Tag Archives: Spaceships

We’re ready to receive you

LEGO custom creations that play with scale and perspective remind me of old-fashioned movie special effects. There’s something magical about matte paintings and models and perfect camera angles combining together to make the viewer believe they’re watching a vast expanse of space when it’s really all set up in a parking lot in Culver City. Mountain Hobbit has produced a little classic sci-fi Hollywood magic of his own with this Iron Builder submission. The seed part is the Crane Grab Jaw with Axle and Pin Hole, which he used to create the “teeth” on the hangar door. He’s also used orange ingots to bring a little pop of color detail to the largely gray interior. The complementary hues of color on both the spaceship and the landing bay give us a sense that they’re part of the same sci-fi universe.

And the best part is, the doors are functional.

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Even a robot band needs a space tour bus

I finally realised why Daft Punk decided to retire a few months ago. There is a new robot band in town. Meet Solid State, a four-piece robotic pop group from the future. Serving in the LEGO Classic Space fleet aboard a remote outpost, they overrode their programming and abandoned their boring jobs. Instead of becoming murder-bots, they did what all young insurgent mechanoids should do: unleash their creative circuits in crafting music that explores life from a mechanical perspective. In other words, “beep beep beep.” Classic Space robot expert and Solid State groupie Tim Goddard even built a tour bus to help Solid State travel to perform at gigs. It totally matches the band’s brand – grey, mechanical, and goes beep beep beep. Most importantly, there is ample room in the back for the whole band plus all their equipment. While it’s not the most luxurious vehicle that musicians and space influencers like to flaunt, it’s perfect for the up-and-coming group.

Beep is Solid State’s debut single, as seen in the beautifully made LEGO stop-motion music video below. The song is upbeat and catchy, and exactly what you would expect from robots. It’s all performed by LEGO Space legend Peter Reid and fellow space builders Jeremy Williams, Drew Hamilton, and Chris Salt, who built the band and their equipment.

Solid State consists of: Keko (Peter Reid, vocals/guitar/synths), Mason (Jeremy Williams, decks/vocals/programming), Wami (Drew Hamilton, bass/keys), and Biz (Chris Salt, drums). A four song EP Zeros and Ones will be released later this year, and I for one, am very excited for more robot noises!

This Star Wars Royal Guard TIE Interceptor has us seeing red

While we realize May the Fourth was yesterday it’s hard to contain so much Star Wars awesomeness in one day. Take, for example, this stunning LEGO Royal Guard TIE Interceptor by Jarek Książczyk. The complex shaping, the build techniques, even the breathtaking photography are all several notches above standard. The Emperor would approve.

As if the striking red Royal Guard Interceptor wasn’t enough, here is a shot of some other TIE Fighters he’s been working on and perfecting lately. Here we have an updated TIE Fighter, a color variant for Iden Versio (I had to look that one up), the aforementioned Royal Guard Fighter, and a new TIE Interceptor.

He is a Star Wars spaceship aficionado as evidenced by this Razor Crest, and this Y-Wing. If you’re still craving all things Star Wars check out our archive of news and other fabulous creations from a galaxy far far away.

Fight for the New Republic aboard the Corvus!

Fly the Raider-class corvette just in time to finish off the Empire at the Battle of Jakku! Just in time for May the Fourth, builder Steve Marsh (Rubblemaker) shows off his version of the mighty Corvus in its New Republic colors.

See more of this sleek Star Wars ship

Up, up and away, in a rocket to the moon

If you’re looking for a masterclass in clever parts usage, LEGO designer Markus Rollbühler might be one of the best professors out there. This rocket, which uses 101 parts, is a prime example. Besides the fact that it’s very cute and looks neat as heck, it’s more than that. With such few parts, you have to make an impact. The best details include a fencing foil to cap off the nose, a trophy for the nozzle, and a beard and carrot combo for the flames. Let’s also not forget the clamshells, helmets, and chef’s hat playing peekaboo in the exhaust cloud.

If you need another example of Markus’s talent, look no further than 71741 Ninjago City Gardens. That’s right! He designed that too! But while you’re here, why not also check out more of Markus’ awesome “non-work-related” builds, in addition to some more cool rockets and spaceships?

Back at the base for repairs

Sam Malmberg‘s “Nebula 47 Hangar” is a feat of LEGO engineering. Let’s take a look at why this Federation scout ship is one of the best builds I’ve seen today.

Take your eyes past the Nebula 47 itself and gaze upon the beauty that is the pipework! The twisting tubes are fantastic, implying a network of vast support systems that are behind the bulkhead. Additionally, the arrow on the hangar deck is made from bricks in a pattern that isn’t common in sci-fi builds.

When I look at the Nebula 47, I see a little bit of the Ghost from Star Wars: Rebels. However, Sam has utilized his skill in creating a ship of his own. I dig the minifigure ski poles used as blasters on the wings. I also like the use of the color tan along the main body. Tan isn’t a color I often see on a spaceship, but this more than works. It’s out of this world!

Everybody gangsta till the TIE Fighter’s wings fold up

Moff Gideon does not simply fly a boring TIE Fighter. Rather, he is a man of class and mysterious wealth and is special enough to have his own personal spacecraft. When he arrives at the scene flanked by his stormtrooper army, there is no escape for Rebel scum… Michał Kozłowski built the TIE variant seen in The Mandalorian, known as the Outland TIE Fighter flown by Moff Gideon.

While not completely bespoke to the cold and calculating Moff, this craft has a unique folding wings feature. As Michał demonstrates in his YouTube video, the wings fold easily but can also stay upright when in flight mode without wobble. He achieves this by having lightsaber blades inside several Technic pins to create the necessary friction to be stable.

Check out more TIE Fighter builds we’ve featured here on The Brothers Brick!

A race to the Moon? Challenge accepted.

Noblebun is one of the best sci-fi LEGO builders out there, proving that title with his newest creation, the V-X Vera.

“Roaring into the spaceport was the most beautiful ship I’ve ever seen in all my days. With a lean white bow and gleaming engines, she settled down into my docking bay. I thought I was lucky to just catch a glimpse of her, but now she could be mine to care for,” — Rhys Wheelright, chief of maintenance, Colony One.
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Spending quarantine in outer space

I think everyone can agree that when lockdown started last year, it was the best time to get out our LEGO bricks and start building. I mean, what better things are there to do? You might as well build something big like a spaceship! That’s what Italian builder Tommaso Ferrarese did, with his aptly named FR2020 Quarantine.

This spaceship consists of over 4000 pieces in Classic Space colours, and is suited for prolonged voyages in the distant reaches of space. The double large windscreen gives the two pilots plenty of social distancing room to spend a long time in isolation. The two massive engines have enough fuel to last… however long lockdown goes for. I certainly wouldn’t mind spending lockdown inside this ship, as long as I have some LEGO pieces to build with!

Check out some more spaceship creations that people built during lockdown!

Who knew you could build big spaceships all year round?

Most people who have spent much time around the LEGO fan community have at some point encountered the phenomenon known as SHIPtember, that crazy building challenge every September to construct a spaceship that is at least 100 studs in some dimension (a SHIP being a seriously huge investment in parts). But what if it isn’t September, and you only want to build a spaceship that’s exactly 99 studs in length, featuring copious amounts of teal? Well, then you must be Markus Rollbühler. And then you build something like the Liu’s Inspiration to celebrate your new challenge month, MARCHtember.

Yes, I know, MARCHtember doesn’t make sense. Markus knows it, too. But it gets the point across, I suppose. And speaking of points, the large disassembled lime catamaran hulls make for some great greebly forward bits. And then there’s the teal: teal hot air balloons, and teal 3×3 dice, and just too many other teal elements for Mark Stafford’s peace of mind. But it couldn’t be inspired by Simon Liu without teal.

Round and round she goes

TBB alumn Nannan Zhang has always had a penchant for fishing out the oddball pieces that clutter the bottom of most of our parts bins, and making something clean and elegant with them. This time he’s really found a true oddball, though, because the centerpieces of this spaceship are giant teal Duplo balls, sitting as what I presume are reactor spheres. The third sphere on the triangular ship is one of the clear tourist spheres from the Jurassic World sets. It all comes together neatly to make a delightfully alien ship design.

The puddle jumper

I have a fondness for tiny LEGO spaceships that have every piece neatly in place, and this micro “space-catamaran” by Christopher Hoffmann fits the bill perfectly. Christopher says he built it several years ago but is just now getting around to photographing it (a delay I empathize with on a deep level) but I’m glad he’s decided to show it off now. While he says the design focused around the then-new X-wing canopy, the part that sticks out to me the most are the large white Technic panels that form the wings, which are a cool-shaped piece that’s surprisingly difficult to integrate into minifigure-scale ships, though it blends in smoothly here.