Legos, anyone?

[Dangard Ace]

I like the new Lego NASA set.  Only $60 too.  
 https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRvXyFSgT0Z/?igsh=emc2OXcxM3dza253

[Dangard Ace]

Daa da da da da daaaa da!

[sh9000]

All Good Things Enterprise by Rod Reyes.

[Chronocidal]

Yeah, I kind of hate that I was considering ordering two of these after the holiday rush, specifically to have the spare parts to make that version.

Looks good though.  Maybe funny to say, but I think the up-greebling of that design actually helps the ship look better overall.  At least with the giant phaser cannon in place, the underside of the saucer is supposed to look blocky.  

Franchise-wise, I have to wonder if this one will have the same longevity that Star Wars has had.  It's taken them four or five iterations of a UCS X-Wing before they made some of the changes it needed from the first version, but I'm thinking it's unlikely we'll be seeing that many redesigns and re-releases of Trek ships over time.

Edited December 15 by Chronocidal

[Scyla]

Crazy Lego geometry:

[M'Kyuun]

15 minutes ago, Scyla said:

Crazy Lego geometry:

Nick Trotta and Blake Foster are two builders renowned for their savant-like abilities to achieve incredible and intricate angles seamlessly in their builds. Moreover, both have an incredible talent for design on its face, as well as intricate detail work. IMHO, they are two of the best MOC builders out there, and that's no small praise considering just how many really talented MOC builders there are. When it comes to Sci-fi designs, though, these guys stand out. I wish I had just an ounce of their talent.

Edited December 19 by M'Kyuun

[wm cheng]

Wow!  Just incredible, thanks @M'Kyuun never knew about these guys - simply amazing.  Thanks @Scyla  I wish these get made into real sets at some point!

[M'Kyuun]

7 hours ago, wm cheng said:

Wow!  Just incredible, thanks @M'Kyuun never knew about these guys - simply amazing.  Thanks @Scyla  I wish these get made into real sets at some point!

No worries. I try to shine a light on these builders when they pop up, as they and their work deserve recognition, appreciation, and a wider audience beyond just the LEGO nerds. A couple others you may like are Bob DeQuatre, Big Planes, and the late incomparable Nate Nielson, AKA nnenn, whose brilliant and prolific spacecraft, especially the Vic Viper from Gradius, created a movement that continues to this day. 

Nnenn wasn't always celebrated in the LEGO community, as he was an artist first, and LEGO happened to be a handy medium. He had no qualms about taking sandpaper to parts to smooth out straight edges, painting parts, or otherwise modding them to his liking. The LEGO purists weren't down with this molestation of the Sacred Brick when the community first became aware of him. He didn't really care- he built for himself and his two small sons. Ultimately, however, a number of more prominent builders began to celebrate and even mimic his style, and AFAIK, a couple reached out to him personally. I only found out shortly after his death in an auto accident that he lived rather close to me and I wish I'd met him. Perhaps I passed him at Toys R Us at some point. I'll never know. There's a fitting tribute to Nate on the Brothers Brick and his Flickr page remains open for all to enjoy thanks to LEGO community members. Few builders that I'm aware of have had the impact that Nate has had within the community, and there are still Vic Viper contests happening to this day due to his influence. He wasn't looking to become a legend, but he became one nonetheless, deservedly so. RIP nnenn

Edited December 20 by M'Kyuun

[Test_Pilot_2]

21 hours ago, Scyla said:

Crazy Lego geometry:

Spectacular

[Scyla]

21 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Nick Trotta and Blake Foster are two builders renowned for their savant-like abilities to achieve incredible and intricate angles seamlessly in their builds. Moreover, both have an incredible talent for design on its face, as well as intricate detail work. IMHO, they are two of the best MOC builders out there, and that's no small praise considering just how many really talented MOC builders there are. When it comes to Sci-fi designs, though, these guys stand out. I wish I had just an ounce of their talent.

Don’t be too harsh to yourself. You have an amazing talent for Lego MOCs. 
 

@wm cheng if you like this MOC you probably also like the R-Type one as well:

 

[M'Kyuun]

14 minutes ago, Scyla said:

Don’t be too harsh to yourself. You have an amazing talent for Lego MOCs. 
 

@wm cheng if you like this MOC you probably also like the R-Type one as well:

 

I appreciate the compliment, but these guys are so far beyond my meager talent. 

Trotta's stuff just boggles my mind. He designs and builds on a whole other level that few others I've seen can match. It's art.

[sh9000]

By len_d69.

https://beta.ideas.lego.com/product-ideas/3ee262be-9e4c-4d4e-91e4-620fe278067e

[M'Kyuun]

3 hours ago, sh9000 said:

By len_d69.

https://beta.ideas.lego.com/product-ideas/3ee262be-9e4c-4d4e-91e4-620fe278067e

I love Lendy's designs. His chibi Vf-1s are cool, too. Supported this and hope it reaches 10K in record time and then gets chosen. This, I believe, will be the third VF-1 submission to Ideas (I believe Lendy had one before this a few years back), so it's time it got the greenlight. FYI, Lendy also submitted the Voltron model that got made into a set.

[sh9000]

My Speed Champions Time Machine has shipped.

[wm cheng]

25 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

My Speed Champions Time Machine has shipped.

On the lego site it says coming soon Jan 1st?

[sh9000]

19 hours ago, wm cheng said:

On the lego site it says coming soon Jan 1st?

I preordered from Target and it arrived yesterday.

[M'Kyuun]

18 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

I preordered from Target and it arrived yesterday.

I thought I'd POed it when I POed the upcoming BvS and The Batman Batmobiles, but after checking my order status, nope. Ah well, my sister gifted me a LEGO gift card for Christmas, so the spousal unit and I are headed to the LEGO Store on Thursday to scope out the new sets.  I'll likely pick up the Delorean along with a couple other new Speed Champion sets. I may have to pick up one or two of the new City Great Vehicles as well. A former Speed Champions lead now leads the City line, and his goal is to impart more functionality into the City line while still maintaining or improving the aesthetics of the sets. I was wondering, especially given the working engine pistons in this year's bulldozer set. That was a surprise and certainly beyond the level of functional detail I've seen in a City set, so I'm quite pleased with this direction. My hope is that eventually they'll start integrating retractable landing gear into their aircraft sets, a bit of RW functionality that has too-long been omitted.

[danth]

8 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

A former Speed Champions lead now leads the City line, and his goal is to impart more functionality into the City line while still maintaining or improving the aesthetics of the sets.

The 2026 City lineup seems really strong to me, and for the first time, all but the very largest sets have only prints. I like to think it's due to his PTSD from leading Sticker Champions.

The Jet vs Car set looks surprisingly good, in terms of subject matter, value, and lack of stickers. 

Edited 5 hours ago by danth

[M'Kyuun]

43 minutes ago, danth said:

The 2026 City lineup seems really strong to me, and for the first time, all but the very largest sets have only prints. I like to think it's due to his PTSD from leading Sticker Champions.

The Jet vs Car set looks surprisingly good, in terms of subject matter, value, and lack of stickers. 

Honestly, I thought this was one of the weaker sets, the jet more than the car. While I like the passenger jets, which benefit greatly from the large specially molded cockpit and fuselage parts, anytime they do a fighter-style jet, they all still look like 80s-90s designs to me. There just hasn't been much evolution in design, which is unfortunate. 

I understand and support LEGO's non-RW military vehicle stance; however, it sure would be cool if they didn't have that stance and they did a line of fighters with Speed Champions level of design. OR, do a fictional line of more sci-fi-ish fighters inspired by RW designs. My Macross fixation is speaking- I vehemently wish they'd do a Macross line. I'd LOVE to be a part of that design team if it ever came to fruition. For now, I'm happy to support Lendy Tayag's VF-1 on Ideas. I hope it gets the go-ahead for production, as I'm in for multiple copies.

[danth]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Honestly, I thought this was one of the weaker sets, the jet more than the car...anytime they do a fighter-style jet, they all still look like 80s-90s designs to me.

You're not wrong. The jet design is kinda whatever. I just like that you get a whole ass jet and a cool car in one set at $30. I like the jet's colors and prints, and the windscreen. I'm not sure about the angular nose, and the wings are literally just wedge plates. 

What do you think of Mike Psiaki's Blue Power Jet?