The month of September is one of the busiest for LEGO Space fans. In fact, they refer to the month as SHIPtember, dedicated to building spaceships. But not just any kind of spaceship would qualify as a SHIPtember creations. They have to be big… bigger the better… but at least 100 studs long. According to this discussion at LUGnet from 2002, the S.H.I.P. acronym was first proposed by LEGO fan James Brown and stood for “Seriously Huge Interstellar Plastic”. This was changed by another LEGO fan, Jon Palmer, “to Seriously Huge Investment in Parts”, and the definition stuck. 🙂
As I really like LEGO spaceships, I have been keeping an eye on projects that were created for SHIPtember 2016. These large ships are built by some of the well-known veterans of LEGO spaceship building, and there are also newcomers every year who surprise us with their amazing creations. Below I will show you some of my favorites.
➡ LEGO SPACESHIP HOATZIN INFILTRATOR BY ROOK: This stunning spaceship that looks like a bird of prey is 137 studs long and 155 studs wide. And yes, those orange bits are LEGO Brick Separators. Now you know what you can do when you have too many! You can see more pictures at ROOK’s flickr gallery.
➡ LEGO PROTOSS CARRIER BY TIM SCHWALFENBERG: The massive Protoss Carriers serve as both command centers and devastating weapons of war. Heavily armored and shielded, the Protoss Carrier mounts no weaponry, but instead, manufactures and launches flights of robotic interceptors at vital enemy targets. The computer-controlled interceptors are capable of quickly tearing apart even the largest of vessels with their relentless strafing runs. Don’t be fooled by the delicate lines of this spaceship. It is actually 100 studs long and quite sturdy. Tim shares that it took him six days to build, which is a feat in itself. You can see more pictures at Tim’s flickr gallery.
➡ LEGO SPACESHIP KULICIDAE BY LEGOHAULIC: This organic looking spaceship definitely looks like the creation of an alien civilization. The three round domes (two at the sides and one at the bottom) are motorized, and can rotate as the ship travels through deep space. Check out LEGOhaulic’s flickr gallery for a video demonstration of how it works.
➡ LEGO SPACESHIP TITAN BY I SCREAM CLONE: The Titan measures over 115 studs long, 40 studs wide and 50 studs high. The dark-blue and gray color-scheme with the purple glow is a fantastic combination. Also notice the small fighters and other crafts flying around the big mothership. You can see a lot of detailed pictures at I Scream Clone’s flickr gallery.
➡ LEGO SPACESHIP OASIS BY CESAR SOARES: The first OASIS class explorer ship was commissioned in the year 2077. Its primary objective is to seek out new planets suitable for colonization. Fitted with the latest warp technology available during that period, it is capable of reaching Alpha Centauri in a matter of days. It was named OASIS due to being equipped with a Hydroponics Bay – an artificial ecosystem that not only provided food and air but also R&R for the crews – offering a way to make long interstellar travel bearable. The OASIS class was capable of performing multiple non-combat roles. The science module can be replaced with a cargo module and refitted into a cargo transport. Minimal combat capability is ensured with only 7 anti-fighter turrets. Further defense is enhanced by drones. For planetary exploration the scientists can land using the surveyor, which is equipped with utilities for onsite experiments. This ship is 132 studs in length. See more at Cesar Soares’ flickr gallery.
➡ LEGO BATTLESTAR CHELONE BY EL BARTO: Following the discovery of the Galactica orbiting within the Sol system’s asteroid belt, designs for a new fleet of warships began. The result is the Battlestar Chelone – Greek for turtle. Significantly more armored that her Colonial counterpart, the Chelone-Class Battlestar is built to withstand multiple nuclear missile strikes. Visit El Barto’s flickr gallery for more.
➡ LEGO SPACESHIP ZEA’X DAUPHIZ BY CECILIE FRITZVOLD: An exploration vessel made by the Tuor’arc, on a peaceful mission to explore space and search for other species, hoping they are not alone in the universe. This is another beautiful alien looking ship. The color combination is so striking! See more at Cecilie’s flickr gallery.
➡ LEGO SPACESHIP ENIGMA BY SWESTAR: This cleanly designed carrier is SweStar’s first attempt to build a S.H.I.P. It is 115 studs long, and comes with a carefully chosen color combination. You can see more pictures at SweStar’s flickr gallery.
➡ LEGO SPACESHIP EFS ASIMOV BY SUNDER_59: The Asimov Ore Processor is not your ordinary spaceship. Do you see those claws and arms at the bottom? Now they are empty, but when Asimov sees some good asteroid full of iron nearby, she can crush and eat it. Swarms of mining drones and transport ships are delivering ore to Asimov’s hangars. The whole thing looks like giant steel hive. See those spinning things? They are ore mills, crushing pieces of rock into dust. Then ore is separated from waste, enriched, and prepared in other ways to become high-quality steel. You can see more pictures and read more about the ship at Sunder_59’s flickr gallery.
➡ LEGO SPACESHIP USS VIKING BY ANDREAS LENANDER: Designed and manufactured during the mining wars, the USS Viking was the largest ship in the EAA (Earth Alliance Armada). Its primary objective was to provide protection for the less heavily armored transport ships in the mining fleet. Produced over a period of 28 years, the JYL-class destroyers are by far the longest running ship type ever to be manufactured, and was crucial in securing resources for the EAAs continued dominance throughout the galaxy. This was also a first attempt at S.H.I.P. building by a very talented LEGO fan. Andreas says that despite its large size (130 studs long), the swooshability of this ship is excellent. I also like the bright of the red contrasted by the dark-gray greeblings. You can see more pictures at Andreas’ flickr gallery.
As you can see, spaceships come in all shapes and sizes, but one thing they all have in common; they are very impressive. I also find it pretty remarkable that most of these ships were built in just a few days. When I built spaceships, even much smaller ones, I tend to tinker with them for weeks!
While SHIPtember 2016 is now over, if you would like to participate next year, it is worth starting to plan early, especially if this is your first time. SHIPtember is not a contest, so it’s not like there are winners and loosers, or any prices. It is just a fun thing to participate in, and a way to build up your S.H.I.P. engineering reputation. If you are not sure where to start, you can begin by modifying one of the LEGO Star Wars sets, or other sets that come with a spaceship type vehicle. This will give you some basics on how to build sturdy, strong and large ships.
So what do you think? How do you like these LEGO spaceships? Have you been following SHIPtember activities? Do you have a favorite starship built for the event that I haven’t covered here? Feel free to share in the comment section below! 😉
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