Or maybe it’s my own bad pun that bothers me. I do really like this ship, by -infomaniac-, though. It does a great job of capturing the shape of an insect in a space ship. The placement of the cockpit at the center is great concealment, it took me awhile to even spot it. I’m also a fan of the generally armored look, especially the use of minifig bases.
Tiago Catarino‘s Mobile Lab Platform Explorer has a unique design, but besides the concept, this vehicle actually moves! Check out the video.
Following the success of his vignettes depicting the adventures of Clumsy Pete in Atlantis, Bart De Dobbelaer has started a new series with a thriller set in space. Inspired by works including Pandorum, Event Horizon, and Dead Space Downfall, Bart hopes to draw elements from these works to create a unique story. Keep a close eye on his Flickr photostream for more to come.
Looking at this space ship is like getting punched in the face! This Vic Viper by Kyle Slushey combines two bright colors to great effect. The green and blue contrast nicely, making the image pop in big way. He’s also included just enough patches of gray for the eye to rest on.
Alex Eylar (Profound Whatever) is building at a pace that we can’t keep up with (and I did not intentionally repeat Andrew). His latest is a depiction of the Escher masterpiece in the Classic Space theme. Since there’s no gravity in space, there’s some paradoxical realism to this work. It’s all too wonderful.
The construction and presentation of this hornet battle bug arrangement by Lino Martins called Protector of the Great Queen is pretty fearsome. Lino keeps rewarding the viewer with fun techniques hidden in the foliage like Jar Jar heads as the base of a plant.
To commemorate the passing in April of Nate “nnenn” Nielson, each of the three LEGO conventions over the summer and fall are hosting Vic Viper fly-ins. Keith Goldman gives us a glimpse into the Chicago fly-in earlier this month.
Two weeks ago in Chicago, I had the pleasure of organizing the first Vic Viper fly-in, in honor of our departed friend and fellow builder Nate “nnenn” Nielson.
72 Vipers from 66 builders joined the missing-man formation from a total of 7 countries: Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, U.K. and the USA. We kept the center of the layout open in the tradition of missing man formations, with nnenn’s rubber-band holder avatar as a placeholder. The public was drawn in by the amazing Vipers, and more often than not stayed for the story behind it.
Thanks again to all the participants that made the formation an outstanding tribute to Nate. Special thanks to Ley Ward for his time and patience, and skill with the dozen or so Vipers that arrived with “some assembly required”. For a detailed list of participants, please follow the link to my Flickr-posting and check the notes.
The formation was a moving experience for many of the builders involved, and we’d all like to express our condolences again to the Nielson family. Nnenn was missed in Chicago and will clearly be missed around the planet.
Both of the upcoming LEGO conventions, BrickFair in August and BrickCon in October, will also be hosting missing man formations to honor Nate. If you would like to participate in either of these formations, you can contact Dan Rubin (for BrickFair) and Andrew Becraft (for BrickCon).
The new LEGO Space Shuttle set 10213 Shuttle Adventure is now shipping from the LEGO Shop online.
While we’re at it, a number of items have also been put on sale today, including pretty deep discounts on the LEGO Indiana Jones sets Venice Canal Chase and Fighter Plane Attack
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See all of the discounted sets on LEGO.com.
For the past two months Tyler (Legohaulic) and I have been working on a collaboration project for Brickworld. We wanted to present our distinguishable styles in a cohesive sci-fi diorama. At the same time, we strove for the unprecedented by incorporating lights, motion, and even music (through built-in iPod speakers) on top of a dark tan and sand green color scheme. We are proud to present Containment.
Our creation depicts a one man operated biosphere processing facility towering over an alien wasteland. The two worlds are separated, but one question can be asked for both: which one is contained? While it seems apparent that the primitive aliens are kept out of the advanced and sterile facility, another look reveals the absolute isolation of the operator. Our teasers introduce the backstory for the creation.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=zDLIeKXSaC0%26hl%3Den_US%26fs%3D1%26
Cole Blaq has taken the torso from one of the new large Ben 10 figures, and used it as a jumping off point for a ship. He’s managed to fit the piece (which is just behind the canopy) into an overall flowing armor.
The Ben 10 piece dictated the use of the sand green color, which is a great looking color, with a very limited parts palette. I think that my favorite part of the coloring of this ship is the the black and yellow striping used throughout. The striping is prevalent enough that it goes beyond merely being an accent, and really adds something to the color scheme of the entire ship.
More precisely, Mike Yoder (Yoderism2)has built a cool sci-fi scene called “Cleared for Landing.” I love how much variety there is in this scene. We’ve got a waterway, a train, and a great variety of micro-scale architecture. Oh yeah, and don’t forget the micro scale rendition of his own Calamity Jane.
This new ship by Leigh Holcombe (Worker201) is good evidence of that. The shape is very unusual for a space craft (or pretty much anything else). While I love to see color on a space ship, the complete absence here gives an interesting effect. We’re forced to focus on the unconventional shape of this craft, as there is no color to distract the eye.
This creation makes me think of Bruce Lowell, who told me that he often prototypes his creations in gray, to work out the shape. He then builds them again in color, to get things just right. I’d be curious to see what Leigh could produce with a colored version of this ship.
