Tag Archives: Spacecraft

The color technology

According to the picture description by Pascal, this Vic Viper has to do something with secret spacecraft technologies. To my surprise, a close look at the build didn’t reveal any hyperdrives, wires, tubes, laser guns, or force shields. I mean, all of these are probably there, but this build looks more like a piece of concept art. It takes LEGO bricks’ geometry to the extreme with elementary shapes. Ultimately it’s the color accents that make the whole thing stand out. Simple and bold!

XenoTech Stinger

Azure stripes and open skies

Inspired by the colors of the Martini-sponsored Porsche racing team from his childhood, David Roberts created a fantastic racer for a pilot with an inimitable name. Martin Igglesramsworthbottomthwaite, or Martin I, as he’s known by his fans and enemies, brandishes a Bond-like persona when he’s not flying his vibrant speeder. The model features various pieces of mechanical detailing on each side of the multifaceted engine sections, with azure domes capping the inlets. Bright red compliments navy blue and azure stripes along the body, making for a brilliant photo finish for all of Martin I’s victories.

Martin I's Racer

On the rear, the nozzles for the engines are framed by multiple vents with azure bands running the length of the sides. Those rear lights will surely be the only ones his competition will see for most of the race. At least, the ones after that freak storm that flooded his cockpit. Drainage holes can help win races, it seems.

Martin I's Racer

Eat your heart out, NASA

One small step for a minifigure, one giant leap for minifigure-kind. Builder Centuri Chan has created a fantastic spaceship to get the first two minifigures to Mars by 2028. Nostalgia certainly is a powerful force and the new buildable figures provided a perfect template for Centuri Chan to project their love for the Classic Space theme. This Minifigure Launch System, as dubbed by the builder, is a playful spin on the brick-built mega-figures that LEGO has begun to release. Littered with astronauts and robots, this crawler is on its way to the launch pad for further testing of this minifigure-inspired spacecraft. Two yellow pilots sit in the helmet, just above a wonderful, brick-built Classic Space logo while the rest of the crew tends their various assignments. I love the nod to Classic City sets and Octan with the white, red, and green tanks.

Race to Mars! Minifigure Launch System (MLS)

Checking out the back lets us see the boosters that Centuri Chan attached to the spaceman-spacecraft while also making us wonder what exactly the elusive orange spaceman is doing up there.

Race to Mars! Minifigure Launch System (MLS)

This lander is out of this world, and I hope it stays there

Some spacecraft are friendly, full of friendly space explorers and friendly scientists. And then there’s this craft by Mitsuru Nikaido, which might be friendly, but I don’t trust it. Anything with more than 2 arms can’t be trusted. But I do like a good set of organic-looking lander arms. And that twisted central structure is pretty sweet.

LEGO LANDING MODULE -PHAGE-15

The stars align for a classic space nova

Bionicle Day, 8/10 (810nicle), is behind us, and we’re catching up by celebrating some builds that incorporate the popular buildable figure elements from LEGO’s past. Blake Foster found inspiration to use Bionicle elements such as Macku‘s helmet and Hero Factory feet (ball and socket configuration) for the side of the hull. The standard blue LEGO Classic Space hue is an obvious homage to the 1986 LEGO Cosmic Fleet Voyager. Just don’t expect to see Benny fit into this space fighter, because it is micro-scale. After some quick research on novae, I get why Blake Foster named it “Nova Class.” It is akin to nova, the astronomical event where new stars form and explode, shining bright and slowly fading, just as Blake described how the build constantly came apart during its construction. For now, bask in its glow.

Nova Class Heavy Fighter

To the stars and beyond: my microscale LEGO spacecraft inspired by NASA – part 2

Continuing on my fad of building “hard sci-fi” spaceships that look like they might have been designed by NASA or SpaceX, after completing the Vanguard, I found myself with a handful of leftover modules. So I set about building another ship and employing some of the techniques I’d learned and adding others. Last time my ship had topped out at 89 studs in length, but the I.E.A. Discovery rings in at 120 studs.

Read Part 1 here.

I.E.A. Discovery

One of the main things I wanted change was the color scheme. Although the solid black-and-white motif is very classic NASA, I was trying to build a spaceship of the future, so perhaps a little color was in order. My two chosen highlight colors were sand green and flame yellowish orange (or bright light orange, if you prefer Bricklink’s nomenclature). Both are vibrant and bold, while still capturing the vintage space-race color palette I wanted. Continue reading

Impressively detailed “Ugly Duckling” Long Range Research Vessel is over 4 feet long

Years in the making, Blake Foster presents one of the finest examples of LEGO spacecraft masterwork with the Ugly Duckling Long Range Research Vessel. It’s a rare achievement; it boasts impressive measurements at 168 studs long, 47 studs wide, and 45 studs high (approximately 52.5×14.5×14 inches), yet its size doesn’t prevent Blake from carefully considering every stud on his craft inside and out.

Ugly Duckling Long Range Research Vessel

See more photos of this amazing and huge LEGO spaceship

Heavy Assault Fighter that’s a lean and mean killing machine

I love me a good spacecraft when I see one, and Onkel Ton has some mean LEGO skills indeed. While the additional decals give it a smashing sense of realism, the build structure, shape and greebling stands out on its own to a cinematic worthy quality to it all.

A-108

Together with the overall bulk of the ship, the contrast of the reds to the grey really emphasizes the look of a very futuristic military ready craft with heavy artillery.

A-108

It’s a K-wing... It’s a Y-wing... It’s a Y-18R Ragnarok Starfighter!

SweStar‘s latest starfighter is so sweet and cool, I don’t not what should I start with — an outstanding cockpit design or amazing textural detailing of the rear part of the ship; it’s just yet another example of the design so perfect, it’s hard to find a single thing to criticise the creation for. The build’s color scheme gives some very nice retro vibes, and I can’t help mentioning the Retro Spaceman as seen in the Series 17 of the Collectible Minifigures. I would love to see this guys piloting the spaceship!

Y-18R Ragnarok Starfighter

And it would be a crime not to share one more picture of the starfighter showing its very cool shape.

Y-18R Ragnarok Starfighter 002

Microscale ISS model is out of this world!

One of the trademarks of a successful microscale model is when it can be mistaken for the real thing at first — or even second — glance! This spectacular microscale model of the International Space Station by Jussi Koskinen is a great example of this. So much attention to detail and photography make this creation really stand out!

International Space Station

More details after the jump

Designed with a single purpose – to destroy Imperial ships

Inthert has put his talent for building outstanding copies of Star Wars spacecrafts to good use with another brilliant model to help the rebels fight the Imperial forces. As the builder comments his own creation, the biggest challenge during the work on this B-wing was the problem with proportions; it’s so easy to ruin the build with just one extra plate or a tile. Fortunately, the result is beyond any compliments.

B-wing (1)

Float like a dragonfly, sting like a viper

We are over halfway through Novvember, but there’s still plenty of time to build a Vic Viper and honour the late Nate “Nnenn” Nielsen. This particular Vic Viper by Andreas Lenander not only depicts a beautifully futuristic craft, but also manages to highlight one of my favourite colours.  The use of Medium Azure really makes this an eye-catching build and those double lateral wings at the rear are definitely sending dragonfly vibes my way.

Dragonfly - vic viper

As always, it’s the little extras that make a build really stand out and in this build the greebled pipes plus the use of hockey sticks on the prongs are fantastic additions.