Tag Archives: Febrovery

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?

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Load up and roll out

There’s always a ton of cool builds that show up in February thanks to various “Febrover” contests. This year was no different with Isaac Snyder’s (on Flickr as -soccerkid6) M-Tron rover and loading station.

First off, so many shields! It’s incredible to see so many of one piece used so well. The shield shape gives the base of this build a concrete look, very fitting for space-corporation LEGO design. I’m also a huge fan of the use of ladders as the frame. It feels like this whole build was taken right out of an industrial outpost controlled by M-Tron.

But the rover is the real star of the show. The wheels were installed backward so Isaac could use the grey disk as a detail effect, which is very clever. I totally dig the mini-crane on the back as well, with again a ladder being used, this time as the crane arm.

M-Tron should really make a comeback. If it does, I hope it looks like Isaac’s stuff!

Yo, dawg! We heard you like gold so we pimped your ride!

Who could forget the mid-2000’s show Pimp My Ride? You can be forgiven if you had already forgotten it. The premise was the host and rapper Xzibit, would knock on some young pimple popper’s door, notify them that their broke-ass ride is about to be pimped, then backflips and high-fives would ensue. Then the guys at West Coast Customs would install state-of-the-art stereo systems and gadgets, wild paint schemes, spinner rims, and TVs on nearly every surface including seat rests and mud flaps. Stir in a little drama and a big reveal and you have the makings of what entertained us in the mid-oughts. This LEGO rover by Crimso Giger is pretty much what Pimp My Ride would be like if they had worked on space rovers. It’s way more blingy than the practical but boring rover they just sent to Mars. Consider yourselves pimped!

Do space police dream of astronaut llamas? Who would we even ask about that?

The current cold weather in the US has nothing on the cold of deep space. The aptly named Frost brings more love to Febrovery 2021 with the Spy-Trak V: “Trakin’ Spies since ’89”. Complete with removable prison pod, this sweet ride has an aggressive stance that’s sure to intimidate any Space Llamas it runs across. It’s also an homage to the classic 6895 Spy Trak 1 set from 1989.

Frost was kind enough to showcase the rover from multiple angles. You can really appreciate the ant-like shaping, and the strong contrast between the transparent red windscreen and the blue of the main body. This is the sort of build that goes to show you don’t have to use a million parts to make a slick creation with outstanding lines.

Frost is building an entire fleet of rovers, and is even writing story around them. Here’s the starting point if you want to read along! And when you’re done, be sure to cruise our archives of other Febrovery builds!

A rover made for relaxing

February is over, and LEGO builders who participated in the month-long building challenge known as Febrovery even got a bonus day with this leap year. Several rovers have been featured here on TBB this month, but this open-topped model by Anthony Wilson instantly caught my eye, mostly with the presence of something not usually seen in space exploration vehicles, a tree, and a very nicely sculpted one at that. I would say this tree-topped rover was a breath of fresh air.

A cool rover for February

February is the least favorite month for many people, at least in the Northern Hemisphere; it’s often cold, still dreary, and all the magic of winter and Christmas is long forgotten. But not for me. It certainly helps that my birthday falls in this shortest of months, but there are many other positive features to recommend it. For example, it is the month to build LEGO rovers (Febrovery). I love rovers. And what better way to combine winter with rovers than a solid Ice Planet 2002-inspired rig like this one from the appropriately named Frost? It’s got giant wheels that are really erasers (perhaps it erases its own wheel marks from the snow?), the glorious trans-neon orange canopy, and the can’t miss blue-and-white color scheme. Some stickered pieces from the Galaxy Squad make some nice details, and I love white greebles. The coral highlights set it apart though, which is good because this is on Ice Planet 2003, not 2002.

In space, no one can hear you curdle... milk

Spaceships are gray, tractors are green, but this is the coolest space tractor I’ve ever seen. When it comes to colonizing the universe, it takes more than just guns and gunships. There is work to be done and to get the job done, you need to bring the right tools. This wonderfully detailed harvester by Onkel Ton combines farming equipment with space exploration and the finished product would fit right into your favorite science fiction story.

I love the use of stickers from the interior of the Millennium Falcon. One of my favorite techniques used in this industrial vehicle is the use of several stacked wedge plates of varying lengths to create vents along the top and the front of the cab. Also, the multiple wheels on a delicate suspension give the harvester the versatility to conquer rugged terrain.

TBB cover photo for March 2019: Out of bounds

This month for TBB’s social media cover image, we’re going way out of bounds with this sweet team van by Frost. Who knew that space orcs were footballers? (We’re not talking about those orcs or that football, you Blood Bowl fans.) These friendly orcs hail from Mars, and their Martian Minivan just might be cool enough to make us stop buying SUVs and go back to sliding doors and tank treads.

Want to see your own LEGO creation featured across TBB social media for a month? Then read the submission guidelines and send us your photo today. Photos that do not meet the submission guidelines will not be considered, and will be removed from the group.

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