Dynamic Subspace

Category: Science Fiction

  • LEGO Versions of Christopher Nolan’s Batman, Tumbler, Batpod, and The Bat

    There are, in my mind, only two actors who are worthy of donning the cowl and cape: Michael Keaton and Christian Bale. Keaton’s Batman performances in Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), and most recently in The Flash (2023), holds a special place in heart as how I imagined a hard boiled Batman. Bale’s Batman in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012) reclaimed for the character what had been lost in Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever (1995) and Batman and Robin (1998), and Nolan’s trilogy elevated Batman’s narrative providing character development and science fictional plausibility. Keaton and Bale are my favorites for sharing certain elements while also approaching the character in subtly different ways.

    LEGO first captured Batman’s primary vehicle The Tumbler in set 7888, The Tumbler: Joker’s Ice Cream Surprise shown above and below. The micro Tumbler below is from The Batman Tumbler polybag 30300.

    Unfortunately, LEGO didn’t make a widely available minifigure-scale Batpod, Batman’s motorcycle escape system from The Tumbler. Instead, they had a competition for VIP members for an extremely limited set, which resulted in what I see as further erosion of what LEGO could be (play) and instantiation of what it is (making money for LEGO and aftermarket resellers).

    Thankfully, a LEGO enthusiast designed the MOC below and offered reasonably priced kits with the parts on eBay. I picked one up to go along with my Tumbler. It includes an electromagnetic pulse gun mounted on the rear quarter.

    While LEGO had done alright I thought with The Tumbler, they really dropped the ball with their The Dark Knight Rises set, 76001: The Bat vs. Bane: Tumbler Chase. The Bat, Batman’s VTOL aircraft, was cartoonish with the blue accents and lack of detail, and the military Tumbler was anemic. I would like to build a MOC of The Bat that does it justice–perhaps one day . . .

  • LEGO 40334 Avengers Tower with Tony Stark Minifigure

    LEGO Avengers Tower gift with purchase set sitting on desktop.

    LEGO’s 40334 Avengers Tower was offered as a gift with purchase (GWP) in 2019. For such a small model, it captures the iconic building from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) perfectly. And, it included a mid-transformation Tony Stark/Iron Man minifigure and tiny Quinjet. It is like a little brother to my minifigure-scale Avengers Tower MOC.

    Rotating LEGO Avengers Tower.

  • LEGO Death Star 10188 Is a Storytelling Nexus Spanning A New Hope and Return of the Jedi

    I originally built the LEGO Death Star set over some days after moving back to Atlanta for the Brittain Fellowship at Georgia Tech. Of all the LEGO sets that I’ve assembled over the years, I think this one brought me the most joy. It encapsulates major scenes from both Star Wars (1977) and Return of the Jedi (1983) and it does so in a compact, three-dimensional narrative form of haptic play. The Death Star playset permits playful time travel as minifigures are moved from space to space, interrupting the narrative in unexpected and interesting ways. It invites remixing and transformation in its solidly constructed spherical platform. The set juxtaposes before and later

    After moving to Brooklyn two years later to begin my job at City Tech, I brought it to my office (very carefully in a large carry bag), but it didn’t seem as interesting or inviting to students who dropped by during my office hours so I brought it back home at the end of the semester. I eventually sold it on Craigslist to free up space for other projects, because unfortunately, it did take up a lot of room!

    Below are wide shots of the Death Star.

    Below are close-up shots of the individual scenes.

  • Iron Man’s Three-Level Hall of Armor and Workshop LEGO MOC

    I built this gargantuan three-level Stark Tower LEGO MOC (my own creation) to bring together three concept spaces: Iron Man’s Hall of Armor, Tony Stark’s Workshop, and an X-Men Danger Room-like testing area. Also, it was a model that didn’t take up too much desk space, so I got the enjoyment of seeing it while working without it monopolizing my desk. I wasn’t going for accuracy to something canon-established. Instead, I was mashing up some different ideas into a single model with a high degree of built-in playability. Eventually, I disassembled it and used many of its bricks to create the taller Avengers Tower MOC that I built and wrote about here.

    Two-Level Origin

    The first iteration of the mode was only two-levels tall and focused on the Hall of Armor and Workshop.

    Top Level: Hall of Armor

    Armor Display

    Trap Door

    Ant-Man Hides in the Shadows

    Bottom Level: Workshop

    The Slab with Rotator Knob

    Industrial Robot on Slider

    Three-Level Expansion

    But, I thought adding a high ceiling level for testing and training, kind of like The X-Men’s Danger Room, would be cool. So, the build grew in height to enclose the Hulkbuster Armor facing off against Loki, the Winter Soldier, the Mandarin, Ultron, and an Extremis soldier.

    Hall of Armor Updates

    Workshop Updates

    Danger Room

    The knobs at the bottom center move the armatures forward and back for Ultron and one of his familiars.

  • LEGO 75212 Kessel Run Millennium Falcon on Custom Display Stand

    LEGO Kessel Run Millennium Falcon on display stand.

    This is a lightweight custom display stand for a stock LEGO 75212 Kessel Run Millennium Falcon from the underrated Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). Like the stand that I built for my heavier modified Falcon discussed here, it provides an angle upward and a swoop to the left. The landing gear lock into place on the stand and are held in place by gravity.

    I hope there will be more Han Solo and Lando Calrissian adventures with Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover. I don’t think he and the rest of the cast of Solo got a fair shake due to the behind-the-scenes production turmoil. Let’s keep the dream alive!