[MOC][Futuron] Retro Space Solar Ship

[Horlack Bricks]

Futuron - Retro Space Solar Ship

 

[Futuron] Retro Space Solar Ship by Horlack, on Flickr

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The beginning/Genesis :
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At the beginning of September, I re-watched the old animated  as X-Bomber at 43 years old ! It was my birthday this month. Don't ask me what went through my mind at the time, I don't know at all! I wanted to go back to childhood, because I have the impression of having aged. I had to straighten "the bar", lol ! Seeing these old Retro solar boats literally “blew my mind”. I never realized that a lot of anime from that era had a "strange spaceship" conception, transforming old 14-18th century ships / galleons with engines for space. Yet it was so obvious! And it was there, that suddenly, I remembered Jayce, Cobra, etc ... In short, I saw all the ships of the anime of that time scroll through my head, like a comet in front of my eyes (which booms crashing into my head). And no one had done this in Lego. At least I don't remember. In itself, the beginning of an idea or impression that smelled good, and / or had potential.
It was the very beginning of the inspiration and brainstorming in my head for Lego Classic Space !

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The concept  :
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I did something unusual, non-conformism, eccentric, disconcerting and crazy at the same time. I make a double combination and double ration, animated 70-90 which it was the fashion of space ships and Lego Space Futurons 87-90. For a good Retro nostalgia I combined elements of the Azuris ship from « Message from space : galactic wars », the Cephalus ship from Star Fleet X-Bomber, Glory of the universe of Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, and the Solaris of the Mysterious cities of Gold ! 2 periods 70-90 in 1! Fashion Geek powa, total !

 

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Animated Wikipedia source:
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Message_from_Space:_Galactic_Wars
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Bomber
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayce_and_the_Wheeled_Warriors
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mysterious_Cities_of_Gold

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Youtube animated credits for the nostalgic:
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Message from space : galactic wars / San Ku Kai
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3a7kge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfzb7kndOH8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev846CoLg1c
Star Fleet X-bomber:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szZisbEQB_Q
Jayce and the wheeled warriors : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9K0SzFIf4A
The Mysterious Cities of Gold : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enoK-1CW74Y

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I took again in inspiration:
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- The front and landing feet of Glory of the Universe.
- Sails and propulsion reactors of the Cephalus.
- The front spur and the hexagonal solar sail at the top of the Solaris mast.
- Part of the sails and the structure of the Azuris.


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Remarkable elements, NPU, conversion of parts, techniques :
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I converted parts #4346 and #4345, in all directions, with levers, for the machinery. Part  #44938 bionicle shield, with a "mechanical" aspect converted into an energy capacitor. Various parts of Droids (starwars) converted in the machinery and on the outer deck. Bionicle Shield #45275 converted into deflectors, on the deck of the ship. Kind of like "Viking ship/longship" shields. Big Trident Bionicle #40339 = excellent for large boat emblems in general. I used a slope technique for the sides of the hull. For the rear canopy in the hull, I used a SNOT technique with part #30249.

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Physical information : 
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- 7,082 parts  for 854 lots.
- 2 weeks of brainstorming, intellectual reflection or "total blank" ...: passive or empty work.
- 3 to 4 weeks of active work.
- 60.8 studs width, 101.8 studs length, 78.7 studs height.
- 48.7 cm width, 81.5 cm length, 63 cm height.
- 5.77 Kg.

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Global :
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All Futuron figures, including the green Lego City minifigure and the lesser known "Educational & Dacta" minifigures. 9 crew members, 3 teams of 3 watch members.

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Exterior/outside:
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- Solar sails with 3 intermediate lookouts. They can rotate a bit.
- Futuron logo, in stickers, on the sails.
- 2 radars at the top of the masts.
- Long electromagnetic barrel at the front.
- 2 small laser cannon turrets at the front.
- 2 large turrets at the rear, pulsed radius.
- Wings with stabilizers at the end.
- 2 small rotating turrets under the wings.
- 4 landing feet.
- Various elements of machinery on the deck of the Boat.
- 8 deflector shields on the sides (Bionicle shield converted).
- 2 large propulsion reactors.
- Cockpit.

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Wheelhouse:
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- 1 captain / watch officer seat.
- 1 seat Transmission of orders to machines.
- 1 navigation control seat.
- 1 communication control seat.
- 1 alarm control seat.
- Walkie-talkies, fans, fire extinguishers, binoculars, cups, etc.

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Interior/inside hull of the ship :
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- Small storage room at the front, with a ladder to grab onto the deck of the solar ship.
- 6 beds with drawers below.
- WC / toilet.
- Sonic shower.
- Kitchen / Cantina: sink, water, oven, cupboards, cups, bottles of food.
- Table, bottles of food.
- Machine room: control bar, control panel, turbines, fans, transformer, energy condenser, energy pressurizer, cooling circuit, heat transfer fluid, warning lights, ladder to climb to the cockpit, tool kit, tools behind the ladder.
- Rear canopy
- SAS by energy barrier.

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Conclusion:
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I built in a perspective of pseudo-realism, pseudo-likely and pseudo-consistency, with compromises with the Retro concept of the animated ones of the years 70-90's. I wanted something playable and fun at the same time.
I had a lot of difficulty and trial and error, because I had never done a Lego boat. I worked several times until 4am ! I often work like this: as long as the inspiration is there, I must not lose it, and I work until I no longer see the time passing. But the opposite has also happened to me several times: several times the symptom of the "blank sheet" for 1 to 3 days, without knowing how I was going to build, find inspiration, think about the logic of the construction, etc. . This feeling of "emptiness", that you feel something is happening, and you have it on the tip of your tongue, but it does not come out! Annoying and horrifying sensation ! :)
The inclination of the walls gave me intellectual problems. It took a long time to build the engine room. I had to redo it at least 3-4 times. I wanted a maximum of diversity and complexity at the same time. The confined space of the hull gave me difficulties: how to integrate "likely" elements in so little volume ? I have lost my hair several times. Just those damn shower and toilet, I had to spend 3 hours each, to do, undo and redo in all the sauces. Like a little monkey who tests all combinations. Shouldn't bring me a banana at this time, because I think I would have been screwed to make a monkey cry as a bonus .... lol



[Futuron] Retro Space Solar Ship by Horlack, on Flickr
(Zoom on Flick, picture Full-HD 9216 x 4608 pixels)


[Futuron] Retro Space Solar Ship by Horlack, sur Flickr
(Zoom on Flick, picture Full-HD 9216 x 6144 pixels)

[Futuron] Retro Space Solar Ship by Horlack, sur Flickr
(Zoom on Flick, picture Full-HD 9216 x 4608 pixels)


Shiptember 2021 [Futuron] Retro Space Solar Ship by Horlack, on Flickr

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Source / reference on my project (progression in the time) : 
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https://forum.brickpirate.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25577
https://www.flickr.com/photos/horlack/albums/72157720062770130
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=HorlackBricks&set=a.495422262040159

Edited October 16, 2021 by Horlack Bricks

[Professor Thaum]

Absolument étourdissant ! J'adore ! Je suis fan ! Quelle débauche de panneaux solaires ! C'est du custom ou tu t'es déchiré sur les stickers ?

En tout cas c'est magnifique !

 

Wow amazing ! Love it ! I'm a big fan ! What a throng of solar panels ! custom made or did you make a crazy order ?

Anyway, it's wonderful !

[Horlack Bricks]

6 hours ago, Professor Thaum said:

Absolument étourdissant ! J'adore ! Je suis fan ! Quelle débauche de panneaux solaires ! C'est du custom ou tu t'es déchiré sur les stickers ?
En tout cas c'est magnifique !
Wow amazing ! Love it ! I'm a big fan ! What a throng of solar panels ! custom made or did you make a crazy order ?
Anyway, it's wonderful !

For the Solar Panels pattern : https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=2431pb499
Just stickers on 6x6 Tiles, only.
And I pulled my hair out for the engine room ! Details, greebs, NPU and techniques maximum, inside ! 

I built everything with a view to playability. So I had to compromise. Maybe I could have done prettier, denser, etc ... But that was not my goal. I really wanted a "retro" look like the classic-space lego from the 70's and 90's, and old animes/cartoons. Something childish, on the part of the mind/"spirit", but also evolved on the part of new Lego design methods. All with a form of coherent realism, specific to this time/period/era.

Edited October 14, 2021 by Horlack Bricks

[Horlack Bricks]

[Futuron] Retro Space Solar Ship by Horlack, on Flickr

[Horlack Bricks]

At first, I had thought of part N#2409. But after some testing I eliminated it. The proportions are too large and the dimensions of the "technological galleon must be proportional." Includes the sails and the strength of the mast! But it's still possible, if the ship is really bigger, and you have the time. My conception is the realism of the 70's and 90's as they saw it. This is why it has an impression of realism, because you saw it in your youth, but without being so with the knowledge of today.

During the 70's and 90's, they were creating 14-18th century galleons, with engines, to make them look like spaceships.

I took 4 Mangas for inspiration, but there are many more. 
Like Odin: Photon Sailer Starlight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngfjBU1zh-o

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin:_Photon_Sailer_Starlight

In this Manga, Galleon-shaped ship, but hypertechnological. Typical of the 70's and 90's. Much like the Esmeraldas Ship in Captain Harlock or Leiji Universe
The characters are copied from the Manga Cobra Space adventure and above all, Le Captaine Future! When we look at the armor, the helmet, the torso, the weapon, the structure of the spacesuits, etc ... 

Then it blows up in the eyes that this is a copy / paste or heavily inspired by Captain Future.

 

 

It's a DNA from that era: if you see an anime / manga with a Galleon / wooden ship, with motors in space, it's 70-90's, 99%.
The start of the design turn, or other way of thinking, began around the 1980s and 85s. The period from which Macross, Cobra, etc. appeared. That is to say a key industrial period in Japan, which had launched a hypertechnology / hitech program thanks to the beginnings of more popularized computers. Civil society followed. Then the manga designers too. It is between the years 85 and 90, that the "real spaceships" as we conceive them today, started to appear more often, in Japan. And conversely, that of designing Galleon-shaped spaceships declined, until it disappeared in Manga / Anime.

Afterwards, the boat is full of simple techniques, but effective. Like the sails, so as not to show the edges and the tenons (angled technique).
Also the walls of the hull of the boat have an angle (identical technique for the cockpit) Technique that I had put here =>


Technique Angle by Horlack

For the generator (machinery), it is full of NPU! It is several times the part N#4345 which is in all the directions: inverted, horizontal, inverted, etc ... with levers.


Factory Generator, Part 4345 by Horlack, on Flickr

Yes, I am quite proud of my atypical work. Because I don't remember a lego Space creation of this type.
I tried to synthesize both the Lego Classic-Space spirit of the 70s and 90s, but also all the manga from the same period based on "technological Galleon". There is a desire to take some old LEGO pieces from the 70s and 90s. Like part N#4737.
I always have a desire for playability in the hands of children. A Lego must remain playable for me. It's my mind 

[Grey Magistrate]

Spectacular!  This is exactly the kind of space-pirate fusion I'm looking for.  Excellent!

[Pisces no Aphrodite]

It reminded me of an old animated series.

[Horlack Bricks]

1 hour ago, Samus Aran said:

It reminded me of an old animated series.

Oh yeah. As I explain, many old animated series from the 70's and 90's made spaceships, shaped like a "technological galleon". It's typical of that time/era/period.The shift, started around the years 85-90, like Macross and Cobra, with more realistic spaceships.

 

6 hours ago, Grey Magistrate said:

Spectacular!  This is exactly the kind of space-pirate fusion I'm looking for.  Excellent!

Yes quite. I did it in Futuron version. But it would have been possible to do it in a "pirate Blacktron I or II" version. Or better, with the minifigure Col038 !

But I didn't do it in this version, because too much black, hides the details on the pictures (angles, shadows, etc.).

[Mr Ogel]

Agreat idea! Must have been a big fun to create such a nostalgic design. Also love such animations and found such ships fascinating. Also nice details especially the consoles with all the levers and functions - congrats!

[Horlack Bricks]

I remade a Pirate Blacktron version, just for fun. 

[Blacktron] Retro Space Solar Ship by Horlack, on Flickr

[_TLG_]

Cool idea, nice build!

[SATSOK]

very nice moc !!!

Well made ;)

[Feuer Zug]

Wonderful MOC, both the original Futuron version and the Blacktron II pirate ship. I love the insane amount of detail and ways you cleverly implemented levers.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Absolutely gorgeous!

[Horlack Bricks]

OMG ! 
I'am on BrickVault, #6 5min12

 

[Israel Hands]

Reminds me of the schooners of artist Rodney Matthews. 

 

 

 

 

[Horlack Bricks]

3 hours ago, Israel Hands said:

Reminds me of the schooners of artist Rodney Matthews. 

 

 

Ohh yeah ! I like this "Rigging Snow Ship". I would be perfect for Space - Ice Planet 2002. I keep the idea 

Edited October 24, 2021 by Horlack Bricks

[Israel Hands]

Well being a kid of the 80's, I had plenty of his posters and calendars on my wall. Popping into Athena poster shop most weekends

[CaptainPolluxofOrion]

Omg i love it! Great inspiration!