Tag Archives: Retro-Futurism

Luxurious travel for the art-deco arthropod

It’s always a treat when Vince Toulouse graces us with another LEGO build. He has developed a very unique style, and we’re big fans of his insect-inspired retro-futuristic sci-fi builds! That may be a mouthful, but it gets the point across. What should we call this, Insectpunk? Anyway, we featured something called a Myriapod way back in March 2020, and Vince has revisited the concept with this gorgeous red and gold consist! It’s only fitting that an insect-inspired train would use a bunch of legs from the Insectoids line. There is surely no more stylish way for bugs to get around!

Myriapodotrain

Just an old car – no retro-futurism here, no sirree...

It’s been a while since we featured a proper old-fashioned LEGO car from Isaac Wilder. He’s been on a bit of a retro-futurism kick lately – which, don’t get us wrong, we’re all here for. That’s fine if you like that sort of thing. But nothing beats the simplicity of a good ol’ 50s sedan. This one would not look out of place in a film noir movie, or a British 60s police flick.

Anonymous black sedan

It’s always nice to see a builder play their hits, instead of messing around with this new-old-fangled retro-futurism nonsense. No crazy engines, no flyi- er… Oh. I guess old habits die hard.

Anonymous black hovercar

Who are we kidding – we love Isaac’s work, retro-futurist or otherwise! See for yourself why he’s a regular feature in our archives.

Upgrade-o to the ‘Bago

When the future eventually gets here, I have to imagine the car modding community will go nuts. They already do mad match-ups with cars and engines that have no business being in the same package. Unfortunately, the future isn’t here yet, but that hasn’t stopped LEGO builder Isaac Wilder from adding some crazy machinery to the humble Winnebago. No way this thing is holding up traffic on the highway with that massive rocket on the back. It’s an authentic upgrade as well, rather than being a completely new build. We featured the original caravan nearly two years ago!

Hover-Bago

A retro car from the future

Retro-futurism is a theme I don’t see too often with LEGO, but it’s one of my favorite design styles. Take this slick car from 1saac W. as a great example of why I love this style so much. It’s got such a cool, sleek look with fantastic lines and a lot of character. Gaze upon those slopes and curved LEGO bits — rain and wind just pass right over this vehicle as it blazes down empty highway. It reminds me of the Batman: The Animated Series art style with its extra length and curves. This car looks so good, I’d love to see more retro-futurism designs. In the meantime, I’ll just keep admiring this build.

Retro futuristic concept car

Speed and curves make for a seductive combination

If you want a LEGO creation that’s part racecar, part spaceship, and part fighter plane then look no further than Brambleshark built by Vince Toulouce. I love the color scheme, the crouching stance, the side pipes, and the centralized cockpit canopy. It looks lightning fast just sitting still. For this unique build, Vince takes inspiration from the retro-future art and design of John Frye.

Walchester “Brambleshark”

This creation is stunning from all angles but the rear view with the rigging and tail fins really launches this thing into the stratosphere. Well done, Vince Toulouse. Well done!

Walchester “Brambleshark”

Back when the future wasn’t quite so futuristic.

LEGO builder Isaac Wilder is known for retro automotive creations. But this time Isaac is bringing us a vision of the future – or, at least, the way the future was envisioned back when the cars he normally builds were new. Does that all make sense? Isaac’s hover car is all old-school curves up top, while the bottom is a gaggle of technological greebles keeping it aloft. And it’s getting gassed up by what looks like the love child of a Star Wars droid and a Radiator Springs gas pump. The full effect is a scene from a future we all remember, but haven’t quite reached, yet.

Refueling

Matt Damon is going to science the *bleep* out of this

The first and only thing that came to mind when I set eyes on this space colony was Matt Damon.
The Martian is a movie starring Matt Damon. who’s stuck on Mars and is forced to find a way to feed himself or face death. Jon Blackford’s Hydroponics Research & Development Facility looks like a page pulled right out of the potential sequel to author Andy Weir’s The Martian — mass production of food to sustain a colony.

Hydroponics Research & Development Facility

Click to see more details of the space lab

Bringing back monorail

It’s time to turn back the clocks, then turn them forward again, as we travel to a retro view of the future where flying cars totally exist and all mass transit is in stylish monorails like this sweet LEGO version by Tammo S. With nifty brick-built lettering adorning the sides and a crazy bit of fantastic retro aesthetic with a prop and fins on top, this monorail is ready to guide us to the future. While my favorite design element is the rounded corners of the passenger windows, don’t overlook the fact that the cockpit is built at a crazy angle, which is no mean feat.

Monorail

The future is alive…

The car hovers but is it also a time machine? This ‘Advocate’ Hovercar by Tammo S. looks like it would fit right in Disney’s 2007 Meet the Robinsons or possibly Futurama. A lot of curved elements are half submerged within the body of the model. Tammo makes use of similarly shaped elements in like colors, such as the 4×4 clear dome, 4×4 plate with 2×2 hole cutout, and 2x4x5 cylinder half. The white wheel arches at the front are at a slight angle with each other to contour with the white 1x3x3 curved elements in front.

Now if only we could see inside, or better yet have Wilbur Robinson crash it so Lewis can rebuild it. Beware the bowler hat guy!

The future will be green

As a child, there was a special excitement connected to the release of a new colour of Classic Space astronaut; so when Peter Reid persuaded LEGO to include green spacemen in his LEGO Ideas Exo-Suit set, my heart skipped a beat. These same minifigures have inspired Kloou to build an epic retro sci-fi styled control tower. Arguing that the green spacemen have been denied a full range of sets he thought it only fair to build this amazing base in suitable green livery.
UFO Green Tower
He’s done them proud, with the UFO tower sporting the traditional space symbol in 3D, some seriously cool radar arrays and multiple landing pads for a whole host of space scooters. What more could a spaceman ask for?

UFO Green Tower

A memory of the future

The shining white utopian future — so popular with the science fiction writers and illustrators of the 1960s — may well have gone out of fashion, but this hasn’t stopped builder Klaus exploring the theme. Built in microscale, his series of architectural models of a future metropolis use predominately standard bricks, similar to those found in 21050 Studio set, in smart repetitive sequences. The bustling administration complex adds stacked mudguard elements to build its towers, whilst a cigarillo shaped blimp circles overhead.

lego_metropolis_administration3

See more of these monochromatic cities of the future