The Fifth Element sits squarely in my top five sci-fi films of all time. I absolutely love the characters and world that’s been created. Priovit70 has crafted this fabulous fly-in retro hot-dog stand that looks like Corbin Dallas may have swung by on more than one occasion, depending on how many points were on his license that day. I like to believe he took Leeloo there and she was less than impressed.
It’s colorful, it’s got character, and there’s a great story going on with this place.
Don’t let the wings fool you, this isn’t a flying mech. It’s a three-wheeled cycle from the mind of Vince Toulouse. It’s not often I see a vehicle that looks truly unique, but this one definitely fits the bill, making great use of those Hailfire Droid wheels and Ant-man insect wings while somehow achieving a great retro-futuristic panache. Look closely and you’ll spot a rare Belleville crown as a decorative detail, and even notice that this isn’t minifig scale; instead it seats a Technic figure.
It’s 3.5 miles from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launchpad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. It was quite the feat to figure out how to transport a moon rocket from point its assembly point to the launch site, since rockets weigh QUITE a bit. The solution? The crawler-transport. This workhorse of NASA’s fleet moves a stunning 1 mile per hour, and uses over 100 gallons of diesel fuel per mile when fully loaded. The crawler transport goes under the mobile launch platform; the vehicle is assembled on top. Then the crawler goes on its merry way to the launchpad, and off it goes.
These beauties are massive, and dorian glacet brings us his fabulous version along with a modified orbiter from 60080 Spaceport. He’s extended the shuttle, fuel tank, and boosters, which give the whole build a better sense of scale.
Norton74 has built a maintenance bay, home to a chunky tank decked out in Classic Space livery. Round here we love it when people build interesting new creations that pay homage to retro LEGO themes. This scene totally fits the bill.
The expected mix of blue and gray, and the trans-yellow windows, are all present and correct, plus there’s an excellent sense of activity with all those minifigs bustling around. However, the undoubted star of the show is the tank itself, and I’m pleased the builder posted a “hero shot” to showcase it in all its glory…
There were some amazing entries cooked up for our Space Chefs contest. It took us a while to narrow the field down to our absolute favorites. But the votes are in, the judges have decided, and here are the results.
First place in the Cosmic Kitchen category goes to IamKritch with his fabulous Intergalactic Sushi stand…
We loved the compact kiosk, the clever use of curved pieces to create a space-age feel, and all the fun and detail — in particular, all the printed tiles and the bin monster!
And first place in the Space Chefs On-The-Go category goes to Ted Andes for his Gruel Wagon…
This made some of the judges laugh-out-loud. It’s a great idea, well-executed. The flow of the gloopy gruel from the hose is particularly good.
Click to see the runners-up & the Master Chef winner!
British builder Andrew Hamilton is on a one-man campaign to relaunch the LEGO M-Tron theme which retired back in 1993. Andrew has updated LEGO set 6989 Mega Core Magnetizer. Actually “updated” is an understatement. Check out the Mega Core Magnetizer 2.0 — a fantastic vehicle with a double-width set of caterpillar tracks and a beautifully shaped hull encompassing a rear hatch, power functions. AND it even utilises magnets (the M in M-Tron was a nod to the use of magnets in this theme).
All the details can be seen on the 360° view of the Mega Core Magnetiser 2.0, but first, we must pause for this short, highly entertaining commercial for the Mega Core Magnetiser 2.0.
Space is one of LEGO’s core themes, along with Castle and Town. These three themes, for me, form the foundation that the rest of LEGO is built on. As a kid, and even now, my tastes run definitely toward the Castle/Town end of things. I am, however, developing a healthy regard for Space that comes from a passion around real spacecraft. I have a lot of respect for space builders, because it’s a theme I struggle to build in myself.
Jeremy Croft has taken a look at LEGO Space, and re-imagined many of the classic themes. He’s titled his series “Old Friends, New Faces,” and each build is full of nostalgia. Let’s count down Jeremy’s 10 builds, and wander back to when space was blue, grey, and trans-yellow.
Click to launch in 3… 2… 1… go!
This impressive rocket by Tyler Clites depicts Tintin’s rocket in Explorers on the Moon, the 17th volume of the famous comic series The Adventures of Tintin by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The classic red and white chequered rocket is beautifully shaped with traditional slopes, wedges and curved slopes. The jet thrust gives rise to some fantastically simple but effective smoke, maintaining the original cartoon feel.
There is also a detailed interior allowing the construction of this LEGO creation to be admired. Tyler has used a mix of Technic and system parts to build the rocket, but you can see that the inner construction is not a hidden construction site but a functional part of the final build.
Fans of Tintin will also enjoy a previous build by Tyler of Tintin’s moon explorer vehicle from the same comic series. Tyler’s version of Tintin’s rocket is not the first time this vehicle has been featured here on TBB – Tintin’s Rocket by Gonkius was a previous, memorable version.
I love when a builder places minifigs in unexpected or unusual settings, and that’s exactly what justin_m_winn has done here. Rather than piloting through space or roving unknown planets, these minifigs are occupied with a higher purpose: Learning. (Though I suppose they’re probably learning how to pilot through space and rove upon unknown planets). Justin’s diverse class of space students is comprised of minifigs from across LEGO’s various space themes and is packed full of fun details. My favorites include the teacher’s futuristic pointing stick, the stadium seating, and the smart board.
This micro-scale spaceship built by Sergeant Chipmunk proves that diminutive stature can still have impact. The LEGO genre of Neo Classic Space comes with its own set of rules which Sergeant Chipmunk has obeyed when building his LL-345 Kestral — using the Classic Space colours of blue and light bluish gray, landing lights correctly oriented on wingtips (green-right, red – left), yellow only used for ‘bumble-bee’ stripes that should point forward, and cockpit windows in trans-yellow.
Of course rules are made to be broken but sometimes it is fun to build within a set of parameters or guidelines to test your building skills.
There’s nothing quite like coming up on a massive space station while cruisin’ the universe in your tiny ship to give you hope and longing to stand properly. FonsoSac gives us a glorious micro-scale space station, complete with approaching ship.
The build overall is simple, but effective. I like the wheel as engines for the smaller ship, and the main station itself has enough detail to give an appropriate impression of size.
Nefarious Blacktron forces may inhabit the remote reaches of space, but that doesn’t mean they lack sweet infrastructure. We’ve already brought you a peek at Stephan Niehoff’s take on Blacktron’s new battle tank, the Scorpion II, and now Stephan lets us get a good look at the sleek Rhino, Blacktron’s on-planet wartime materiel supply solution.
