Solid Fuel Starfighter

Earth - (BiS) ƒernald has built this wonderful Solid Fuel Starfighter which fits a minifigure under the front hatch. As with many posts here lately, it was built for the Real World Starfighters Contest on Flickr. This instantly reminded me of Voyager and the Apollo command modules. The dark orange works well as a substitute for the heat shielding and its mostly round shape is somewhat unique, especially for a fighter. The back view is well detailed and uses a few neat tricks. I am quite fond of the support structure for the turning thrusters and the lighting in the photo adds a warm touch. ƒernald also has quite a number of nice looking microbuilds on his photostream.

Comrade Rocks

Courtesy Soyuz R-a11 MARAUDER by nate_decastro

Kuiper Belt- (BiS) When in space, there are two things one has to look out for- enemy lasers, and space debris. While the tattered remains of spacecraft and the like can often appear, the most common form of debris is space rocks. This craft, the Soyuz R-a11 MARAUDER, has not only made peace with the rocks, it has been quite utilitarian in its design, and incorporated them! Not only would this craft be something formidable to run (physically) into, a skirmish with it would also be ill-advised. From the impressive panel-mounted turrets, to the hidden bombs on the underside, and the well-camouflaged radar dish/laser.

Photon Lasers

Courtesy Bandit by pasukaru76 

Planet Higgs-B- (BiS) With the power of engines and spacecraft rising almost daily, and major discoveries being constantly made, soon we will enter the age of interspace travel. And with that, we will have to re-design our spacecraft, just like Pascal did with this MOC. The red cockpit really stands out against the minimal colours of the rest of the craft, and it appears to come in peace. But be careful not to ruffle the pilot's feather's else he decides to use it's ample armaments.

Project HAVE SHIVER

Justin Vaughn aka Mainman has created Project HAVE SHIVER for the "Real World Starfighter" contest occurring in the Starfighters group on Flickr. This industrial monstrosity is about as real world as it gets. Who needs aerodynamic and sleek spacecraft when there is no atmosphere to be aerodynamic in? Who needs wings at all? The copious use of flex tubing, lightsaber handles and droid arms makes for a more believable support structure than any prefab pieces could. Buffing the printing off the Naboo planet from set #9674 makes those pieces more universally usable than if they were left printed. Justin also has a few pictures of the loadout and descriptions of the different areas of the ship. I especially enjoy the back view as well. There's also a quite detailed description for the photo to match the details of the ship. I would definitely have to give this one of the top votes in the contest so far.

BT Panorama

Built by granada_turnier, I found this Blacktron Panorama to be a fairly brilliant build. The greenish background for the composite shot was a great choice to offset the colors of the ship. For those who were around when the only space theme fell under the Legoland moniker; now known as Classic Space, this ship retains much of that classic styling. yet incorporates just enough modern techniques to set it apart. It immediately reminded me of set #6894 - Blacktron Invader probably due to the trans-red wedge plates on the nacelles.

Click on all sizes to really get the full effect of the composite shot. The photostream also has lots of cool old cars, tractors and other vehicles for those who like reference material for "real world" mocs.

A Hop, Skip, and a Leap

Courtesy AFS 84 Jackrabbit by Jeffykins

Uranus- (BTT) Throwing together a spacecraft is a no-go. It takes careful planning, attention to detail, and an active imagination. When it all comes together into one craft, it will probably look something like this. The sleek, downward angled cockpit makes a smooth transition to the wings, and then the engine section. The weaponry smoothly integrates into the craft, without it looking too last-minute and unplanned. Combine that with a no-nonsense pilot and plenty of fuel, and you can accomplish just about anything you need to- for a price, of course!

Black and White

Near Earth Orbit- (BiS) This little space panda doesn't have ANY qualms about blowing your craft out of the vacuum, just as long as it's been ordered to. With pinpoint accuracy, this starfighter from Bam207 doesn't disappoint visually, especially with shaping. The monochrome colour scheme is reminiscent of the Space Shuttle program, and it doesn't looks SO strange as to be outside the dimensions of reality.

The Terminator

Courtesy T-7 Enforcer by Jasbury1

Saturn- (BiS) When the NCS federation needs something to "disappear", they call on the T-7 Enforcer. This slick spacer has ample cockpit space, giant thrusters, those amazing Gatling laser cannons, and those great missile pods. The only problem? Fuel mileage.

In Soviet Space...

Earth- (BiS) Coming directly from one of the contributing authors of this blog, brickmack brings us a hyper-realistic starfighter. Designed in the vein of the Soyuz spacecraft of the 60's and 70's, this one brings us to the current time, when starfighters are needed to solidify orbital claims, and is not so far removed from probability as to need hundreds of years to have a remote possibility of existence.

Castor Oil

Jupiter- (BiS) Ever since seeing this amazing MOC by nate_daly, I've wanted to pay it some sort of tribute.The excellent striping, integration of dark green parts, and ridiculous amounts of SNOT add up to make what looks to be one of the most swooshable spacecraft I've seen in a while! Also, this double cockpit idea seems to be gaining quite a bit of popularity recently, maybe it's no accident....

Night Raptor

Mars- (BiS) This awesome starfighter from .Jake is great, and it's only the Mk. II! The brown accents provide just enough contrast between the cockpit and weapons sections, while still keeping the ship flowing as one piece. The angles are also excellent, from the angled tail fins to the downward facing cockpit.

Come in, Red-1

Venus- (BiS) Ah, M-Tron. Those little space miners who are so good at the job that they hold an intergalactic monopoly on the job. This great recon ship by Blake Foster has all of the elements of the classic M-Tron sets, but with a NCS twist! The engine/wing combo is great, as is the curvaceous shaping! Now, where are those magnets....