Tag Archives: Spaceships

A pair of spaceships as different as night and day

In a flurry of building on the way to Chicago’s Brickworld, Ted Andes delivered a number of great builds to admire. Let’s start with one of Ted’s signature spaceship styles: small, compact, solid colors with straight lines. Here it comes in true Vic Viper form. And the working land gear are a bonus.

We next move to a spaceship made from a pool of parts often used by Ted: Hero Factory. The bubble cockpit surrounded by four blade-wings and exposed engines has a great mechanical feel to it, providing a great contrast to the build above.

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The Ridgeback Racer is ready to launch!

LEGO phenom David Roberts has mastered the art of building oddball little spaceships, each with baffling complex shapes and striking color schemes. That this Ridgeback, for example. The adjustable stand makes it clear you can launch this ship in a bevy of angles from straight up over the moon to right through your neighbor’s window.

The craft is hard to define from just one angle but this rear view image makes it clear it’s sort of a three-pronged shuttlecock. (Tee hee!) The engine and greebling is pretty sweet.

This short video of the builder disassembling this model is way more captivating than I thought it would be. Hidden deep within the ship’s core is a cockpit. Or should I say -shuttlecockpit? Sorry, I’ll just see myself out. In the meantime, watch the video and check out our David Roberts archives.

LEGO shoot-’em-up fighters worthy of Player One Privilege

I’m an oldest sibling, so when we played video games growing up, I usually enjoyed Player One privileges. That is, until my siblings got better at the games than I did, and so I would get demoted to being a mere Player Two. I’m not sure which of these two LEGO ships that Brad K has built is which – I think tradition dictates that blue is one and red is two? Either way I don’t think I’d be disappointed with either in this case! There’s very little studs-up building in the ships themselves; it seems to almost all be sideways. In fact the bases seem like the only studs that are the right way up. But they’re a lovely touch too! Which one are you choosing?

Andromeda Asteroid Mining Rig – I’ve expanded my microscale space frontier

I’m continuing to expand my microscale space universe. Last time I checked in with a lunar launch diorama, as my home-brew theme shot into deep space from the moon. Now the Interplanetary Expedition Alliance, or I.E.A., has set up a large mining facility out in the asteroid belt.

The facility consists of a large space station as the hub, and two captured asteroids being mined for their mineral wealth.

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Spaceship + Geometry + LEGO = one fascinating fractal fighter

The Nexo Knights theme introduced quite a few new angled slopes and other geometric parts to LEGO, like the famous “Nexagon“, and the sharp-angled slopes used on the sides of this fighter by Inthert. With its many sharp angles, this 6 pointed starfighter is giving me Black Sun vibes (one of the many crime syndicates from Star Wars legends). The color scheme fits well with Nexo Knights as well, with the gun metal gray and bright color accents on a largely blue livery.

Go tell it to the crocodile-riding tribe

Sometimes intergalactic news is so good you have to visit other planets to tell the crocodile-riding tribes about it. What exactly this good news is, LEGO builder Oliver Barrell did not specify but the news delivery system seems to be a sweet spaceship based on a Pterosaur. That’s pretty much the mode of transport I’d pick. It demonstrates the awkward wings-folded gait the Pterosaur likely had when not in the air. Oliver tells us there is no Photoshop trickery here; the model is real, precariously balanced, and fragile. I mean, just look at that ragged, trailing edge of the wings- and the cockpit! That’s brilliant stuff, right there.

Out of this world aerospace engineering in LEGO

When I started building spaceships as a kid and teen, I assumed the only possible angles were the ones found on sloped bricks and wing plates. Seeing the smooth curves that builders like MWBricks can coax out of LEGO is nothing short of miraculous. The builder calls this flying beast the Yelets LOng RangeD Exploder, part of the Goznian Psycho Navy. With a raised cockpit and a recon jet docked and ready, the Yelets owns the unfriendly skies.

MWBricks works with Studio and physical bricks when designing ships like the Yelets. Some of the tricks the builder has come up with to achieve the perfect angle are equal parts impressive and anxiety-inducing, using friction and rubber bands when stud connections aren’t enough. I can’t help but wonder what this ship would look like in cross-section.

Taking LEGO lights to the next level

With all the talented LEGO builders out there, cool techniques are constantly showing up in our feeds. However, it’s not every day that I’m so intrigued that I bookmark the page. Thanks to Joost van Velzen (MejoliDesign), I have a new trick I have to try! This ship is nice by itself, complete with moving landing gear and ramp, but the real head-turner is the use of 2×3 light bricks and a little bit of centrifugal force. Read on to see how!

Click to see how this awesome technique is achieved!

White and teal, mixed not stirred

The latest LEGO spaceship by Theo Bonner is exactly the kind of build that instantly feels familiar. I paused to figure out why—and the answer was right there in the build’s description. Not only is it a Star Wars fighter (specifically from the Teal Squadron), but it’s also inspired by WWII airplanes! And then it hit me: the shape, the proportions (just look at that massive “nose” in front of the cockpit), the engines—it all makes sense.

But it’s the front that steals the show. The intricate, multi-layered design around the engines instantly sells the concept. At this point, the only way to improve it would be some weathering—maybe a few oil stains and a touch of paint chipping for that battle-worn look.

Not even Finch Dallow can resist this LEGO Star Wars bomber

Seven years ago, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi hit theaters worldwide, and the world has never been the same since. Not because it’s a somewhat polarising film among the fanbase – but because it inspired LEGO starship phenom Tom Loftus (AKA Inthert) to create a model of the bulky Resistance Bomber from the opening sequence. And it’s only now that we finally get to see the fruits of that labour! It’s a fantastically detailed model, as per Tom’s usual sky-high standard. It’s some way bigger than the set LEGO made of it too, even though it uses some of the same printed turret dishes.

That LEGO set (75188 Resistance Bomber, if you’re curious) is infamous among enthusiast circles for the late addition of a character named Finch Dallow – a name that strikes terror into the hearts of minifigure collectors. (You can read why here.) And sure enough, he’s present in this model too! He and his crew get a fully decked-out interior. Even the structural elements of the fuselage look to be accurate to the movie. That’s 7 years of hard work well spent, if you ask me!

It’s not like Tom has only been working on this since 2018, though. You can see what else he’s been up to in our Inthert archives.

One last engine test at the Shipwright Academy

Few LEGO builders can deliver a sci-fi scene as well as the infamous Tim Goddard. And he delivers yet again in this beautiful scene set in the Star Wars universe. On a landing platform set out on the water, we spy a Shipwright-in-training testing out their new engine designed for propulsion in the air or water. With the crew observing an Emberfeather Crane, a sign of good luck on this final test flight. With so much detail in the scene, I think my favorite inclusion is the return of one of Tim’s builds from last year, standing tall in the background.

A LEGO R-Type spaceship that warms my Metal Heart

Nick Trotta might not be the most prolific builder, but every one of his works is a masterpiece of color, geometry, and innovative use of LEGO elements. For style and technique, Nick sets the gold standard for LEGO spaceship design. Nick’s latest craft is the R-104 Metal Heart, a ship inspired by the classic R-Type shoot-em-up video games, characterized by the massive wave cannon and many fins for maneuverability. Clocking in at 4,021 pieces, the ship is one of Nick’s most elaborate builds to date.

The best LEGO ships take advantage of slopes and SNOT (short for “studs not on top”) parts to create shapes and angles that are plausible as aerospace engineering while keeping that “swooshable” fun form factor of a kid’s favorite toy. In Nick’s build, every seam enhances the ship’s smooth lines. Modules connect in ways that defy logic. To see how Nick pulled off this slick exterior, you really have to see the ship from the inside. Thankfully the builder provides a detailed video of the build process.

Click to see Nick’s build process on this amazing ship!