Tag Archives: Spaceships

Among these massive SHIPS, here comes the tiny Terribilis

With the fleet of massive SHIPs we’ve seen lately it’s refreshing to know that someone still loves small, one-man spacecraft. This LEGO Blacktron attack craft was built by none other than The Brothers Brick’s own Mansur Soeleman. While he could have written a better post about it himself, once I’ve dedicated thirty seconds into a post, there’s really no stopping that engine. With that said, I’m smitten by Mansur’s use of these pieces from the Ninjago Arcade Pod sets. I also like that this diminutive yet deadly BT-145 Terribilis is named after the equally diminutive and deadly Golden Poison Frog. We’ve been smitten by Mansur’s creations before and while they refuse to give me the keys to our recruiting office, I’m guessing this is why he’s writing for us now.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Orange is the new bley

Every year, for a little over a month, the LEGO sci-fi fans among us get a treat: SHIPtember. A celebration of insanity and massive amounts of small interlocking bricks, it is one of my favorite times of year (it doesn’t hurt that I enjoy everything else about autumn, too, like Oktoberfest beers and wool sweaters). One name that consistently shines out among the rest is ZCerberus, who, perhaps taking his cues from the changing foliage of the Northern Hemisphere, has created a fleet of massive orange spaceships. This year’s model is a repair frigate, LL885, ready to fix any small fighter that might have an issue. Small cranes, tons of greebles, and lots of roller coaster tracks make this one a great addition.

Love orange spaceships? Then check out ZCerberus’ other builds, since he has built a whole fleet of them.

An impressive carrier for drones

September has ended, and with it, the month-long spaceship building challenge known as SHIPtember. This construction drone carrier by Sunder_59 is packed with details not immediately evident. Aside from the forward launch bay, there are platforms on either side for drones to land.

The other side of the ship features a series of cargo containers for much-needed construction materials. And those engines are an excellent digital part usage. I also really love the subtle curve of the front fuselage.

Chill out on this spaceship!

Theme crossovers are always a delight to see, especially when there’s an absurd amount of Friends animals involved. Case in point, The Deep Freeze Befriender, a stunning SHIP built by Chris Perron’s. This spaceship pays homage to the LEGO Ice Planet 2002 theme, referencing its iconic color scheme and Deep Freeze Defender set. But there’s more to this ship’s unique shape and rad angular windshields. The absolute best feature is on its inside — a decked-out intergalactic penguin resort, complete with a full lounge and bar serving ice slushies with a pool and water slide. Measuring at 144 studs long and 73 studs wide long, this ship’s interior provides ample waddling space for a couple of dozen penguins.

There’s something about seeing these guys playing Go Fish under the neon-lights of the VIP room that has made me let go of all the grudges I’ve held against Friends critters. The penguin lifestyle is nothing short of luxury, especially when there’s unlimited BBQ fish kebabs and ice cream cocktails to consume, all while cruising through space in the chillest of all spaceships.

And remember — you can’t spell friendship without SHIP. Click here to see another penguin Ice Planet 2002 build by Chris from our archives!

Purple Highlighters...In spaaaaaaace!

As much enjoyment as I get out of microscale builds, I find that it’s the really large LEGO creations that get my blood pumping. That’s why I look forward to SHIPtember – that magical time of year when talented builders like Marin Stipkovic deplete their personal brick stock to create SHIPs aplenty. Reaching the goal of 100+ studs in length is no easy task, but Marin accomplishes it in style with the Phunky. I love the unusual color scheme of the mirrored transparent purple windscreens in the command deck, That, combined with the overall shape, reminds me of a giant purple highlighter. If, you know, stationary was more like space-tionary. No, I will not be explaining that terrible logic jump any more than that. Instead, let’s take a moment and admire the other clever part usage like the new goggle rings from the 75551 Brick-built Minions set along the underside.

From the side you can get a better view of the Phunky’s rail gun and beam cannons, as well as the sweet color gradient along the hull. (For those of you wondering, the Phunky was already at 107 studs long before the guns and thruster burst were added.)

Don’t think Marin is limited to just building giant markers…I mean spaceships. Check out their other featured builds!

That’s no moon. That’s a spaceship!

Spaceships come in all shapes, sizes, and configurations. But throughout the last month (dubbed ‘SHIPtember’ by LEGO builders thanks to a community initiative to build big SHIPs), we tend to see a lot of weirdness come out, and I mean that in the best possible sense. One of the weirder ships to float across our screens this time is this massive crescent from Markus Rollbühler.

Seeming to have taken some styling cues from Ninjago City, the vessel has stacked housing units and what I have to assume is an invisible space bubble to keep everyone from exploding or drifting away. Technicalities of physics aside, the craftsmanship is remarkable. The crescent shape is thanks to two semicircles of railroad track bowing out slightly to form a canoe, into the middle of which the city is nestled.

TBB Cover Photo for October 2020: Bang Bang Goes the Spaceship

This month’s social media cover photo, from LEGO builder Isaac Snyder, is straight from SHIPtember. Isaac’s SHIP was built over the course of 2 weeks and is 105 studs long. After taking a look at this vessel, it doesn’t take long to notice the resemblance. I don’t know about you, but after I realized what the shape was, I went looking for details to confirm my suspicions, and yes indeed, this spacecraft is shaped like a giant, brightly colored sci-fi space rifle.

The aft of the ship houses a semblance of a power generator, which is fun to visualize with its ring shape. The rest of the components are just as fun to admire. The “bullets” in the “magazine” and the “scope” all stand out and make you wonder how these work in space. Thanks for getting us thinking about the real questions, Isaac.

Submit your LEGO creations for a chance to be featured across TBB social media for a month! Check out the submission guidelines share your builds today.

Keep up with The Brothers Brick by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter or Pinterest. And for extra goodies, follow us on Instagram, Flickr, or subscribe to us on YouTube.

Pink Floyd space noises intensify

A long journey to colonise distant star systems require long, space-y psychedelic songs made by musicians such as Pink Floyd, Gong, and Brian Bennet. I was listening to Life on Mars by Dexter Wansel, when I saw pictures of The Ark by Ben Smith. One year in the making, it is a massive rotating vessel which resembles something from the television series The Expanse. Inside, tiny nature habitats built by collaborators Tim Goddard and Inthert provide residence for the people voyaging across the stars.

Almost a meter in height, this SHIP hides a custom steel frame to bear the weight of electrical motors, LED lights, batteries, and thousands of LEGO parts. This behemoth of a build is as detailed as it is large, with plenty of greebling to feast the eyes. When taking a closer look, one can marvel at the geometric achievements of circular and conical sections of varying diameters. As for those not as keen for grey space machinery, there is some microscale landscaping by Tim Goddard and Inthert. For there must be life within this cold ship, as the inhabitants yearn to settle down on a distant planet.

See Ben Smith’s flick album documenting the long and arduous build process of The Ark. And put on some Pink Floyd while you’re at it…

Spaceship or space slug?

As September comes to a close, I’m always amazed at what amazing new designs space builders can come up with. And while Ivan Martynov’s Larva Carrier is a digital model, it is still an impressive creation.

Spaceships offer so much for an inventive builder. The thought of an organic carrier type ship launching spacefaring larvae is equal parts wacky, creepy, and creative. The chosen colour scheme works great: dark tan and olive green seem totally grubby to me compared to the cleaner tan and gold of less organic parts of the ship. The giant worm on the bottom of the ship tie the concept together, but also makes me wonder if that’s some sort of queen space bug, and she lays eggs that hatch into the larvae that get launched?

Swallows and Amazons

Fledgings look to expert builder Inthert and crane their necks to see what he builds next. Specialising in spaceships, he finds the right pieces to build intricate shapes that bring beauty to otherwise now-generic vehicles. He presents us with a pink-haired lady piloting a small and unique starfighter with an unusual shape. When taking a gander from different angles, we can see that this ship has the shape of a plump bird, with the elements of a fighter jet.

Bird puns aside, this well put together craft checks all the boxes that satisfy a parts- and technique-oriented coot such as myself. A bulky body with downwards sloping wings that resemble a small bird gliding on a current is perfect. Aside from unique parts like a white Slizers visor in the front and two sizes of barrels, the use of inverted slopes for small intakes is ingenious. There is minimal greebling, but it works just as well, as less is more. Last but not least: the wing and landing gear function: the landing gear swings out as the wings fold in.
That’s it.

Only Inthert can make it so simple and work so well. But my favourite part still remains the girl with the lavender coloured Elves hairpiece. Something about a pink-haired girl being the pilot makes an already perfect spaceship even cooler.

See more perfect builds by the talented Inthert here.

I thought it was just a teal spaceship, but it’s actually better

When I saw this spaceship build by Elven Ranger, a certain colour caught my eye. Everyone knows I am a lover of teal, and any LEGO creation with that colour wins my heart. But upon a second glance, I realised that it is a different shade of green, just the lighting is different. “My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined.”

Nevertheless, this grey-and-green spaceship features enough details for its small size to feast my eyes. The angular wings contain layers of plates resembling hull panels, enhanced by a few masonry bricks and minifigure ingots. This adds to a great balance of smooth surfaces and more textured elements. Similarly, the two colours balance each other, making sure that the dark green does not overshadow the light green. Stickers provide extra decorative piping and paneling to give this ship a subtle, yet rugged look. And if anything other than teal that wins my heart, it’s greebles.

If you want more, take a look at our spaceship archives. There is plenty of greebling, and even some teal!

The Heimdall is a lesson in color-blocking

Sometimes a LEGO creation comes along that needs a double or even a triple take to really appreciate it. Such is the case with this Heimdall built by Lech Kulina. At first glance, does it take inspiration from a whale? A stingray? A bird? Maybe all three. One thing for sure is this ship is built with a whopping 7441 pieces and took Lech five months to design. He tells us the project is inspired by the imaginative art of Michal Kus, likely this piece. The biggest takeaway from Michal’s work is his use of color-blocking. This is a technique that uses colors that are opposites on the color wheel and pairs them together to make interesting and complementary color combinations. Often this is associated with fashion, but LEGO builders also utilize this technique with equal flair.

Click here to take a closer look