Blacktron Intelligence Agency

Name of Model: Blacktron Intelligence Agency

Created by: bdarrow

Details: Note that I skipped the "Found At" links in the section I usually fill in above. That's because this model is so huge, it requires its own round-up style post. This very large layout is only ever seen at LEGO fan conventions - it cannot be assembled in its creators own home. As it grew over the years, it became a legend on it's own. Known as the Blacktron Intelligence Agency (BIA for short), it's the ultimate in fully assembled cities for official LEGO themes (this is based on the original 1987 Blacktron line). Here are some Brickshelf galleries by the builder showing how it grew over time: BIA circa 2004 BIA circa 2005 BIA circa 2005 July BIA circa 2006 BIA circa 2007 BIA circa 2008

Space Police Escort (Microscale SP1 Spaceship)

Name of Model: Space Police Escort

Created by: legoloverman

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38509565@N00/4560481720/in/set-72157622621432130/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/38509565@N00/4560481474/in/set-72157622621432130/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/38509565@N00/4559851321/in/set-72157622621432130/

Details: Here's another fantastic spaceship in the style of the original Space Police line. This is a pretty spectacular example of microscale building - many interesting details are achieved here by using minifig tools. Some pieces used cleverly to keep an eye out for: 4(!) Technic Hub / Handles in blue (a part/color combination that I don't believe was ever released in a set), 2 minifig binoculars, 2 minifig wrenches, 2 hose nozzles, 2 hinge brick tops, and 2 minifig hands. There are also some other clever parts uses in here too, with cheese slopes, that tilted cockpit, and studs-not-on-top parts hidden from view (probably this part in particular).

Tomakon starfighter

Name of Model: Tomakon starfighter

Created by: thire5

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thire5/4390479608/ , http://www.flickr.com/photos/thire5/4390479660/in/photostream/ , and http://www.flickr.com/photos/thire5/4390479726/in/photostream/

Details: There are plenty of fairly rare colors that seem to be all-too-common in pieces that aren't terribly useful. Sure, we all find uses for various strange parts once in a while, but it seems like there are always some parts that you can't find uses for. People who don't like buying new kits with lots of difficult parts (like the Bionicle theme is for most of us) just don't try these things out. Then there's thire5, who used some dark green and dark bluish grey Bionicle parts from a Toa Mahri Kongu to build this awesome spaceship. Single-seating fighters are a popular subject of LEGO creations, and many of them strain to properly fit a minifigure ("fits a fig!" is a common cry among "spacers"). This model cleverly uses various wedge plates with cutouts (it's a strange part to describe, here's an example of it) to make the edges of the cockpit and leave enough space for the minifigure's arms. Between the really little Space Police II cockpit (I can't recall an official set that used it for an enclosed cockpit that fit a 'fig) and the well-used Bionicle detailing, this is easily the most innovative original spaceship I've seen in some time. Did I mention it uses the fairly rare and difficult to use color of dark green?

Combining Space Police 3 and the Nemeses of the Original Space Police - the Blacktron!

Name of Model: Blacktron Falcon

Created by: Mark Stafford

Found at: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/131533

Details: I've previously mentioned my feelings about the changing Space Police saga, and many longtime LEGO fans have similar complaints about the lack of Blacktron in the current line. Longtime-fan-turned-company-set-designer Mark Stafford has been occasionally sharing with the public some of his designs recast to fit better with more traditional (and in some cases, more realistic) designs and themes that are less kid-oriented. Not that there's anything wrong with LEGO making kits that are aimed towards kids, but it always helps a set to look attractive if it has great parts and a clever design in addition to play value. Personally, I was thrilled to see that the set designers behind the current Space Police line incorporated graffiti in a way that brought continuity with other LEGO lines (Look closely at some of the ships for stickers that say "Blacktron!" and "I love Insectoids"). This particular model takes the vehicle driven by the "Skull twins" in the current series and replaces them with a Blacktron operative (and enhances the colors and look of the ship appropriately). Some of my complaints about Blacktron being swapped out for aliens have been rectified in the 2010 line - one new set that's finding its way into stores now features an alien with a torso that cleverly combines classic Blacktron torso designs in the sort of print quality we've gotten used to seeing in kits in recent years (double-sided torsos and slightly heavier printing than when I was little). Mark Stafford was interviewed not too long ago on The Brothers Brick.

Uh oh!

Name of Model: Uh oh!

Created by: Afro Engineer

Found at: Flickr

Details: Uh oh! is right, it would seem that squidman is in fact just a regular [theif] guy, not the alien we all though he was... A mixture of perfect figure placement and parts usage really makes this vignette stand out from all the rest. Just a hilarious little comedic scene, very appropriate for a Friday, I'm thinking.

Let's Hear it for the Original Space Police!

Name of Model: SPa

Created by: roguebantha_1138

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/40182896@N00/3651008027/in/set-72157614688481299/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/40182896@N00/3651007203/in/set-72157614688481299/

Details: Yes, I know it's 2009 and that the company just released a third Space Police line, this one with aliens who are all treated as criminals (chew on the xenophobic political connotations of that one for a minute). There were, of course, kinder, simpler times, when we could spot the bad guys by their matching outfits and association with the Blacktron. When it comes to modern crafts for keeping the Futuron safe (and seriously - what's a Space Police line good for if you don't have civilians to protect?), this is as awesome as it gets. Proper prison pods (not of the hit-to-release variety, but of the well-built 1989 variety - the SP1 do not have any "escape" to worry about) are included too, because SP1 mean business! Is that enough SP1 v. SP3 trash-talk? Do I really need to explain how clever the wing connections are here, or how that roof piece angles things further than the hinges? At some level this wins for using rare parts, but the amount of parts that have been discontinued (or otherwise become hard-to-come-by) since they first appeared in the original Space Police line is frighteningly large (translucent red just hasn't done too well in recent years - even the Alpha Team kits didn't include much of the color). I guess that's what we get for having a ton of exclusive translucent parts and lots of great printed bits instead of stickers (again, sorry kiddos - but hey, you may have missed the 80's, but you have the Internet! There were no blogs back when the SP1 line came out! Get off my lawn - oh wait, that's already in the instruction books for these new kits without boxtrays, isn't it?) Where was I? Oh yes - this model is awesome, and there isn't nearly enough continuity in the LEGO Space world these days.