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.

Saving the world in this totally awesome and totally blue APC

I can’t lie, I’m in love with this blue armored vehicle by Andrea Lattanzio. Based on the S.H.A.D.O. mobile from the 1970 British sci-fi series, UFO, this tracked creation has a ton of great details and features wrapped in a classicly pleasing color scheme.

The builder did a great job staying faithful to the original S.H.A.D.O. design while incorporating a few extra touches such as the bubble dome and radar array. Also, the canopy opens to expose a detailed little interior – very cool! With such an assortment of high tech computers and equipment (well, at least for the 70’s) this tracked command center looks more than ready to lead the fight against the alien invaders.

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February is the month of love – for space rovers!

It’s February and that means one thing – no, not romance and chocolate, but space exploration rovers! Yes, it’s FebROVERy again and we’re seeing a ton of sweet entries into this annual event where builders focus on creating strange and fun little space exploration vehicles. First up, check out this awesome insectoid-style rover by F@bz.

See more awesome LEGO space rovers

Mechs, big ships and community: a chat with long-time LEGO fan and Mecha Builder, Mark Neumann [Interview]

Today we are fortunate enough to get the chance to explore the mind of Master Mech builder, Mark Neumann! Mark lives with his family in western Washington State and has been a prominent member of the Adult LEGO Fan community for many years. While being know primarily for his awesome Mechs, Mark has also planned and organized many collaborative builds as well as the first BrickCon. In addition to his other efforts, He also recently finished a massive Classic Space SHIP known by her call sign “LL-2016”. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

TBB: Hi Mark, glad to talk to you today! To kick things off, can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

Mark: Well, ok. Hiya. I have been an adult fan of LEGO since around the year 1999. That would have been when I was walking through a Fred Meyer with my (at the time) girlfriend and spotted something cool in the toy section. Star Wars LEGO. I could get a X-Wing, with Luke Skywalker! Yeah, I racked up some debt on the credit card that day.

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That’s it man, game over man, game over!

We’re in the pipe, five by five, with Daniel Schlumpp‘s stunning UD-4L Cheyenne Dropship from the movie Aliens. Featuring fold-out missile pods, working front landing gear and a fold down ramp, this amazing replica looks like it could be coming around for a seven zero niner any minute.

Daniel designed his creation digitally first, and experimented with rendering it with this great night-time shot.

If you liked this UD-4L Cheyenne dropship, you might like these LEGO versions featured on The Brothers Brick previously:

An emerald Wyvern from the cold reaches of space

Everyone has a different process for building. Some people start with a piece of reference art they find inspiring, or a drawing they’ve made. Some people start with a technique, or a combination of parts and just keeping adding pieces until something takes shape, which is the route I took in designing this small starfighter, which I call the Wyvern.

I knew I wanted to build something dark green, so I sat down with the dark green bin and looked for interesting elements. What I found were a surprising number of minifigure chairs, so I began stacking them. Continue reading →

Expanding The Expanse with this UNN freighter

One of the most interesting aspects of LEGO is the opportunity builders have to recreate and expand the universes of their favorite books, movies and TV shows. It’s awesome watching builders bring these stories to life and creating whole new elements through the use of bricks. Shannon Sproule does just that with a series of spaceships inspired by the book/TV series, The Expanse, such as this United Nations Navy fast transport vessel:

The builder has chosen to design an entirely new ship to the UNN fleet, which, though numerous, is less technologically advanced than its counterparts. That is evident in the utilitarian design of the ship and its appropriately blocky shape. The cargo containers help round out the imagined role of this UNN workhorse. The builder is working on a series of The Expanse-inspired ships, so make sure to take a look at his Flickr for more.

Classic space station high in the Martian sky

A mix of spindly spires, smooth curves and hard angles floats above a red planet. Considering that orange and blue are complimentary colors, I’m surprised you don’t see more classic space themed ships around Mars – luckily for us Damien Labrousse has an artistic eye.

What I really appreciate about this build is that it looks just as striking from the bottom as from the top. Instead of having to skimp on style for adding a stand, Damien hung the model so that the lower antennas and towers could stay tastefully uneven.

TBB cover photo: February 2017

This month’s cover photo is this Star Trek inspired bridge scene by Guy Smiley. It’s a miniature symphony in it’s use of lighting, color, texturing, fine details and blank space. The sole figure on his raised plinth, back to us, gazing outward, really conveys a sense of the loneliness of command in the loneliness of space.

Want to see your own LEGO creation featured across TBB social media for a month? Then read the submission guidelines and send us your photo today.

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2017 Speeder Bike Racing League Contest sponsored by The Brothers Brick [News]

The LEGO Speeder Bike Group is hosting their annual Racing League Contest. Any minifig-scale speeder bikes are welcome to enter. Check out the group’s photo pool for examples, if you aren’t familiar with the genre.

There are three Grand Prize sets up for grabs, as well as individual category prize sets, donated by The Brothers Brick!

Click here to read all about the prizes!

Frogs, Monkeys and Cthulu, Oh My: We interrogate that builder of the bizarre, Fedde Barendrecht [Interview]

This week we were able to track down Fedde Barendrecht to his Australian hideaway in Brisbane. Fedde, who goes by the handle Karf Oohlu, works from home, uploads another crazy LEGO creation almost daily and dreams of world domination. Somehow lots of monkeys and frogs are involved. Let’s dive into his mind but keep your wits about you. Once he has us in his tentacled embrace he may not let go again.

The Brothers Brick: Hey Fedde! What can you tell us about yourself? How did you get into LEGO and what keeps you there?

Fedde: Hi, I’m an old fart, my name is Fedde Barendrecht, Dutch born, Australian raised, and now living in Brisbane Australia. I blame a certain AFOL, Aaron Andrews (aka Darkspawn)—it’s all his fault. The first time I’d visited his place, I saw all the castle MOCs he was working on. (These days, family life—kids—is burning up most of his spare time, and cost him his Lego room.) It got me interested, so I first got into Bionicle, thinking they seemed restrictive and so would feed the interest but not get out of hand. A few System sets eventually got bought, some more—things got out of hand.

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Look at the starfighter, look how it shines for you

The wedge is a classic shape in LEGO starfighter designs, and that can mean a pointy model needs something eyecatching to stand out from the crowd. mrutek‘s Arrow does exactly that, through a combination of beautifully-shaped brickwork, and a retina-dazzling yellow color scheme. I’m a particular fan of the use of “bow” curves down the ship’s sides to create a lovely smooth section.

Sometimes LEGO creations using one predominant colour can see the details get washed-out and lost, ending up a little bland. The builder escapes that trap here through some judicious striping, and depth of texture added through the use of smaller tiles. Personally, I might have gone with blue rather than black for the stripes to create a bit more visual jazz, but that’s nitpicking at an otherwise lovely little spaceship.

New fusion battery and an oil change

What use is a super-cool, super-fast speederbike if it won’t go? Don’t underestimate the importance of vehicle maintenance in LEGO’s far-future. Sad Brick makes the mechanic the hero in this smart hangar diorama. The speeder bike itself looks great — it’s a veritable festival of greebling. But don’t miss the wall of neatly-placed tools, and the cabinet towards the rear with its tiny drawers — little details that create a sense of reality. Finally, the use of a blue glass “notepad” by the minifig is a cool futuristic touch (even if it is a it of a sci-fi trope!)