Tag Archives: Sci Fi

Explore the cosmos with Captain Future!

Eric Druon lovingly recreates the Cosmo-Liner spacecraft from the 1978 anime Captain Future. The ship is really cool, from both a design and LEGO model perspective, bringing to mind visions of a deep-sea diving vessel. The viewport of the ship is hexagonal as if it’s destined to be made of LEGO! This calls for the use of the transparent blue canopy from the 2000 Artic LEGO toy line. The color palette of the ship is simple and quite clean, letting the canopy shine as the focal point. Looking at the design, I can’t help but think the original designers were inspired by TIE fighters. Star Wars premiered a year before the anime aired, leaving room enough for the artists to be inspired by that hit movie. Regardless of the ship’s origin, this build is inspiring in its own right!

Fun fact, the anime was based on the pulp sci-fi character Captain Future. The character’s original adventures were published in the eponymous pulp magazine from 1940 to 1944. The anime was imported into many countries and was particularly successful in France. It was in France that the character’s name changed to Capitaine Flam.

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A sci-fi build that tickles us pink

With a cheap string of LED lights placed inside a tube of transparent bricks, Andreas Lenander has added some big budget atmosphere to his latest build. The resulting rosy glow perfectly illuminates the power core chamber, creating a sci-fi scene that you can almost hear humming with life. The roller coaster track used as scaffolding adds an industrial flair that makes this power source feel functional, while also casting some subtle zigzag shadows onto the surrounding walls.

A dragon that’s both sci-fi and fantasy

This blaster-wielding LEGO dragon by builder Sandro Quattrini is a glorious mix of D&D and cyberpunk. The sculpting on the figure is exquisite, as we’ve come to expect from Sandro. The visor design feels both like it belongs to Geordi La Forge and the Mouth of Sauron. I love the use of these 12-tooth gears for the dragon’s teeth. And the feather pieces making up his goatee are wonderful. Combine that grin with the attitude conveyed in the figure’s pose, and the message is clear: no one in sci-fi or fantasy tells this guy what to do!

And before I go, we’re just going to have to talk about that blaster! Much like the figure, the gun incorporates the mechanical and biological into a single design. The use of the red Dragon Masters horse helmet is particularly nice. Of particular note is how Sandro has used minifig hands here. While on the top of the weapon, they provide a natural flow indicating a dragon’s spine. However, on the underside of the barrel, they’re used in a rigid line, in keeping with the artificial aspects of the blaster. Two sides of the same part.

Call of Duty zombie mode ray gun perfectly recreated in LEGO

If there’s a quartermaster of the LEGO building community, then it’s got to be TBB alum Nick Jensen. Time after time, Nick’s incredible LEGO models turn out more like carbon copies of the weapons he’s imitating. And this ray gun from the Call of Duty franchise is no exception! All of the details are spot-on.

See all the accurate details Nick has built into this Call of Duty ray gun

I’d love to see this robot lift a crate of forks…it’d be so dang literal.

Sci-fi builder extraordinaire Tim Goddard never fails to impress. Part of what makes his creations work so well is how much thought Tim seems to put into the fictional functionality of his builds. This forklift bot is a perfect example. By eschewing a typical humanoid form and anchoring the droid’s shoulders on an a-frame above its face, the droid looks more than ready to handle weight loads several times its own mass. And the slight angle in the hips gives a sense of life and character to the build. Tim goes the extra parsec by placing the robot on a base that makes perfect use of angled tiles and ingots to suggest a massive sci-fi locale in a very small space.

Behold where the fate of the galaxy is decided

In the far future, the Galactic Council prepares for another lengthy debate. Bart De Dobbelaer has constructed this fascinating creation, which shows alien council members seated around a strange centrepiece. The spiked orb is encircled by train tracks in medium azure and, according to Bart’s lore about the build, the orb might be an artificial intelligence unit used to assist in the governing of the galaxy. The layout of the model almost looks like a city due to the variety of protruding structures and piping details. Medium azure features again, creating a colourful outline around the build while contrasting against the grey. With an intriguing orange glow emitting from below the orb, it leaves the observer to wonder what mysteries lie in the depths of this structure.

This bad, blue Bionicle is boss!

This outstanding LEGO Bionicle creature by Max Howell feels like it just came out of a sci-fi thriller. The massive claws, tiny probe-like legs, and a serious case of five-head give me the impression that this “Badnicle” is a Toa’s worst nightmare. The part usage is excellent, especially the inspired choice of chest plate. And I love the tires bulking up its arms. My only question is, does anyone else get a Megamind vibe from that color scheme?

Who says entomology is all about creepy-crawlies?

Here’s a theory: animals and sci-fi make for a perfect mix. Don’t believe me? Check out this trio of LEGO vehicles courtesy of Devid VII! They are all named after animals, all feature relatively limited colour palettes, and all look amazing. First up is the Froggy, whose ball-jointed feet remind of the Tachikoma that have inspired so many brilliant LEGO creations:

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A carefully tended tree thrives in a dark and distant future

There is much more to this stunning model than just a pretty tree. Tim Goddard creates a stark focal point using color for the tree but many neutral shades for the rest of the scene. One of the subtle details that struck me right away was the use of dark gray ingot pieces in the structure just next to the right robot arm, which provides a distinct shadow texture. The nearly completely recessed ladders lining the gently curving back wall are another. Framing the tree with the robot arms and including the many tubes bringing what is likely water and nutrients re-inforces the extreme value of this tree as part of a larger untold story.

A little slice of Zeta Halo in the palm of your hand

It has been a while since the last Halo game, but The wait is over, with the release of Halo: Infinite, Master chief is back, and ready for action. TBB alumni Rod Gillies crafted a little slice of the massive and partially damaged ring which is the setting for the game in spectacular detail, with pine trees, rocky ground, one of the many alien artifiacts, and even the hexagonal structures that make up the ring below and around the surface. The scene by itself would be great, but miniature versions of four vehicles from both the Banished and the Space Marines are gravy on a very tasty dish.

2021 was the year Nannan made Contact

2021 brought us problems we would have never fathomed a few years ago. It was a year of civil unrest and a slew of COVID variants that’ll probably have us covering our mask-holes in public indefinately. But 2021 had brought us some great things as well. Right at the tail end of that year, The Brothers Brick alumni Nannan Zhang built this piece he calls Contact. It was inspired by something Jan Woznica built a couple months ago that ended up becoming The Brothers Brick’s 2021 Creation of the Year. It’s a fine thing to be inspired by and Nannan recreates the style nicely with his verion. I’m loving the minty green elements and the simple yet striking composition. I find it exciting when one great builder pays homage to another.

Been spendin’ most their lives living’ in a Theives’ Paradise

Renowned LEGO builder Bart De Dobbelear tells us that “The golden city ruins of Kadena were renowned for their loot and riches.” Oooh! It’s ours for the taking, then. Look at all that beautiful gold! Book my flight, I’m calling in sick! But then he goes on to say; “Many thieves tried their luck, but only a handful escaped the clutches of the city’s guardians.” Wait, guardians? I knew there would be a catch! Cancel that flight. I am not sure if the crazy-haired crab-robots or the two thuggish-looking fellows are the thieves or guardians. Perhaps the guardians are unseen and they’re even bigger and hideous-er than what is pictured here. Either way, I want no part of it. My sense of adventure ends right at making cheap and awkward intros but it really goes no further than that. I’ll just be happy with the pay TBB gives us. Wait, they pay us, right? Don’t they? It’s hard to keep track when everything is direct deposit these days.

While I work that out with TBB’s Human Resources Department, you can check out why Bart De Dobbelear is in a league of his own when it comes to creating fabulous textures and far-out alien worlds. Wait, do we have a Human Resources Department?