SHIPtember 2017 Recap

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Another SHIPtember has gone by, once again full of incredible sci-fi spaceSHIPs! The 5th annual contest produced some of the best SHIP's Flickr has yet to see. With each design being 100 studs long or more, they all are leaving an impact on SHIP builders for the future. 

Fellow BrickNerd contributor El Barto and myself also contributed our own SHIP's this year, and we had fun doing while doing it!

Until next year's amazing space contest, enjoy these highlights picked out by your favorite BrickNerd members!

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Nathaniel Stoner

     My name is Nathaniel Stoner, and I am an very active LEGO builder.  I mostly build in the themes of castle and science-fiction, but I also dabble in other genres and create occasional random MOC's (My Own Creations). 

     When I was younger, I would get and build small LEGO sets for my birthday, but I was never really into them.  When they fell apart, I would become frustrated attempting to put them back together and would throw them in a box in my closet.  I couldn't stand them!

     Then, miraculously, I became addicted to the LEGO brick later in my teen years.  Ever since, I have continued to build up (pun intended) my collection of bricks and to expand my knowledge of techniques and building skills.  LEGO is truly more than a toy, its an art form and a way to express yourself.

     For the most part, I collect LEGO Star Wars (mainly the minifigs), which is probably my favorite LEGO theme.  I have a fairly decent collection, including some of the original 1999 sets, such as the Snowspeeder, X-Wing, and Naboo starfighter.  I also collected LEGO the Lord of the Rings when those sets first came out.  The minifigs are great, and the story remains one of my favorites ever. 

     My hope is to inspire other young (and perhaps even older) LEGO builders to unleash their inner creativity!  You can find me on my Flikr here. 

Seriously Huge Investment In Galidor

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When asked about the worst LEGO themes of all time, many afols will bring up Jack Stone. I think that this is because they have forced themselves to forget that Galidor ever existed. But of course; this is the LEGO community and nothing is useless: the aptly self-titled Prince Galidor presents us with a SHIPtember entry this year built entirely from Galidor parts. The result is a beautiful mess of purple, red, orange and various shades of gray.

The Travisty

Iron Gigas

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The first word that springs to mind when I look at this stout mech by builder Moko is "beefy". Just look at this thing, that's some seriously armored, bipedal firepower right there. I also really like the action shot of the pilot ascending or descending, with a simple rope and winch, very practical. But I especially love the half stripped down shot, showing that this thing is just as badass under the armor.

Iron Gigas
Iron Gigas
Iron Gigas

LAIVA

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I probably got that name wrong, but according to the IKEA Dictionary that's a Finnish word for ship. And just like pretty much every IKEA I've ever been too, this SHIP by builder LEGOLIZE IT MAN is massive. This intergalactic forklift is a wonder to behold, it's a cargo pusher, and from the size of those engine, I'm guessing this thing could push a boatload of semi-disposable Swedish furniture. (fun fact: BrickNerd Studios is 95% furnished with IKEA stuff, we love it)

Olyckan
Olyckan 2

YT-1450 Light Freighter

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I've been around for a while now.   Not as long as Tommy of course, but quite a while.  And I've seen a ton of variations on the Corellian freighter design.  Round in the stern, two mandibles in the bow, docking hatches on the sides, something asymmetrical.  So when I saw this YT-1450 Light Freighter, I thought, "Cool build, nice color blocking, interesting/purposeful stuff on the hull, very convincing as something one might see in the upcoming movie." 

YT-1450 Light Freighter - "The Nadir"

But that all changed when I saw the next pic.  "No frakin' way!!"  After alllll these years, that's why the Falcon had those notches in the front, to actually carry cargo.  Not just, well, whatever it was that Han and Chewie hauled around inside the ship.  Ooger has had a spark of genius here with this freighter, the Nadir, and the massive cargo containers it's got in its teeth.  According to him, "Those mandibles had to be used for something, right?"   I love it!

YT-1450 Light Freighter - "The Nadir" - Container Mode

Violin

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Is there anything more beautiful than a classic violin? The sculpted forms, purposeful and elegant, practical and purely aesthetic, all come together to make an item not only lovely to look at, but also wonderful to listen to. This brick version by builder ZetoVince combines a lot of clever building and parts to hit every note, and the final results are stunning.

Violin

Good Morning Coffee Monster

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I drink tea mostly, but on occasion I enjoy a grande mocha Frappicino in a venti cup with a banana blended in and no whip (yeah, it's awesome). Regardless I understand the need for that morning caffeine bump, but I had no idea my loyalties belonged to this character, the good morning coffee monster by lummerlander. Yes, it's a seriously crazy character, but if you really want to see crazy, deny people their coffee.

The Good Morning Coffee Monster

Aslan's Stone Table

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Though I am very familiar with both the books and films, I have not seen many MOC's from the Chronicles of Narnia. This was a pleasure to see come across my feed earlier this week, thanks to its builder Carter Witz. I recognized this small landscape very quickly, knowing what had just happened in this scene. The layering of the terrain meets nicely with the crumbling stone formations which surround Aslan's Table. With little bits of olive green thrown in for some growth, I think these scene turned out perfectly. Perhaps it's just me, but I feel this scene, with no minifigures or brick-built lion, gives off a very strong message to any fan of the series.

The Stone Table
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Nathaniel Stoner

     My name is Nathaniel Stoner, and I am an very active LEGO builder.  I mostly build in the themes of castle and science-fiction, but I also dabble in other genres and create occasional random MOC's (My Own Creations). 

     When I was younger, I would get and build small LEGO sets for my birthday, but I was never really into them.  When they fell apart, I would become frustrated attempting to put them back together and would throw them in a box in my closet.  I couldn't stand them!

     Then, miraculously, I became addicted to the LEGO brick later in my teen years.  Ever since, I have continued to build up (pun intended) my collection of bricks and to expand my knowledge of techniques and building skills.  LEGO is truly more than a toy, its an art form and a way to express yourself.

     For the most part, I collect LEGO Star Wars (mainly the minifigs), which is probably my favorite LEGO theme.  I have a fairly decent collection, including some of the original 1999 sets, such as the Snowspeeder, X-Wing, and Naboo starfighter.  I also collected LEGO the Lord of the Rings when those sets first came out.  The minifigs are great, and the story remains one of my favorites ever. 

     My hope is to inspire other young (and perhaps even older) LEGO builders to unleash their inner creativity!  You can find me on my Flikr here. 

Now This is a Snowspeeder

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This is a compact snowspeeder done by Kit Bricksto, and it's not because an AT-AT stepped on it. The Rebel Alliance's snowspeeders have always been a popular vehicle for AFOL's to recreate in LEGO form to the best of their ability. However, I think this model stands out due to the size. To me, it seems very proportionate to a minifigure's size. Though these speeders do fit two rebels, it's not a very large ship like many LEGO models make it out to be. Each angle of the ship was still done in excellent ways, which is a bonus considering the size. 

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Nathaniel Stoner

     My name is Nathaniel Stoner, and I am an very active LEGO builder.  I mostly build in the themes of castle and science-fiction, but I also dabble in other genres and create occasional random MOC's (My Own Creations). 

     When I was younger, I would get and build small LEGO sets for my birthday, but I was never really into them.  When they fell apart, I would become frustrated attempting to put them back together and would throw them in a box in my closet.  I couldn't stand them!

     Then, miraculously, I became addicted to the LEGO brick later in my teen years.  Ever since, I have continued to build up (pun intended) my collection of bricks and to expand my knowledge of techniques and building skills.  LEGO is truly more than a toy, its an art form and a way to express yourself.

     For the most part, I collect LEGO Star Wars (mainly the minifigs), which is probably my favorite LEGO theme.  I have a fairly decent collection, including some of the original 1999 sets, such as the Snowspeeder, X-Wing, and Naboo starfighter.  I also collected LEGO the Lord of the Rings when those sets first came out.  The minifigs are great, and the story remains one of my favorites ever. 

     My hope is to inspire other young (and perhaps even older) LEGO builders to unleash their inner creativity!  You can find me on my Flikr here. 

Dashing Through the Snow with a Snowcat

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De-marco has been producing a number of wonderful minifig scaled vehicles lately, but this one is by far my favorite. If you're a city builder, you need to check out these wonderfully scaled vehicles, perfect for any city layout. I think what draws me the most to this model is that everything just fits together perfectly here. Everything is scaled very well, especially for a single minifigure. A simple construction, but an effective completed model!

Snowcat
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Nathaniel Stoner

     My name is Nathaniel Stoner, and I am an very active LEGO builder.  I mostly build in the themes of castle and science-fiction, but I also dabble in other genres and create occasional random MOC's (My Own Creations). 

     When I was younger, I would get and build small LEGO sets for my birthday, but I was never really into them.  When they fell apart, I would become frustrated attempting to put them back together and would throw them in a box in my closet.  I couldn't stand them!

     Then, miraculously, I became addicted to the LEGO brick later in my teen years.  Ever since, I have continued to build up (pun intended) my collection of bricks and to expand my knowledge of techniques and building skills.  LEGO is truly more than a toy, its an art form and a way to express yourself.

     For the most part, I collect LEGO Star Wars (mainly the minifigs), which is probably my favorite LEGO theme.  I have a fairly decent collection, including some of the original 1999 sets, such as the Snowspeeder, X-Wing, and Naboo starfighter.  I also collected LEGO the Lord of the Rings when those sets first came out.  The minifigs are great, and the story remains one of my favorites ever. 

     My hope is to inspire other young (and perhaps even older) LEGO builders to unleash their inner creativity!  You can find me on my Flikr here. 

Play That Beat

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I'm old enough to remember...when these were showing up in the antique stores (c'mon I'm not that old). Builder yo3l brings us a little retro sci-fi-fi tin toy action with this classic style toy robot. Although it does make me wonder how our robot overlords are going to conquer us by playing the drums. I appreciate a good beat, but you're not the boss of me.

LEGO MOC Tin Drum Robot

Rover Wheels

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We've all seen many LEGO space rovers. We've featured almost just as many here on BrickNerd. The designs of these rovers get more advanced, more sleek, and overall better-built each year with the release of new parts. Though people attempt to come up with new wheel designs, so many of them don't stand out. However, this rover by Legonardo Davidy shows us an incredible wheel design on this new rover. And guess what? It uses simple, old parts! Super cool work put into this model.

2780 Moon rover
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Nathaniel Stoner

     My name is Nathaniel Stoner, and I am an very active LEGO builder.  I mostly build in the themes of castle and science-fiction, but I also dabble in other genres and create occasional random MOC's (My Own Creations). 

     When I was younger, I would get and build small LEGO sets for my birthday, but I was never really into them.  When they fell apart, I would become frustrated attempting to put them back together and would throw them in a box in my closet.  I couldn't stand them!

     Then, miraculously, I became addicted to the LEGO brick later in my teen years.  Ever since, I have continued to build up (pun intended) my collection of bricks and to expand my knowledge of techniques and building skills.  LEGO is truly more than a toy, its an art form and a way to express yourself.

     For the most part, I collect LEGO Star Wars (mainly the minifigs), which is probably my favorite LEGO theme.  I have a fairly decent collection, including some of the original 1999 sets, such as the Snowspeeder, X-Wing, and Naboo starfighter.  I also collected LEGO the Lord of the Rings when those sets first came out.  The minifigs are great, and the story remains one of my favorites ever. 

     My hope is to inspire other young (and perhaps even older) LEGO builders to unleash their inner creativity!  You can find me on my Flikr here. 

Rainbow Lorikeet And Superb Wren

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"Nature" isn't probably the first thing you think about when considering everyone's favorite building bricks. But as you can see from this marvelous sculpture by builder qi_tah, nature is not only quite possible with LEGO, it's positively gorgeous. The color palette allows for everything from the rustic earth tones of the scenery to the eye popping colors of these fantastic birds. 

Rainbow lorikeet and Superb wren - 1

The Ghost Of Anton

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As with most ghost stories, this one starts with a tragedy. Anton, the proprietor of the Old Fishing  Store, was the subject of a photo shoot in Polperro Harbor when disaster in the form of high winds struck, and he was lost. To make the story worse, he was on loan. The photographer, BrickNerd's own Nick Sweetman, was entering a contest to win an Old Fishing Store. I suppose if he wins, he'll have to turn right around and give Anton back to his owner, tragic indeed.

The Ghost Of Anton
Anton In Polperro

Wearable Ant Man Helmet

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Some super heroes have no super powers, only access to very special equipment and the determination and skill to use it. A similar notion could be said of builders, we all have access to the same bricks, but only a few have the determination and skill to turn them into something super. Builder Brickatecture crafted this wearable Ant Man helmet, and while some purists might take issue with the scavenged plastic lenses and paint, everyone has to agree it's pretty super.

Ant Man wearable helmet
Ant Man wearable helmet

Canada Goose

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Gentlemen,

It appears our neighbors to the north are starting to piece together our plan to destabilize the nation and capitalize on the vast stockpiles of maple syrup and beaver pelts. While the decision to name our genetically engineered cybergenic super-villain fowl after the country seemed to have the desired results at first, it would seem they are becoming disquieted by this now. This individual, JK Brickworks, has gone so far as to reverse engineer the drive mechanism and is now sharing this information publicly. It seems we have no choice but to move to stage two, and implement the fire breathing and laser vision protocols. The syrup must flow.

Respectfully,

Lt.-Gen. Stanley Buchannon, Special Ops
Dept of Subversion
USSDNS

LSB/EW

Canada Goose and Goslings