About this creation
A little while ago on Flickr we had a challenge to build vertical starfighters, as opposed to the more common horizontal variety. I loved this concept as it seemed a good chance to indulge my love of abstract sculpture and build some really strange spaceships. Here is the batch I did at the time; I hope to return to it again soon, it was lots of fun. The only negative was that many of them are VERY tricky to photogragh!
I started off in a Battle for the Moon mood so the first couple of vertical starfighters I made were in that style, on the Soviet side. I thought it might be a nice contrast if the Americans had really sleek-looking horizontal starships while the Russians had more vertical designs. Anyways, this first design was meant to suggest a robot and look very redimentary. Not quite happy with the way the landing gear attaches to the body though.
The 'torso and head' detach as a lifeboat.
Started going for a similar look but more real-world.Apollo feel to it:
Version 2: Soviet VKLiii "Vesna" ("Springtime")
Ok, time for a change of theme. Around this time, Crimso Giger was totally rocking the Futuron mocs and it was hard not to be inspired. Also, you can see a fair bit of the ship from Ulysses 31 in the design of this one.
Ahhhh Star Wars! It's been AGES since I made any SW-related spaceships. The idea behind this one was that in their battle against the better equiped Empire, the Rebels were constantly trying to find new equipment and weapons to continue their crusade against evil. They came across many old and disused spacecraft which were tested to see whether they could be upgraded for frontline service. This was one such ship, the G4, once considered a hotrod for intergalatic executives undergoing a mid-life crisis. It failed it's combat trials and was discarded.
This ship, a Royal Q'iilaron KS-d variant, used to escort members of the Q'iilaron Royal Family, was heavily influenced by Warhammer 40K. I've been looking at A LOT of custom WH40K lately and it's mindblowing stuff people! Many spaceships look purely functional but it would be nice if some featured some elaborate decoration, if they are intended for important roles or the pilots wish to assert their overt allegences.
Now for the last vertical starfighter I really wanted to try something with an evil/occult flavour. Imagine on a desolate, remote moon, a massive pyramid encircled by rows of giant statues, only the 'statues' were really starfighters that lift off to defend their secretive base from outsiders...well, that was the idea-it looked cool in my head but I couldn't bring it to fruition. I started off with a more literal image of a large druid-type statue but it wasn't working out so I decided on a more abstract look. It's ok but not really what I was going for. Maybe it needs the entire base with statues to do it justice...
Sketches and ideas. I had many more designs I wanted to try but I ran out of time and/or motivation. Well, there's always next time!
Thank you for looking guys, as always! I hope you all have a great Christmas (with much new LEGO!!!) and enjoy a moc-filled holidays :D
Comments
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December 24, 2010 |
Wow, Shan! This is a GREAT batch. Love the design work in every single one of these. Just too much to individually comment on, really - just have to leave it at "wow" for the whole set. Awesome work! |
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December 22, 2010 |
Mad imagination and skillz! |
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December 22, 2010 |
Very original designs! The notebook is a great idea. |
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December 22, 2010 |
Awesome builds! Love the sketches. I keep a notebook and pen by the toilet, as that seems to be my greatest inspiration. Maybe it's because I'm so full of shi.....look at the time. |
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Pascal Schmidt December 19, 2010 |
I already commented on these when you posted them on flickr, but I'd like to thank you again for inspiring me with those sketches! |
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December 19, 2010 |
Very cool and original concept! Masterfully and surreally done. My favorites are the G4 and that last ship, especially the crystal/sphere shape on the top (cockpit?) and the tentacles coming out. Can't wait to see more! |
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December 19, 2010 |
cool, I like the starwars fighter and that last black one most |
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December 19, 2010 |
I love this concept and it totally plays to your strenghts! In a frictionless universe, why would you need a ship that looked like a "plane?" Great take on the concept and wonderfully "weird" stuff! ~ Chris. |
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December 19, 2010 |
hm, looks like my comment didn't come trough...Anyway, ShannO, great take on the theme here! Love the red one, the flag thing on top kinda reminds me of Roman Legion ornaments, and it's shape is just *banned word*!!! On to collection 2! |
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December 19, 2010 |
you're the man, nice page! |
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December 19, 2010 |
Great stuff Shanno! My two favorites have to be the Battle for the Moon rocket (with black frame) and the futron ship. |
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December 19, 2010 |
Cool stuff, and I've been dying to see more battle for the moon stuff! The last one was really cool, and had a Nannan Z type feel.
Good day |
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December 19, 2010 |
Great collection! The B&W shots remind me of a show on History about alien tech being studied in WWII. Anyway, the sketches are interesting, too. Wicked! |
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December 19, 2010 |
Fantastic group of retro-rockets! I would love to sit down and thumb through your sketch book(s)to check all all those cool looking ideas you have.~H |
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December 19, 2010 |
WOOOOH, you do sketches and everything! OM*G!!! (The last one is my favourite (blue jewel one).
I'm defiantly gonna look on your page, and I would have if you only posted that last one (or the one in the main picture) :D |
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December 19, 2010 |
All awesoem and so but why put them on the same page? That makes it hard to compliment all... |
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December 19, 2010 |
wow, you actually doodle sketches! Hehe, mate that squid lookin fighter was brilliant esp that trans blue jewel thingy... |
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December 19, 2010 |
inpressive creation truly awesome,,,,bravo |
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December 19, 2010 |
Great retro designs, Shan. That´s where I want to go with my Skip Lemington stuff. The old celluloid effect is an awesome touch that I really have to ste... borrow from you, sorry. And you´re doing sketches, too. Cool, cool, cool. |
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December 18, 2010 |
Odd, but cool. Good job. |
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December 18, 2010 |
Nice work on all of these, even the sketches! 5/5 |
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December 18, 2010 |
Interesting. I particularly like the Futuron one and the one with the technic exo-skeleton thingy. Thanks for sharing these, Shanno! |
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