Tag Archives: Novvember

Vanadinite Vic Viper is a victory for void-voyaging vessels

Ah, the Vic Viper. A spaceship design that has seen so many LEGO iterations, and yet every single year we get new and fresh ones for Novvember. Aside from inspiring a slightly forced alliterative title, there’s a lot to love about Tommy Frost‘s take on the subject. For one, it’s a super clean design. Those curves and tiles coupled with the new trans-black windscreen are silky smooth – there’s not a stud to be seen. And there’s juuust enough greebling to keep the “sci” in sci-fi. Vic Vipers are inherently swooshable, but this one looks especially so.

Vanadinite Viper

The school day is saved thanks to this stationary spacecraft

Who among us hasn’t spent time daydreaming and doodling during those particularly boring days in school? It’s a fair bet that Maxx Davidson certainly did, because this school supply spaceship is a perfect homage to those classroom fantasies. The notebook paper wings are loaded up with pencil missiles and highlighter engines. The push pin lasers mounted to the rulers help keep boredom at bay. And the whole thing is structured around a pencil case cockpit with a LEGO built zipper that we grade as an A+. The pilot is even sitting on an eraser seat!

The Bic Viper

Command and control your space

NPU, or Nice Parts Use, is the fan term for taking an unusual and seemingly single-use LEGO element and cleverly incorporating it into something else. It’s rare to see the NPU ethos applied to expensive electronic components, however, that’s exactly what TBB alumn Benjamin Stenlund has done with the 9V battery box controller on this Vic Viper, positioning it so the infrared emitter becomes a cool cockpit. Of course, don’t miss the carrot blasters on this greebled entry to the Novvember fan challenge, too.

The Controller

The big Beluga of our dreams

I’m certain no one asked for this big assault VTOL called Beluga. But clearly LEGO builder ReD M is a master at bringing us what we’d love to see but never knew we wanted. Whether it be the shaping, intricate details, or striking color scheme, this hefty gunship is very suddenly the object of so many LEGO fans’ desires. It’s like something out of all the best sci-fi movies ever made. With its parameters established long ago by a legendary and influential builder who has passed some twelve years ago, there is a certain look to the Vic Viper. Click the link to check out how this big Beluga fits into it. And as tradition goes, these Vic Vipers are almost always exclusively built in NoVVember. What a great way to honor a fine tradition. We’ll surely be on the lookout for whatever else ReD M builds.

Beluga - Viper Class Assault VTOL

TIE Viper – obscure new Star Wars ship or genius mashup?

November is here again, and you know what that means—besides my favorite Starbucks holiday drink and turkey hangovers of all kinds. November is also a long-celebrated LEGO building challenge known as NoVVember, where builders pay homage to the Vic Viper, an iconic spaceship from the video game Gradius, by building a starship with all the signature details… two forward-facing prongs, two wings, and a fin. This entry by WyndGekko checks all the boxes and more, with a perfect mashup of viper and Star Wars, interpreting the viper as what could easily be an early prototype for the TIE interceptor. My only issue with this great build is that I didn’t think of it first.

TIE Viper

One laid-back Viper

Anime-inspired color schemes and NoVVember are two great tastes that go great together, and Shannon Sproule is a master of that delicious combo. This classic red and white body gets some pops of yellow color with an exciting pod-cockpit design. That’s not to say that there aren’t a few odd choices made in the Powerful Owl Viper, though.  In Shannon’s own words, “The prone pilot position is of course rather silly, but there you go.”

NoVVember Powerful Owl Viper

Are you enjoying the yearly onslaught of Vic Vipers? How do you think they compare to previous Novvembers?

VVery nice ice

The LEGO fan community is filled with various builder-driven challenges and monthly themes. One of the most popular challenges for space builders is Novvember, wherein builders use the month to recreate the Vic Viper from Gradius with their own twists. If you’ve been following us here on The Brothers Brick for long, you’ll no doubt have seen a fair handful already. This version by Pascal gives it the Ice Planet makeover, with an opaque windscreen and blocky but studless angles.

Razorbill

Returning to normal, piece by piece

Building within the LEGO community means so many things to each person. Young and old, we all have a heartfelt connection with this iconic building block system, and those around us often can’t help but see it. Our connection with those who celebrate and support us in our hobby is deep and strong. So when we lose it, it can be hard to look at things the same way. Builder Jason Corlett recently lost his mother, his proudest and biggest fan, to illness. As our hearts go out to him and his family, he shows us that the spirit of building can serve to heal with this Green Machine Vic Viper. Though he knows life won’t be the same without her, I believe his mission to continue to make her proud with surely succeed.

Green Machine VV

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Mazingering into NoVVember

The twin-forked Vic Vipers are back, and Shannon Sproule joins this year’s November fleet with an amazing Mazinger-inspired craft. The bold color choices make for a great retro feel, but the real treat is that golden canopy – a custom part created by using a Molotow Liquid Chrome pen on the existing LEGO element. There’s also the subtle choice to use “classic grey” 2×2 round brick in the front forks as a color variation. What a great mix of the old and new!

NoVVember Doku No Uta (Poison Song) Viper

Looking for other great Vic Vipers? Check out our NoVVember tag!

Back to the future, sort of.

Usually when LEGO fans think of Vic Vipers, they think of NoVVember – but this new design by The Brick Artisan shows that a good theme isn’t confined to a singe month. The LL-551 Viper is full of sweet sci-fi details like twin laser cannons and integrated shielding. On the building side of things, there are all sorts of clever choices like using minifigure metal detectors as part of the hull. There’s also a wealth of quality greebling and great details like using the gap between arched bricks to house some tubing. This is one sweet ride that can help carry us over until next November.

LL-551 Viper

The colors and logos also identify the LL-551 as part of the NeoClassic Space theme. Isn’t it nice when the future is clearly such a bright and shining place?

Negative space is still space.

I love it when builders take their creations in unique directions. That’s exactly what Théo has done with The Chord. The wings and twin forks of this craft are built from negative space and a very unusual LEGO element- string. Light grey and lime elements combine with the transparent neon-yellow canopy in perfect harmony. The result is music to my ears and a very different take on the whole Vic Viper concept. Who knew that was even possible in this day and age?

The Chord (2)

To see even more interesting variations on the Vic Viper theme, check out some other featured creations!

Going for the gold

Sometimes you see a LEGO model that uses an odd piece, and you can immediately tell–no matter how well it is integrated–that the model was designed specifically to showcase that piece. And at first, I thought that was the case with this striking gold and trans-blue Vic Viper from LEGO set designer Chris Perron. I glanced at it and thought, of course, it’s built around the use of those giant trans-blue Aquazone doors from 1995! But then I saw the Insectoid wings on the front and had to reconsider. Or wait, it’s absolutely covered in gold Nexo Knight tiles. Maybe those? I don’t know, I give up. What I do know, though, is that as zany as this ship is, somehow it works. The fact that there’s really only two colors visible ties it all together in a truly remarkable way.

PHENEX VV-335

Oh, and Chris says it was the gold tiles that kicked the whole thing off.