You find out that in one year, you will be turned into a scale LEGO person (along with anyone else you choose), and you and those persons you bring along will crew a Lego starship that you have one year to build. Money (and parts, for that matter) is no object, so you can build as big (or as small) a ship as you want.

Obviously, there will be some "leaps" of imagination involved. The Lego ships will be sealed against the vacuum, but if you build in air-locks or shuttle-bays (etc.), containment fields will work as expected. Lego computer panels will work as expected. So on, and so on.

How big will your ship be? Who will you bring along, and why? What will your ship have on it?

I'd try to build, eh, maybe ten feet long, three feet wide (at widest point), and about four feet tall. Sort of submarine-likish, with the sort of conning-tower structure you'd see on a surface warship.

The crew of this ship would probably number about 100 or so ... the ship would contain a full library (real books, not computer discs), a movie theater, gymnasium, rec-room (bar, pool table ...), defensive systems (torpedo tubes, fore and aft and port and starboard; and ship-to-ship weapons), a shuttlebay, and escape pods on each deck. Probably a pool, too. Each crewmember would have their own stateroom and bathroom ... a full service medical facility ... working turbolifts ...
 

[ October 10, 2001: Message edited by: MIB ]

All rooms and corridors would be able to be sealed off by air-lock doors. Cool stuff like that.
 

[ October 10, 2001: Message edited by: MIB ]

Yes, certainly plenty of cargo space -- foodstuffs, equipment, replacement parts ...

Everyone onboard would need to be trained to fulfill some duty or another, and you'd be looking at three or four shifts of at least 20 people each ... flight (helm, nav), security, etc ...
 

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Let's have a mini-Dexter's Lab thing going

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A which ... ?
 

MIB, what's the link ... ?
 

To TSN: I know, but when you say 'Legopolis,' it sounds like LEG-opolis. Say it. Hear for yourself.

[ October 10, 2001: Message edited by: MIB ]

To TSN: Ok. From now on, it will be Legopolis.

[ October 10, 2001: Message edited by: MIB ]

Oh wait, I have to go to me AE101 class and design spaceships for real. Sorry guys.
 

Anyway, a LEGO starship eh? Guess weapons would be pretty much out of the question then
I'd have to experiment with various techniques to create working 'massdriver' cannons (elastics, perhaps) that could inflict enough damage to another starship to rupture its outer hull - kinetics and mechanics are all I've got.

I'd go for something resembling a miniature Star Destroyer - relatively easy to build (but more importantly, strengthen/reinforce armor-wsie... LEGO constructs are fragile!), yet aesthetically pleasing. I only have one year to assemble it, so I'd prioritise the engines, sensors, computercore, and lifesupport systems - after that, I'd add in transporters (not a lot of room for shuttles on a ship that's 20 feet tall, even if they are scaled ) and a communications array. Luxury items such as holodecks, pools et all would take up any remaining space.

Hmm... I'd make sure the computer's database would contain the collective knowledge of the entire human race, and that it would have enough excess memory capacity to store that information a hundred times over. And... and... I could keep going like this for a long time
 

If I were to build a Lego Starship, I'm not sure exactly what the dimensions would be. I'd definitely like a smaller ship who's role would probably be patrol and light exploration. Something along the lines of the new Enterprise. Right around 75 people or so. Maybe about 10 decks or so with a configuration similar to the Voyager prototype (Mercury-class I think it was called).

She'd definitely have the standard crew support systems: waste management/recycling center, recreation facility, mess hall with galley, a few lounges, an athletic facility, libraries, holographic simulators, and quarters, staterooms, and bunkrooms. Definitely would need medical facilities such as surgery suites, physical therapy suites, the primary ICU wards, and a dedicated laboratory for the medical staff and CMO. I'd probably need a small counseling office and dentistry suite as well.

To run the ship, I'd definitely need the engineering areas to maintain the equipment for the faster-than-light engines and the sublight engines. The ship would also need a vast network of service crawlways and system access tunnels. Power generation facilities would be required as would the storage tanks for the fuels. There'd also need to be a bridge or other command center as well as an office/control suite for the security department (including a brig and armory). Tactical would have the equipment for launching torpedos and beam weapons as well as sheild generation and a tactical situation room. This could be tied into the main communication systems as well. There'll be a navigation room onboard that can feed coordinates up to the bridge's helm console for precious flight.

Since this ship is one of exploration as well, it's need a fairly good computer and all of the subsystems that feed into it. I'll need good sensors and backup processors hidden throughout the ship at keep areas. They'd be a few labs onboard for the science times: geosciences, biosciences, astrosciences, etc. Other odds and ends would be a shuttlebay and hangar/maintenance deck for the shuttles (one large, two medium, four small, and maybe two cargo) and facilities for cargo. We'd need cargo bays, an internal system for moving crew and cargo throughout the ships (elevators, maglifts, etc), and airlocks.
 

Also, an armory: some weapons, a shotgun or two. Never know who you're going to run into in space ... (presumeably, many people would also be building, equipping, and setting out in similar ships ...)

I'd definitily use some of the arragnements from this website in constructing my ship ... also, the design would be influenced by the Mithrandir and the Bricriu ... except, certainly, on a much larger scale.

I'm guessing I'd try to take ... eh, maybe up to 200 people altogether. That would require at least 200 individual staterooms, each with a bed, dresser, desk, and bathroom facilities (although, perhaps group bathrooms for four staterooms to share)?

I'd definitly have to get some medical people together, and give them the best facilties I could ... surgical suites, labs, etcetra.
 

I'm going to take the stance that there are no families on my ship. For the enlisted crew members, I'd have them in double-occupancy rooms with two of those rooms connected to a common bathroom and living space. The higher-up enlisted and junior officers would have a small set of quarters with two of those quarters sharing a common bathroom. The senior officers would have their own larger quarters with their own private bathroom. The staterooms would be for visiting dignitaries and would be similar to the senior officers' quarters.

By the way, this is my Enterprise post (in other words, this is post #1701 for me).
 

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Mr. Bin Laden, you are now my Where's Waldo, and unlike those difficult books, I will find you. Will Ferrell as Georg Bush on SNL 10-6-01

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[ October 11, 2001: Message edited by: Jack_Crusher ]

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I'd probably need a small counseling office and dentistry suite as well.

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For a crew of 75?!?! Good god people! Do the words "90 Day Report" mean anything to you?

(Probably not, but it wouldn't hurt ya to find out)
 

Report of the 90-day Study on Human Exploration of the Moon and Mars

Proponent: NASA
Year of plan: 1989
Costs: $500 billion, possibly more
Proposed date of Mars landing: about 2019, if project began by early 1990s
Status: Never seriously considered
Will it happen?: Absolutely not in our lifetime

Diagram of 90-day plan

This report, commonly referred to as the 90-Day Report, began as an initiative from President Bush in July 1989 when he proposed a "long-range, continuing commitment" to:

Completing Space Station Freedom in the 1990s as "a critical next step in all our space endeavors."
Returning to the moon and establishing a permanent, manned base there.
Sending astronauts to Mars.
The plan drew fire immediately because of its complexities, duration of development and cost of more than $500 billion. The plan involved using the never-built Space Station Freedom to act as an assembly area for Moon-bound spaceships. Heavy-lift rockets and shuttle flights would deliver the material to assemble the ships. The Moon-bound ships would set up a colony there and an orbiting facility to build the Mars-bound ships.
The Mars-bound spaceships, resembling fictional spacecraft "Battlestar Galactica," would contain everything needed for the 18-month round trip. Astronauts would spend two weeks on the surface before returning to the orbiting mother ship and and heading back to Earth.

The National Research Council analyzed the report and found that, for success, it would require long-term financial commitment from the U.S. government, rather than budgeting yearly, and that a lot of the development costs such as nuclear propulsion remained uncertain.

Politically, the report never got very far. Far more ambitious than the Apollo program, the 90-Day Report's arrival at the end of the Cold War combined with a budget-conscious government were a major cause of it never being taken seriously.

There's another part that discusses Mars Direct and Mars Semi-Direct.
 

Even with a crew as small as 75 people, I still see the need for a counseling office and a suite dedicated to denistry. It's not like I'm saying of those 75 people that one is solely a psychiatrist and one is solely a dentist. I see these two particular positions being filled by the medical officers would who likely be trained to some degree in two or more fields.
 

Sorry, I guess I'm just already brainwashed with the fundamental limitations of rocket science. But Jeebus Chris that's wasteful!
 

I'm also only talking about two or three extra rooms onto the medical facility. One conference room for the counselor and medical staff and one or maybe two examination rooms set up for dentistry. That's not a whole lot of space when you take into account the ship size and crew complement.
 

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I think there should be a moratorium on new shaped lego pieces.. they promote laziness.

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You couldnt be more right , finding out how to make things with what you have is half the fun of legos.
 

Ok, found it, is that coming out to stores? Is it mini-figure size or what? Holy crapola!

Actually, I want to get that Statue of Liberty replica they have ...

[ October 13, 2001: Message edited by: Malnurtured Snay ]

Physical Characteristics
Mine would be about ten feet long, four feet wide, and three to four feet tall. It would have an arrowhead shape for optimal aerobraking into the orbits of planets with substantial atmospheres.

Propulsion
My ship would have three medium sized ion engines on the aft end for acceleration and deployable magnetic sails for deacceleration where aerobraking was not possible. There would also be a displacement drive for interstellar travel.

Power
Three main medium sized fast fusion reactors powered by helium-3 isotopes with three smaller auxiliary matter/antimatter drives. I'm assuming for the purposes of this that helium-3 is more common in the galaxy than antimatter and as such more viable as a fuel.

Computers
Three connected servers that are respectively dedicated to personal, ship's systems, and collected data (ie resultant from exploration). They are of course, quantum computers.

Personnel
A crew of a 100, give or take. Each crewmember has his or her own small stateroom. Since I have no idea what hygiene will be like in the distant future, I'll say that every ten crewmembers share a 'bathroom'.

There will be a captain, an XO that doubles as the Chief Science Officer (hey, it just makes sense). The crew will be divided into two disciplines; exploration and ship's systems. For the sake of fairness, we'll say that its divided half and half; 50 scientists and 50 engineers. The engineers are responsible for maintanence and piloting. Science is divided into the major fields of science. Physics, Biology, Planetology (in place of geology, which refers to Earth specifically), Chemistry, and Astronomy/Astrophysics. Each of these will have their own dedicated labs with equipment and be further sub-divided into their individual sub-fields.

The medical staff will be an off-shoot of the Science Departmant. The Chief Medical Officer will also be the head of the Biology Division. He/She will have a staff of four (to bring the medical staff to a total of five). All other crew members will be trained in basic medicine(read: whatever the CPR level is in the distant future).

Layout
Sickbay will be located on the same deck as the crewquarters on the aft end. It will be an all purpose emerency room/operating room/dental suite/intensive care/etc. It shall be engineered thusly. There will be no children.

There will be a bridge. Main engineering will be centered around the displacement drive, and include the fusion reacters as the outer tips, as the reactors surround the drive creating a triangle.

The uppermost deck will be the bridge, which will be a low-profile superstructure. Below that will be the crew quarters and sickbay on Deck 2. Deck 2 will also include recreational and communal areas that could serve a variety of functions from mess hall to gymnasium, etc. Deck 3 are the science labs and additional multi-purpose space. Deck 4 is Engineering and ship's systems containing all the machinery to run the ship. Deck 5 would be the hanger bays and robotic bays.

Landing Craft
There will be total of five SSTO ships capable of landing on a planetoid and reaching orbit again from up to a 2g gravity well. Each of these will be able to carry up to 5 crewmembers at a time and a thousand kilograms worth of cargo. The foward end of Deck 5 will include cargo holds and the aft end will consist of machine shops dedicated to robotic contrustion. There will be robots of every possible configuration and capable of every possible function.

And the bricks will be randomly colored, of course.
 

I think I'd like to incorporate a monorail track and train for quick transport. Obviously, it wouldn't be able to go to every deck, but large stairwells would provide easy vertical movement, while horizontal movements over long distances could easily be reduced. Depending on how big the ship is, there could be two or three monorail systems on board ...

A brig would be very important -- if the need ever arose to place anyone into custody -- I would imagine four blocks, each consisting of six seperate, isolated cells, with a central control booth overseeing the cell block. Access to the control booth and guard stations would be sealed off from the cell-block, so as to prevent any detainees (whatever the situation) from overwhelming security personnel.

The bridge would be located at the top of the superstructure -- this would probably rise two or three decks from the main hull. The bridge officers would be responsible for helm and navigation. Sensor data, command, tactical, and other related functions would be handled through the CIC (in this case, the Command Information Center).

The ship (let's name her ... Indefatigable) would be maintained with a large network of science facilities, including a Stellar Cartography bay similar to what was seen in Generations.

The Sickbay would feature a dedicated surgical suite, two or three quarentine bays, a morgue, and enough beds to care for a maximum of twenty people at any one time. The medical staff would include three doctors and six nurses.

The security staff would include 12 officers, and 48 crewmembers. These crew would, among other things, take on a "police" role aboard ship, as well as providing security for landing partys or other situations. At any given time, four officers and sixteen crew would be on duty.

The Engineering and Maintenance staff would be, without a doubt, the most important group of people aboard. When damage to Indefatigable occurs, it's their job to fix it -- not to mention keeping the ship clean and functioning. The largest cargo bay would be dedicated to replacement lego blocks to replace any damage.

Uhm. That's it for now.
 

Included will (hopefully) be: engineering, shuttle bay w/ shuttle and control bay, crew "hot bunks" and bath facilities, officer's staterooms with facilities and mess hall, crew mess, CIC (Combat Information Center), mating coller and airlock for docking, small cargo-bay (and I do mean small), engine room w/ sealeable door, a possible detacheable infantry-carrier (seperate from shuttle bay), and maybe barracks for up to six infantrymen (I'll probably use Scout troopers ... or Stormtroopers, depending on when I do it ...)

I'm aiming for a complement of about thirty, including six Infantry soldiers, maybe six officers (including troop transport pilot, and shuttle pilot), and 20 or so assorted crewmen.

I'm probably going to buy one or two Rebel Blockade Runners to help with pieces on this ... engines are always hard to do. Just that restriction alone will probably put construction off until Spring Break ...

I'm guessing actual dimensions'll be four feet long, no wider then 14", and maybe about forty- or -fifty "bricks" tall ... (not quite sure what that works out to) ...
 

*snork!*
 

My heart doth ache for the absence of Legos in my life. That star cruiser is pretty much the crushing blow, however. Jeff, did you build that yourself or is that a project someone else did? I find all of these pictures interesting, though. If I get a good paying job I just may start buying Lego sets again...
 

I'm especially attached to that scale (as in, mini-fig scale, not micro-scale) U-Boat.
 

And yet, despite their amazing imagination, they still can't quite remember what the plural of Lego is. Silly monkeys.
 

You say "po-tah-to,"

I say "po-tay-to,"

And Dan Quayle says "potatoe."

And don't start on "colour". That doesn't count.

Look, you start saying "sheeps", then you can say "legos". Until then, stop it or die.
 

[ October 24, 2001: Message edited by: Siegfried ]

(We've been over this before, I know.)

Wow, BTW, @ that latest URL Amazing pieces of work - I wonder how many parts went into all of those ships...

[ October 24, 2001: Message edited by: Mojo Jojo ]

For those of you who are wondering, the CSRDL stands for The Cydonia Starfighter Research & Development Labs. It a little Lego theme I developed that's kind of like the Lockheed Skunkworks OF THE FUTURE!!!!!! You can see the three ships I have in there so far here. I'm planning on deleating the Falcon though because it really isn't any good. I'm also need to make a few minor modifications on the Python. I'm gonna keep the LE-100 police craft like it is. It has this "electric car" feel compared to the other 2 "deisel powered" ships.

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=5432

[ October 24, 2001: Message edited by: MIB ]

IMHO, though, the cockpits need to be beefed up more. They look like light fighters ... heavy fighters? Beef 'em up ...
 

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=6509

[ October 24, 2001: Message edited by: MIB ]

Eric Harshbarger's LEGO Pages

The piece that he's done that I'm absolutely in love with is this fully functional Grandfather Clock constructed entirely out of Lego blocks.

The LEGO Grandfather Clock

However, I am quite partial to his recreation of a Lego R2-D2.

The LEGO R2-D2

[ October 24, 2001: Message edited by: Siegfried ]

Which is correct as the plural of LEGO: 'Lego' or 'Legos'?

Neither, actually. The word 'LEGO', when used as a noun, should only refer to the company that makes the product. Otherwise 'LEGO' is supposed to be used as an adjective. Thus, when referring to the pieces, neither 'lego' nor 'legos' is correct... rather one should say: 'LEGO bricks' or 'LEGO pieces' or whatever (using LEGO as an adjective -- and one should really capitalize all of the letters, and put the little 'circle-R' symbol after it (�)). This is all a matter of protecting the trademark of 'LEGO' for the company (using it otherwise degenerates the strength of the trademark). This is not to say that I use the word correctly 100% of the time... but that's the answer to the question (it's always fun/painful to read the near-flame-wars that start at slashdot.org over this topic... and generally, both sides are wrong).