Tag Archives: Spaceships

Standing out against the dark depths of space

LEGO Spaceship builder Pierre Fieschi doesn’t put together models as often as he used to, but when he does, you can be sure it’ll be something worth taking a look at. This 105-stud long starship is for “deepspace rescue and crisis response” and appears to be ready for anything, bedecked as it is with grabber arms, sensors, and drop-ships. The colour choices in this model are excellent, the accent colours really popping against the greebly detailing. I love the striping on the yellow and black carapace section — that in conjunction with the bold teal gives this a strong Chris Foss vibe, and evoking the grand-daddy of starship designers is surely a good thing in anyone’s book.

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Let your livery do the talking

You may hate stickers, but, oh boy, you should never underestimate them. With his latest vic viper, Huw Gwilliam shows us a masterclass in giving a spaceship a classy outfit. Since it’s a render, I’m happy to see Huw not being limited by the shapes and colors of the livery. It’s amazing how much volume do the stickers add to the build, making it much more complicated than the pieces could on the same scale.

Cut to the head of the armada

For LEGO fans like myself, September is a very special month. Known as SHIPtember to us space nerds, the month presents a challenge for builders to create a giant spaceship at least 100-studs long. Though many take this to mean length, some builders also play with the width and height of thier builds to meet the requirements. Enter builder Oscar Cederwall and his ship, the Claymore. This thin, lanky design features an interior mechanism for mirrored movement of the wings. According to Oscar, also know as o0ger, this allows fleets of these to be stowed on larger vessels. The single stud width of the main body was a design challenge that the builder solved with the two detailed black sections that run the length of the ship. These greebled portions make up a part of the tandem plasma cannons at each end of the body while also holding the structure of the ship together, with some help from the engine. This thin design gives the ship a small profile in firefights making it a formidable foe that cuts through the enemies much like its namesake.

This design is based on a concept by Theo Stylianides and it proved to be a delicate build that even broke apart during the build process. In addition to the black stripes on the side, the wing folding mechanism is held in a Technic structure that also holds the top and bottom together.

This is hands down one of my favorite months, especially as a participant. Seeing SHIPs like Oscar’s always excites and inspires me. The massive vessels that builders pump out during this month are a wonder to behold. Especially when they render it into a space scene and really immerse our imagination.

A starfish among the stars

LEGO builder Cagerrin wasn’t planning on participating in SHIPtember, but a late-night bolt of inspiration couldn’t be ignored. And so the Aposemate Sidputante of the Nth Coterie was born.

After a year spent mostly designing seafaring vessels, it’s no wonder that Cagerrin’s inspiration for this interstellar digital build is rooted in the ocean. While there’s no doubt that this behemoth is a product of a technologically advanced intelligence, there are plenty of details that give it an almost organic quality. I particularly like the way the alternating pattern of bars and magic wands create realistic spines on the sides of each arm.

Two-tone spaceship is one nice model

If you only take a look at one big grey LEGO spaceship today then it should be this one — put together by F@bz. Big grey spaceships are often… (how can I put this politely?) …maybe a little dull? But this one is a cracker, primarily down to those large patterned areas on the spaceship’s front section. They’re built using 1×4 shooter parts, whose split colours and diagonal details make for some interesting shapes amidst the “alien language meets corrupted bitmap” feel of the futuristic decoration.

Whilst the camo-style patterns up front might capture the initial attention, there’s further good use of shooter parts around the craft’s bridge area. It’s Technic shooters this time, providing a nice bit of texture along the ship’s sides to complement all that lovely greebling up top…

That is one smooth SHIP you have there sir

September is quickly coming to an end, and you know what that means… pumpkin spice (the spice must flow). But it also means an end to one of the most challenging and rewarding LEGO monthly build contests. That epic challenge known to many as SHIPtember. SHIP in this case stands for seriously huge investment in parts, as demonstrated by this tall boy by Andreas Lenander. One of the hallmarks of a great ship is its greebles, those seemingly random bits and bobs. Andreas uses them sparingly to spice up the large top section.

There are lots of subtle curves throughout the build like the small repeated section on the lower sides, and the long smoothed out front section. I also like the tangle of black pipes leading to the main thruster, but I think my favorite part is the large eye-like orange ring on the side. Another nice part usage is the bit of straight roller coaster track used to attach an assortment of sensors.

The ancient relics of space

It’s nearing the end of September, and for many in the LEGO fan community that means spaceships. Big spaceships. Dubbed Shiptember, this month features the annual informal fan challenge to build a space SHIP (that’s a Seriously Huge Investment in Parts). This SHIP by Sheo is certainly a unique take with an unusual color scheme and design. The builder envisions it as an ancient relic drifting through the cosmos, a shrine for space pilgrims, and it certainly feels otherworldly.

Although the shape is predominantly a few large grey columns, Sheo hasn’t slacked on the detailing, as there’s plenty of interesting techniques inlaid into the beams. There are lots of bits I could point out, but one of the best to me are the tiny white 1×1 plates inserted upside-down as diamonds between four grey slopes, seen below on the lower right image inset. It’s a beautifully simple technique that works perfectly to add visual interest, and I could see it being applied on everything from spaceships like this to castle walls.

And I can’t help but admit that I also see a little bit of a giant egg-beater in the ship’s design. Or maybe I’m just hungry…

This sleek racer has it all, speed, power and charm

It might not be November yet, but it’s never too early to start building Vipers, and while this little ship by Alvaro Gunawan may not have all of the necessary details to qualify as a viper, a specific type of ship inspired by the video game Gradius it does have plenty of charm. With a pair of prongs flanking a sloped central cockpit with a chunky engine and two thin but deadly guns. The only thing missing is a fin.

It turns out sand blue is a great color for a spaceship

LEGO spaceships come in all sorts of colors besides light gray and white. Sometimes a color combination just works, like with this smooth-lined ship by Caleb Ricks which combined sand blue with dark red to great effect. The rounded railing parts make a really nice repeated detail along the inside edge of each prong, and the bucket handles set at intervals along the top and bottom of the ship are another nice part usage.

The back of the ship includes a subtle exhaust vent, and another interesting part, a pair of vehicle windscreen frames set between the orange engines. The stand sets the ship at a very dynamic angle, which is a nice touch.

This fighter is both smooth and chunky

The new LEGO Vidiyo theme may not be the most popular among adult builders, but it has certainly introduced builders to some unusual large but potentially versatile parts. In Tom Loftus’s own words, every part is a spaceship part, which he set out to prove, and did quite a top-notch job. This fighter is built around the lime-green base from the pods that serve as the central element of each set.

The grooves designed to fit extra tiles make great cooling vents, and just to show that this chunky fighter can also pour on the speed, there are plenty of thrusters squeezed on to the backs of each engine pod.

Teal we meet again

LEGO builder Dan Rubin tells us that he had wanted to build something with teal (aka Dark Turquoise) for a long time. Along comes this Basilisk craft which was his first appempt at anything teal. I’d say his first attempt knocked it out of the park especially with the elegant shaping and greebly accents. All that teal looks great against the marigold (or bright yellow-orange), it gives it sort of a rockabilly/surf rock feel.

Great job, Dan! This is your well-earned chance to…basilisk in the sun. This is probably an inopportune time to point out that puns are the lowest form of humor and a sign of brain damage. I should probably look into that then. Whatever! Just check out this craft from all the good angles.

Some new pieces are doing the heavy-lifting.

The release of new LEGO themes often means new parts to play with, and the new VIDIYO theme has offered up some especially interesting new pieces for builders to find uses for. One of my favorite examples of this is the 4-D1 Heavy Cargo Lifter – ‘The Ant’ by Tom Loftus (Inthert). This tiny little ship makes use of two of the new VIDIYO box back pieces to create a flatbed for large cargo.

The box back is equal parts plate, bracket, and hinge, which makes it an ideal framework for a unique spacecraft like this. Below the flatbed, the rest of the ship is just barely larger than its single pilot cockpit, which really gives the impression that this craft lives up to its namesake – a tiny critter capable of lugging several times its own weight around.