Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Aquanauts + Moonbase = Awesome

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.

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