What does it take to build an 8.5-foot-wide, fully motorized, minifig-scale ISS? Douglas Hughes walks us through the sketches, setbacks, problem-solving, and pure determination that turned a spark of an idea into an award-winning LEGO space station.
Read MoreIn a time where rockets are being developed at an astonishing pace and the private space industry is booming, it is important to remember the faithful methods of transportation that have served us time and time again in the past. The Soyuz rocket program is one of these and Jussi Koskinen has created a beautiful replica that even includes a mini Soyuz capsule. This behemoth of a rocket is worthy of being displayed next to my Saturn V rocket as a reminder of the ingenuity of humanity.
Right now, as you read this, there are brave people speeding at just under 5 miles a second approximately 250 miles up in what is essentially a bunch of bus-sized tubes connected together. The overall size is about a football field, in a never ending free fall around the planet. You can see it with the naked eye if you know where and when to look, and it just blows my mind. I'm talking about the International Space Station, and it's a wonder of human innovation and exploratory spirit. While this version by builder Jussi Koskinen is an order of magnitude smaller, it's still pretty amazing. The attention to detail is fantastic, and the presentation is stellar, pun intended.
This International Space Station MOC by Lia Chan DFW is so brilliantly built I thought it was just a photograph at first. I've had the pleasure of watching this engineering wonder built live through many, many hours of streaming NASA feeds (space doesn't happen quickly, but always fascinatingly) and I sort of wish I could have been watching this MOC being built the same way. It measures over five feet long and is amazingly detailed. It's also up to date with the addition of BEAM and Cygnus-6, awesome.
The International Space Station is truly an island in space. There's no running down to the market when you run out of toilet paper. So the importance of the unmanned resupply vehicles that shuttle essentials back and forth from the ISS is critical. This is the Kounotori (White Stork) by Kei_Kei_Flic that supplies the Japan module, and it's pretty slick.
What happens when you turn a LEGO pirate ship into a Great Ball Contraption? Brian Hickey and his family find out, building a working module and learning a few hard lessons when it joins the GBC loop at BrickCon.
The Spindlejack messengers have a new predator on their tail! Dan Ko shares his T-R3X Speeder Bike, a dinosaur-inspired ride for the light-fingered Swindlejerks, with free instructions to build your own bike and display stand.
Creating LEGO cityscapes is an AFOL passion, but how do you build sidewalks and curbs that curve like in real life? We share some step-by-step instructions using some helpful new elements to make sure your city has curb appeal.
Monet painted his garden many times, exploring changes in color and time of day. Meredith Najewicz follows his lead, rebuilding the LEGO Art Water Lilies set with a darker palette and some creative part substitutions to cast the lilies in a different light.
It is time to take to the skies to see all the LEGO floating islands that populate our imaginations. Check out these gravity-defying rocks and learn why they might be one of the best ever collab ideas.
Old LEGO magic still has its charms. We revisit Borgin and Burkes and Dumbledore’s office to compare how their buildings, curious objects, and magical creatures have changed across generations of Harry Potter sets.
Want to customize a minifig without fancy printers or toxic fumes? Learn how to use the dark art of reductive design to literally erase the line between official and custom LEGO parts.
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Are you one of those people that has a perpetually messy building table? If so, you are not alone. Ted Andes comes out in defense of creative clutter and pleads the case for there being a method-to-the-madness of a messy building table. Read on to find out why a little bit of disorganization can be a good thing.