Tag Archives: Space

From giant space carriers to starfighters, moon bases to moon buggies, whether you love LEGO models inspired by real-world space programs or science-fiction, you’re in the right place.

LEGO Space: Building the Future [Book Review]

We had previously mentioned the release of Peter Reid & Tim Goddard’s book, LEGO Space: Building the Future, published by No Starch Press. Well it has been a few months since the book was released, and I finally got around to finish reading it with my son and felt it was time for a review.

Let me start by saying that this has to be the highest quality fan-created LEGO book I have yet to lay my geeky hands on. From cover to cover, the quality of photography and overall style is absolutely top notch. You really can tell that this was a labour of love for everyone involved.

I actually had pre-ordered the book on Amazonso received it as soon as it was available, however, I purchased it to give to my 6 year old son for Christmas. I didn’t want to read through it before he got a chance so reluctantly put it away for almost 2 months. I think I was just as excited as he was about opening it up Christmas morning. For the week or so following Christmas, I would find Tate flipping through the book quite often. He is reading now on his own, but the amount of text in the book was a bit overwhelming for him. However, that certainly didn’t stop him from staring in wonder at all the beautiful photographs. He even promptly built his own turtle from the instructions provided (and added some spacemen with laser snowboards for good measure).

The thing that sets this book apart for me is that it reads as a fantastic story throughout the history of space travel, and far into the future. It’s a science fiction novel illustrated with rockin’ LEGO models. Throughout the telling of the book, photographs of LEGO spaceships, alien landscapes, and space stations illustrate the story. And instructions are included for many of the models so the reader can build their own. I found it incredibly entertaining and inspiring to read through, and Tate even more so. As a family of LEGO spacers, I know this book will be read and re-read for years to come. The pictures on their own would inspire any right minded LEGO maniac to build SPACE!, but when coupled with the fantastic story it kicks that inspiration to a whole other level.

So needless to say I highly recommend this book whether you are a 30 something man-child like myself, or need a fantastic and inspiring gift for a child in your life.

Also check out this brilliant Trailer by Chris Salt.

Please follow the links below to buy your own copy and help The Brothers Brick at the same time:

US readers: LEGO Space: Building the Future on Amazon.com
Canadian readers: LEGO Space: Building the Future on Amazon.ca

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Smallest SHIP ever

Ryan H. (eldeeem) built an entire SHIP out of Modulex, which are smaller sized building bricks by The LEGO Group in the 1960s. Since the model spans over 100 studs, it qualifies for the definition of a SHIP, but it is only about 60% the size of a similar ship made out of regular Lego bricks.

The Spirit of Fire, four years in the making

After herculean effort, Mark Kelso (Amhakia) finally unveils the massive Halo universe SHIP he began four years ago. No less impressive than the effort itself, the final product more than manages to live up to expectations.

Seven feet long and with every inch superbly detailed, this build is truly a labor of love. Head on over to the MOCpages gallery to read Mark’s thoughts on completing this marathon of a build, or head over to his flickr if you’re inclined to scroll back to the first work in progress shots from 2010.

A different kind of Bumble

This little ship by Brian Rinker (Âtin) is just elegant. I like the lines, and I like the color combination. I just like all of it.

If you’d like, I’d recommend taking a look at the unedited shot provided in his flickr gallery!

Space Racer

I’ve never been totally clear on what GARC stands for, but I know that this sub-genre of racing spaceships has incubated a whole bunch of awesome looking speed demons over the past year.

Leading the pack on this lap is the Galactic F1 by Henry Oberholtzer (Agent WHO)

With sleek lines and clean stripes, this racer just screams fast.

Kickin’ It Old School with Paul B. Hartzog [Classic]

All right, time for another oldie but goodie. This time, it’s a ship that I’ve been trying to find for years. This was always one of my favourites from my time back on Classic Space Forums. However, over the years I had forgotten who had made it and therefore could not find it anywhere. All I really remembered was the vertically mounted x-pod lids on the sides of the ship, and the little communications array on the top using the minifig jackhammer. But wouldn’t you know it, I was browsing through Paul B. Hartzog’s back catalogue this morning and there it was in all its classic gloriousness.

So enough of my blabbing…I present the Salvage Seeker:

You simply must be sure to click through the entire photoset that I linked to above…this thing is a classic in all senses of the word and despite being 7 years old can easily hold it’s own against anything being produced today. Now that I have finally found it, I am certainly going to study the photoset and be making notes. I mean, just look at that striping! And the greebs!

They just don’t make ’em like this anymore!

Whiskers...on a starfighter.

Whiskers in a sci-fi context always make me think of Seaquest DSV. Now granted this funky little starfighter by Jacob Unterreiner (4estFeller) doesn’t really look like a submarine, but then again maybe it does kind of look like some sort of alien catfish. Anyways, I digress…this ship is cool, and the integration of the antenna elements is pretty expertly done. It has plenty of fresh style that is just fun to look at.

…remember Darwin the dolphin? He was awesome!

70708 Hive Crawler – Power Functions Upgrade

I was lucky enough to receive the awesome Hive Crawler set for Christmas from my sons. The thing is simply too much fun to push around with the creepy leg action and hilariously fun catapult. Nannan had done a review of the set back when it first came out.

Well Moritz (nolnet) has kicked up the cool factor big time. He integrated full remote control capability with power functions. Seeing this thing drive around is pure brilliance. Then when I saw the functional catapult action…yep, I totally giggled like a school girl. Check out the video below.

Retro-future is retro-tastic!

Newcomer Dan McPharlin dives into the scene with a stable of mecha and spaceships from a future that never was. Combining the rounded bubbliness of MaK with the vivid colorschemes of ’70s scifi, Dan uses his artistic background to bring these builds to life.

One aspect I appreciate about these builds is the lack of armament on any of them. While I know firsthand how tempting it is to slap some colossal guns onto every applicable surface, it’s refreshing to see a vision for the future where giant mecha are used as explorers rather than wrecking balls.

M-Tron M.U.L.E (personal portage bot)

Shannon Sproule (Shannon Ocean) says he was inspired by Petman and other mildly cute, yet creepy bipedal robots. Normally you would see this sort of build with a near-future military vibe, and that just makes me appreciate the M-Tron theme all the more.

…because even the most adventurous space explorer deserves to have his hands free to enjoy an official M-Tron icy pole.

When the Mechs Get Going

We see a lot of mechs around here, so I’m always keen on ones that stand out visually. This beauty by piratesxlovexrum does just that with this action shot of it offloading a full barrage.

A Drop of Color Draws the Eye

This little diorama from A Plastic Infinity (A Plastic Infinity) really caught my attention. The majority is in monotone, which makes the few elements of color really draw the eye. The transparent blue flowing from the mining bot (which is a brilliant little sphere) catches the eye, while still seeming a bit muted. I, like the sentry bot, was immediately intrigued by the red dot growing nearby.

Make sure you check out his full gallery, as there are several other creations there that I’ve been tempted to post over the past few weeks.