the rest basic. It has just the right amount of detailing, with neat headlights in the front and very suitable stickers in the back. And why would you need more when your rover has rims like these?

Mars Rover