Category Archives: 1.2.2. Space

LL 918m2 One Man Space Explorer (918 MOD2)

“Honey, I shrunk the Galaxy Explorer.” LL 918 rebuilt as a half scale interpretation of its bigger brother LL 928.

My first mod of LL 918 was pretty much based on the original model, just with the new half scale wings section of LL 928. A few days ago I was playing around with some down scaled versions of LL 928 when I had the idea of a modified LL 918 with the look of LL 928. I tried a few different designs and came up with a mix of LL 918, LL924 and LL 928.

Rear left view:
The most important change is an extra rocket engine and a bigger cargo area. It now has big cargo doors, just like LL 924 and LL 928 have. The cargo area is more than original 2x2x1 box with doors now. There is space for a 2x4x2 box inside.

Top view:
You can see the half scale wing shape of LL 928 with 1×1 plates in black and yellow. I’ve added the posts for extra rockets on the sides of the wings. Due to the limited space I used the small thrusters from LL 924. And, last but not least, the hinge for the roof is now on the rear end, combined with blue plates on the side of the roof panel.

So here it is: My second mod of the Lego Classic Space LL 918 One Man Space Ship with a design similar to the LL 918 Galaxy Explorer. I call it the One Man Space Explorer.

Bonus picture:
A preliminary rendering I made with Mecabricks.
… Hmm, I might go back to those shorter rear wings…

Classic Space G1 Moon Base (27 Baseplates)

A childhood dream come true: This is the Moon Base I would have loved to have when I was a kid: 9×3 baseplates filled with stations, vehicles and spaceships.

It was 1979 when I saw the first pictures of the new Lego Space sets. Everything was so new, so cool and so different from what Lego had been before. Lego Town (now City) had just started with the new minifigures and sets where those could live and work and move with. The only space set available before was the “bricky” Lunar Lander 367 from 1975.

And then came Lego Space, the first generation (G1) with the iconic blue/grey/trans-yellow colour scheme. We all wanted to have the three space ships (LL 918, LL924 and the epic LL 928), the space station, the rocket base and everything else from that catalogue.

I was lucky to get about half of the sets, but after a few years the G1 sets disappeared from the shelves without a real chance to get the missing sets. There was no Internet, no Lego shops and the kids who had the sets wouldn’t give them away. So when the first sets started to appear on local flea markets I was already spending my money on Lego Technic or games for the Commodore 64.

After my dark ages, the discovery of bricklink and with more money that I ever had as a child, the old dream of a really big G1 space base came back.

My first CS model after my dark ages was built for the first MOCpages Classic Space Pocket money contest. With 100 parts or less the goal was to build a model that could have been a real affordable set in the Classic Space years. The result was my 892 Surface Explorer. It was a lot of fun to build that and it’s still on the moon base today. This one really restarted my enthusiasm for Classic Space.

The model was followed by a small space ship, a mod of the 6890 Cosmic Cruiser in G1 design with “Vic Viper” applications and a G1 version of the 6876 Alienator.

That was more or less when the idea of the big base really took form.
My original plan included the most iconic G1 sets:

  • LL 918 One Man Space Ship
  • LL924 Space Cruiser
  • LL 928 Galaxy Explorer
  • 920 (Alpha-I) Rocket Launch Pad
  • 926 Command Centre

I also wanted to build some of my all-time favourite newer Classic Space sets with a realistic G1 look, including:

  • 6929 Starfleet Voyager
  • 6927 All-Terrain Vehicle
  • 6890 Cosmic Cruiser
  • 6980 Galaxy Commander
  • 6952 Solar Power transporter

And the centre of the base should be a modular, big station with detailed interiors and as many functions as possible.

The most important part of that is the word “modular”. I wanted to have a module unit similar to a standard (ISO) shipping container for cargo units. station modules and more. I decided to use a box with a size of of 8x16x8 (WxLxH) bricks as a “Space Container Unit” (SCU) for that. The rest of the base started evolving around that idea.

Instead of buying or rebuilding 926 Command Centre and 920 (Alpha I) Rocket Launch Pad I decided to build my own versions of them based on SCUs. I call them SC 926 and SC 920. I also adapted my new versions of 6927 All-Terrain Vehicle, 6952 Solar Power Transporter and 6980 Galaxy Commander to carry an SCU. And finally I built my big “Gamma I” station based on 6 SCU modules.

My first layout had 18 (3×6 baseplates) and was already too small when I assembled it the first time:

The next step was a 8×3 layout with more space for space ships, vehicles and cargo.

After that I was lucky to get the Classic Space collection from one of my oldest friends for a price that satisfied both of us. It included a 926 Command Centre and a 6970 Beta I Command Base, adding 3 more crater plates to the layout, now with 27 (9×3) baseplates. This is now the maximum size for a long-time display in our quite spacious corridor.

So let’s take a closer look…


A walk around (1/6)


A walk around (2/6)


A walk around (3/6)


A walk around (4/6)


A walk around (5/6)


A walk around (6/6)


Top view (left side)


Top view (right side)


Details (1/9)


Details (2/9)


Details (3/9)


Details (4/9)


Details (5/9)


Details (6/9)


Details (7/9)


Details (8/9)


Details (9/9)

That’s it, my Lego Classic Space Generation 1 Moon Base  with 27 baseplates. It’s my biggest Lego project so far and really a childhood dream come true :-))

 

CStronauts 2020

More colours! :-))

I was inspired by Pat-Ard and his picture, so I just had to take one with my bunch of CStronauts. It’s great to see new colours coming and I’m still thrilled by the new retro helmet mold from the Lego Movie 2 set “Benny’s Space Squad” (70841).

The first five of the guys in basic “Mondrian” Lego colours are original CS minifigs. The green one is from the Ideas “Exo Suit” set (21109), modified with a classic head and without a helmet visor. The grey one is a combination of the CMF “Rocket Boy” and light bluish grey parts combined with classic light grey helmet and air tank. The pink one is “Lenny” from “Benny’s Space Squad” and the orange one came with DK’s “Visual History” book.

So let’s wait and see which colour will be next… Lime would be awesome! :-))

Here they are with some of their classic and newer space colleagues. I have to get another box… ;-))

Classic Space Gamma I Modular Station (6SCU)

 

A Classic Space Station in 1979 design built with six 16x8x7 Space Container Units (SCUs) on two 32×32 base plates.

I always wanted a big station on my moon base. Like a modern space station it should have a modular design. I wanted to use no more than two 32×32 base plates, a flat one and a crater plate. I chose a design with six SCU based 16x8x7 modules with each of them accessible from one side, preferably from the front.

I had two connection nodes with a “half module” on one side and four station modules with 14x6x6 bricks of room to fill. So I designed the interior module by module with LDD. When I was satisfied with the design I placed some BL orders for used bricks and started the “real” building. This is the result.

Here you can see everything open, ready to play. There is room for four CS-Tronauts to live and work.

Top view with the six modules on two base plates.

Another top view with everything open:

  • Module #1 (bottom left): Crew Quarters
  • Module #2 (bottom center): Crew Mess with Shower Room
  • Module #3 (bottom right): Connection Node with Air Lock
  • Module #4 (middle): Command Center
  • Module #5 (top left): Connection Node with Storage Unit
  • Module #6 (top right): Science Lab

Module #1:
Crew Quarters with four bunks and a private storage with two doors for each crew member.

Module #2:
Crew Mess with up to four seats plus Shower Room with toilet. The white doors can be locked in open position for some extra space in the shower.

Module #3:
Connection Node with Air Lock

Module #4 (side view):
Command Center with custom printed screens

Module #5 (rear view):
Connection Node with Storage Unit

Module #6:
Science Lab

Overview:
All six modules open

Gamma I ready for transport

So this is my Lego Classic Space Gamma I Modular Station built with six 16x8x7 Space Container Units (SCUs) on two 32×32 baseplates, the main structure of my big moon base.

I hope you like it :-))

Classic Space/Technic Rover

Febrovery 2020: A Classic Space Rover with Classic Technic Rocker-Bogie suspension.

Last minute entry for Febrovery 2020: The missing parts for this one arrived just in time today.

I wanted to combine the 1979 Classic Space look with a Rocker-Bogie suspension built with Classic Technic parts from the same era. I started the design with LDD, but I really wanted to build it with real used bricks for the special look.

I didn’t find time to finish the project earlier, so I was lucky to have the extra day for that. This is the result.


Canopy open:
There is a toilet behind the drivers’ seat, covered by a 2×2 tile.


Roof open: A small bunk just under the roof.

 


Rear end: A seat, a desk and a computer workstation are placed under the bunk.


The suspension in action: 1, …


… 2, …


… 3 …


… and 4.


So this is my  Classic Space/Technic Rover with Rocker-Bogie suspension. I hope you like it :-))

Bonus pictures:
The Technic suspension

You can see the “heart” of the suspension system in the middle: The differential connects the two Rocker arms on the sides. So when one arm moves up, the other one moves down and vice-versa. This suspension worked well on the NASA Mars rovers, so why shouldn’t it on a Lego Moon rover?

You can also see good old Pythagoras at work on the angled Technic beams. Each of them forms a virtual triangle with edges that are 3, 4 and 5 studs long.

6927 Mod: Light Grey All-Terrain Vehicle

Febrovery 2020: What if the 6927 All-Terrain Vehicle would have been released one year earlier? How would it have looked like? Maybe this way: Light grey with green windows and red rims.

I always wanted to have the 6927 set and now I was lucky to get one when I bought the whole Classic Space collection from one of my earliest and best friends. It should become part of my CS Moonbase, but the white/blue colour scheme didn’t really fit into the look of the base. I had  to change the look a bit to get it right.

I still wanted to have a contrast between the vehicle and the small control station, so I chose the light grey/trans-green colour scheme from other sets from 1979/1980. The green windscreens are quite rare. I decided to order three of them in the US via BL instead of placing two or three orders in the EU.

I wanted to have a real 1980 look. With a few modifications I was able to replace the new parts from 1981. And this is it:


Front left view: Six 2×3 inverted slopes to replace the big inverted window.


Rear left view:  The control station fixed to the vehicle.


Unloading: The control station is unchanged. All parts should already have been available in 1980.


Mod vs. original: I think it looks cool both ways. The ladders were available in light grey in some train sets in 1980, but I preferred the CS logo instead.


So this is my Mod of 6927 All-Terrain Vehicle in light grey and trans-green for Febrovery 2020.
I hope you like it! :-))

 

 

 

LL927 Solar System Commander

Classic Space Maths: 6980+6952+1979=927. LL927 combines the functions of  6980 Galaxy Commander and 6952 Solar Power Transporter with the style of 1979.

I’ve had the idea to build a Galaxy Commander in classic 1979 style for quite a while. I even have a finished LDD file for such a spaceship on MOCpages since 2013.

I came back to the idea some weeks ago when I thought about another spaceship to transport 16x8x8 Space Cargo Units (SCUs). The Galaxy Commander already carries a station module and my 1979 version of the Solar Power Transporter has an SCU station module as it’s middle section.

So I came up with the idea of a frame similar to the one from the Galaxy Commander and to connect the parts of my “1979” Solar Power Transporter to it. This is the result.


– “Rover to Hab. We’ve found the cargo at the drop zone”
– “That should be the upgrade they have promised for this month.”
– “You are right! We’ll come for you and the Hab.”


– “Hey guys, that thing is cool, isn’t it?”
– “I like it! Let’s see if it works as shown in the manual.”


– “This should be the right place for the couplings.”
– “OK, we’ll bring you this one!”


– “The coupling is fixed.”
– “The wings look good, too.”


– “Second coupling – Check!”
– “And now the first cockpit”


– “We are almost done with the wings, here.”
– “The SCU couplings for the Hub look good, too.
We’ll go inside, now”.
– “Roger. We’ll lock it. See you at the base.”


– “Everything locked!”
– “Roger. Closing roof hatches”


– “And lift off!”
– “LL927 is on the way to Moon Base 1”


– “It’s great that we don’t need an extra carrier, any more!”
– “You are right.
I think, we’ll have a few beers tonight at Moon Base 1″
– “Oh, yeah!”


So, this is LL927, a combination of Lego Classic Space 6980 Galaxy Commander and 6952 Solar Power Transporter in 1979 design.
I hope you like it!

Right now it’s my favourite Classic Space model in my collection. There are so many possibilities to combine the sections and play around with them, even as an AFOL… :-))

If you want to build your own one, feel free to download the LDD LXF file.


Bonus picture: Possible combinations (1/4)


Bonus picture: Possible combinations (2/4)


Bonus picture: Possible combinations (3/4)


Bonus picture: Possible combinations (4/4)

 

 

 

LL918m Space Transport (918 Mod)

A new set of wings for LL918 with a very popular shape.

LL918m is just a little mod of LL918 with a new wing section. It’s more of a coincidence than a planned design. I wanted to build a scooter or a small spaceship with the wing shape of LL928 in half scale.

I started building a little version of LL928 with an open 4-wide cockpit in LDD, but wasn’t really satisfied with it. So I built the wing section with real bricks just to see which ideas I would get during the building process with real bricks. Suddenly I realized that the new wings had almost the same size and shape as the wings from LL918.

So I just built the rest of my existing LL918 around them. This is the result.


The new wing shape.


LL928m with its “big brother”. Looks cool for me ;-))


So this is my Lego Classic Space LL918 Mod LL918m with a half scale LL928 wing shape.

I hope you like it! :-))

 

 

 

SC926 Space Command Centre (2SCU)

926/493 Reloaded: A new version of the Space Command Centre from 1978/79 packed into two of my Space Cargo Units (SCU).

My story with set 926 was more or less the same as with set 920: I always wanted one, but never had one. So after building a “new” version of set 920 with a pair of SCU containers , 926 was the logical choice for my next SCU project.

It was much easier to pack it into two SCU containers. The Command Centre itself is already built like a container with enough room inside for the external stair during transport. And there is enough room in a second SCU to pack all the dishes, lights and antennas into it and build the roof section with it.

These are the two SCU containers


SCU #1:  Command Centre. The interior is very similar to 926/493.


SCU #2: All the antennas, dishes and lights packed into a transport container.

The floor plates from the container (2 4×8 and 2 1×8 plates) are used for the roof of the “garage”. I only have one intact classic TV antenna left and I’m not willing to pay a fortune for a second one. So I added a second “brick built” one instead.


Everything built on a baseplate. It looks pretty much like the original model.

That’s it: My Lego Classic Space SC926 Space Command Centre based on the set 926/493 and built with two Space Cargo Units (SCUs).
I hope you like it! :-))

 

 

8×8 SCU Flatbed Transporter (1SCU)

Febrovery 2019: An 8×8 flatbed transporter for 16L Space Cargo Units (SCUs) which can be “squeezed” to be transported as a single  SCU.

The All-Terrain Transporter and the SCU Carrier are both too wide to move SCU containers on a base. What I needed was a compact 8-wide transporter.

At the same time it should be possible to be transported as a single 16L SCU, just like the Carrier and the Exploration Rover. So once again a transformation function had to be included. The best way to change between transport and transporter mode was a variable wheelbase.

The sliding mechanism was based on three 12L Technic axles in the middle of the structure. The wheelbase could be extended by six studs with the rest of the structure still keeping some stability. So these six extra studs in length were the space where the four supports for transport and the driver’s cabin had to fit in.

The design of the space truck was inspired by MAN KAT1 8×8 military trucks. I noticed that there weren’t enough grey vehicles on my moon base, so no blue this time. This is the result.

Four studs in length aren’t much for a driver’s cabin with a steering wheel. So there is no closed windshield and no rear wall. The main purpose of the cabin is to support the front of the truck when it’s transported in a cargo ship.

For the transformation the center support is removed from the middle of the structure an positioned on a second fixing point on top of the flatbed.

Both halves of the vehicle pushed together and locked.

Side view – transport mode

Side view – transporter mode

And that’s what it’s made for.

Ready for work.

Time to move on!
Oops, the truck is too long…!

OK, that’s better!

And ready to boldly go where no flatbed transporter has gone before…

The SCU vehicles:
Exploration Rover, Carrier and Flatbed Transporter


This is it: My Lego Classic Space 8×8 SCU Flatbed Transporter.
I hope you like it! :-))