[MOC] Red Planet Interceptor - NoVVember build

[elfprince13]

Got inspired and did a second NoVVember build for 2023, this time inspired by the Life on Mars theme.

Yes, that's Cassiopeia piloting directly from a hypersled! The landing gear folds up and in to push the hypersled into the piloting position!

[Rubblemaker]

Really nice. Love those purple wing pieces. Wish they came in blue or black!… actually…do they come in blue or black?

[TeddytheSpoon]

The red dishes with those sand-red gateways looks really nice!

3 hours ago, Rubblemaker said:

Really nice. Love those purple wing pieces. Wish they came in blue or black!… actually…do they come in blue or black?

They came in black in at least one of the early Star Wars sets - Final Duel I, if I remember correctly. Not sure they were ever made in blue though.

[elfprince13]

9 hours ago, Rubblemaker said:

Really nice. Love those purple wing pieces. Wish they came in blue or black!… actually…do they come in blue or black?

 

6 hours ago, TeddytheSpoon said:

The red dishes with those sand-red gateways looks really nice!

They came in black in at least one of the early Star Wars sets - Final Duel I, if I remember correctly. Not sure they were ever made in blue though.

Thanks, both of you =)

BrickLink says only Sand Purple + Black are available

Sand Purple + Sand Green are the main colors in the palette for this build, plus black, and a few of splashes of dark bluish gray and orange

[Feuer Zug]

Nicely executed. The colors fit the Mission to Mars theme well. Interesting wing design too.

[elfprince13]

1 hour ago, Feuer Zug said:

Nicely executed. The colors fit the Mission to Mars theme well. Interesting wing design too.

Thank you! Although I must object that the "Life on Mars" and "Mars Mission" themes are technically distinct ;) Hopefully with a ship like this the native Martians will be able to drive off the alien invaders and resume peaceful and scientifically productive relationships with the human astronauts.

[Lyichir]

Very fun! You don't see a lot of Life on Mars MOCs. The use of those newer neon orange windscreens with the mechanical arches of the original theme is an inspired part combination.

I don't quite know how I feel about the combination of sand green and sand purple into one vehicle—most classic Life on Mars ships tended to stick to one main "color" (for instance, blue and sand blue, red and sand red, green and sand green). I suppose sand purple was used a lot on "neutral" bases and vehicles, so it's not unprecedented to combine it with another main color, but it's still a somewhat odd color combination to me.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but the brackets you've used on the wings never appeared in sand purple, did they? That's fine for a digital MOC, and sand purple is definitely far from an easy color to work in, but I often find it slightly disappointing when a great digital model isn't buildable with real bricks.

[elfprince13]

4 hours ago, Lyichir said:

Very fun! You don't see a lot of Life on Mars MOCs. The use of those newer neon orange windscreens with the mechanical arches of the original theme is an inspired part combination.

Thanks! It's really too bad, Life on Mars was the 2000s theme I'd most like to see make a comeback. The rarity of "peaceful aliens" plus the cool hypersled system was a killer combo. Figuring out how to use the arches + how to dock with the sled system were my main starting points for the build.

4 hours ago, Lyichir said:

I don't quite know how I feel about the combination of sand green and sand purple into one vehicle—most classic Life on Mars ships tended to stick to one main "color" (for instance, blue and sand blue, red and sand red, green and sand green). I suppose sand purple was used a lot on "neutral" bases and vehicles, so it's not unprecedented to combine it with another main color, but it's still a somewhat odd color combination to me.

Yeah - sand purple seems to have been used a lot as "neutral", so I wanted another accent color in there besides the engines and other "neutral" blacks / grays. Thought about going sand red or maybe dark tan, but honestly I think green + purple makes for a nice "alien" aesthetic.

4 hours ago, Lyichir said:

And correct me if I'm wrong, but the brackets you've used on the wings never appeared in sand purple, did they? That's fine for a digital MOC, and sand purple is definitely far from an easy color to work in, but I often find it slightly disappointing when a great digital model isn't buildable with real bricks.

Good eye - yes, one of my main motivations for a digital MOC is not having to compromise on exotic color palettes to achieve the vision I had in my head (plus I'm often noodling on stuff for Lego Ideas submissions, and hoping we'll get some of these parts actually made one day ). But I do have an alternate palette version that Stud.io tells me is actually achievable (although I haven't dared look yet at the price tag). I'll try and post some pictures later this week.

[elfprince13]

On 11/22/2023 at 5:59 PM, Lyichir said:

And correct me if I'm wrong, but the brackets you've used on the wings never appeared in sand purple, did they? That's fine for a digital MOC, and sand purple is definitely far from an easy color to work in, but I often find it slightly disappointing when a great digital model isn't buildable with real bricks.

Okay here's the IRL buildable version - prices out to about $100 for 300 parts

Edited November 24 by elfprince13