Dynamic Subspace

Category: Lego

  • Intrepid Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, March 2019

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Front of Ship

    In March 2019, I met up with my buddy Alan Lovegreen to visit the Intrepid Museum, a WWII-era air craft carrier that had been repurposed as an air and space museum moored on the west side of Manhattan.

    Alan and I had been hired the same year to work at City Tech in the English Department. While he was there, we worked together to inaugurate the City Tech Science Fiction Collection. Soon after that, he moved back to California for a new job. He was back in NYC to give a talk, so we picked a cool place to meet up.

    Some exhibits overlap those at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and its Steven P. Udvar-Hazy Center that I wrote about last week, such as the latter also having a Concorde airliner. Also notable is that the Space Shuttle Enterprise, which had been at the Udvar-Hazy Center, is now at the Intrepid Museum. Space Shuttle Discovery is now at the Udvar-Hazy Center. But, some similar looking aircraft are actually experimental or specialized versions, such as the Intrepid’s Lockheed A-12 compared with the Udvar-Hazy Center’s SR-71 Blackbird. There’s also some other unique displays involving LEGO: a 1:40 scale model of the Intrepid and a 50,000 brick mosaic image of the Space Shuttle Enterprise flying over New York City atop a Boeing 747.

    We couldn’t have picked a better day to go. It was a cool and clear day, so we spent most of our time on the outside exhibits on the flight deck and hanger deck, but we also went under the water line to explore the submarine USS Growler tied up at the same pier (I’ll post pictures of the Growler tomorrow).

    Flight Deck

    Conning Tower

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Conning Tower

    Bell 309 KingCobra

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Bell 309 KingCobra

    Bell UH-1A Iroquois “Huey”

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Bell UH-1A Iroquois "Huey"
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Bell UH-1A Iroquois "Huey"
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Bell UH-1A Iroquois "Huey"

    McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II

    McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II

    Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17

    Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

    Northrop T-38 Talon

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Northrop T-38 Talon
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Northrop T-38 Talon

    Grumman F-11 Blue Angels

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Grumman F-11 Blue Angels

    Lockheed A-12

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Lockheed A-12

    Grumman F-14D Super Tomcat

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Grumman F-14D Super Tomcat
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Grumman F-14D Super Tomcat
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Grumman F-14D Super Tomcat
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Grumman F-14D Super Tomcat

    Grumman F-9 Cougar

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Grumman F-9 Cougar
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Gumman F-9 Cougar

    Israel Aircraft Industries Kfir/F-21A

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Israel Aircraft Industries Kfir/F-21A

    General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, F-16

    Anti-Aircraft Batteries

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Anti-Aircraft Batteries
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Anti-Aircraft Batteries
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Anti-Aircraft Batteries

    Hanger Deck and Interior

    North American FJ-3

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, North American FJ-3

    Martin-Baker Mark V Ejection Seat

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Martin-Baker Mark V Ejection Seat

    Grumman Avenger Ball Turret

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Grumman Avenger Ball Turret
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Grumman Avenger Ball Turret

    Mercury Capsule

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Mercury Capsule

    Ship Interior

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Ship Interior
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Ship Interior
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Ship Interior
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Ship Interior

    Space Shuttle Enterprise and Exhibit Area

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Space Shuttle Enterprise
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Space Shuttle Enterprise
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Space Shuttle Enterprise
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Space Shuttle Enterprise
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Space Shuttle Enterprise's Star Trek Connections Exhibit
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Space Shuttle Wind Tunnel Model
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Space Shuttle Enterprise LEGO Mosaic

    The LEGO mosaic that capped off the Enterprise exhibit area was a cooperative construction project let by Ed Diment, who created the scale model of the USS Intrepid (below). The mosaic above depicts the Space Shuttle Enterprise’s flight over NYC before its arrival at JFK and eventual move to the Intrepid. It was constructed out of 50,000 LEGO bricks by hundreds of children and adults between July 26-28, 2013.

    LEGO Build of the USS Intrepid

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, LEGO Build of the USS Intrepid

    Built by Ed Diment, this recreation of the USS Intrepid with LEGO bricks is a 1:40 scale model. It is 22 feet long, 4 feet wide, and over 4 1/2 feet tall. It weighs 550 pounds and contains 250,000 pieces!

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, LEGO Build of the USS Intrepid
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, LEGO Build of the USS Intrepid
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, LEGO Build of the USS Intrepid

    Concorde Airliner on Pier

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Concorde Airliner on Pier
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Concorde Airliner on Pier
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Concorde Airliner on Pier
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Concorde Airliner on Pier
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Concorde Airliner on Pier
    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Concorde Airliner on Pier

    Carrier Aft

    Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, USS Intrepid Aft

  • Brick City in Niagara Falls, Nov. 2009

    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.

    Y and I drove to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls for our honeymoon in 2009. One of the places that we stopped at among the many kitschy and wonderful tourist traps there was Brick City, a huge world constructed out of LEGO sets and populated by minifigures. There were trains, planes, and automobiles. There were science fictional time-and-space juxtapositions of the American West, Ancient Egypt, and 18th century piracy. There were space shuttles landing while another stood waiting on the launch pad. There is an AC/DC concert stage and the Golden Gate Bridge. Among the beautiful discord of scenes, sets, and characters was a custom model of Niagara Falls complete with a tightrope walker and the Maid of the Mist. For a LEGO maniac like myself who was eager to explore what’s there, it was a worthwhile place to visit. Unfortunately, it seems to have have closed down since then.

    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.
    Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.

  • LEGO 8099 Midi-Scale Imperial Star Destroyer Built with Spare Bricks

    LEGO Millennium Falcon is fleeing a pursuing Midi-Scale Imperial Star Destroyer

    Thankfully, LEGO provides digital copies of their set instruction books online. This means that if you have the bricks, you can build anything in the LEGO catalog. Of course, it might take time and energy to hunt down each individual brick and element that you might need to assemble a given set if your collection is as disorganized and binned as mine is. Nevertheless, it’s satisfying being able to build something new with what you have instead of having to go out and buy it.

    In this case, I assembled a set that didn’t buy when it came out in 2010: 8099 Midi-Scale Imperial Star Destroyer. It took a considerable amount of time to find all of the bricks that I needed to complete it, and I had to cannibalize some other sets to get all of the parts. Eventually, it came together. However, I did have to make one off-color substitution deep within and hidden from external view.

    LEGO 8099 Midi-Scale Imperial Star Destroyer front view
    LEGO 8099 Midi-Scale Imperial Star Destroyer rear view
    LEGO 8099 Midi-Scale Imperial Star Destroyer side view

  • LEGO R2-D2 10225, a Reliable Desktop Companion

    LEGO R2-D2 10225 closetup of dome

    I picked up this faithful R2 unit from LEGO when I began my position as a Brittain Fellow at Georgia Tech in 2012.

    It’s the 10225 R2-D2 set that was released in 2012 (shortly before I moved back to Atlanta).

    It features a turning head, a little bit of wobble, arms, saw, data port interface, and a retractable third leg. It’s blockier looking than the 2021 R2-D2 75308 set, but its the blockiness that makes it endearing.

    LEGO R2-D2 10225 front
    LEGO R2-D2 10225 dome turned
    LEGO R2-D2 10225 left side
    LEGO R2-D2 10225 back
    LEGO R2-D2 10225 right side
    LEGO R2-D2 10225 tools deployed
    LEGO R2-D2 10225 third leg extended

    Though, be warned that R2, when left to his own devices, might try to hack your computer . . .

    LEGO R2-D2 hacking my desktop computer

  • LEGO 21304 Doctor Who’s TARDIS: It’s Bigger on the Inside

    My favorite Doctor Who is the Fourth Doctor, portrayed by Tom Baker, but the Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi Doctors aren’t too bad. Regardless of the era, the TARDIS is always bigger on the inside. Here’s some renditions of the TARDIS and recent Doctors and villians–LEGO 21304 Doctor Who and 71204 and 71238 Dimensions sets.