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.

Drop into action with the DT-92 Rigellian Dropship

Prepare for action in hostile territory with Ben “Spaceship!” Smith’s phenomenal APC transport, the DT-92 Rigellian Dropship.

Technically, I’ve led off this article with the money shot of the rear 3/4 of the ship, because I am enamored with Ben’s gorgeous engine arrangement. There are crisp lines to follow all over the ship and clean color blocking in its asymmetrical form. The dropship deviates from the predominantly aerodynamic characteristics of the spacecraft we’re used to seeing in TV and movies – which is a great subject to explore as we approach SHIPtember when many in the spaceship-loving LEGO community will put out massive plastic spacecraft in a tight timeframe.

The dropship has some really fun bits scattered throughout the model but one of the features I think gets a little lost in the dramatic photo lighting is the VTOL engines that appear as if they would actually swivel on 2×2-stud turntables depending on how the ship is swooshed. I also like the integration of the 10248 Ferrari F40 windshield piece although I think it adds a bit of a quirky, off-putting Eagle 5 space Winnebago look to the cockpit.

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A futuristic female explorer and her faithful dog-bot

Contests can be excellent sources of inspiration. That may be the case for Kingmarshy, who is competing in the 2018 Bio-Cup. The tournament is centered around Technic and Constraction creations, and this entry was submitted for the 3rd round. The round is themed “The Future” and this is subthemed under “Utopia”.

There’s a lot of really great parts usage in this fun little build. The ribbed hose for the skirt is one example, and the Throwbot Technic gearbox pieces are also a great addition. My personal favorite part is the design of “GD-801” the robo-dog. The harpoon gun tail and retro wheels for shoulders really give him the perfect sci-fi look.

This spacecraft will land on your phospholipid bilayer

It does not take an exceptional amount of imagination to see a landing module in a stereotypical bacteriophage, the type of virus that infects bacteria. So I am surprised that the latest creation from Dwalin Forkbeard is the first time I have seen the aforementioned virus used as inspiration for a LEGO spaceship, especially given how crazy some builders can get with their spaceship designs. Sometimes it takes someone with an outside perspective on the theme to come up with the most out-of-the-box idea. And, as might be expected from a builder with a name taken from The Hobbit, they have so far mostly focused on medieval and fantasy creations, quite often centered about dwarves, as, again, you might imagine.

The spacecraft features the main parts of a bacteriophage, but giving a mechanical twist to them: the head, which has the angular appearance we are used to from phage models; the tail that actually features some finer details; and the leg-like fibers that the real-life virus uses to attach to a bacterial cell, while the Invader T3 Phage uses them to land on planets or perhaps huge space-bacteria. The builder says that the pilot, the strange little character standing beside the spacecraft, is a highly complicated sentient DNA-form, a backstory which just adds to the charm of this unique creation. Even putting the originality aside, this is still a very good build. The colour blocking is done well, and the spherical ends of the legs just pop in the bright light orange colour. A few custom stickers saying “PHAGE” and “EMERGENCY DNA TANK” round it off perfectly as a very memorable spaceship.

Blacktron attack on Redstone Five

Last year LEGO model builder Moto debuted his dazzling Chrysalis spaceship, and recently at Denver Comic-Con he enhanced his original creation with a space dragon attack on a remote space base with space heroes on the defensive. In the builder’s own words- “While performing standard maintenance, the Redstone 5 launchpad has come under attack from the Blacktron Dragon Obscurtronum!” and you can see the brave efforts the base occupants are making to guard against the assault.

The star of the show here is still undoubtedly the Chrysalis ship, which shines on the screen even better now with a contrasting background element and the bustle of the battle scene.

And you thought getting caught by modern day police was bad...

Nobody wants to be pulled over by the authorities, even if there is nothing to worry about. Now imagine them looking like a mix between the Matrix sentinels and the Xenomorph from Alien. Leonid An imagines this eerie and mysterious floating thing without much description, except to indicate that it seems to be investigating something.

The repetitive use of robot arms with horn pieces attached is a popular technique for organic (and spooky) textures and Leonid has used it to great effect here. With that, the pink highlights, a wheel piece and some Bionicle pieces, the build is actually quite simple in overall design, but I can’t imagine any addition that would make it better in what it is. Another great thing about it is that the builder has digitally edited out the bricks suspending the creation in the air, so we do not have to suspend our disbelief.

Classic roadster gets a Classic Space upgrade

Take the classic lines of a 50s-styled roadster and sprinkle on the magic dust of LEGO’s Classic Space theme. What do you get? This fabulous Jetsons-esque vehicle from billyburg. It’s a glorious mash-up — sleek curves with a retro roofline, aerials, and fins, all decked-out in the immediately-recognisable colour scheme of LEGO’s original sci-fi line. Ingot parts offer a bit of bonnet texture, and the rear fin is an excellent use of a boomerang piece. Cut tubing provides a nice touch of blue detail to the open studs down the sides, and that front grille is beautiful. If our vehicular future looks anything like this, I want it to arrive right now!

A great yellow spaceship that isn’t from Star Wars

When it comes to building a spaceship with character, sometimes the spaces in between the LEGO elements are just as important, if not more so, than the parts themselves. A good gap or connection can provide the perfect breathing room or white space in a model. This craft, known as the Vulture, from the upcoming video game Star Citizen, by GolPlaysWithLego is packed with some very nice details. One of the most interesting of which would have to be the post-production effects used to place the vessel in action.

One of my absolute favorite details is the use of two black roller-skates on either side of the black 1×2 ingot just behind the front cockpit (and another on each of the forward arms). Another well-placed mini-figure accessory is the ice skate. Finally, the builder achieves a half-plate gap behind a pair of cheese slopes attached to headlight bricks.

That’s no moon – it’s a rebel space station

Don’t be misled by first impressions. This Rebel Alliance Space Station by Corry Lankford is an absolutely enormous LEGO creation — nearly two metres tall!

Corry has grabbed the “grubby realism” aesthetic of the Star Wars universe with both hands and stuffed his space station full of greebles and details, creating a genuine sense of a lived-in future. This shot of one of the decks showcases some of the texturing that’s gone into the model, whilst offering a glimpse of the detailed interior compartments…

Click to see more of this amazing Star Wars creation, including the accompanying spacecraft

The dragon becomes me!

LEGO and gaming go together hand in hand, but with all the videogame-themed creations being shared around the web, Overwatch seems to be the most frequent inspiration these days. This Japanese-style sci-fi sword by Sean Mayo takes loose inspiration from Genji’s weapon in Overwatch, but still brings a bit of its own style to the table.

The blade is built to be as sturdy as possible — one of our contributors swung it around at a LEGO convention recently — and yet it sacrifices nothing in terms of aesthetics. The blade uses different shades of green to achieve a subtle glowing effect, though what we see in this photo is either digital editing or a photography trick. The hilt is beautiful, using inverted and squeezed tyres to give it a wrapped look. One of my favourite parts is the round guard, cleverly using some slopes’ undersides so the shape flows smoothly into the blade.

LEGO Nexo Knights meets Warhammer 40k

Although I have never played the tabletop games, I have always admired the aesthetic of the Warhammer 40k universe, particularly the vibrantly colored hardsuits and tanks. Simon Crocker has created an excellent Warhammer-Nexo Knights mashup with his razorback tank, which is based on a heavily armored variant of the Rhino APC from the Warhammer games.

Although the build may initially appear straightforward, closer inspection reveals the complex shaping and techniques used to make the front and back of the APC look so smooth, and to achieve the light bluish gray accents in just the perfect places. Although I overlooked it at first, the use of dark bluish gray panel pieces sticking out by 1/2 plates distance on the front viewports of the tank is particularly clever. As a finishing touch, custom stickers are used to add the fine details and make it especially accurate to the source material.

Awesomely angular microspace magnificence

Microspace ships are one of my favorite things, and this Nebula-class Cruise Ship by Silmaril_1 reminds me just why I like them so much. The combination of orange, white, and lovely shaping make this microscale ship quite pleasurable to admire. I particularly like how those light bluish gray greebles are just barely peeking out from underneath the cracks between panels.

Although the build appears to make great use of mostly common parts — which just goes to show you can make an awesome build without buying tons of the latest pieces — it notably uses a white window pane, with white glass held inside as a subtle detail of the front of the vessel.

Amphibious space invaders

Look out, the amphibious space invaders are coming! Far from piloting mysterious saucers, however, these toads have tech much more familiar, needing a massive rocket to break the planet’s gravity. As usual, the ever-prolific builder Karf Oohlu employs interesting elements at every turn. Two stand out among the lot, though, with minifigure hands deftly employed to create a stud-reversal beneath the cockpit, and light covers doing double duty as space helmets–an easy-to-miss detail of the landed astronauts.