KDog

I'm gonna try it. I don't think I have all the correct pieces (almost typed pizzas, lol) in the correct colors, but I might pick them up on Bricklink and build the ship in colors to match the original.

New week, new storyline! In this comic, our heroes set off on a voyage to the Ice Planet. Which brings about a question I'm hoping you can answer. I'm pretty sure that somewhere in Lego literature, the Ice Planet was given an actual name, but I can't remember what it was or find it. I'd like to use the name in the comics, so please let me know what it is if you know it. Anyway, here's Icy Relations (Part 1): http://www.drunkduck.com/Lego_Space/?p=371894 This whole comic came about because I discovered that some people were confused by the final panel in "Shootin' the Solar Breeze (Part 3)." The punchline gag was that Schwartz gets sick from drinking too much and pukes in Galanos' helmet. But the way I shot the picture, it looks like the ship is flying and the helmet flew back and hit Schwartz in the face. Which is kind of funny, too. What also didn't help is that I removed the canopy of the AERO-Module in some shots so you could see the characters within. It's creative license, as my intent is that the canopy is still on and the ship is airtight, even if it doesn't look it with or without the canopy attached. So, it raised the question of whether Galanos could breathe in space without his helmet, which wasn't meant to be an issue. While I made the ending of the previous comic clear in this strip, I of course still took pictures of the ships with open or removed windshields. I hope people just get used to that. In the end, this comic became the intro to a three-comic storyline I already had planned. And I think the whole story will be better with this comic as the opener.

LOL, uh oh, I hate to be responsible for the draining of bank accounts. It is a fun kind of comic to do, I can assure you. It would be a massive ego stroke if, after I've been creating the comic for awhile, there's a larger than usual demand for the Gamma V and the AERO-Module sets. ;-) I actually just finished Sunday's comic strip and I'm fighting the temptation to post it now. Although they don't appear in the first comic of the storyline, I'll give you a two-word hint of what it's about... Ice Planet.

Thanks Lord of Pies! If it's both suspenseful and funny, then mission accomplished.

Part 3 of "30 Years" has been posted. http://www.drunkduck.com/Lego_Space/?p=371742 Just to warn you, this storyline doesn't continue next week. As this is the second time I've left something hanging in suspense, you might be worried. But I assure you, all these threads will pull together soon enough.

And I thought I was the only one who compulsively saved those plastic widgets!

Check Bricklink. I checked there and found one for about $35 before shipping, which seemed fairly reasonable. I could no longer resist that Classic Space-style base.

I'll check eBay (and Bricklink) again for the ATV. Maybe I just looked at bad times.

DJ Force, there is a more serious plot that will form the backbone of the comic's storyline. I've shown a couple instances of that so far. It may not seem like it, but I have a basic plot for the first 100 or so comics already figured out. I'm also trying to establish a little bit of the characters' background and relationships with each other. What I want to try and do is include some moments of humor, even if they're not punchlines, within the more serious comics. An example of that is in today's comic when Schwartz goes off on a tangent about seeing a ghost in his ship. It's not a joke in itself, but I, at least, thought it amusing that Schwartz would lose focus and start spinning this long, irreverent story right in the middle of a meeting with the President. He's got imagination overload. I also think the perpetual smiles of the Lego guys kind of make everything funny. :) And mostly, the comics will he humorous in nature. Oh, and that ghost in the car story? It's based on a supposedly true instance. 8-

Joebot, your comic is very, very impressive. Makes me feel like such an amateur at this. I knew something wasn't right about the flow of some of my comics (I could see it a bit when I watched others read them.) but I was having difficulty pinpointing it. I was blaming it more on the differences in panel length I sometimes use, but I think the text boxes on top and bottom might be more the culprit, as it doesn't go with the reader's intuition, at least on the screen. Thank you very much for mentioning that. I took it to heart in my next comic, which I just posted. In the two panels where more than one character is talking, I tried something different, stacking the text boxes and having the above stem pointing down through the lower box to the proper character. Although I kind of screwed it up in the second instance, I think I'll keep my text on top for now on. Granted, I insist on using text boxes instead of bubbles because it's easier for me and I prefer it over bubbles for my comics, although some people may not feel the same. I got knocked for the boxes all the time in my last (and currently on hiatus), hand-drawn comic. So, here's part two of my weird anniversary tale, "30 Years": http://www.drunkduck.com/Lego_Space/?p=370470

Welllll...... good point. :)

Very good. You stayed faithful to the original - it's recognizable - which I like. I like how you incorporated and bulked up the air tanks, too. I'm glad you're able to use similar colors. I'd had that problem in LDD, where some bricks come in frustratingly few colors. I hate when most bricks will be available in blue, for instance, but then some basic brick you need isn't there in blue, throwing off your whole color scheme. Well, I guess that if we design something good in LDD but it's lacking the proper colors, we could pick up the appropriately-colored parts on Bricklink.

Thanks, iamded! The robots arms were an odd choice, I know, I just did it because I thought it was cute. He reminded me of one of those Wacky Wavers! The old-style robot arms aren't in LDD, either. :-/

Color me impressed.

The Space Probe set from 1986 is one of the most basic Lego Space sets, so I took a lot of liberties in adding to the design while retaining the basic function of the vehicle, which seems to be a missile launcher. Here's the original: The obvious problem with any realistic thought about the original model is that the poor driver is going to get blasted when the missile takes off. I therefore added a large blast shield/windshield. It fits my overall take on the Space Probe, which was basing it partly on a farm tractor. I wanted to make my Space Probe a larger vehicle, too. The missile I actually didn't change aside from its colors. That's partly because of the limitations of Digital Designer, and partly because I think the original design works here. I updated the robot, as well, and gave him some crazy, stretchy arms. Hope you like!:

Thanks, Wetwired. Your idea was an excellent one. :-) I have another in the works, too, but it needs some finishing touches.

Those new hubcaps are rockin'.

I really liked the reconstructed Classic Space sets people have been posting here, so I wanted to take a stab at my own. I decided to start simple and chose a smaller set, the 6803 Space Patrol from 1983. Aside from the colors, I was actually able to rebuild most of the original set in LDD, but got stuck when the I realized the original air raid siren-like engine pieces aren't in LDD. I decided to do something different that would maintain the ideas of multiple thrusters and the model changed greatly from there. Still, the basic elements are still present. Please offer your comments. I dig this design and might upload it to the Factory so I can purchase it. Original Space Patrol: Space Patrol 2008:

While I haven't seen it noted or discussed anywhere, 2008 is the 30th anniversary of Lego's Space theme. I've decided to celebrate that (in my own twisted way) by introducing a recurring storyline that features the 918-1 Space Transport, a set introduced in 1978. It's the only set I own from the first five years of Lego Space, but it's a nice-looking ship. Lego would use its design as the basis for a couple of larger ships, including the legendary Galaxy Explorer. 30 Years (Part 1): http://www.drunkduck.com/Lego_Space/?p=369430

Oh, WOW, is that awesome. Very sleek design! You should be designing some new Space sets for Lego. If you post that to S@H, I'll buy it!

Definitely not that officer's day!

A week of Blacktron comics concludes with Locked Up, Part 2 http://www.drunkduck.com/Lego_Space/?p=368891 BTW, could a mod move this thead to the Space subforum? Seems more suited there, as most of the threads here are about Exo-Force.

I think I still have my Fabuland monkey around here somewhere....