LEGO Science Fiction
April 13, 2012 1:38 PM Subscribe
LEGO Science Fiction - with bonus build plans for the 2001 Discovery and other scifi-inspired creations
My son never really got into Lego. We would build the model, and then they would get broken, so there is just a jumble of highly specialized bits and pieces now in a couple of buckets.
Any ideas on how to easily construct something?
posted by KokuRyu at 1:46 PM on April 13, 2012
Any ideas on how to easily construct something?
posted by KokuRyu at 1:46 PM on April 13, 2012
The Monolith vignette is awesome.
posted by jquinby at 1:48 PM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by jquinby at 1:48 PM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
I wish I never stopped playing with legos and eating apple sauce. Nevermind, I still eat apple sauce.
posted by muscleswebsites at 1:56 PM on April 13, 2012
posted by muscleswebsites at 1:56 PM on April 13, 2012
I'd love to see Serenity in one of these. I don't get how people do this with Legos...takes a special breed.
posted by Chuffy at 1:59 PM on April 13, 2012
posted by Chuffy at 1:59 PM on April 13, 2012
@KokuRyu You follow plans? I just stuck random bits together. Sure, it never looked a tenth as good as the box, but it was WAY more fun. Of course, I also had a rubbermaid full of them that my parents picked up for $20 at a garage sale.
posted by Canageek at 2:04 PM on April 13, 2012
posted by Canageek at 2:04 PM on April 13, 2012
Spaceships are okay, but I just finished read Diaspora and want to see some macrolegospheres now.
posted by curious nu at 2:08 PM on April 13, 2012
posted by curious nu at 2:08 PM on April 13, 2012
(actually spaceships are awesome but Star Wars is kinda old-hat now; hopefully they'll get, yeah, Serenity in there, maybe some other things. I also really like the Bionicle-based stuff people do. And the Monolith is great)
posted by curious nu at 2:09 PM on April 13, 2012
posted by curious nu at 2:09 PM on April 13, 2012
@KokuRyu You follow plans? I just stuck random bits together. Sure, it never looked a tenth as good as the box, but it was WAY more fun. Of course, I also had a rubbermaid full of them that my parents picked up for $20 at a garage sale.
We actually have all of my old Space Lego and Castle Lego from circa 1980 here in the house, which is waaaaaay easier to build stuff with.
I'm talking about the highly specialized pieces that come with the Star Wars sets from the last 3 years.
posted by KokuRyu at 2:11 PM on April 13, 2012
We actually have all of my old Space Lego and Castle Lego from circa 1980 here in the house, which is waaaaaay easier to build stuff with.
I'm talking about the highly specialized pieces that come with the Star Wars sets from the last 3 years.
posted by KokuRyu at 2:11 PM on April 13, 2012
The ships of Battlestar Galactica, immortalized in thousands of LEGO bricks
posted by Artw at 2:18 PM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 2:18 PM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
A 1:3250 scale model of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D
NERD!
But seriously, seeing the creations of the Star Wars prequels alongside Discovery seemed vaguely unclean.
posted by Trurl at 2:25 PM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
NERD!
But seriously, seeing the creations of the Star Wars prequels alongside Discovery seemed vaguely unclean.
posted by Trurl at 2:25 PM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
I'm talking about the highly specialized pieces that come with the Star Wars sets from the last 3 years.
I'm guessing you're referring to the use of technic lego, specifically, the new studless beam system. It allows for greater construction strength which makes larger models possible (like the Star Wars sets), but the disadvantage, as you've noticed, is that it's not as easy to wrap your head around until you've been using it for a while. Build a few studless kits from the instructions and you'll get the hang of the possibilities.
If you mean specialized in the sense of parts like the Hailfire droid wheel, those are pretty cool in the sense of there being interesting ways to use them to make all sorts of things possible, but most of the time you just don't use them.
posted by -harlequin- at 2:40 PM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
I'm guessing you're referring to the use of technic lego, specifically, the new studless beam system. It allows for greater construction strength which makes larger models possible (like the Star Wars sets), but the disadvantage, as you've noticed, is that it's not as easy to wrap your head around until you've been using it for a while. Build a few studless kits from the instructions and you'll get the hang of the possibilities.
If you mean specialized in the sense of parts like the Hailfire droid wheel, those are pretty cool in the sense of there being interesting ways to use them to make all sorts of things possible, but most of the time you just don't use them.
posted by -harlequin- at 2:40 PM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
I like 2001, I like Discovery, I like Lego, but I am not ashamed to admit I balk at anything that requires 215 pages of instructions.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:56 PM on April 13, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:56 PM on April 13, 2012 [2 favorites]
Cool! The smooth surfaces of Legos really lend themselves well to the rigid geometry of the monolith, but I always kinda thought Doug Trumbull's spaceship models had more of a K'Nex or Erector aesthetic. Something about all the holes and trusses and girders and places for your fingers to be pinched.
Maybe this is a good case to be made for the Universal Construction Kit?
I hope I'm not some sort of blasphemer for saying that..?
posted by DNAshwood at 4:50 PM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
Maybe this is a good case to be made for the Universal Construction Kit?
I hope I'm not some sort of blasphemer for saying that..?
posted by DNAshwood at 4:50 PM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
Bugbread's link is amazing.
posted by -harlequin- at 5:48 PM on April 13, 2012
posted by -harlequin- at 5:48 PM on April 13, 2012
There's no functioning gravity wheel in the Discovery? Laaaaaaaame.
posted by George_Spiggott at 6:27 PM on April 13, 2012
posted by George_Spiggott at 6:27 PM on April 13, 2012
More impressive lego spaceships
Terran Trade Authority ships. squee!
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:24 PM on April 13, 2012
Terran Trade Authority ships. squee!
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:24 PM on April 13, 2012
Holy Cow I would buy and make that Discovery model. The instructions are excellent; I wondered if there was some software used, as they have the Lego look and feel. Shurely Lego are sitting on a goldmine here.
posted by marienbad at 4:06 AM on April 14, 2012
posted by marienbad at 4:06 AM on April 14, 2012
The ships of Battlestar Galactica, immortalized in thousands of LEGO bricks
Due to the very nature of LEGO bricks, that's pretty much the opposite of immortalized. What's next? The ships of Battlestar Galactica, immortalized with mandala sand art?
posted by BurnChao at 10:30 AM on April 14, 2012
Due to the very nature of LEGO bricks, that's pretty much the opposite of immortalized. What's next? The ships of Battlestar Galactica, immortalized with mandala sand art?
posted by BurnChao at 10:30 AM on April 14, 2012
Quiet, you. We're playing with our toys.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:50 AM on April 14, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:50 AM on April 14, 2012 [2 favorites]
Due to the very nature of LEGO bricks, that's pretty much the opposite of immortalized.
You might be surprised. AFOLs making works they intend to display will sometimes, once it's finished, tear it down and reassemble it with superglue, making a permanent and durable display piece.
posted by -harlequin- at 6:08 PM on April 14, 2012
You might be surprised. AFOLs making works they intend to display will sometimes, once it's finished, tear it down and reassemble it with superglue, making a permanent and durable display piece.
posted by -harlequin- at 6:08 PM on April 14, 2012
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This was floating around my various social media streams this week: LEGO Exo Suit. No build plans, but his other stuff is amazing.
posted by eyeballkid at 1:42 PM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]