Tag Archives: Sci Fi

Alien’s Nostromo recreated in the brick

1978’s Alien is a watershed moment in sci-fi cinema — tapping into the enthusiasm for all things sci-fi following the success of Star Wars, but using its interstellar setting to spin a very different, very adult, and very scary tale. LEGO builder Bousker perfectly recreates the film’s opening sequence with this depiction of the eerily quiet interior compartments of the starship Nostromo. Ron Cobb‘s original production design for the ship’s interiors have become as iconic as Giger’s famous design for the film’s beastie. The Nostromo has an industrial functionality and a cold but lived-in look, coupled with a whiff of the 70s with those curves and stark white walls. Bousker has captured the feel of both design and sequence perfectly — I particularly love the curved couches, the ladder between decks, and the scattered equipment awaiting the rousing of the crew from their cryosleep. Classy touch to add the cinematic black strips to the image too.

LEGO Spaceship Alien Ron Cobb

Architecture worth traveling light years for.

The Antechamber. An otherworldly room on the edge of space and time. In this LEGO build by Disty, two intergalactic travelers have come face-to-face for the first time. Will they be friends or foes? Will they enlighten each other about the secrets of the cosmos? Or are they just going to spend as much time admiring those pillars as I have?

It’s probably that last one.

Antechamber

The builder has found an exceptional use for a part that most people might discard as too specialized and has turned no less than 32 Bionicle arms into the framework of a wondrous piece of architecture. The result is a build that’s equal parts “sci-fi epic” and “art museum atrium.” It’s taken five years to get the design exactly right, and the final results are definitely worth it. The colors of the room pair perfectly with the printing on the globe positioned in the center of the room, and the dark purple on the Metroid Prime-inspired alien gives the whole scene a perfect pop.

Alien Assimilators are assimilating nicely

I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be in the mind of LEGO builder Mihai Marius Mihu. He is an artist who seems to exist in a dark, hellish world that’s part H.R. Giger, part H.P. Lovecraft and part Wayne Douglas Barlowe. In other words, he’s precisely the type of person I’d love to have a beer with. Take, for example, this new creation, an Alien Maintenance Bay. In his own words, the bay “is the infirmary of the Mothership, a ward for diagnosing and repairing of the damaged Glider units that were able to return from combat.” The whole structure oozes alien biomechanical menace. With astounding textures and smart color trapping, it’s a masterpiece from an incomprehensible distant world. He also tells us that in the year 2033 mankind is struggling to survive after an overwhelming alien invasion. That’s only like twelve years away! Looks like we’re in for a dreary future. Or maybe we won’t even know it because we’d all be assimilated into their creeptastic alien agenda.

Alien Assimilators - Alien Maintenance Bay 1/2

Seriously, Mihai if you’re ever in the Seattle area look me up, you’ve got a local microbrew coming to you on me. And adversely if I’m ever in Romania, I’ll be sure to visit Dracula’s Castle and your place, which I wouldn’t doubt may very well be one in the same.

Microscale metropolis is a masterpiece in minimalism

A great LEGO model is not just about building techniques or choosing the perfect part. Lighting and composition are equally important. And sometimes the unexpected little things make the biggest impact. In this skyline by Geneva Durand which is made up of a collection of mostly distinct individual elements, along with just a few small builds, the lighting is one of the best parts, as it fills the city with a sort of golden hour vibe.

Micro Skyline

I do want to give props for a few very nice parts usages. First, the bridge is made up of ice 2 axes clasped in the middle by a single Minifig hand. A roller skate perfectly fits a brick at the top and a tile at the bottom on the left edge. and right next to that is a large tooth/claw element that reminds me of that famous London skyscraper, The Shard. But my favorite part by far is the vintage sci-fi ray gun.

Totally tubular Technic tread tube

In the 23rd century, biker gangs rule the skies on their modified hoverbikes. The most dangerous of these gangs is the Tunnel Snakes, named for their tendency to use broken flux conduits as their primary highway between crime scenes. This futuristic build by David Roberts makes excellent use of Technic tread links, a part most commonly used in official sets on construction equipment or sci-fi vehicles. But here, these treads are the road through which the sci-fi vehicle travels. There are 40 links in each complete circle, a shape that David has made use of before. But this time the staging successfully implies a much larger scale. It’s easy to imagine the broken conduit tube stretching on for miles across a futuristic cityscape.

Tunnel Snakes Speeder Bike

Something old, something new, something golden, something transparent light blue

Something just clicks in Sundown at Pheron 4Y — an eerie landscape from Bart De Dobbelaer. It might just be the Clikits rings and bracelets in the towers, but I think it’s more about the moody atmosphere and quality building. But there sure are a lot of vintage transparent light-blue Clikits parts in there if you really squint. My favorite usage has to be the Clikits beads in the golden Ninjago-hilt topped spires. Speaking of gold elements, there are a lot of interesting ones there, too. From minifigure weapons to Knights-Kingdom era shoulder armor, Bart has once again shown that imagination is the only limiting factor when it comes to finding ways to incorporate supposedly “single purpose” parts.

Sundown at Pheron 4Y

This isn’t the first amazing landscape that Bart has shared. Be sure to check out their other featured builds!

And up from the ground came some bubblin’....well, I’m not sure exactly.

It’s a science fiction trope most of us are familiar with – the rumblings under the ground subside for just a moment. Then, suddenly, there’s an eruption and not only do you have have to deal with a an outflow of lava, but also the emergence of some truly terrifying underworld creatures. Bart De Dobbelaer captures just such an event in this stunning creation, aptly named Emergence. The beasts include some unusual part choices, including one of my absolute favorites elements – the X-Pod container.  But obviously they’re just part of the scene. The spewing lava is captured by a wealth of transparent orange elements, including Dimensions base discs. The techno-organic vent provides a great contrast to the mayhem elsewhere, while still adding a great deal of mechanical texture. And then Bart had to go and add lighting effects. Because if you’re going to build at this scale, you might as well go all in.

Emergence

If you want some great contrasting color to this build, check out another of Bart’s creations: Trace Initiated.  Or maybe just peruse some great Sci-Fi builds from creators from around the globe.

In space, no one can hear babies cry

This LEGO spaceship creation from Jake Hansen is another entry in the Iron Builder Contest, this time having to use the Crane Grab Jaw LEGO piece. The piece is used well as reclining seats on the spaceship bridge, which is populated by four babies. The black hoses are a nice touch, reminding me of the early LEGO space sets, and the choice of orange and blue accents lighten the scene up without overpowering it. What appears to be a flux capacitor on the left side of the console is a nice touch. I’m curious what the mouse on the lower right is up to; maybe it’s cutting through the power coupling?

Baby Bridge

Classic Star Wars poster comes to life

This creation by Rui Miguel pays tribute to classic Star Wars movie posters. It’s unusual to see Vader in blue but this does allow for his helmet to be viewed in greater detail. The haunting eyes of Vader have been created with black armour pieces. As the helmet seeps into an interstellar cloud, you can see older flower pieces used to represent twinkling stars. Luke and Leia strike some cool poses, their noses are actually hinge pieces and Leia has some nice curved elements in her skirt, providing it with a swaying motion. Throughout this build there is a nice application of bright colours which really brings out the details of the display.

Star Wars (1977)

Can’t tell up from down

This slick little racer by Isaac Snyder is disguising a secret; flip it over and it’ll keep right on going. I’ve seen some RC cars in the toy aisle that have similar features, but I don’t recall seeing a LEGO racer that does it before. The front wheels are actually pairs of 6×6 radar dishes from a Monkie Kid set, which add a flash of teal to really make the bright color scheme sing. The best part? The whole model clocks in at just 101 pieces.

Switchblade Flare

A peacekeeping mech that makes us smile

Usually when we show you a mech we go on to talk about the guns and other armament the mech has. But today we have a LEGO creation by Abraham Calderon called S.M.I.L.E. which stands for Strategic Machine Intelligence Loaded Exosuit. While well-built mechs can often make us smile it is a rare occasion when a mech smiles back. But here we are. Abraham tells us this is an AI assisted piloted mech designed for peacekeeping operations. Being former military myself I know that “peacekeeping operations” can sometimes be a euphemism for “lots of guns”. Funny how that works out! Still, I like to presume that this is a cuddly, fun-loving mech who just wants to hang out and maybe have some pizza. If you care to hang out for awhile, check out some of these other awesome mechs we’ve featured lately.

S.M.I.L.E.

The chase is on! It’s speeder bike versus speeder bike!

What’s better than one speeder bike? Two speeder bikes so that they can race against each other! -Disty- built a dynamic duo of hovering bikes with distinct styles and colours to match their pilots. They may be vengeful arch-enemies hellbent on destroying each other or just racing rivals here for the thrill of the chase. With the opposing styles and colour schemes, these two speeder bikes remind me of the old Technic battle bots from the late 90s.

Shinrai Technologies 'Orca' - Sport Bike

The tropical-themed Shinrai Technologies ‘Orca’ is a green mean speed machine piloted by a surfer dude. I love its lime green paint job that compliments azure waters and bright sands it flies above. Disty uses very clever parts usage with Hero Factory armour plates and robot minifigure legs as the secondary booster engines. I particularly like the usage of the transparent blue Bionicle eye/brain stalk as the headlight. It reminds me of the wheels of Legends of Chima Speedorz and even some Roboriders.

Rascal Motors 'DBL 790' - Urban Cruiser

The black and red Rascal Motors ‘DBL 790’ rules the night with furious speed. Despite the large Hero Factory spikes jutting out at all angles, this speeder bike retains aerodynamics to brave even the most congested cyberpunk air traffic. I love its angled look and greebly details; it looks like some creepy-crawly monster of the dark.