Neo Classic Space

Pete Reid and Nnenn have colaborated to bring us the LL-989 'Wildfire' Starfighter...

An unusual prototype from Mars University, Wildfire is a nimble, one-man fighter with experimental drive-jamming technology. 

The guys have come up with an amazing design, with its four distinctive panels at the back. Are they soler sails, warp field generators or some other means of propulsion? Pete's cockpit is also an amazing piece of work, making use of a tran-yellow corner piece in a way its designers almost certainly never considered.

Pete notes... I’ve always admired the beautiful shapes and lines Nnenn creates. A while ago I asked him for a sketch that I could try and build from, to try and learn from him. He sent me several designs, and I chose the one I liked the most. He also provided the registration number, which is a stroke of genius.

Keeping Federation borders secure is the job of patrol craft like Mark Sandlin's LL-300. Often it's a matter of just having a visible presence. However, when that presence needs to be more than just visible, it's improortant to have a craft that's up to the job.

The LL-300 Patrol Craft was designed to patrol the edge of explored space. Its broad wing shape provides ample lift in the thin atmospheres of gas giants and terraforming planets. Equipped with two large drive engines as well as two smaller intra-atmospheric engines, the LL-300 is able to move quickly along the frontier to perform its mission duties. The small onboard rover provides the crew with mobility when they must venture onto a planet's surface.

We don't plan to have a bonus every day, but some people just won't keep still. Although they're not totally new, Thomas Öchsner's walker and speeder are too good to ignore, and Thomas brings them to life with his excellent photography.

Next on our road trip through the Neo Classic Space Federation is LL-138, Tim Goddard's scanning craft.

Outfitted with a bewildering array of scanning technology, the LL138 is one of the first ships to arrive in newly discovered systems. It features spectrophotometers, gravimeters, atmospheric and climate sensors, to name but a few. It also has a cockpit designed to allow great views of new planetary surfaces and carries equipment for some more direct measurement of local geology such as the scorpion autonomous scanning robot and a rock penetrator sonic drill.

We really love the unique and distinctive shape of the ship, and the up-sude-down construction to give the pilot/surveyor a clear view of everything below. Here he is doing a close-up inspection on an alien world.

It seems that Nnenn has got the Classic Space bug, and has already slipped out his second model of the month, his Mobile "Research" Platform. Somehow I missed it yesterday, but I thought it too good to leave out of our celebration.

The Federation scientific community was incensed when the term 'research' was applied to a military reconnaissance vehicle. But General Haak insisted sample gathering qualified the name... even though it was mostly of alien species.

We can't help wondering how many more Nnenn will manage this month...

Returning to their own universe, the Classic Space Federation are proud to present the LL-444 Interceptor from Doctor Sinister.

Dr Sinister says: Having once owned a large Moonbase made from early 1980's LEGO Space sets as a child, I wanted to recreate the wonder and joy of being able to swoosh a LEGO spaceship in the classic livery around my living room.

The brief I gave myself was to create a small one-man fighter craft that would pay homage to both LL 918 (my favourite set as a child) and the larger LL 928.  There's a small resemblance to LL 928 in the general shape of the craft and the upright winglets on either side of the cockpit.

Note: If you haven't seen it yet, check out yesterday's bonus post.

Before long, science and exploration teams are transmitting through the alien machine and arriving on the gateway rock. No one is quite sure where they are going, but it appears to be outside our physical universe. Controls on the gateway rock transmit the spacemen on to other rocks where they find alien machines, which seem oddly familiar yet function in completely different ways to Federation technology. No trace is ever found of the civilisation that built the Universe of the Floating Rocks, as it comes to be known.

We continue our brief voyage in the Thomas Öchsner's imagination...

Gateway Rock: After the transportation via the Secret Transmitter, the Spacemen enter the Universe of the Floating Rocks. The Gateway Rock coordinates the transportation between the different rocks of this strange alien environment.

Rocket Launch Rock: In honour to the fantastic Lego set 483/920, Alpha-1 Rocket Base, I have created a floating rocket base.

Our first bonus model of the month is also a teaser for tomorrow's featured model. Thomas Öchsner brings us into another realm... The Universe of Floating Rocks.

A lonely tracking base on the edge of the Federation, only surviving because nobody noticed it to cut its budget, is suddenly thrust into the limelight when its messages suddenly start reflecting back from a mysterious point is space. A hidden signal contains instructions for the construction of an alien machine... a matter transmitter of some sort. At first, the space agency are reluctant to allow its use, but trials sending inanimate objects showed they were all returned safely. Eventually, one brave spaceman steps up and walks through the transmitter... and finds himself on the gateway rock.

More tomorrow!

We continue our adventure with a workhorse of the Classic Space Federation, the LL-701 shuttlecraft by Louise Dade.

Not everything in the Space Agency is glamorous. For every hotshot Flyboy in a fighter-craft, there are a dozen jobbing shuttlecraft pilots who steadfastly ensure the logistical needs of the Space Agency are met.

The LL-701 is a medium-sized shuttlecraft, an old workhorse with warp capabilities that is usually used for transporting supplies between ships and planets. Its minimal firepower means that in times of danger these ships need to fly in convoy with protection by those flash Flyboys in their fighters.

Louise has done a fantastic job integrating the engine nacelles, and we really love the Star Trek feel of the whole ship. Also noteworthy is the cargo truck it carries - it's only 3½ studs wide, and Louise has invented a rather clever way of attaching the wheels.

We kick off our exploration of the universe of Neo Classic Space with Nnenn's Deep Space Perimeter Patrol Ship...

 'Though commanded by humans, Federation patrol ships often employed Synths at helm control. But the 414 series became noteworthy by regularly including a third race... Egronga warriors. Their long range bio-sensing abilities seemed a natural fit.'

We love those great big engines and marvel at the cockpit designs - both of them. Nnenn has found some wonderful trans-yellow parts (using glass paint - never one to shy away from a little modification where necessary). The purists might not like it, but we certainly do.