[MOC] Star Chaser Spacecraft - Alternate Build of 2 x 31134 Space Shuttle

[Wurger49]

Star Chaser!

While going through Christmas gifts, I rediscovered the 31134 Space Shuttle and decided to pick up a second set to build something larger and more ambitious. The design draws inspiration from Concorde, SR-71, Dream Chaser, and of course the Space Shuttle, blending real-world aerospace cues with a more creative sci-fi direction.

The crew cabin has been bulked up and extended using the dome brick, while the payload bay is stretched with two additional sets of hinged doors. The rear half of the payload bay is partially filled with bricks for structural strength—easily imagined as extra cargo or fuel for long-range missions to Mars. Due to the extra layer of tiling on the wings, the rear two cargo doors don’t open as wide as the front pair. The tail unit protrudes from the thrusters and doubles as a docking module, designed to interface with the International Space Station.

The long, smooth delta wings are heavily inspired by Concorde. I also played around with the idea of a direct Concorde build, but the fuselage proportions became too bulky and the tail fin too small—so I pivoted into full creative mode and designed my own spaceship instead. Large twin thrusters sit on each wing, using black curved bricks as engine fairings, with vertical fins on top to give that unmistakable SR-71 vibe. White triangular tiles and wedge plates were used extensively to cover the underlying black and dark bluish gray elements, keeping the exterior clean and cohesive.

Inside the cargo bay, the robotic arm is retained for satellite deployment. The hinged doors immediately fascinated my son—he even made his own cargo from paper and sticky tape and insisted it stay inside. The fuselage and wings are very sturdy, while the thrusters can be knocked off due to their single-stud connections. As long as it’s handled by the fuselage or wings, the Star Chaser remains highly swooshable.

What started as an idea to scale up the Space Shuttle turned into a fully original spacecraft of its own. Star Chaser blends familiar aerospace design language with creative freedom, resulting in a model that’s both structurally solid and fun to interact with—proof that sometimes the best builds happen when you let the design lead the way.

 

Instructions are on Rebrickable: