u/Remarkable-Detail493

Classic Space hooked its claws into me irrevocably when it came about in the late '70s. It remains my favorite of all LEGO themes and I wish fervently that sci-fi Space was an evergreen theme like City or Ninjago. For this build, I paired my love of CS with my passion for Macross with its pantheon of transformable fighters and spaceships. The original Monster, which featured in Super Dimensional Fortress: Macross, was a huge non-transforming artillery mech. In 1999, Shoji Kawamori redesigned it to feature a three-mode conversion much like the variable fighters that feature so prevalently in the various Macross series. To my eyes, it's a beautiful design, one I wished very much to capture in a MOC. This model is actually my second attempt. It skews much closer to Kawamori's art than my previous version, which was larger and more complex, but ultimately too heavy for the available joints at the time. I wanted to build this in dark tan with red and dark grey accents, but many of the parts I needed didn't exist in those colors at the time. I had a lot of blue and grey, however, and i thought CS livery would look pretty cool on this mech. See if you agree.

I love transformable robots/mecha. I also love LEGO. LEGO's Cargo theme is one that resonates with me, and for a number of years I tried in vain to MOC a transformable VTOL cargo plane where the cargo compartment and its load would remain intact throughout the transformation process. In 2013, LEGO released set 60021 Cargo Heliplane to my extreme delight, as I'm an aviation buff, and a fan of tiltrotor and VTOL aircraft in particular. Too, the new specially molded cockpit parts provided a nexus around which I found my ideas for the transforming concept to begin taking shape. In 2015, I finished my Variable VTOL Series one, or VV-1. Since Hercules was already taken by the Lockheed C-130, I chose the Biblical strongman, Samson, as its working name. Samson is fully transformable without removing/replacing any parts, the cargo compartment remains intact throughout or can be compacted on his back when empty, he's fully articulated, with retractable landing gear and working nose wheel steering. He also has a built-in winch in the ceiling of his cargo compartment for lifting objects while in plane mode. His engines can swivel 360 degrees for omnidirectional control inflight. Big Hero 6's Baymax served not only as visual inspiration (lots of rounded edges), but also inspired my idea that he'd be a friendly A.I. driven companion to his human pilots, assisting them with carrying out their logistics missions both on the ground and in the air. Hope you like.

I'm both a long-time LEGO and Macross fan, and I enjoy the challenge of blending those two interests. The model transforms between fighter, GERWALK, and battroid modes without parts-forming, features an accessible cockpit with a Milia Jenius minifig, retractable landing gear, and extensive articulation throughout. I have little talent for graphics, but eventually I'd like to complete the livery on the model to match Kawamori's art.

This is my take on the VF-9 Cutlass, one of Kawamori's older and more unique valkyrie designs. It's 99% LEGO; however, there were a few shortfalls in the LEGO palette regarding both colors and types of bricks, and I, normally a purist, turned to Brickwith to provide what LEGO didn't. I'm glad I did as the model benefitted and I shall be more open-minded going forward. The model transforms without parts-forming, features an opening canopy, and retractable landing gear with, admittedly, janky nose steering. Still looking for better solutions. The model is articulated throughout and fairly poseable.