Simon Liu: A Sci-Fi Titan and Community Champion

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Simon Liu: A Sci-Fi Titan and Community Champion

Guest contributor Casey McCoy continues the story of one of the most prolific LEGO builders and community creators of the past decade, Simon Liu. From SHIPtember and BattleSHIP to New Hashima and beyond, you never know what Simon will build next.

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Space Station

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This is definitely a case of better late than never. Builder Proudlove started this awesome space station for SHIPtember but didn’t get it done in time. Thankfully he persevered and we get to appreciate it. And while it wasn’t done in time for that it was finished in time for Brickomanie 2019, and attendees were able to see this lovely creation in person (and I’m a bit jealous).

SHIPtember 2016

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No, that's not the wrong date, these are the 80 entries from last year compiled into a gigantic poster by Brixnspace. And while it's pretty nifty here, you need click through to see it in high resolution to really appreciate all the SHIPs. And if that's not enough you can download the ultra high-res file (seriously, it's 14400x8400), which can be printed at full poster size.

SHIPtember 2016 Poster

Jupiter V

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SHIPtember may be over, but the memories live on, and with a few late arrivals we can keep celebrating. I had the pleasure of hanging out with Tim Schwalfenberg at BrickCon this year, he's a fascinating guy with mad building skills. For instance, he constructed this beast while actually away from home and his LEGO collection. The lineage to the Saturn V is obvious, but what a beautiful craft.

Jupiter V

SHIPtember V - Week 4 Recap

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It's SHIPtember V, the fifth annual SHIP building contest! Eat. Sleep. SHIP!

As always, the objective of this incredibly fun competition is to build a massive and original SPACESHIP!, one that has to be a minimum of 100 studs in length. With one and a half weeks of building time to go, we thought it was time to showcase a few of our favorite completed SHIP's that have joined the Armada for SHIPtember V! Even some contributors for BrickNerd have gotten in on the action, like this SHIP by El Barto. I'm currently working on my entry, and I hope to see some other contributors participate! The SHIP's featured below, built by each builder respectively, are just a few of the completed SHIP's that we have yet to see. Head on over to the SHIPtember Flickr group to see more models in the works!

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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. 

Redeemer Of Albin

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Builder nate_daly crafted an elegant and regal SHIP to celebrate SHIPtember, and it's quite lovely. The subtle, flowing forms and good balance of broad strokes to fine details really work here. And while it's mostly monochromatic, there's just enough color in select places to give it a bit of punch without getting garish. Click through for many more pictures and some WIP shots.

Redeemer of Albin
Redeemer of Albin

Into the Future. . .and Beyond!

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Cesbrick has long been one of my favorite builders.  Typically, he builds in the medieval / fantasy theme, but today he has something completely new and different:  a SHIP!  Personally, this is my favorite model I have seen for SHIPtember 2016.  The color choices used in this model are perfect, and what's even better is the fact that there is a perfect balance between them.  The subtle amounts of light gray mixed into the white is very pleasing to the eyes.  Furthermore, there are excellent examples of greebling all over this creation, and finally those fancy rings that wrap around this futuristic vessel - super cool!  Already looking forward to next year's SHIPtember! 

OASIS
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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. 

Curvy Carrier

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As most of you know (unless your internet has been down for a month), SHIPtember is almost over, which means that lots of ships are finally starting to pop up. Tim Schwalfenberg's latest sci-fi offering is very unorthodox (in the best possible way). Lots of spaceships are very angle-y, with plenty of hard edges. Tim's ship, however, is almost entirely curvy, making for an extremely eye-catching design. I particularly like the few trans-light blue accents; they really go well with the white and gold.

Carrier has Arrived

Hurricane Fleet

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You may remember, back in SHIPtember, Tim Schwalfenberg's award winning Hurricane Battlecruiser.  Well, he's been a busy guy building an entire fleet to go with it.  Scroll through the photostream to see the intricate details and recurring design cues that tie the whole fleet together.  Although I'm more of a rag-tag fleet kinda guy, this is a pretty awesome collection!

Hurricane Fleet

In Space No One Can Hear You Stick

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The space madness that is SHIPtember may be over, but beautiful craft continue to be revealed. This epic cruiser by builder VolumeX not only spans 137 by 62 studs, but boasts a truly staggering number of stickers: 438. It would be incredibly easy, especially when dealing with those kind of numbers, to overdo it on so many levels. But that's not the case here, this vessel is stunning front to back and top to bottom.

Ataraxia 11 on stand.
Ataraxia11 detail06
Ataraxia11 - SHIPTEMBER

FK ANTROTTA

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Well, SHIPtember is coming to a close, and that's when the big guns come out. Builder and SHIP evangelist S--MOCs has revealed his beast and it's pretty epic. The main thing I love about this vessel is the attention to detail in areas of little detail. Even areas with simple planes are subtly and expertly panel lined and broken up, for scale at any distance.

FK ANTROTTA
FK ANTROTTA
FK ANTROTTA

Zero G: Not An Option

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If we're ever going to truly strike out into the cosmos, we're going to have to overcome a simple problem: humans need gravity. And until some super big brains somehow develop artificial gravity, some other super big brains need to build a vessel like this, with a spinning axis to make sure we don't get muscle atrophy and can properly play ping pong. Builder El Barto has some inspiration here, go big brains go!

Colonial Transport 2
Colonial Transport 1

USS Ticonderoga

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As SHIPtember lumbers on some builders are crossing the finish line early. But in this case, it's not about being done quickly, this is about being done awesomely. This SHIP by Rphilo004 is super clean and well designed. For me a hallmark of a fantastic build is an inability to judge scale, and you really need to look close at this vessel to see how big it really is.

USS Ticonderoga
USS Ticonderoga Details

SHIPtember SHMIPtember

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I'm not totally certain, but I think Oche Jelly just won SHIPtember, or at least figured out the ultimate workaround. He also combined it with GARCvember and NeoClassicSpaceruary, just in the name of efficiency I'm sure. This WIP shot is also his final, so he won't have to keep us updated as well. Unfortunately he didn't address NERDvember, which is totally going to be a thing.

SLIP