Neo Classic Space

We are saddened to learn today of the death of one of the true heroes of Neo Classic Space, Nnenn (Nate Nielson). Nate died after a road accident earlier this month and leaves a beloved wife and two young sons behind. Our deepest sympathy goes to them at this most difficult time.

Nnenn was a truly inspirational builder, who had a great love of spaceships of all shapes and sizes. I doubt there's a spaceship theme he hasn't tried his hand at. Famously he pionered "Nnenn-scale", which features figures made mostly from 1x1 bricks and round plates, as well as building huge fleets of nanoscale dreadnauts. He also perfected the Vic Viper, producing dozens (or possibly hundreds) of variations.

Nnenn was a pioner of Neo Classic Space, producing several early models, but even his early contributions refused to conform to expected norms and everywhere he went he insisted on breaking new ground.

As the Classic Space Federation moved further into the galaxy, it became increasingly that the simple moonbases that served so well during its early expansion would no longer be sufficient. Onyasis Tower, built on Ictar IV by that legendary federation designer, Peter Reid, was one of the prototypes for a new generation of federation base.

The tower provided secure headquarters for federation staff and well protected landing pads for supply ships.

Reid also insisted on the early establishment of a transport and communications network connecting the tower to federation facilities, and this proved vital to the success of the Ictarian colony.

While the peaceful people of Ictar welcomed the Federation, there were others who did not, and several times the tower proved crucial in defending the system from hostile invaders. The success of the design can be seen from the numerous copies that can now be found across Federation space.

The Classic Space Federation is not just about sleek fighter and exploration ships. Sometimes just getting crews where they need to be, and when it comes to shuttling personnel, one of the most reliable workhorses is the LL-445 "Mayfly" designed by the reveered Doctor Sinister.

The double wing design was chosen for aerodynamic advantages in atmospheric operations, and to hide the large fuel tanks.

Its design builds upon the LL-444 fighter, and it's no surprise that they look very similar.

The LL-445, however, has much increased carrying capacity, allowing it to carry either a pilot and five passengers, or a significant amount of essential supplies.

The Mayfly is popular among crews, especially after the incident on one of the Kroktal moons, which the crew attribute their survival to the sturdy design of the craft.

We don't usually report abandoned projects at Neo Classic Space, but sometimes you just have to make an exception. Take a look at porkshanks' Blue Beast. It would have been amazing if she'd finished it, but the interior details still make for some wonderful photography. Rather than dwell on what might have been, we'll just let you enjoy the pictures.

Pasukaru76 has brought the hopes of kids throughout the galaxy into the Neo Classic Space age, with this rather fun diorama. We particularly like the Christmas card themed background.

Happy Christmas from everyone at the Neo Classic Space academy!

Tim Goddard has been kept busy building in microscale, building across lots of space themes, including some rather gorgeous Neo Classic Space models.

Tim has shown his mastery of the scale, crafting ships that contain more datail than many larger scaled vessels.

His Maelstrom is one of the finest microscale ships I've seen in any theme, and when I saw the thumbtail I really thought it had to be a larger scale.

Taking things to another level, Tim has created a fantastic diroama crossing several themes, but including a big chunk of classic space alongside Futuron, Space Police and Blacktron. Make sure you check out the gallery and have a look at the underground hanger containing a classic space monorail.

Mark Kupietz has built a fitting tribute to one of the classics of Classic Space, 6927 All-Terrain Vehicle.

Mark's ATV II has a lot to admire. The take-no-prisoners double wheels, the suspension and shock absorbers, the mean looking cab (with just a hint of 3vil) and the platform on the back carrying a mobile lab.

Apart from the classic set, Mark cites his inspiration as a NASA vehicle, and in true NASA style, the lab doubles as an ascent stage.

Microscale is proving very popular among classic space builders, and it's not hard to see why. It forces minimalism and clean design, while creating opportunities for creativity. Parts that are largely insignificant at a larger scale have the opportunity to become the main feature of a model.

Take 2x4's Neo Classic Space X-Wing. On the surface it is incredibly simple, yet it packs an uncanny amount of detail into its clean lines. We love the giant wing-mounted guns and the droid behind the cockpit.

I hope we'll see more Neo Classic Space from this talented builder soon.

Many of us have dabbled in virtual building. It can be very useful for prototyping as well as creating instructions for completed models, or just building large models without having to buy all the bricks first. LEGO's official Lego Digital Designer is an excellent tool, but does suffer from being limited to current and recent parts, so most virtual builders eventually turn to the LDraw family of programs which includes MLCad and LeoCad, LDView for visualisation and LPub for producing instructions. It can even be integrated with PovRay for rendering photo-realistic images. And best of all it's all free.

If you've used these programs for Classic Space building, you will almost certainly have used parts designed by Willy Tschager without even realising it. Willy has designed a number of very useful Classic Space space parts, including many bearing the classic space logo. Here's a quick virtual build I did of the moonbase from the 928 Galaxy Explorer, featuring several of Willie's parts, most notably his 5000 polygon crater plate, the most complex LDraw part ever produced:

Willy has produced some great models using the parts, and provided instructions for them. Although they might not be considered Neo Classic Space, they are still a worthy tribute to the Classic Space sets.

So whether you're picking up LDraw tools for the first time or a seasoned user, please spare a thought for designers like Willie who provide the parts us spacers cherish.

Willie's article on authoring LDraw parts appears in the current issue of BrickJournal.

On the galactic front lines, where Federation resources are stretched to breaking point, it has become vital to keep casualties to a minimum. Armoured hardsuits are now widely used in many uncertain situations from routine patrols to combat operations.

Some of the most popular examples come from BBBCS, who have built a reputation for combining maximum troop protection with powerful weaponary at a price point that even the all-powerful Federation accountancy department can't object to. Their latest model, the Iron Monkey, is easy to pilot, fast and fuel efficient to deliver even greater savings.

This is just the latest in a long line of models that included the ever popular Defender. Despite its age, it is still popular with Federation troops. Although it is now being phased out, there are still many in active service.