Venture Koi SHIP from LEGO Universe

[admiral_typhoon]

I started this last SHIPtember, but it actually took me a long while to finish it and have all the pics rendered.

[MOC] Venture Koi by Admiraltyphoon, on Flickr

I chose to basically make an upscaled version of the iconic Venture Koi from the Universe MMO since it's been (now more) 10 years since its closure.

I managed to roughly follow the same proportions, but getting it to be at least 100 studs long meant the front section was the one that got stretched the most, and I really enjoyed doing a mix of adding more greebles and upscaling some of the original ones, especially in the engines.

Venture Koi - Teaser by Admiraltyphoon, on Flickr

[MOC] Venture Koi by Admiraltyphoon, on Flickr

The other thing that I wanted to improve were the pods and accessing them, since the original ones were just connected via technic beams - now there's a 2x4-sized tube/corridor where a minifig can slide down, with a 2x3 tile hatch and an actual interior.

[MOC] Venture Koi - Pods by Admiraltyphoon, on Flickr

[MOC] Venture Koi - Pods by Admiraltyphoon, on Flickr

As for the ship's interior, that's where I had a lot of creative freedom since we only ever saw part of the bridge in the opening story cinematic, with Hael's Imagimeter and the shards searching for Planet Crux.

I added the chairs, and I did the planet hologram display at the back as a reference to Duke's Crux Prime hologram in his room in Nexus Tower. 

[MOC] Venture Koi - Bridge by Admiraltyphoon, on Flickr

behind the bridge is where the crew quarters are located, with beds, kitchen, bathroom, and a roundtable for the 4 explorers, and then there's 2 sets of stairs that lead to the rear section of the ship and the cargo hold with (crew-coloured) crates.

[MOC] Venture Koi - Cargo Hold & Quarters by Admiraltyphoon, on Flickr

In this rear section is where you'll find the engine room and the 2 tube entrances for the pods. The Venture Explorer and Nexus Tower's interiors were a big inspiration for the overall look.

[MOC] Venture Koi - Engine Room by Admiraltyphoon, on Flickr

Time management issues aside, I'm really satisfied with how everything came so well together, and I hope one day I get to build this in actual bricks.

Edited January 20, 2023 by admiral_typhoon

[Murdoch17]

This is a dream come true: I've been hoping somebody would re-make this ship since the game's theatrical trailer reveal in late 2009. (I think it was then?) Any plans on building her in the real world?

Long live LEGO Universe!

[admiral_typhoon]

15 hours ago, Murdoch17 said:

This is a dream come true: I've been hoping somebody would re-make this ship since the game's theatrical trailer reveal in late 2009. (I think it was then?) Any plans on building her in the real world?

Long live LEGO Universe!

Thanks!

Yeah, I built this with consideration of making it in real life (even though some parts would need to be replaced, like the big windscreens into transparent clear), but it'll be a long while before I have the space (and money) to tackle this.

[Murdoch17]

3 hours ago, admiral_typhoon said:

Thanks!

Yeah, I built this with consideration of making it in real life (even though some parts would need to be replaced, like the big windscreens into transparent clear), but it'll be a long while before I have the space (and money) to tackle this.

Just a suggestion @admiral_typhoon, this thread might get more traffic if the title said more. Something like: "Venture Koi spaceship - Lego Universe SHIP."

This vessel deserves more attention: it's just that awesome!

[Umbra-Manis]

You did an incredible job bringing this to life at minifigure scale! And the accessible pods are a great touch, I'd never thought of that before.