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.

The ancient relics of space

It’s nearing the end of September, and for many in the LEGO fan community that means spaceships. Big spaceships. Dubbed Shiptember, this month features the annual informal fan challenge to build a space SHIP (that’s a Seriously Huge Investment in Parts). This SHIP by Sheo is certainly a unique take with an unusual color scheme and design. The builder envisions it as an ancient relic drifting through the cosmos, a shrine for space pilgrims, and it certainly feels otherworldly.

Although the shape is predominantly a few large grey columns, Sheo hasn’t slacked on the detailing, as there’s plenty of interesting techniques inlaid into the beams. There are lots of bits I could point out, but one of the best to me are the tiny white 1×1 plates inserted upside-down as diamonds between four grey slopes, seen below on the lower right image inset. It’s a beautifully simple technique that works perfectly to add visual interest, and I could see it being applied on everything from spaceships like this to castle walls.

And I can’t help but admit that I also see a little bit of a giant egg-beater in the ship’s design. Or maybe I’m just hungry…

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This sleek racer has it all, speed, power and charm

It might not be November yet, but it’s never too early to start building Vipers, and while this little ship by Alvaro Gunawan may not have all of the necessary details to qualify as a viper, a specific type of ship inspired by the video game Gradius it does have plenty of charm. With a pair of prongs flanking a sloped central cockpit with a chunky engine and two thin but deadly guns. The only thing missing is a fin.

It turns out sand blue is a great color for a spaceship

LEGO spaceships come in all sorts of colors besides light gray and white. Sometimes a color combination just works, like with this smooth-lined ship by Caleb Ricks which combined sand blue with dark red to great effect. The rounded railing parts make a really nice repeated detail along the inside edge of each prong, and the bucket handles set at intervals along the top and bottom of the ship are another nice part usage.

The back of the ship includes a subtle exhaust vent, and another interesting part, a pair of vehicle windscreen frames set between the orange engines. The stand sets the ship at a very dynamic angle, which is a nice touch.

When you love Classic Space and have a lot of it to haul around

We all love LEGO Classic Space, right? Sure we do, it hits us right in the nostalgic feels. But what happens when you love it so much that you have a lot of it to haul around? It turns out, The Brick Artisan has answered all our prayers and my weird premise with this Classic Space Compact Transport Rover. It can haul your barrels of toxic waste, whatever comes in those blue canisters (probably also toxic), and whatever that greebly doohickey is of questionable toxicity. Let’s just err on the side of safety and assume it’s all toxic. Thankfully these rovers were fitted with sensitive gyroscopic technologies and extremely responsive suspension so we’ve not shaking up things we don’t have to. This isn’t the first time we were totally delighted by this builder’s Classic Space stuff. Check out what I mean in our archives.

Teal we meet again

LEGO builder Dan Rubin tells us that he had wanted to build something with teal (aka Dark Turquoise) for a long time. Along comes this Basilisk craft which was his first appempt at anything teal. I’d say his first attempt knocked it out of the park especially with the elegant shaping and greebly accents. All that teal looks great against the marigold (or bright yellow-orange), it gives it sort of a rockabilly/surf rock feel.

Great job, Dan! This is your well-earned chance to…basilisk in the sun. This is probably an inopportune time to point out that puns are the lowest form of humor and a sign of brain damage. I should probably look into that then. Whatever! Just check out this craft from all the good angles.

The pieces are rare, the build is well done.

One of the joys of the online LEGO community is getting to see what other people build, but sometimes it’s just as fun to get to see what other people build with. That’s why this spaceship from Isaac Snyder caught my eye so quickly. I couldn’t immediately place the red fins that contribute to this ship’s retro-futurism aesthetic.

The tapering curve looks like something from a rocket designed in the 1950s. But what sets are those pieces from? Thankfully, Isaac shared the answer. Turns out they’re part of the Znap theme that LEGO launched back in the late 90s. A relic of another time that I had completely forgotten about. And Isaac has put them to perfect use in this swooshable starfighter.

LEGO elements have been in production for decades, and it’s unlikely that any builder has a collection that contains every part from every era. Let us know your favorite obscure element from outside the main LEGO themes that you like to build with.

The MK II Cylon Raider makes a swooshable comeback

2004 was quite the time. It was the year we fathomed the possibility that some of our friends and neighbors just might be Cylons thanks to Battlestar Galactica. Hot on the tail of that pivotal TV series, Rubblemaker has built a minifig scale LEGO MKII Cylon Raider. He’s captured the bat-like shaping and complex curves nicely. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Cylon Raiders here on The Brothers Brick so it’s neat, in a sense, when someone builds something long after its relevance has peaked. There are a lot of great new parts that weren’t available to us back when seeing a slew of these at LEGO conventions was as ubiquitous as used Toyotas. The builder tells us this model is 32.5cm long and 20cm wide and is made of 656 pieces, including the stand. It is also highly swooshable, which is important stuff when building LEGO spaceships.

Now, what is that song I hear? It’s like a weird version of All Along the Watchtower. Do you hear it? Maybe it’s just the bourbon. Or is it? While you’re mulling that over check out more Battlestar Galactica stuff in our archives.

The Antibody Intercept Craft

When invasive celestial bodies threaten the galaxy, a swarm of Antibody Intercept Craft is the perfect antidote. Duel auto-targeting laser batteries help these speedy ships clear infected skies with ease. Builder Inthert has spent two years slowly refining and perfecting this build, and the effort really shows.

Not only does the ship makes use of some impressive angling, but the overall design strikes a great balance between looking clean and sleek while still having tons of small details to take in.

There are the obvious big punches that catch your eye, like the swiveling laser cannons or the front tech detail above and below the cockpit. (Which reminds me a bit of the Ghostbuster’s Proton Packs.) But what I really get lost in are details like the asymmetrical set of three red lines about halfway up on each “arm” of the ship, or the yellow dots that pop against the black on the sides of the rear engines (made by sliding bars into backward-facing headlight bricks). It’s these kinds of choices that make the model feel like something that’s been really thought through and refined. Like the best starships of pop culture, this feels like a craft that belongs in a world with deep lore. And I’d love to visit it sometime.

SPACE NEWS: Rogue robot rattles researchers.

Scientists from all across the LEGO galaxy have come to United Systems to share their research and make new discoveries. But one of the prototype robots has gone haywire. Could it be sabotage by evil Blacktron and Spyrius agents? Tim Goddard is no stranger to sci-fi themed builds (in fact, he co-wrote the book on it), but this one stands out for how much character and story is brought to the scene. The collection of Space minifigures from across so many eras is great to see. Every figure has some business to attend to, which creates a feel of hustle and bustle within the complex. And the malfunctioning robot makes a great centerpiece. I’m impressed by how posable it is, particularly in the hips, thanks to a combination of round plates with a horizontal bar and the hexagonal piece from a weapons accessory pack.

A new way to do layered shadowboxes

I have to be honest, I’m pretty jealous I hadn’t thought of this myself. Whenever I go to a comic-con, I always spend a bit of time ogling over the booths with lighted, layered-paper shadowboxes. How did I never think to make one with LEGO?! Well, it looks like filbrick beat me to it! First up is a shadowbox classic: a stag in the woods. I love that the builder chose to go with this color gradient. It does appear that he may have been inspired by the work of talented LEGO artist Grantmasters to complete the top portion of the stag itself.

Next up is an astronaut floating in space. The colors and shapes are both awesome and trippy at the same time! The extra window on the side is a cool touch too. While both builds are renders, and I’m not sure if real-life replicas in these specific colors would be possible, they sure are fascinating!

I’m going to have to test this concept out with some of my own designs! How about you? What images would you create?

Not your thing? That’s okay – we have tons of other art builds for you to check out! We also have all sorts of cool builds by Grantmasters that you won’t want to miss!

SHIPtember starts earlier every year.

It’s that time of year again. The pool toys are being replaced by school supplies. The pumpkin spice cravings are growing more powerful. And the thoughts of LEGO fans are turning to SHIPtember. Every September, LEGO builders across the world create original spaceship builds using a Seriously Huge Investment of Parts. (Hence the ‘SHIP’ in ‘SHIPtember.’) This year, Jason Corlett has begun warming up his seriously huge shipbuilding skills with The Revolt, heavy-duty craft sporting tons of detail and cool play features.

With its twin front pylons and the angled rear section, the Revolt would look at home in any big-budget sci-fi franchise. In addition to the boatloads of tech detailing, the Revolt is packing retractable landing gear, a full interior with a bridge, and two cannons on each side that rotate together with the turn of a dial. Check out the video of everything in action below, and let us know if you’re planning your own SHIPtember crafts this year.

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.