View allAll Photos Tagged LEGOSpace
Built by Nick Kappatos and myself for BrickFair VA, 2021. The landing pad and roadway components were modular in nature, with the hope of expanding and rearranging over time.
Merry Space-mas everyone! One of my favorite things about building habitats is stacking them together. They always look great on their own, but they take on a different life when stacked together. This challenge was a lot of fun and I hope you enjoyed my Space-mas twist. I hope that everyone has a fun, safe holiday season and that you get lots of LEGO. 😁🎅🎄🚀
Set 497, Galaxy Explorer, released in 1979, was the flagship of the original Lego Space universe, portraying a large passenger/cargo spaceship with its landing pad on the lunar surface. At 338 pieces and four astronaut minifigures (two red, two white), sprawling over two 25cmx25cm baseplates, this is a spectacular set, with a list price ($32 in 1979 dollars) to match.
Set 497 was the US-market designation; in Europe, the same set was sold as Set 928, Space Cruiser and Moonbase, and the European set number 928 is imprinted on the sides of the spaceship. It is interesting to note that in the US market, the "Space Cruiser" designation was instead used on Set 487, which was a smaller, simpler, cheaper version of Galaxy Explorer.
Finding a complete Galaxy Explorer is considered the holy grail of vintage Lego Space collecting, and I was able to score one on eBay in March 2013. While the set is complete and the price fair, many pieces do have signs of yellowing from excessive sun exposure, one 6x6 light gray tile has an edge that has cracked off, and one 1x3 black tile was replaced by three 1x1 black tiles. The incorrect and damaged parts can easily be replaced, however, since they are common standard Lego parts.
The last build item is this simple moon buggy. It is designed to be carried inside the cargo bay at the rear of the spaceship, while at it.
So after I built that Star Trek bridge module, I got to thinking about how well the Classic Space and Star Trek universes would mesh.
Both are set in space, obviously. Both feature brightly-coloured uniforms. Both depict a future of cooperation and exploration rather than conflict and warfare. Even some of the set names (6929 Starfleet Voyager) sound like Trek.
One of the big visual differences, of course, is that Starfleet crewmembers wear uniform jerseys and beam down to Earthlike planets with breathable atmospheres, whereas Classic Space astronauts wear spacesuits all the time.
I confess that even as a kid this used to bother me, and I'd want to make airlocks and suiting-up rooms on all my bases.
But if the Classic Space astronauts are exploring Earthlike planets, there's surely no reason they have to wear spacesuits. So what would that look like>
Rather like my CS-torso Trek bridge, I suspect.
This, then is my evolution of Classic Space in the direction of Star Trek. I hope you like it.
This moc was inspired by a real apartment building I saw that was in Blacktron colours. In recreating it in LEGO micropolis I added a landing pad and other Blacktron buildings of indeterminate function
A Lego Classic Space lunar base needs a large spaceship, for journeys back to Earth and to asteroids and elsewhere. Here is my first such spaceship, Set 6929, a fairly large set released in 1981, consisting of 242 pieces and one red astronaut minifigure. It has a distinctive shape, between the pilot's cab in the front and the cargo compartment in the back that can carry a tool box. Additionally, its design language, with blue transparent windows and white spoilers, is a step away from the original blue/gray spaceships and their yellow windows that had been introduced in 1978.
As the ship nears completion, here is a look at the swing-out halves of the rear cargo compartment. The halves are designed to enclose around a tool box already on the ground, and simply take off with the box when the ship leaves the lunar surface. Quite a clever design shared with other classic Lego spaceships. And speaking of the tool box itself, it is a nice design.
Virtual model of Pete Reid's Ice Planet Drop Ship, from the Lego Space book. It was used to produce building instructions, which can be found in the book.
For more about Pete and Tim's book, see: www.nostarch.com/legospace
1991’s Aerial Intruder from the Blacktron II fraction enters the LEGO City!
The ‘Big’ ship from a fan favorite (myself decidedly included) sub-theme is actually not all that big compared to the other Space sub-themes’ flagships. This ship checks the majority of my criteria for what made an excellent spaceship play set as a kid!
Great color scheme and cool large transparent elements?
Blacktron 2 has arguably the best + printed large windshield!
Detachable base with usable interior space?
The center of the ship is large when opened and has an aft storage compartment. While tight when loaded with cargo, great when side-builds are deployed
Dropship/Escape Pod?
Two of the best designed simple ships that deploy from the sides, that are also designed to be compatible with the rest of the sub-theme! So simple and genius
And a bonus jetpack element that is classic
Rover?
Two! Yes, super simple, but very standard for the time.
Action features?
The simple rover launch action definitely suffices.
Droid/Robot?
Not for this faction, but I believe that’s because they were outlaws. Correct me if I’m wrong?
Yes, I’m a really big fan of this old spaceship. Any detractors, like having 5 pilot-able options with only two minifigs can be understood with all their buddies they’d have to break from the Space Police II
This Absolute Classic brings me to the conclusion of my look back at some of my favorite LEGO from the ‘90s. I’m sure I’ll do more shoots with these sets in the future, but I’ve got a ton of contemporary sets to showcase for now and a large MOC in progress.
What did you think of this ship? Did you have it? Does it hold up today?
#LEGO #Blacktron2 #ClassicSpace #6981 #AerialIntruder #LEGO1991 #LEGOSpace #Legoblacktron #blacktron #afol #legomania #LegoArialInteuder #LegoJetPack #LegoPhotography #RetroLego #LEGO6981 #LEGOSystem #Legoland #toyPhotography #LegoPics #toyPics #90sLEGO #LegoCity #NeonLegoBricks #ToyNostalgia #LEGOSpaceship #ClassicLego #LegoSpaceMan #NeonBricks #Vaporwave #VintageLego
Here's another take on the Basilisk starfighter (I may have mentioned getting hooked on building these). This one was inspired by the La Sirena from Star Trek Picard. I hadn't seen the show, but saw a pic of the ship in an email, and loved the white diagonals on red color scheme. I think this came out well, though maybe photographing it on a white background was a bad call. There's a 1x1 stud spot for greebles on the front of this, and I went through more than a dozen ideas for what to put in that little spot - sometimes, it's the little things.
The upgraded Blacktron Raider V2 features more powerful engines and shields and updated control surfaces.
Part of a display I was asked to participate in for Brickworld 2017. I built this as a last minute addition.
Part of a display I was asked to participate in for Brickworld 2017. I built this as a last minute addition.
Team Classic Space entered this classic looking racing machine for the third season of the Galactic Speeder League in the Unlim class. They managed to score podiums in 6 races and won the very first race of season four!
The speeder features a neat rear diffuser and removable headlights and also is the first model in the league with a closed cockpit.
Completed with hipersonic speed and long-range missiles, the Spear2.0 is the highlight of the Space Police spaceships.
Because of its aerodynamic shape and its new generation engine, it is perfect for chases and secret high-dangerous missions.
It is equipped by two completely rotating turrets on the sides, two high-power missiles and two heavy cannons on the front.
Check out the other pictures for more details!
I work as the Senior Technical Illustrator at a satellite and spacecraft manufacturer called Maxar in Palo Alto, CA. You probably have seen many of the satellites and spacecraft I have worked on in the news or have been launched by SpaceX and other launch providers (you can see some of what I have done that is publicly available at www.stevenwhoward.com). Most of the earth images you see in the news are provided by Maxar spacecraft. I have literally drawn and animated thousands of satellite and spacecraft drawings and videos these past 8+ years for commercial customers, to NASA, and others.
I have been extra busy supporting my team and am thankful I have a job and can work from home during these days. Some of my own teammates have to still work on site like @german_buenrostro_photography and I want to thank them for the hard work they are doing and for all the extra precautions they have to take each day to remain healthy and safe and keep the rest of our team safe. Our business not only deals with commercial spacecraft but we also support government spacecraft so our business is considered essential during these times.
Using what Lego I had at home I made a small geo satellite and a mini-fig scale earth-observation spacecraft on a dolly being tested, both similar to the satellites we manufacture.
Our company @maxartechnologies works hard to keep many of the services you enjoy that rely on spacecraft going. A special thanks to all of you at Maxar, NASA, JPL, and other space businesses for keeping up the hard work during these trying times.
#space #lego #legophoto #legophotography #legostagram #legoinstagram #minifigure #legospace #legonasa #maxar #maxarspace #satellite #spacecraft #legospacecraft #nasa #jpl
It was the year 1979 when LEGO launched one of the sets that became among the most iconic in the AFOL world: the 928 set.
The Classic Space theme was launched just a year earlier in 1978 and this set became a legend because it represented the most beautiful and largest spaceship in the entire fleet. It is incredible to think of the success that this set of only 338 pieces has had if we compare it to those on sale today, but in those days we were children who dreamed of having this box and our best memories are linked to it.
In '79 I was just 5 years old and I have never been able to have this box, too expensive for my parents, but I have always dreamed of it looking at it in the catalogs. Finally as an adult I looked for it and managed to buy it!
All this premise was used to introduce my new work: the Galaxy Explorer SDR-926! This year I am 10 years old as AFOL and I thought about making mocs that have a special meaning for me. The first of these was the desire to make a spaceship of some importance! SDR-926 wants to be a tribute to the 928 but with very different characteristics and numbers. Number 926 represents the birth of my daughter. The spaceship measures 85 x 75 x 21 cm and is made up of almost 4600 pieces! It took me 5 intense months to make it because it contains several features and functionalities in a single work.
Thank you for watching!
Video presentation here:
1978 was a key year in Lego history: three themed series - Castle, Town, and Space - were launched, along with minifigures to populate the themed worlds. The Space series, with its iconic astronaut minifigures and simple yet elegant sets, remains very desirable even today, long after being discontinued in 1987.
Set 462 was one of the initial sets of the Space series in 1978, and depicts a communication truck, a trailer, and a rocket with payload. Consisting of 76 pieces, Set 462 was known as Set 897 in Europe. I obtained this set in an eBay auction in June 2012; it definitely is showing signs of wear, especially on the red astronaut, but is still very presentable.
The three-axle control vehicle nearly complete. The vehicle includes one slanted brick that is printed with a computer terminal screen; computer terminals are a key feature of the Space sets.
The wheel arches look dirtier in this photo than in real life. This set definitely has been played with quite a lot; the stains should probably be considered along the lines of Star Wars' "for realism, keep the vehicles looking dirty and used" school of thought. (Nevertheless, I disassembled the set a week later for thorough cleaning with liquid soap and an old toothbrush.)
I always thought that set 6883 could have been part of the Ice Planet universe. The predominant blue and white colors but also the use, a satellite transport ... So I tried to modify it a little bit to make it even closer to this universe
Set 6823, which depicts a small surface transport vehicle, consists of 27 pieces, and was introduced in 1983 as part of Lego's highly desirable Space series.
I obtained this set in June 2012 via an eBay auction; the set is in great shape, even though the astronaut minifigure's neck is rather loose and the head falls out quite easily.
The set was sent to me in a Zip-Loc bag, disassembled and with the instruction sheet but missing its box. Here are the parts.
Set 483, Alpha-1 Rocket Base, was introduced in 1978 as one of Lego Space's first base buildings. It consists of 187 pieces, and between the rocket, the tanker truck, and the three minifigures, is very fun to play with. I actually had this set in childhood before giving it away, so I made sure to make this set the first infrastructure building in my vintage Lego Space collection.
Set 483 was the North American designation. In Europe, the set was designated as 920 and named Rocket Launch Pad, and it was not released until a year later in 1979.
The completed tanker truck. The ball hitch makes for easy maneuvering on uneven terrain (and that would include the crater base plate this set comes with!).
The VS-08 Hoverfly is a common sight on many colony worlds, with many modified from their original scout configuration to serve in roles as diverse as couriers, light transport craft and military interceptors.
My first Lego mech. Light construction adapted to work in M-Tron complexes. Easy to configure - there is a possibility to quick change kind of arms.
There is a number and type of machine on left arm - LM63 - Light Mech, number 63.
I had a lot of issues during rendering, flex element was invisible after render, so I decided to remove that element and use other solution.
Remember about my lego ideas projects:
Castle Theme:
ideas.lego.com/projects/416d8d9e-eb83-4b52-b5c0-1601f3295aa8
M-Tron Theme:
ideas.lego.com/projects/f202a55e-19bc-4b60-bcf7-4ea862bd2e06
House Tanatuos Thundermaw-class escort vessel “Caestus”
Built to escort House Tanatuos envoys and merchants, the Thundermaw-class escort vessel accompanies its parent ship at all times, ensuring that any ship attempting to assault the larger vessel is swiftly punished for its insolence.
A smaller ship built alongside my main SHIPtember project, mostly because I was waiting on some parts to arrive, and was enjoying building in this colour scheme!
1997’s Robo Raider! Check out this old LEGO Mech from a space sub-theme that I hardly remember!
I was a huge fan of the Space theme through the entirety of the 90’s, and was probably collecting the most LEGO of my childhood around ‘97, but when I came across this sub-theme I have a blind spot.
Exploriens? for sure. Insectoids and UFO? I was all about it. Robo Raiders? Never heard of ‘em.
Enough of my potential forgetful-ness, check out this funky robot.
This whole theme had some pretty rad prints, awesome neon transparent elements, and really cool mini-figs!
More RoboForce and older Space sets to be featured soon!
#LEGO #RoboForce #ClassicSpace #2151 #LEGO1997 #LEGOSpace #LegoRoboForce #RoboRaider #afol #legomaniac #LEGORoboRaider #LegoMech #LegoPhotography #RetroLego #LEGO2151 #LEGOSystem #Legoland #toyPhotography #LegoPics #toyPics #90sLEGO #LegoCity #NeonLegoBricks #ToyNostalgia #ClassicLego #1997 #LegoSpaceMan #NeonBricks #LegoDroid #ClassicSpaceMech #LegoMecha