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.

Vibrant hulking Mobile Defense Tank

Jme Wheeler has created the MDTDX Fiona Far, which is meant as a re-imagining of the official LEGO set 7706 Mobile Defense Tank. The builder notes that they thought the set “had a lot of cool things going for it, but the actual build was flimsy and lacking a bit in substance”. Starting with that basic idea, Jme rebuilt the set from the ground up, including adding more flexibility in the form of four sets of movable caterpillar tracks to replace the original’s rubber treads.

See more of this re-imagined LEGO tank

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First look at the LEGO Ideas Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket coming in June [News]

LEGO announced last summer that the Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket would be among the future projects turned into an official set from the crowdsourcing platform LEGO Ideas, targeting a tentative release date of summer 2017. Today LEGO has released a teaser image of the Saturn V, giving us our first official look at the final model. They’ve also confirmed a June release for the set.

Although LEGO has given no indications yet on piece count or pricing, it’s clear the model will be massive, and significantly larger than the 2003 Saturn V Moon Mission set. Judging by the scale we can see in the photo above, the rocket will likely stand more than two feet tall, with the main rocket stage about 12 studs in diameter.

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Smashing LEGO like a Rock Star: a conversation with Canadian Iron Builder, Tim Schwalfenberg [Interview]

This week we headed up to our great neighbor to the north to track down Tim Schwalfenberg. Tim lives in Canada, is 21 years old and is currently studying Materials Engineering at his local university. He also likes to publicly smash his LEGO builds too, but more about that later.

TBB: Hi Tim! Can you tell us a little about yourself and your relationship with the Brick?

Tim: Sure! I have found LEGO to be a great creative outlet when I need a break from all my calculus or physics courses. While I’ve been building almost as long as I can remember, it wasn’t until my first year of university that I started to look at LEGO with the intention of making anything beyond the rainbow-warrior spaceships of my earlier years. Through a combination of some inspiring creations I stumbled upon through MOCpages and finding myself with too much free time on my hands, I decided that to try out this LEGO thing more seriously. Thousands of pieces and hundreds of creations later the LEGO hobby has become an incredibly important part of my life. The itch to build has become a constant companion that is easily rewarded by long hours tinkering away on a table-scrap covered table.

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Explore the moon in this tin (tin) tank

What better way to explore the lunar surface than in a LEGO version of TinTin’s moon tank? Stefan Johansson has nailed Herge’s classic design, notable for its twin bubble cockpits upfront. The tank’s blue and grey colour scheme is accurate, and it’s making we wonder if the original comic strip from the 50s provided any inspiration for LEGO’s original Space theme? Stefan has included figures of Professor Calculus, the Thompson Twins, Captain Haddock, and TinTin himself, all clad in fetching orange spacesuits. All that’s missing is Snowy the dog popping his head up under one of the domes.

Space pod arriving at Martian Outpost, please mind the gap

I’m fairly sure this LEGO “Martian Outpost” is a human outpost on Mars rather than a place for Martians to hang out. The dark orange-red environment in this diorama by KW Vauban certainly looks like Mars to me, and there’s a lot of action despite the microscale size of the build. Centrally, a railed transport vehicle approaches a shelter — suggesting we are seeing only a small portion of a much larger habitat. My favourite part? The sliding doors closing behind the ‘space saucer’ that has just left an underground area. I want to peek inside those doors to see what’s down below!

There’s a whole story in this microscale diorama, but the builder hasn’t given us any extra information — just this smart little snapshot in time.

Formula Z for zero gravity racing

It’s the lead up to the Formula Zero Gravity Championships for Octan Racing’s Tigress. Piloted by a rookie racing under the name Octana, this larger-than-minifigure scale racer is ready for its paces. Builder Tim Goddard has used a variety of interesting techniques to get the amazing angles and sharp lines of this beastly speeder.

The body appears to be an extension of the cockpit window, which has been wrapped around a massive rear engine. Plus, there’s the great use of regular and inverted tall slope bricks opposite each other to create interesting panel lines. Slap on a hefty rear stabilizing wing with a handful of maneuvering thrusters and coat liberally with Octan livery and you have yourself an incredible racing monster. As the competing teams continue to work on their racers for a warm up race in Leicester this weekend, I think Octana and her ferocious feline are in for a fantastic racing season!

Battle above unknown worlds in a vertical starfighter

Nick Trotta’s series of detailed and unusually shaped starfighters continues with a vertical fighter named Volkite. The verticality combined with excellent color blocking and smooth transitions between sections of the craft make an eye-catching model.

On his YouTube, Nick shows a couple videos about Volkite. The video below shows how each chunk of the starfighter fits together (about 18 minutes long). It is a fascinating watch as you can see how the smooth transitions between components are achieved.

Spacious speeder servicing center

Take a moment to peer past the speeders and interesting robots, under the beautiful roller door, to the black minifigs in the deep background and appreciate the epic scale of this model. Zach‘s build Team ADU’s Corporate Headquarters has a renovated warehouse feeling. I love how the older-looking brick walls adjoin the skylights and the hinged paneled ceiling. Hanging hoses, ducting and pipework add intricate details while the windows allow ample light into the hive of activity below.

Add more hoses, canisters and the brilliant iron girder in the foreground adding an amazing depth of field, combined with the great use of stickered and printed bricks and a fantastic strange wee red robot all equals a fascinating scene and a great photograph.

Spaceship, Spaceship, Spaceship: A peek into the mind of British builder Jeremy Williams [Interview]

This week we got to sit down with British builder Jeremy Williams (aka “Bricking It”). He lives in Leicester with his wife and two young sons (ages 5 and 6). He travels frequently, consulting for accounting firms and training their accountants. However, I was able to catch him between road trips and pick his brain. Come explore the mind of a builder with me!

TBB: Hey Jeremy, can you tell us how you got into LEGO?

Jeremy: Sure – I got into LEGO as a kid, and Classic Space was my era. I spent every evening building and playing with spaceships! I also got slightly into Technic, but never Castle or City. I then abandoned LEGO as a teenager and only picked it up again six years ago after my first son was born. I figured I had an excuse again!

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Lunar dune crawler reminisces the Classic Space era

As a huge fan of LEGO’s Classic Space theme, I’ve always felt that there is so much more to explore around this old-school theme. Until the day comes that the designers in Billund decide to renew this theme, we can continue to enjoy the vast imagination of builders like Brian Grissom. Cleverly crafting a great-looking lunar dune crawler that seats two Minifigures comfortably, this rover is surely a favourite of Classic Spaceman Benny, who’d be delighted to add this to his ever growing collection of vehicles.

Bricks, Bikes and a Book: a talk with German brick artist Aran Jistukawa-Hudson [Interview]

This week we talk with Aran Jitsukawa-Hudson (AKA Cole Blaq) about his art, philosophy and his life. Aran was born in Great Britain and grew up in Germany. He lives in Düsseldorf with his wife and three kids, is a cancer survivor, and attended university as an Art History student. We interviewed him 6 years ago here on The Brothers Brick, but there’s a lot to catch up on since then. He is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to publish an art book based on his Enter the Brick series. Let’s go explore the mind of a builder.

TBB: First of all, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself? What got you into LEGO and what kept you there?

Aran: My real name is Aran Jitsukawa-Hudson, as some might know. My alter ego as an artist is Cole Blaq, which is a reference to a comic character and an adaption to Hip Hop language.

I am British by origin but mainly grew up in Germany. With my wonderful wife being Japanese, we’re a rich blend of cultures! Now I live in Dusseldorf, Germany, which is located at the river Rhine, north of Cologne.

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What is the nature of your space emergency?

We see a lot of military and exploration rovers and ships in LEGO Space, but other services make only irregular appearances. Frost attempts to balance things out with this smart Medical Rover. The colour scheme absolutely pops on this model, especially coupled with the lime green minimalist scenery. But for me, it’s all about the double cockpit and the angled “snout” — an eye-catching unusual design, nicely-built.

Don’t miss the view of the rover’s rear, and the excellent use of short red axle pieces in “cross-hole bricks” to create mini Red Cross symbols. Lovely.