Posted by
Dan
at
11:34 PM
| Name of Model: AquaLAB |
| Created by: bort138 |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/50294857@N08/sets/72157624970481537/ |
Details:  As I've mentioned before, there are never enough good Aquazone models. At some level, I can understand the distaste - as the first "playtheme", Aquazone looks a little like the beginning of an annoying trend to long-time LEGO fans who preferred the days of evergreen themes always being available. Alas, the days of always having Town, Space, Castle, and Pirates around are behind us, and we're now stuck in the world of themes rotating in-and-out every two years or so for the foreseeable future. In spite of that baggage, though the Aquazone theme actually was pretty interesting, and since it lasted three years originally AND has had two reboots, it's arguably an "evergreen" theme itself (a recent BrickJournal issue recapped LEGO's on-and-off habits with underwater themes).
This is not "just" an Aquanauts base, though - it's built as several modules in the moonbase standard. This was actually featured as part of the Space layout at BrickCon 2010 (which worked well as a way to open up the theme and include this in a collaborative layout). The details on this model are every bit as stunning as its size - while the vehicles around the AquaLAB look like they could be sets, every one of them is an original creation. All of the modules are fully furnished - this is one of the few bases that actually has enough amenities to function as real living quarters for its inhabitants. The modules even have removable roofs so that you can see all the interiors. True to theme, there's also a room for processing crystals.
|
|
Posted by
Lego Model of the Day
at
4:00 AM
| Name of Model: Underwater Station | | Created by: timura86 | | Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=406237 | Details:
 There aren't enough good Aquazone layouts out there. Here's a small base for loading a decent-sized Aquanaut sub (and a few smaller subs). The ship has some non-LEGO supports to hold it up, but considering how hard it would be to truly recapture the feel of the Aquashark set 6190 Shark's Crystal Cave in an Aquanaut-themed model, I think it's fine. Besides, submarines don't generally land on the ocean floor, so a higher loading area that requires the submarine to hover above the ocean floor is more realistic. Any submarine that can carry this size of Aquanaut army is clearly doing things right.
For those of you with no idea what I'm talking about, Aquazone was a LEGO theme introduced in 1995 and phased out around 1999. It was loosely revived more recently as "Aqua Raiders", which is even more confusing since "Aquaraiders" was also the name of the drill-happy faction released in 1997. The original two factions were Aquanauts and Aquasharks. Sadly, the short life of the Aquazone series is now seen as the beginning of the "playthemes" phenomenon, where LEGO is increasingly releasing short-lived lines with original characters and simple plot lines (like good guys vs bad guys in fantasy wars - you'll notice very similar plots in Power Miners, Agents, the current Pirates line, Exo-Force, Mars Mission, Life On Mars, etc.). Now it's a bit easier to see the writing on the wall where discontinued themes go - pretty much anything that LEGO's "playthemes" department works on isn't bound to stick around.
...of course, that will never stop us from reviving our favorites for original creations - which is why models like this one are so exciting in the first place. These models revive something special that was clearly only meant for a few years that have since passed. |
|
Posted by
Lego Model of the Day
at
2:12 PM
| Name of Model: unknown | | Created by: bhamilto1 | | Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=46437 | Details:
 If you're like me at all, you've spent some time recently complaining about Lego's new "Aquaraiders" line because it very obviously rips off their older Aquazone line, but this time the bad guys (the raiders) are now the good guys (who were called "Aquanauts" and later "Hydronauts" in the original line).
But if you're not like me, that all sounded like gibberish. In any case, we don't see enough underwater castles made of Lego. Even when we do see underwater castles, it's not often that we see them in the proper color scheme for the original 1995 Lego Aquazone series, and we almost never see them done by people with the funds to track down all the specialized pieces used in that line.
Oh, and sorry the post's up late today. I'm still working out the kinks of this thing, but I would like to keep the updates regular. |
|
|
|
