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I present to you, my Blacktron Bionicle Boat. I combined my three favorite Lego things into one. It's a boat. built out of Bionicle. In the Blacktron 2 colour scheme. Honestly, I debated which subforum to actually post this, but I decided on Pirates, cause it's a boat. Blacktron Bionicle Boat It's equal parts Blacktron, Bionicle, and Boat. Blacktron Bionicle Boat Blacktron Bionicle Boat[/url Blacktron Bionicle Boat Blacktron Bionicle Boat Blacktron Bionicle Boat Let me know what you think, even if its a insult to all three themes! EKnight

Futuron - Retro Space Solar Ship [Futuron] Retro Space Solar Ship by Horlack, on Flickr ================================== The beginning/Genesis : ================================== 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 ! ================================== The concept : ================================== 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 ! ================================== Animated Wikipedia source: ================================== 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 ================================== Youtube animated credits for the nostalgic: ================================== 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 ================================== I took again in inspiration: ================================== - 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. ================================== Remarkable elements, NPU, conversion of parts, techniques : ================================== 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. ================================== Physical information : ================================== - 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. ================================== Global : ================================== 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. ================================== Exterior/outside: ================================== - 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. ================================== Wheelhouse: ================================== - 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. ================================== Interior/inside hull of the ship : ================================== - 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. ================================== Conclusion: ================================== 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 ================================== Source / reference on my project (progression in the time) : ================================== 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

Hi folks! This is my latest MOC, I was inspired by Motorized Lighthouse set and my daughter who asked for a boat to go with the Lighthouse :) I tried to make it as playable as possible but at the same time I wanted it to have a display value, so I've added the unfold mechanism like real shrimpers have and a display stand that suppose to look like those trendy epoxy tables. There are 2 minifigures (Anna and her grandpa) and their playful doggie! I also made a short stop motion animation to tell a little story about the build. Hope you like it! If you like it, please consider voting on Lego Ideas: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/cc05dd35-02c8-417e-87cd-0cce7b555c68 https://youtu.be/eD15fzqnt1I

At the lake of the windy mountains, far up north, a lone tower stands to guard the hideout of the band of the Wolf. After pillaging the villages down river, Asger looks as his men bring in the loot. The band of the Wolf hideout by Ids, on Flickr The band of the Wolf hideout - details by Ids, on Flickr And the band of the Wolf: The band of the Wolf by Ids, on Flickr A fearless band of robbers of the north, led by Asger (middle). From left to right: - Bjørnar, as strong as a bear, wielding a double bladed ax. - Karina, quick in the night, with her two daggers, she can strike down any soldier before they even see her. - Asger leader of the band of the Wolf, who is a master with his spear. - Ingólfr, right hand man of Asger, always keeping his calm, even when Asger is in battle, he always keeps an eye on him to keep him safe. - Agnar, fearless with a sword or a crossbow. This build started of course with the minifigs, then I build a boat for them because they somewhat reminded me of some Vikings (especially when I named them), thus I gave them a Viking inspired boat. The tower originally was planned as a tower in the lake, but I moved it to shore and added a docking area for the boat. Thanks for looking, let me know what you think.

Down the Net, Saipan June 1944 Down the Net, Saipan June 1944 by Nicholas Goodman, on Flickr Down the Net, Saipan June 1944 by Nicholas Goodman, on Flickr Down the Net, Saipan June 1944 by Nicholas Goodman, on Flickr Down the Net, Saipan June 1944 by Nicholas Goodman, on Flickr Down the Net, Saipan June 1944 by Nicholas Goodman, on Flickr Down the Net, Saipan June 1944 by Nicholas Goodman, on Flickr Down the Net, Saipan June 1944 by Nicholas Goodman, on Flickr

OFFICIAL LEGO IDEAS CONTEST - WINNER!!! Ray the Castaway has won the LEGO Group's "Do You Want To Go to the Seaside?" contest. Here is your chance to vote for another Pirate themed set in the LEGO Group's "Do You Want To Go to the Seaside?" contest. HURRY! Voting is from May 18th, 2021 until May 25th, 2021. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Hello guys, Some weeks ago we designed a deserted island MOC for a Lego Ideas contest. The theme was related to the coast and there was a limit of 250 bricks. We decided to create a MOC based in a deserted island with a castaway, and include a ton of details and accessories to make it fun and playable. We got the inspiration from an old screensaver that had this theme. So far this is what we came with: Visit the Submission Webpage on LEGO Ideas. Today we are pleased to say that our build has been selected as finalist of the Lego Ideas contest, which will decide the next Lego purchase gift. At the moment the contest is open for voting and, the next week, the design with more votes will officially become the next Lego purchase gift!. Here is the link of our entry if you want to take a look: Submission Webpage on LEGO Ideas. Best regards. DadiTwins

A tiny microscale Offshore Powerboat!!! It contains 33 pieces without the base.Fast,tiny and yellow,the king of the sea. Offshore powerboat new_4 by Antonis Papastergiou Offshore powerboat new_3 by Antonis Papastergiou Offshore powerboat new by Antonis Papastergiou Offshore powerboat new_4 by Antonis Papastergiou Ofshore powerboat_6 by Antonis Papastergiou Ofshore powerboat_7 by Antonis Papastergiou Ofshore powerboat_8 by Antonis Papastergiou Ofshore powerboat_9 by Antonis Papastergiou, on Flickr

I finally got around making a new ship... boat... dinghy... Yes, it's quite small . The Cross Bone Clipper is based on the classic 1997 Pirates set with the same name (6250 Cross Bone Clipper). I never had that set though, I believe it was never even sold in Europe. As this is an entry in a LEGO Ideas contest, I worked with a brick built sail. But I might add custom rigging later, she'll do well as a cutter I think . I actually considered having a limited sleeping compartment in the aft of the boat. However, earlier designs ended up being too gritty to my liking. An interesting fact: while my version is only half the size of the original set, it does contain twice the amount of parts. I'm hoping to build more of these small ships as they are very suitable to fill my Island harbor.

Description from the Museum of Transportation's website on the real vessel I based the towboat off of: The H.T. Pott was the first Missouri River towboat with a welded steel hull instead of a riveted hull. The vessel operated out of Kansas City, Missouri on the Missouri River. It is named for Herman T. Pott (1895-1982), a distinguished river transportation executive and entrepreneur. The groups of barges that are moved on the nation’s rivers are called “tows." The boats that propel the barges are “towboats” even though they push the barges from the back instead of pulling them. The H.T. Pott is 58 feet long and 15 feet wide, and it has a “draft” the amount of the hull below the water line of 6 feet. You can walk the decks of the H.T. Pott. You can see a picture of the real towboat on the Museum's website here. Notes on the LEGO model: The name of the vessel, HT Pott, will go on the studs just below the roofline on the bridge. Besides the lettering, two white brackets and four black curved plates are missing from the digital model. Also, a printed-cloth American flag will fly at the rear of the craft off the second level. The rear of the vessel, with flagpole and ladder to upper deck visible. I plan on putting this 1930's towboat and my 1880's Proud Mary steamboat on the depressed-height table holding my Eads bridge, to give a stereotypical view of life on the Missouri / Mississippi Rivers, both distant past, and more recently. (as the towboat worked the Missouri river traffic from '33 up until the middle 1980's.) Now, you may be asking yourself "What good is a towboat without something for to to push up / down the river?" This was the existential question I asked myself today, and the answer I came up with shortly thereafter was "not very good". So, I set about building something quite commonplace if you live near any of the major rivers of the mid-western USA: a pair of un-powered barges! (I think they usually use them for grain and silica, among other bulk goods, but here they are empty, mostly because like the towboat model I made, they have open bottoms.) These type I see a lot here in Saint Louis, and are of the modern variety... although I'm unsure how long they've been using this design, to be honest. It seems to be two barges next to each other, but in actuality, they are one big barge. I did this because less parts are used this way. I will eventually have two of these ancillary models hooked onto my tugboat / each other with 5-long LEGO chains. (these are not in the picture) The HT Pott is few bricks less in height (and more than a few studs shorter in length) than my 2019 sternwheeler steamboat MOC, the Proud Mary (link to it's topic). Side note: The two being near each other like this isn't exactly an anachronism, as there were a scant few steamboats still plying the rivers when the HT Pott was built in 1933. (Granted, most steamboats had seen better days and were on the way out or retrofitted for cruising duties by then, but it's still accurate!) Thoughts? EDIT 6/2/22: added real world pictures.

Asger and his band of the Wolf are setting sail to their new destination to pillage. -- I wanted to take a picture of the boat I build for their hideout last year. Setting sail by Ids de Jong, on Flickr

This is my latest JAWS MOC - It's on LEGO IDEAS if you wish to support it - https://ideas.lego.com/projects/8234c3d4-f406-4c48-bec1-2a133495201c I tried to get in as much detail as possible at mini-fig scale to make it as model like as possible.

Hello Lego Castle Fans! for starters - it's going to be a long slow project :) Do you remember 6057 Sea Serpent set from 1992? I've never had this set in my collection, I thought it might be worth building a new version... for Black Falcons fraction! One week ago I started building my first ship project - Medieval Cog "The Black Serpent"! This is still work in progress moc, I have a lot of work to do :) Now, has 43 cm long and almost 900 parts (will be more). Then I will make my own sail, so far I have prepared the material (my old pillow), I painted it white, I still have to paint the Black Falsons logo. But it's not over! I also want buils some area, fragment of sea and coast with some stronghold - for Raven Knights. The next steps are: - complete the ship's design, - make a sail, - order a lot of new parts, - hunt few sheeps from set 10775 I prepared the first material from this project, if you are interested, check out my youtube - Edge of Bricks channel :)

Racing Speedboat microscale vignette.The "sea" part is made in a way that the hull of the speedboat seems submerged as in reality.It contains 235 pieces and throws a lot of water...I also made an alternative front end in parts designer that can be made if you chop the ball of a 4131 party hat and glue it to the cone and one with a 24482 spear that you can easily make if you dont like the front part to be only the 2x2x2 cone.Enjoy and comment if you like it. https://www.bricklink.com/v3/studio/design.page?idModel=245825

The final confrontation in the mission "Jack of the Lantern" from the video game Secret World Legends's Blue Mountain setting, re-imagined as a (virtual) LEGO set, featuring custom decals for Jack the Lad, the Scarecrows, and my Illuminati player character the Blue Bee. Not strictly speaking sci-fi, but there's no, say, Horror, Urban Fantasy, or Video Games theme, and Sci-Fi fit better than any of the other options. No other camera angles on this one. I don't want anyone to see that I couldn't be bothered to build the rest of the house.

Hi all, I'm a new AFOL, and I wanted to share my first MOC! I picked up a few kits at a garage sale and I decided to make a scientific research vessel. I didn't have enough blue bricks to cover the board, but I'm pretty proud of the water trail that I made instead. I was aiming to make the ship a bit cluttered with equipment, but I think I may have overdone it. I'd love feedback on it!

This is my JAWS MOC. It can be supported on LEGO IDEAS here if you have a spare minute - https://ideas.lego.com/projects/390cf845-d64c-44fd-844b-b30fd42d5f12

Hi all I have uploaded a new castle ship submission on IDEAS with custom torso designs, shields, flags and more. Please check the link below for better pictures and let me know what you think and if you like it support me :) LEGO IDEAS SUBMISSION - THE BOWMEN GUILD SHIP and OUTPOST An adventure awaits! As the old kingdoms went into war and forced many out of their homes some have decided to form a new guild and set sail for a new adventure! Led by Sir Joe many mercenaries, merchants have joined on a long journey down the river, through the sea, down the river again and some lakes and more rivers and so on... till they have reached a new tropical paradise! Setting up a simple outpost to resupply and rest they have now started to explore a new area. With many having a somewhat bandit history they all agree to use bow and arrow as their main tools and symbol. On their journey they have met a little girl. A self proclaimed princess with a magical flying chicken. Only the girl can understand her and talks about a treasure. That treasure is a magical egg? What will hatch out of it and will they ever find it? Danger ahead! Sharks ,alligators ,venomous insects everywhere they venture. Other lost knights might pose a danger or could join and help with the mission. Includes 6 New Minifigures all with new exclusive torso prints! Bowmen: Sir Joe, Swordsman, Archer, Knight, Princess Aki Other: Lost Ben (falcon knight) & 5 Bowmen printed shields (4x oval) 1x (triangular) - mounted on the ship Set contains: The Flying Chicken (main ship) 38 x 26 x 14 cm ( L x H x W ). There are not many castle ships out there and instead of a castle I have focused on something that has nice playability, looks great, is not too big or small and can have it´s own unique story and a is a new non existing faction. The ship alone has about 540 pieces. And should also have a sail in yellow colour with black cross inside and the bird symbol in the centre but I need to figure out how to make it in designer :) I will update it when I figure it out. or if not I just post a standalone picture of the sail. The ship has a secret storage room under the back section and comes with Bowmen printed Flags. Outpost A simple building standing in the swamp or near water. Has a table, few supplies, secret storage a lookout and a balcony for fishing. Looks great requires only about 200 pieces to build and add a lot of playability to the set. The outpost comes with a plate on the bottom and is removed in some pictures but it definitely must have a plate for stability :) Raft of Lost Ben Basic raft made out of bamboo to survive till help arrives! Additional content The set also includes lots of tools like fishing poles, gold coins, bottles, bags, containers, spyglass, compass, paddles and other accessories. Cancer, rat/mouse, crab, shark/alligator, parrot, chicken, sea star, monkey The whole set is about 822 pieces and should be affordable for the majority of customers and big enough to be a complete standalone product that can expand the existing LEGO themes and connect to their existing stories. I love designing this set and as much as I would love to make it huge I had set a target that I don´t want to produce a set that will be unreachable for many castle fans. I also tried to be true to LEGO official sets and also don´t "overdo" with tiles to cover studs etc. And off-course to limit the piece count! In the end I want it to be really affordable, playable and easy to build. No weak points and illegal connections and no falling off pieces too! :) maybe just a drunken knight might fall in the water after too much ale! :) All of these designs are my original content and builds except the little falcon logo on a customized falcon knight torso. I wanted to connect to an existing castle storyline. For the sake of copyrights that can be removed if necessary and replaced with a "generic" knight. But I assume the Falcon logo is a LEGO original design =) I wish LEGO will finally revive a castle storyline or choose a castle set for Ideas and well .. may it be this one :). If you like my design please share it and support it. I am still working on the ship design (sails and the holders) so you can post your suggestions but basically I wanted to include an rolled sail but that is not really possible in studio. I will add a picture I have also built the first prototype of the boat which is a bit smaller and different from the final submission. Thank you all ♥

Miss Octan is aiming to break the Lego water speed record!!!! She contains 806 parts!!! She features 8 massive flame spitting jet engines and a huge spoiler!!!! The concept of this build is a powerboat loosely based on any record smashing boats and Ekranoplans but rather with an approach to be pleasing to the eye (I'm a mechanical engineer but no engineering accuracy is present here,sorry:P).The front and the bottom pieces are a Lego airplane tail!!!The design was straightforward and joyful and stability was a fundamental factor of the building process. I want your opinions in the comments!!!! https://www.bricklink.com/v3/studio/design.page?idModel=172979

Hello everyone! Long-time lurker, (relatively) first-time poster! With LEGO's latest Deep Sea lineup having taken longer than planned to come to the U.S. (wonder if there's any world events that might explain the delay?), I decided to browse through some of the old 1997 Divers sets earlier in the summer to see if anything caught my eye. Sure enough, I happened upon a MISB edition of Deep Sea Refuge on eBay. Having played with it at a friend's house as a kid, I decided to snap it up. But with the newest sets having a state-of-the-art underwater research station, does this original model still hold up? Let's find out as we go beyond the sea (just kidding, we're going under it. Sorry Bobby Darin.) Info Set # - 6441 Name - Deep Sea Refuge Theme/Subtheme - Town/Divers Year - 1997 Piece Count - 433 Minifigures - 5 Price - MSRP $60 US Links Brickset, Peeron, Bricklink, Bricksafe Box Aside from a few minor dents and scrapes, the box still looks pretty good. Love that sunshine pattern on the seafloor. Definitely way more inviting than the box art for Aquazone, Atlantis or recent Deep Sea sets. It gives off that peaceful tropical island vibe that quite a few of the 90s sets gave me, although it probably helps that the only foliage available at the time were palm trees or those little conical and spherical versions. We also have the very cool Divers subtheme logo in the upper right-hand corner, along with an old price tag sticker that's still on the box. I won't say how much I paid for this thing unless asked, but I can assure you it was far from the original $59.99 shown here. That said, that logo continues to be great, reeking of atmosphere. You can practically hear the Jaws theme playing as Mr. Mask and Snorkel here looks to the surface and sees the shark silhouette, wondering if it saw him, if he can make it to safety... Moving on, the back of the box gives you some very fun alternative LEGO models, including a goofy little water slide and diving board setup, along with a larger (and smaller) undersea research station. Overall, they all seem pretty good to me, even if the boat on the largest alternative model picture looks a little strange with the bubble windshield. But that's the fun of LEGO. Now here's the good stuff. Like most boxes from this age, we have a great inner flap with more set pictures and some flavor text to help unleash your inner Jacques Cousteau, which I transcribed for all of you lovely people. "The ocean depths hold many mysteries and dangers. Sharks, stingrays and possibly sunken treasure! With building sets from the LEGO SYSTEM Divers collection, only you, the LEGO MANIAC, will find the secrets of the deep." The same flavor text is also available in French and Spanish for those in the multilingual crowd. We also have the customary (for the time, at least) plastic window which has some of the specialized parts on the left, with a random assortment of parts in bags to the right, complete with fun little scenes of the divers trying to outswim an octopus while a possible Captain Redbeard shipwreck lingers in the background. I understand why LEGO doesn't do this anymore, but man, it'd be great to bring this back. The top of the box feature some attractive water patterns, complete with rays of sun hitting the waves and the top of the ship's antenna and flag, which suggests the boat sank. Guess the pilot should've read the legal notice on the side of the box, which clearly states "NOT FOR USE IN WATER." The bottom of the box has some more of that big beautiful water pattern, complete with a porthole-like window design for viewing the diver minifigures and all that sweet, sweet animal life. Plus a now-useless barcode. Finally, the sides of the box both feature another angle of the set, with a captured shark and a sawfish that's getting a little too close for comfort for one of the divers. Once you open it, the seafaring fun doesn't stop at the exterior of the box, with a blue tray that helps contribute to the aquatic atmosphere. Take all the bags out of the right partition and you get the instructions plus a small catalogue which shows the hottest sets of 1997. Had to take a photo of the Divers page, as it looks great, with none of the obvious computer backgrounds that most promotional art has now. Instructions No surprises here. It's about the same as the box front, except without the name or age range. On the back are those wonderfully goofy alternative models again, along with a small blue tag in the lower left corner, which would be cut out and sent to LEGO for a magazine subscription. It may be repetitive, but I'll take this over Win-Shouty Kid any day of the week. Here's a random page in the actual instruction booklet. As you can see, no call-outs for individual parts, although submodels do have little yellow boxes. This can make for a more challenging build if you're not paying attention, though it's what I'm used to, so no problems there. Given the limited color palette, you get very good color differentiation, along with some fun graphics of schools of fish swimming around behind the instructions. Pieces Here's the eight bags that'll make up the whole set, still freshly sealed from all the way back in 1997. While LEGO doesn't use the bags with holes in them anymore (presumably to ensure the parts stay fresh), they still have a nice tactile quality to them. As far as loose parts go, all we've got here is one long string that will make up the winch and one lone LURP, which were everywhere back in the day. Two tan 32x16-stud baseplates make up the last loose parts in the box. Not as exciting as some other aquatic baseplates, but does provide plenty of room for staging little dioramas. Here's my first attempt at creating a photo grid in PhotoShop, with four of the bags open. Again, much like the instructions, no neat and orderly numbered bags like they make now. Chaos reigns when it comes to what parts are in what bag, so you just have to open all of them. Depending on your point of view, it can be either incredibly frustrating or incredibly rewarding to scrounge around until you find the exact piece you're looking for. And here's my second attempt at creating a photo grid in PhotoShop. With another four bags open, we can get started...almost. In case you couldn't see what was in the one plastic window, which so ably displayed all the cool new parts from this subtheme, worry not, as I took another photo of the parts after peeling the film away. We get some more sea life, some seaweed, two minifigures that have been tragically bisected by the sawfish and a few printed parts. As for the parts of interest, we have not one, not two, but three light-blue bubble windscreens, which were the most common versions according to Bricklink and mostly appeared in Divers sets (and were always excellent to have). We also get some neat modified bricks which were quite rare, only appearing in two sets in white and five sets total. The white and yellow panels 4x3x3 with portholes are also somewhat rare, having only appeared in five sets total, and only two sets in the color white, both from the Divers theme. As for the white panel 4x4x6 concave, these parts only appeared in seven sets, including some older ones from the space theme. Both the white and yellow 3x3x3 corner convex parts are probably one the more unique items here, having solely appeared in divers sets, while the minifigure handjet was sprinkled among a number of themes and subthemes (no pun intended), including an Aquazone set and Alpha Team: Mission Deep Sea one. Perhaps one of the more surprising finds here was the bow top, 6x6x1, which only appeared in two Divers sets. All told, quite a catch. As befits LEGO's generosity, we get two separate DSS for this set. I opted to leave off the marine life ones that go on the LURP since we now have actual molds to fill the gap, but I ended up using all the ones on the larger sheet, as it helps give the set some more character. Fortunately, LEGO's not a complete monster, and does give us plenty of excellent printed parts to make up for all the stickers, including control panels, a diving flag and three fun sea life tiles that will be part of a play feature. While I don't think it's to the same level as Adventurers, we still get lots of nice accessories for the minifigures to use as they explore the depths, along with two baseball hats to wear when they're not. Minifigures After getting the minifigures into emergency surgery (otherwise known as my hands), they're back together and ready to go! While they work well enough as generic figs to play around with, the May/June 1997 issue of Mania Magazine saw fit to give them all names that, depending on your perspective, are either endearingly silly or irritatingly cute. From left to right, we have Cora Reef (I think), twins Tug Topside and R.C. Scooter, along with Diver Dan and Scuba Sandy. As befits minifigures from this era, no backprinting exists for any of these characters, although the front of their uniforms are on-point, with great little sub logos that suggests a level of financing and organization the blue divers from the same subtheme simply don't have. Here's the gang with all their uniforms and scuba equipment on. Now we have a little more differentiation among the identical ones, and some of the flippers come into play. Love how the red and black flippers contribute to the overall look of the uniform. A rear shot of Cora and Dan with their oxygen tanks on. Kind of wish LEGO still used these ones, instead of the dual tanks from space sets, which are smaller and less detailed. We also get plenty of aquatic life for this set, including two stingrays, the happiest (and rarest) dolphin I've seen, the common sawfish and octopus, plus a white shark that may or may not be great. Hard to say with the newer one from this year. The Build We start by building the boat, which fits in nicely with the color scheme of the overall set. Even the 1x4 red brick works given the color band that makes up part of the actual Refuge structure. Build it up some more with a crane boom and some steering... ...then after tying off the string to the winch and hook, which is one of the two most frustrating steps in the world... ...you'll have a boat! Though something's still missing. So, after the second most frustrating step in the world... The boat is complete! While I don't have too many of the larger brick-built boats from this theme, the design of the cabin is particularly nice with the raised platform for the sonar dish. Not to mention the stern of the boat works better than the one from Shark Cage Cove, which always seemed a little low. Some other angles of the boat. One thing I like here is how the number on the side corresponds to the set number, something that still gets done anytime you pick up a set that has a vehicle in it. Now to move onto the main course that is the Deep Sea Refuge itself. I was surprised the instructions had you start on the main model immediately after building one of the two vehicles, but so it goes. We start by building the base. The blue hinge brick in the center is part of a play function that we'll come back to later. Add some flooring and the all-important chrome silver knives... ...followed by some furniture and hooks that will make up the changing room for divers... ...and we're well on our way. But first, a sub-model in the form of an X-ray machine. Obviously sleeker versions can be made now, but it works just fine and fits in nicely. Now it's starting to take shape. The machine on the opposite side of the X-ray machine is supposed to be a microscope, though it may not be the best version I've seen. The changing room for divers looks good, and fits all the extra scuba accessories that come with the set. Once that's complete, the Refuge gets closed up and we start working on the rock formation. Add a LURP and a roof to the Refuge... ...and we're done! While Sebastian and Flounder may be missing, there's still plenty of room on the two 32x16-stud baseplates for the sea life and divers we do get from the set. Some more angles of the Refuge itself. While it's quite bulbous, the shaping actually works for the structure, even if the greenery is a little samey compared to the diversity of parts we're spoiled with now. Now that we've gotten through the appetizer and main course, time for dessert, in the shape of a yellow submarine. We start with the base... Add in some branded compartments and that fishy computer screen in rear... ...and the sub starts to take shape once we add the last bubble windscreen and the porthole panels. Much like Aquazone sets, this sub comes with two moveable arms, even if it's missing a magnet hand. Unlike Aquazone sets, the joints that make up the arms seem to be slightly sturdier and less breakable, since they use fewer finger hinge parts. Guess time will tell if they break as readily. Also of note are the parts they use for the hands of the arms. I've only seen the towball piece used as part of a winch before, so it's cool to see a different use for it here. And there we are, one yellow submarine! While not as fancy as the one used by The Beatles, it still pops nicely. Another two angles of the sub. If you can ignore my crooked sticker placement on the rear and the shoddy PhotoShop job I did, you'll see this is one sleek machine, a far cry from the Crystal Explorer Sub's bulbousness. The fence pieces on top, along with the light gray bar adds some nice greebling detail. Hats aside, the two spare parts here include a Technic axle and a trans-clear 1x1 round stud. Pretty basic. Play Features While lacking in such traditional fun-filled action features from our "enlightened" age like flick-fire missiles or stud shooters, there's still some good solid stuff here. The most interesting feature that springs to mind is how easy it is to get inside the Refuge. With two hinge bricks, the structure easily swings open. There we go! Plenty of room for Sandy to do her research and for Diver Dan to get a new oxygen tank. Here you can see the cleverness of using trans-light-blue for the bubble windscreens, making it seem as if they're actually underwater, instead of an ad hoc photo studio. The placement of seaweed right outside both of the windscreens is also a solid design choice, giving the illusion of swimming to a stingray on the left and Cora on the right. So I'm cheating here, but didn't want to figure out the proper exposure for a printed tile on black under a dark blue window, so I'm stealing from the instructions. All three tiles, much like the Exploriens gimmick (and maybe a few others) look scrambled under normal light, but once you look at them through the dark-blue window, you can see bones and other fun-filled secrets. Curious about what the Refuge looks like when closed up? Simply open up the roof and you'll be able to see the structure the way the minifigures would. Kudos to the designer for making the entrance to the Refuge four studs by four studs to fit an actual minifigure, although they lose a few points once you realize there's no easy way into the structure given the placement of the struts. The bubble windscreens are also big enough to accommodate a minifigure as well, which probably comes in handy if you want to do some lounging, and can open up. Much like the Refuge, accessibility is the name of the game with the sub too. The bubble windscreen opens wide to place R.C. in his comfy blue chair... ...and thanks to four hinge bricks in the rear, it's a snap to place another minifigure in the back, although this is clearly the less comfortable position given how there's no chair. And if a diver finds something they want to stow away safely, all they have to do is open one of the two boxes on either side of the sub. Admittedly, I don't know if the printed tiles would fit in here, but the coins definitely would, along with whatever other knicknacks they happen to come across. The arms on the sub are also just as capable as a minifigure's, and can grasp a number of things. You'll also notice that there's plenty of room to display the sub on the baseplate without needing to take something else out. And thanks to the miracle of trans-clear bricks, I can make it seem as if the boat is floating on the surface of the water, where our last few play features reside. But before I forget, the boat does have a nice little compartment near the bow for placing spearguns, hats, and whatever other accessories aren't in play. While lacking a hatch on the top to seal the compartment (along with an accessible way for the pilot to get to the compartment short of clambering around the outside of the bow), it's still nice to have. Last but not least is the boat's winch, which has plenty of string to reach the (imaginary) seabed. That 41L string piece can also attach quite easily to the roof of the Refuge, even if it's not exactly clear what it's function is. If you're a fan of the movie The Abyss, you could treat it as an electronic tether and recreate the scene where the drilling platform slides deeper into the oceanic trench by pushing the set off the table. Final Thoughts Pricing and Value - According to Brick Insights, which I use for this sort of thing because I'm lazy, the price-per-part for this set is $0.22, which is a slight improvement over its price-per-part back in 1997, when it was at $0.24, which makes it good overall. That said, I think this set was still worth it even if the score was worse, given how many rare and exclusive parts you get in this set. Speaking of... Pieces - You get three bubble windscreens, eight panels with portholes, some parts that are nice to have such as an anchor and a chain, along with plenty of seaweed, string and sea animals. I'd say that's a pretty good deal, especially when you look at how much you get, and the rarity of some of these parts. Design/Build - This might be one of the more satisfying builds I've gone through recently. With two vehicles, you have something to show for your efforts without it taking too much time. With a lack of small plates and tiles, you can quickly assemble one model after another, and it's all well thought out. The sub is longer than some of the other ones from this...ahem...subtheme, but still looks sleek with plenty of room to access the interior, and the Refuge is similar. No matter if your hands are large or dainty, LEGO made sure grubby digits of all sizes can get into the Refuge. While lacking some of the more homely touches that make up 2020's Ocean Exploration Base such as a bed, coffee maker or lamp, this one has the edge by actually making it seem watertight, something that is frustratingly lacking in more recent underwater sets. And the boat is a nice addition that didn't need to be included in a set whose main focus is underwater anyway, so adding one in is a nice touch, which I can't say for the more recent line. Playability - This review took me a little longer than planned, since once the Refuge itself was complete, it was hard to get back on track and finish the sub. There's so much to do, with all the divers, accessories and sea life that you can have a number of adventures and not once get tired. Swoosh the boat. Swoosh the sub. Swoosh the aquatic animals into the Refuge. Even if this is the only set you have, it's still enough to have a good time (although I might have to recommend picking up a set that comes with a shark cage). Verdict: There's a reason this is a flagship set, one that, judging by The Brickster's review, is still widely loved and appreciated. If you compare the more recent Ocean Exploration Base to this set, it's almost no contest in terms of what you get. LEGO Divers may not always sell as strongly in the aftermarket as other retired themes, but it's well worth your while to seek this set out. Heck, it even integrates quite nicely with more modern underwater City subthemes, yellow colorschemes and all. While this set wasn't the first one from this subtheme I was looking to buy, when I saw it, I figured it was worth the price. And boy was it ever. I suspect this will stay in my collection for quite some time. Thanks for reading! Comments and questions always welcome!

In early 2078, several months after the final battle of the Final War triggered massive temporal storms that ravaged the earth, the survivors began to try rebuilding civilization. One such group were survivors of the old North American Union military on the East Coast who founded what would in a few years become the Federal Republic of America, a bastion of hope & freedom in the post-war world. Of course, they soon found themselves beset by enemies on all sides: The authoritarian Grand Duchy of New York and Hordes of Chaos to the north, the fascist, human centric New Confederate States of America to the south, vicious bands of raiders in the arid lands west of the Mississippi and pirates & sea monsters in the Atlantic Ocean to the East. Thus the new nation found itself at war & in need of ways to defend itself because war, war never changes.... One of the earliest efforts by the Federal Republic to defend its coastal waters was the conversion of abandoned cabin cruisers & other boats into ad-hoc patrol boats, one of which was the one that would eventually become the FNS Inferno. After several years (and once the Republic's naval shipbuilding program got off the ground), the Inferno was taken in, stripped down to its bare hull, and rebuilt from the main deck up. The hastily mounted twin .50 caliber machineguns on the front of the vessel were replaced with a 37mm manually-operated light auto-cannon mount and the aft single .50 cal was replaced with a 7.62mm minigun. The overall shape of the superstructure was rebuilt similarly to how the old Higgs PT-boats from World War II were designed, and eventually the forward 37mm cannon was replaced by a DARDO dual-purpose twin auto-cannon turret (this particular choice of armament was heavily influenced by some of the orc technicians who had sought asylum in the Republic, citing "more dakka" as their reasoning for adding such firepower to a vessel of this class). Thus the Inferno Class general purpose patrol craft were born: Captain One-Eyed Willie at the master plot in the crew cabin of the Inferno (yes this is one big Goonies reference): The business end of the Inferno featuring the DARDO 40mm mount & MK 51 heavy sonar guided torpedoes: The Inferno's Brave Crew: Anyways, I was up until 5am last night getting the forward gun mount to look right, and I hope you like it.

A very simple technique (hijack/misappropriation of part) with part number 54090 Aircraft Fuselage Curved Forward 8 x 16 Bottom. The concept is super easy, and there are a lot of of people who don't know what to make of their airplane fuselage. They are so big. So there, with 2 parts, you have a boat hull, and in addition the studs are in the right place to put the tiles and plates at an angle, to make the edges. You can construct, boat, dugout, canoe, etc. Boat concept with Part 54090 by Horlack, on Flickr

I like to present you my Lego town Steinbruck. The name is from Stein=brick & bruck(old German)=bridge. This is my current layout: My MOC and MOD buildings (more detail pictures in the albums; just click the pictures to get there): I'm planning a car wash for the Service Station and will build it in the next months. I also build digital, but can't afford all of them to build with bricks. Click to album.

Hello everyone! This is my new moc! The airboat is at rest, when the propeller is rotating at low frequency, and begins moving, once the propeller has worked faster. 1 L-motor 2 M-motors Watch the video! https://youtu.be/Tiue-ojVghQ https://youtu.be/pOQoqyriUZY https://www.instagram.com/p/CIavqCVpOoy/?igshid=1lkuooe8kmue6 https://www.instagram.com/p/CIaublcJVqf/?igshid=1clc6dkfsshwd

Inspired by the small boats in the early scenes of the Lego Ninjago Movie, i made my own little boat, complete with a sail, an oar to push the boat through shallow water and buckets for fish. Ninjago boat (1) Ninjago boat (2) Ninjago boat (3) Ninjago boat (7) Hope you guys like it, leave a comment if you like.

Here is my take on a Minifigure Scale Ancient Greek Homeric Galley. A predecessor to the Bireme and the more widely known Trireme, the Homeric Galley was a rowed warship that sailed the Aegean Sea around the 12th century BC. This ship specifically is based off of the Epic Poem The Odyssey and its protagonist, Odysseus' ship. Homeric Galley by Nicholas Goodman, on Flickr Homeric Galley by Nicholas Goodman, on Flickr Homeric Galley by Nicholas Goodman, on Flickr