This space fighter by Jake has a refreshing feel to it. Not only is it loaded with some really nicely-played angles, but the builder has elected to show the studs. With so many builders going for the studless look, it is nice to see someone embrace the studs.
While I certainly don’t consider this to be my most polished model (not even close) I did think it was worth sharing as some inspiration for the forthcoming Numereji 2421 collaboration at BrickCon 2011. Since I won’t be attending I thought I’d post it early to give some idea of the fun you can have with this collaboration.
LDraw file and instructions (when moderated) are up.
I have to say that I’m a fan of the Alien Conquest theme. I like the concept and it is nothing like Lego has done before. That being said, some of the alien sets seem to be a bit lackluster. This walker, by Zane Houston doesn’t have that problem. I especially like the legs and the streamlined shape of the body. It reminds me of a mosquito. A giant humankind-sucking mosquito.
Many thanks to The Angry Lego Nerd for the heads up!
I think I may be in love with this re-purposed space tug by Pha][_,][_,. The story of a second-hand utility spaceship being purchased on “ShipTrader,” and converted for personal use is cute and humanizing. Meanwhile, the color scheme is one that I love to build in myself. The use of a car fender piece to cap off the curved canopy is something I’ve never seen before, and it looks great! Add in the many many compound angles that make the shape at once simple and complex, and I’m sold. What’s the URL for ShipTrader again?
I’m not entirely sold on the big black gun but I like everything else about Jared’s (Freedom01) ‘Overture’ starfighter. Fabulous use of angles and insect fins.
I grew up watching bits and pieces of 「宇宙戦艦ヤマト」(Space Battleship Yamato) at friends’ houses back in Japan, but I have to admit that my fascination with the series today is largely due to the fleet of ships rather than for any sense of personal nostalgia. I’m a sucker for LEGO renditions of the titular ship, and this version by Mark Rodrigues doesn’t disappoint.
Mark’s 1/250 scale Yamato took 4 months to build and represents his return to the LEGO hobby after a 4-year hiatus. I’d say the result was well worth the wait. The vessel is 45″ long and includes rotating turrets and opening wings.
Via Legobloggen.
I’m not sure exactly what the bits of Shannon Sproule’s (Shannon Ocean) tank do but I sure do love the lines of it.
Our hope for the Numereji 2421 display at BrickCon 2011 is that the contributors will be free to create their vision of what kind of community would develop from a group of crash survivors isolated for a generation, and how their reconnection with other space travelers would play out.
This is 400 years in the future, so we’d love to see where both imagination and practicality go:
You name it, go to town with it. There’s definitely a place for elements of sci-fi, ecopunk, space, cyberpunk and frontier themes.
That being said, it does help to provide a little bit of a framework so people can know how to contribute to the overall collaboration, so we’re laying out a few guidelines, many of which are the result of discussions among TBB contributors and in the Flickr planning group.
Anchor piece: Brandon Bannerman’s crashed ship, The Howland, will be 96×96 studs and fairly tall. Check out his great accompanying backstory.
Scale and life forms: Minifig scale, with yellow headed minifigs as the main survivor group, though non-human and brick built species (sentient or not, mega or not) are welcome to join in the fun. Animals and plants from Earth, native species, and centuries of genetic modification would be pretty cool.
New Howland: The community of New Howland had a rough few years of scavenging at the beginning, but figured out a way to sustain itself for the long haul because the survivors didn’t have hope of moving on to a new planet. They developed some civil institutions, commerce and law enforcement.
The newer arrivals could include elements of an interplanetary government and even private corporate security, but we’re not going for a space ware here though the layout is likely to reflect the contrast between the tightly knit sustainable survivor community and all the new people and interests pouring into the place.
It’s the very mix of all these styles that will make the display interesting!
Vehicle/building color palette: The main survivor group would have scavenged from the crashed ship, which will be have mainly white hull sections and gray/bley machinery. They would have eventually started to build other sorts of structures as time passed.
The Green Wall from Stephanie Brothers on Vimeo.
The later arrivals will bring either a bit more rag tag aesthetic or might even have a corporate look.
Landscape color palette: The main planet surface will be tan with a Mediterranean or moderately arid climate. Modules that include water features, stone outcroppings, hills, mountains or forests will be fine just as long as the builder figures out some way to transition back to the rest of the display at the edges of their sections.
Modules: For the main part of the display we’ll be using a base plate plus one brick standard (BP+1B) in 32×32 stud sections. The little bit of height will hopefully allow for people to work in little depressions, gullies, plowed fields or hillocks. Simple tan base plates for countryside and farmland or gray base plates for the newly established spaceport part of town will be workable. Smaller or larger modules in multiples of 16 studs (e.g.: street, aqueduct, landing pad) will be okay and even helpful in breaking up the 32×32 grid pattern.
Display size: Width we won’t know until much later, but depth will be about six or seven 32×32 modules, just in case someone is thinking about building a stream or mountain range across the display. We’d even be open to cliff dwellings, underwater stuff or hill and building cutaways that go to (or even over) the edge of the tables.
Build a Community, play well, and ask yourself how you would sustain a community in a new land.
If you have any questions or ideas please participate in our Flickr planning group or leave comments right here.
No clever title for this post, just a fascinating combination of space and foliage in this creation. The builder, Shamisenfred, has provided an explanation as to how a tree was engineered to grow in space. I’m more concerned with how cool this looks. The organic shapes of the tree and the structures built into them contrast quite nicely with the repeated architectural forms of the “pot.” Similarly, the contrast of the clean white engineered portions really make the colors of the tree pop out.
Space Shuttle Atlantis blasted off on the final mission of this 30-year-old program yesterday, ushering in a very different era for NASA and the American human space flight program. When LEGO set 10213 went out of stock earlier this year, it seemed like the end of the line for this unique set, too. Thankfully, LEGO was just re-engineering the model for re-release as 10231 Shuttle Expedition (note the inverted set number).
Via FBTB, where they have complete details on the changes.
The LEGO Shop online is also having a special deal through this next week, with free shipping on all orders of $75 or more, with a free Kingdoms set thrown in to sweeten the deal. In case you missed it, all the summer sets are out, too.
Happy shopping, and remember that whether you buy online through FBTB, Brickset, The Brothers Brick, or whatever other LEGO fan site you visit regularly, buying your LEGO through one of these sites online helps keep the lights on. Thanks!
We get this awesome micro-scale dreadnaught, posted by Sydag on flickr. For those not in the know, the Vayger and Somtaw are both factions in the PC game series Homeworld. They each have their own visually distinctive style, and each have been inspiring LEGO creations for some time now. This is the first time I’ve seen someone try to combine the styles, though, and I must say that I enjoy the result.
Highlights include the booms sticking far out to the back and sides of the creation, as well as a very interesting shape at the nose of the ship. The trans blue area at the back is illuminated by a LEGO light brick, as well. I also have to praise the builder for successfully mating two car fender pieces (the capsule shape with an orange dot inside), as I have seen this piece used repeatedly with a gap lately. Kudos for going that extra mile!
![Reloaded Vaygr-Somtaw Dreadnaught [With Escort]](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.brothers-brick.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/5872452267_b0e2158da6.jpg)
