Tag Archives: Sci Fi

Star Wars meets Tron meets classic 70s sci-fi art in this awesome reinterpretation of the Nebulon B

Some LEGO contests begin with improbable premises, and in the case of Grid Wars, that means building a Star Wars vehicle in the TRON aesthetic. Many builders would struggle, but the theme plays to Shannon Sproule‘s strengths. I’ve followed his work for many years now, long ago falling in love with his ability to capture the complex, often asymmetric beauty, of classic 1970s science fiction illustration.

In this case, his take on the Nebulon B escort Frigate results in a bold turquoise splash of abstract brilliance. Tapping into the original design’s unorthodox form, he imposes some dramatic angles and bold colours. Part spaceship, part Kandinsky painting, its an amazing testimony to what science fiction art can be.

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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.

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?

TBB Cover Photo for October 2018: Enjoy the high life in the skies!

We at TBB always take pleasure in seeing builders take their creations to new heights. Here we have Marcel V. execute on that quite literally, with these structures dubbed “Giap-Towers,” where minifigures and their humble abodes float amongst the clouds. After featuring this floating steampunk cityscape just a few days ago, we loved their simplistic charm and have chosen this to be TBB’s cover photo for October 2018.

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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The spindly threads of humanity among the stars

Hard science fiction spaceships often conform to a few venerable aesthetics, key among them a predominance of NASA-like white. However, in LEGO builder halfbeak‘s timeline, a group of disgruntled astronauts have broken ties with NASA and formed their own space agency, so it makes sense they’ve inverted the usual colors. This marvelously gangly spacecraft is powered by antimatter, which it captures in huge nets.

It’s rare that a spaceship can rival a sailing ship for rigging, but the wiry electromagnetic nets surrounding the vessel are a truly fantastic bit of LEGO engineering, painstakingly pieced together with string and a variety of thin LEGO elements, such as fishing rods. The repetitious use of LEGO radar dishes throughout the craft brings a unifying motif, and they make for an especially interesting texture along the ribbed twin prongs on the front.

A different kind of cloud city

With all the clamour online surrounding LEGO’s new Betrayal at Cloud City set, it’s great to see a builder with a very different take on life in the sky. Marcel V has taken inspiration from the super-talented anime illustrator Chong Fei Giap, famed for his sprawling cityscapes. Wonderfully photographed with the nimbus mist swirling around the towers’ stilts and only a cable car system to get around, the model really captures an other-worldly quality. Still, the mind boggles as to how the inhabitants pin their clothes to the precariously hung washing line–I hope they have a good pulley system! Marcel plans to take the model to the Skaerbaek LEGO fan weekend in Denmark next month; for those of us who are not lucky enough to attend, you can still check out detailed images of each of the balanced abodes on his Flickr stream.

The last resort in building

Whatever happened to Fabuland – the 1980s animal-character driven play theme from LEGO – appears to be Dutch builder Sebastiaan Arts‘ raison d’être in creating his last habitat in the world. In one of the strangest takes on the post-apocalyptic theme, the various animal-headed Fabuland characters have holed up in the Last Resort, a towering orange residential complex.

See more of this LEGO Space / Fabuland mashup

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.

See more of these monochromatic cities of the future

My sensors are not picking up anything. Where do we go now?

My head hurts in a good way while looking at this intriguing build by Sheo. There’s so much to look at more closely to figure out how the flooring tessellation effect was achieved. The walls are an especially enigmatic and puzzling construction with a smooth look that belies its complexity. What also makes this scene great is how the structured hard-edged build, which looks like it came out of a sci-fi world, is also laced with tentacles, and various other organic odds and ends such as claws to add some life to the scene.

The backdrop certainly does steal the limelight, but the seemingly lost droids still deserve a callout for all the interesting parts they use blend in with the theme. See how many unusual elements you can identify in the droids.

A futuristic female explorer and her faithful dog-bot

Contests can be excellent sources of inspiration. That may be the case for Kingmarshy, who is competing in the 2018 Bio-Cup. The tournament is centered around Technic and Constraction creations, and this entry was submitted for the 3rd round. The round is themed “The Future” and this is subthemed under “Utopia”.

There’s a lot of really great parts usage in this fun little build. The ribbed hose for the skirt is one example, and the Throwbot Technic gearbox pieces are also a great addition. My personal favorite part is the design of “GD-801” the robo-dog. The harpoon gun tail and retro wheels for shoulders really give him the perfect sci-fi look.

A modern take on the classic space super-rover

The Gorgone maintenance and rescue rig, built by Spacerunner, captures the essence of the Classic Space super-rover whilst resolutely remaining a serious contemporary creation. What I love about this model is its understanding of the ethos of its archetypes, notably the M:Tron Mega Core Magnatizer, without any slavish adherence to colour schemes or piece selection.

Instead, it borrows key elements such as the trans-blue windscreen, alongside masterfully built play features such as the rear-deployed mini-rover and mobile claw arm. The result, a well-crafted model that manages to ignite that special spacey nostalgia.

Giving birth to an idea

There is a dark yet beautiful quality to Reven New’s creation that reminds me of the Swiss artist H. R. Giger’s best work. Playing with the cold interconnection between the human body and technology, the sculpture counterpoints an emaciated body, built from an oddball assortment of LEGO pieces, with the new life of its title. The minifigure baby is no longer grown within the womb, instead created in a birthing tank hooked up to its mother’s brain. Photographed dramatically under a lurid green light, we are left in no doubt as to the unnatural process taking place. As Reven notes in his own description: “No more emotions… Only thoughts, only purpose.”

A mini sci-fi city that’s a step above the rest

I have a bit of a soft spot for builders that really build a bit of everything. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with building only spaceships, or trains, or architecture, I enjoy building in many themes/styles. I’m not always great at it, but I like being versatile, and it’s cool to see the work of others who do it really well. Micah Beideman is one of them. You may recognize the name from another recent and completely different creation we covered.

The unique sci-fi city is a mass of intriguing buildings. The architecture is designed with a clever use of a very wide range of parts, including several minifig accessories. It’s definitely one you have to zoom in on to really see and appreciate every detail. The most impressive aspect is the layering of tightly bound treads that make up the floating, stair-step groundwork for the city.