From days of long ago, from uncharted regions of the universe, comes a legend; the legend of Lego Voltron

August 17, 2009 11:36 AM

Years have passed since Zarkon's invasion of Arus. A team of Space Explorers approaches the planet. Young but determined, these explorers have been sent by the Galaxy Alliance on a special mission: to search for the secret of Voltron. The team of explorers consists of five brave young (brick)men: Keith, Pidge, Hunk, Lance, and Sven. Together, with 71 hours of building, they form Lego Voltron. From work in progress to cockpit details and shoulder pin mechanisms, the photographed details are there to enjoy. The builder includes credits to the Teknomeka plans for the frame of the structure (history of the plans, models, and another model) (via).
posted by filthy light thief (35 comments total)

Holy goddamned hell. Even midsection of the red and green lions (Voltron's elbows) are articulated.

*boggles*

*boggles some more*
posted by lekvar at 11:42 AM on August 17

Special thanks to my wife, who assisted me during the photo shoot.

You built a Lego Voltron over 71 hours and managed not only to remain married in the process, but to obtain your wife's assistance shooting photos of the final product?

Sir, I must ask you this: are you a god?
posted by brain_drain at 11:52 AM on August 17 [7 favorites has favorites]

Sir, I must ask you this: are you a god?

Anyone who builds a lego Voltron is almost certainly aware that when someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES.
posted by Pragmatica at 11:57 AM on August 17 [4 favorites has favorites]

I, uh, that is, when I read "invasion of Arus," I kind of misread it? And I know that's neither original nor mature? But I do. Yeah. ok. bye.

hehe anus.
posted by Tomorrowful at 12:04 PM on August 17

This is VERY cool.
posted by Greg Nog at 12:05 PM on August 17

That cockpit detailing is intense
posted by scrutiny at 12:06 PM on August 17

Special thanks to my wife, who assisted me during the photo shoot.

You mean that someone who spends over 71 hours building a (1) Voltron out of (2) Legos actually has a (3)wife? A real wife?

That's scary on at least three levels.
posted by Man with Lantern at 12:07 PM on August 17

Holy crap. That's amazing. :)
posted by zarq at 12:21 PM on August 17

I think the conflict of "wife" with "Lego collection" is imaginary. My wife collects Legos to this day (though she's adverse to mixing sets). Our future abode will have a lego room, so we can actually have the sets built instead of boxed.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:22 PM on August 17

"Hell yes the suspect looks foreign, Mr. Ridge! He's a robot made out of LIONS, for fuck's sake!" (1, 2)
posted by UrineSoakedRube at 12:23 PM on August 17

Fail for not correctly modelling the 5-member Japanese import cartoon rule: You must have the Outgoing Leader-Dude, the Introverted Troubled Dude, the Pipsqueak, the Fatso and the Chick. Either Sven or Lance needs to go.
posted by Rat Spatula at 12:27 PM on August 17

Rat Spatula, that's covered in the series, if not here in Lego form.

In one of these encounters, Sven was badly wounded and was hospitalized on a neutral planet. Volunteering to take his place, (Princess) Allura quickly proved herself a courageous fighter, earning a spot as a permanent member of the Voltron Force.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:33 PM on August 17

Fail for not correctly modelling the 5-member Japanese import cartoon rule: You must have the Outgoing Leader-Dude, the Introverted Troubled Dude, the Pipsqueak, the Fatso and the Chick.

By the way, the TV Tropes article on this phenomenon has a ton of examples.
posted by burnmp3s at 12:36 PM on August 17

It's like a goddamn nerd apocalypse, and I love it. The only thing that could beat this is if someone replicated the Short Circuit robot Johnny 5 entirely in Lego and actually gave it an annoying AI personality with a genuine lightning bolt.

That or a transforming Lego Robotech Macross SDF-1 and wing of transforming Veritech fighters - to scale.
posted by loquacious at 12:45 PM on August 17

To put it in the parlance of the time, Totally Awesome!
posted by SirOmega at 12:46 PM on August 17

Good lord, and here I felt nerdy for being excited over my reading lists from my first day of classes....

THIS MAN IS A GOD.
posted by strixus at 1:18 PM on August 17

In one of these encounters, Sven was badly wounded...

Yeah, some part of me knew that anyone this far gone would not make an elementary mistake like that. I have only the basic Middle-America after-school familiarity with Voltron canon.

still smells like he's weaselling out of spraypainting up some pink Legos
posted by Rat Spatula at 1:32 PM on August 17

I suppose I will go ahead and out myself.

I am responsible for Lego Voltron.

I never liked Princess Allura. She annoyed me even in the 80s.

Yes, I am married. Nerd girls RULE.
posted by Fleebnork at 2:14 PM on August 17 [8 favorites has favorites]

still smells like he's weaselling out of spraypainting up some pink Legos

There's lots of actual pink Lego. Sadly, you have to buy Lego for Girls to get it. Yuck.

Pantone to Lego Color Conversion Chart, if you want to double your geekiness.
posted by rokusan at 2:21 PM on August 17 [1 favorite has favorites]

Woooo, finally we have an actual celebrity on MetaFilter.
posted by rokusan at 2:22 PM on August 17 [1 favorite has favorites]

Whoa. Dude.
posted by odinsdream at 2:31 PM on August 17

Man, I loved Lions Voltron. Cars Voltron, by contrast, was just sad.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 2:32 PM on August 17

Yeah, the switch from 5-lion Voltron to 15-car Voltron always smelled of a cigar-chomping toy company exec's cocaine-fueled imagineering.

"And then with Voltron 3 we'll sell upgraded rims and air fresheners!"
posted by Rat Spatula at 2:52 PM on August 17

Nice work Fleebnork. Very nice.
posted by taliaferro at 2:54 PM on August 17

Also I must admit that I had a crush on this Princess. It must have been true love because none of the other five-man-band token-chicks ever gave me butterflies like she did.
posted by Rat Spatula at 2:55 PM on August 17 [1 favorite has favorites]

This seems like a good a place as any to link to Guntron Alliance Force.
posted by brain_drain at 2:57 PM on August 17 [1 favorite has favorites]

And yes, congratulations Fleebnork. Voltron in any incarnation does squat for me but I do appreciate a well-put-together model, and I especially respect the cleverness that's required to balance the constrained component choice of a Lego model with the twin demands of accurate appearance and functionality. Many Lego models err on one side or the other and it takes real time and talent to walk that edge.
posted by Rat Spatula at 3:02 PM on August 17

Also I must admit that I had a crush on this Princess. It must have been true love because none of the other five-man-band token-chicks ever gave me butterflies like she did.

Heh. My first crush was Nova from Star Blazers.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 3:03 PM on August 17

Fleebnork - bravo. The only thing that would improve this would be to see a stop-motion transformation of this kit. That would be fantastic like none other.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:33 PM on August 17

The thought has crossed my mind. I suppose I'm going to have to do that now.

Nice work on the post, by the way. The extra Voltron info does a nerd proud.
posted by Fleebnork at 3:52 PM on August 17

Also, as a general FYI, the Teknomeka skeleton was definitely the foundation of this project, but had to be modified quite a bit for the lions to be separable. All the worm-gear based joint construction I owe to those plans, however. If any of you are interested in Technic Lego construction I highly recommend you buy the plans.
posted by Fleebnork at 3:56 PM on August 17

*looks through links*
*blinks, and starts slow clap*

Awesome work, Fleebnork.
posted by now i'm piste at 8:02 PM on August 17

Netflix has a shitload of Voltron available to watch instantly. I watched like 2 hours of it with my son last night, starting from the beginning. They don't even form Voltron until the end of the forth episode. I don't know how that show didn't get canceled after the third episode. Oh wait, I know: it was Sven's voice acting.
posted by scope the lobe at 5:41 AM on August 18

Watching a few bits of old episodes on YouTube was enough to convince me that I prefer to remember the show through the rosy haze of nostalgia.
posted by Fleebnork at 10:04 AM on August 18

Voltron for free on YouTube:

* First Episode of Season One.
* First Episode of Season Two.

Click on the "Play Next" link on the right side, halfway down the page (next to "Season 1") to move to the next episode.
posted by zarq at 6:52 PM on August 18