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.

Orange and White as the new Blue and Yellow

Cargo transports don’t always have to look like they stepped out of the set of Aliens, you know. Clean lines and bright colors make this LEGO hangar build by Boba-1980 stand out to me. The focus on white and orange harkens back to the Mars Mission theme, as well as the current City Space designs. (The City influence can been seen in elements like the canopy window from 2019’s 60225: Rover Testing Drive.) I like how having a second cargo pod as part of the scene lets you get a feeling for how the dropship operates. I also like the fact that there’s an exposed outlet and plug on the back wall. That’s a bit of detail I don’t come across very often.

Boba describes the theming as “CS.NextGen” – Classic Space the Next Generation. I’d love to see more builds in this style. I mean, I love classic space and all, but there’s always room for alternate universes that aren’t simply Neo Classic Space.

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Among these massive SHIPS, here comes the tiny Terribilis

With the fleet of massive SHIPs we’ve seen lately it’s refreshing to know that someone still loves small, one-man spacecraft. This LEGO Blacktron attack craft was built by none other than The Brothers Brick’s own Mansur Soeleman. While he could have written a better post about it himself, once I’ve dedicated thirty seconds into a post, there’s really no stopping that engine. With that said, I’m smitten by Mansur’s use of these pieces from the Ninjago Arcade Pod sets. I also like that this diminutive yet deadly BT-145 Terribilis is named after the equally diminutive and deadly Golden Poison Frog. We’ve been smitten by Mansur’s creations before and while they refuse to give me the keys to our recruiting office, I’m guessing this is why he’s writing for us now.

Orange is the new bley

Every year, for a little over a month, the LEGO sci-fi fans among us get a treat: SHIPtember. A celebration of insanity and massive amounts of small interlocking bricks, it is one of my favorite times of year (it doesn’t hurt that I enjoy everything else about autumn, too, like Oktoberfest beers and wool sweaters). One name that consistently shines out among the rest is ZCerberus, who, perhaps taking his cues from the changing foliage of the Northern Hemisphere, has created a fleet of massive orange spaceships. This year’s model is a repair frigate, LL885, ready to fix any small fighter that might have an issue. Small cranes, tons of greebles, and lots of roller coaster tracks make this one a great addition.

Love orange spaceships? Then check out ZCerberus’ other builds, since he has built a whole fleet of them.

A Saucerful of Secrets

Mysteries abound in this latest creation by Blake Foster. Turning the Tables features a classic UFO scenario turned on its head. Have the cows had enough? Or is this actually a flashback to how the hostilities between the alien and bovine races began? Either way, there’s a lot to unpack in this vignette. On the building front, check out the clever use of on-the-sprue Harry Potter wands in the fence, the cupcake-tipped under-udder-thrusters, and the perfect use of those 1×1 star plates. The Mixel eyes on the cow-pilot just creep me out, though.

We’ve featured a number of Blake’s other Spacy Creations in the past. Could this be the beginning of a new theme of “Cow-Space”? One can only hope.

Set the controls for the heart of the sun

It’s not my fault, really. Our new Brothers Brick contributor, Mansur got us thinking about it and now I can’t see all this LEGO SHIPtember business without hearing Pink Floyd tunes. I can’t even fathom anymore how space travel is even possible without Pulse on continuous loop. While I already have the soundtrack in mind, Marko Petrušić gives us a glimpse of what real interstellar travel could look like. Of all the massive SHIPs we’ve seen lately this one stands apart. The inclusion of solar sails certainly help give this craft a different profile.

Marko calls this creation Daedalus whom, if you recall your Greek mythology, lost a son to wind-surfing or something. If you like nerd data, Marko tells us this measures 177x177x136 studs with the solar sails and 28x28x54 studs without. While this is indeed a computer render, he also tells us this took only a day to create…or about the length of a live version of your average Pink Floyd song. Here’s a closer view of the craft without regard to the solar sails. Check out that amazing detail!

Purple Highlighters...In spaaaaaaace!

As much enjoyment as I get out of microscale builds, I find that it’s the really large LEGO creations that get my blood pumping. That’s why I look forward to SHIPtember – that magical time of year when talented builders like Marin Stipkovic deplete their personal brick stock to create SHIPs aplenty. Reaching the goal of 100+ studs in length is no easy task, but Marin accomplishes it in style with the Phunky. I love the unusual color scheme of the mirrored transparent purple windscreens in the command deck, That, combined with the overall shape, reminds me of a giant purple highlighter. If, you know, stationary was more like space-tionary. No, I will not be explaining that terrible logic jump any more than that. Instead, let’s take a moment and admire the other clever part usage like the new goggle rings from the 75551 Brick-built Minions set along the underside.

From the side you can get a better view of the Phunky’s rail gun and beam cannons, as well as the sweet color gradient along the hull. (For those of you wondering, the Phunky was already at 107 studs long before the guns and thruster burst were added.)

Don’t think Marin is limited to just building giant markers…I mean spaceships. Check out their other featured builds!

TBB Cover Photo for October 2020: Bang Bang Goes the Spaceship

This month’s social media cover photo, from LEGO builder Isaac Snyder, is straight from SHIPtember. Isaac’s SHIP was built over the course of 2 weeks and is 105 studs long. After taking a look at this vessel, it doesn’t take long to notice the resemblance. I don’t know about you, but after I realized what the shape was, I went looking for details to confirm my suspicions, and yes indeed, this spacecraft is shaped like a giant, brightly colored sci-fi space rifle.

The aft of the ship houses a semblance of a power generator, which is fun to visualize with its ring shape. The rest of the components are just as fun to admire. The “bullets” in the “magazine” and the “scope” all stand out and make you wonder how these work in space. Thanks for getting us thinking about the real questions, Isaac.

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Pink Floyd space noises intensify

A long journey to colonise distant star systems require long, space-y psychedelic songs made by musicians such as Pink Floyd, Gong, and Brian Bennet. I was listening to Life on Mars by Dexter Wansel, when I saw pictures of The Ark by Ben Smith. One year in the making, it is a massive rotating vessel which resembles something from the television series The Expanse. Inside, tiny nature habitats built by collaborators Tim Goddard and Inthert provide residence for the people voyaging across the stars.

Almost a meter in height, this SHIP hides a custom steel frame to bear the weight of electrical motors, LED lights, batteries, and thousands of LEGO parts. This behemoth of a build is as detailed as it is large, with plenty of greebling to feast the eyes. When taking a closer look, one can marvel at the geometric achievements of circular and conical sections of varying diameters. As for those not as keen for grey space machinery, there is some microscale landscaping by Tim Goddard and Inthert. For there must be life within this cold ship, as the inhabitants yearn to settle down on a distant planet.

See Ben Smith’s flick album documenting the long and arduous build process of The Ark. And put on some Pink Floyd while you’re at it…

Ray-tracing the future

Bigger than it looks, this boldly colored racer by David Roberts seats a LEGO Technic figure at the helm and is named the Sunray. The striking stripes are courtesy of clever brick-building in the wings with stacked blue and yellow slopes, making the trans-yellow canopy almost entirely disappear. All told, the craft is little more than a pair of wings strapped on a big engine, but that’s exactly what you’d want from your anti-gravity racer.

Jumping for joy on the moon

For some, the month of April in the year 1972 may not be memorable but for astronaut John W. Young this date marks the journey of a lifetime – he became the ninth person to walk on the moon. Young’s iconic jumping salute which has been captured both in photography and video is recreated in LEGO bricks by spacemanship123.

This brick-built astronaut seems to make use of a lot of tile type pieces as well as some slopes and a few LEGO Technic elements. A spacesuit does seem like it would be a tough model to design because of its bulky nature and also its requirement for articulation seeing as it is a figural build striking a pose. Designer spacemanship123 was able to make it happen by using various clip pieces in addition to some ball and joint elements. Overall I would say the idea behind this build is unique, perhaps even out of this world! It’s not an everyday occasion that a human lands on the moon, or that an astronaut is built out of bricks.

A Swedish take on Blacktron

Some say that IKEA is for grownups what LEGO is for kids. I say, why not have both? Builder Kalais seems to think so too.

In probably the first example I’ve ever seen, Kalais used the new IKEA BYGGLEK storage boxes for a very modern-style Blacktron base. As far as getting the Blacktron look, this creation succeeds. From the laser-lime windows to the black and white accent bricks, you know this base belongs to the infamous space-faring evildoers the second you look at it. I especially like the power generator made from large wheels. Very clever!

The one downside about the BYGGLEK storage bins is that they don’t connect as regular LEGO bricks do. If you stare hard enough at the space base, you can see that the boxes are sitting on top of each other instead of locking in like normal bricks. Kalais has made up for that by using black bricks in places to give the illusion of the base being one solid tower.

This is a fantastic example of what you can do with non-traditional pieces like the BYGGLEK storage boxes. I hope to see more people become inspired by Kalais’ creation!

First contact

Bart de Dobbelaer never ceases to amaze me with his LEGO creations. Ever since his ‘The Life Aquatic With Clumsy Pete’ series, he has been making one astounding creation after another. First Contact is no exception to this. It features an out of this world landscape with a spaceship in a colour scheme that will send you on a trip down memory lane. The space crew is carefully conducting their work without noticing that their presence hasn’t gone unnoticed. Bart is a master at building alien creatures from obscure LEGO parts. He always manages to use the parts that I am never able to think of a good use for.