Re-imagine seatron part 1
Re-imagining seatron part 2
Re-imagined seatron part 3
Re-imagine seatron part 4
For what is the final post regarding the Re-Imagine SeaTron Moc I'm introducing an additional build.
Dun dun dunk splash sink sink sink... It's a Diving Bell Underwater Space Station... don't ask how we got it there ;)
A bit of backstory on the development.
Initially I envisioned a modular station delivered in parts by the epic Seatron spaceship. The Submarine's cargo pod happened to be the first and last part of my stab at getting it done. As it so happens, there just is not a lot of yellow in Blacktron and I had trouble mentally conceiving a design at all, let alone a good design. in the yellow and black color scheme, especially as I wanted yellow to be a dominant color. So I diverted and the diving bell was constructed while the wall became a cargo container. It's perhaps less yellow than I would have liked.
The Diving Bell dome contains a lab which is twin to my SeaTron Spaceship's lab Nothing says theme like too much repetition... Blacktron II, Space Police II, . yeah... Yeah they overdid some things. I feel that there could have been more detail on this front window area, but the lack of mount points and my goal of a clean design prevented me from attempting much more. I added a 1x2 printed piece once I'd fully disassembled Battrax. The red rocket tips were also a late addition, they serve as part of the air refresh system hiding underneath. Spoiler alert... the aerator is just 4 Honeycomb bricks. Once again a slushy tides over my scientist's insatiable thirst.
It all folds over like a nautilus shell, and the half stud offset crane legs worked well with the classic hinges to bring everything together for a polished fit and finish that would please the younger set as they beat on this... er... play with this toy.
The classic 2 and 3 finger hinges wrap these large straight space dome windows over each other. There are some big gaps, but the darker colors help to give a good sense of enclosure. And the arrows indicate an active play feature. If you want to play inside just raise the enclosure.
You'll notice that I went Bricklinking for a few pieces, so right away I'll indicate what I did not get from Futuron, Blacktron, Space Police, or M-Tron... all of which I've reviewed here on my blog.
Via Peeron
Since I've become a grownup there have been a lot of pieces I wanted badly as a kid which came and went. 6541 Intercoastal Seaport's crane legs are one such instance. Seeing as I am superficially speaking... grown up. I've had to decide what Lego toys to actually put money on, and otherwise, go Bricklink spelunking for those other dearly beloved old bricks. So no, I don't have Intercoastal Seaport... but it is one of the grand old toys that makes me clutch my crinkly catalogs and be like... The toys back then were so awesome! I really wanted the Nautica sets when I was little... but all I got was a Firestation... I guess they thought... the crane is red, and this fire station is red... Aha, we've figured out what our little boy has really asked for is the color red.
via Bricklink
I did like that Firestation too though.
Via Peeron Incidentally this piece appeared in 1991 in the color Yellow, and 1998 in the color Grey.
The Grey part was from a Soccer set, one of my personal favorite themes to kick while its down, I was not looking for Soccer Lego in Highschool... but them's the bricks. Sidenote; I would absolutely like to get the grey variant of these stands for some Unitron/Space Police II/Classic Space MOCs.
Via Peeron
8230 Coastal Cop Buggy. This Technic car from 1996 was the first set to get the round 2x2 transparent blue cylinder brick. In the selection of all the sets to peruse I can't really point to any of them as toys I would want to collect... but the 4553 train wash was something I thought about trying to get for its space pieces... I wasn't about to collect train sets... As a Highschooler, I was just trying to figure out where the pieces I wanted were going to come from. Praise be to Bricklink... the future turned out better than expected.
The blue bit on top is the steering nob. I have one spare from Bricklink ordering and thought it would be a nice touch on my diving bell's primary play feature. Currently the earliest this space station could have been built, as is, was '96. I've never been one for Technic... so that's why this set wasn't sought out. It is kinda Futuron colored... So I coulda made it work.
Viking Voyager from Castle 1987 contains the Plate 1x4 offset in Yellow.
The part would not show up again until 1998 for 1 Adventurer set, and one Hydronaut set. Despite it's poor distribution this part would have been available to get the space Station made in the expected timeframe 1987-96 as it were.
Back to the MOC
Those arrows are even more indicator arrows... that means I've built an action feature.
I load the submarine like this and turn the round brick, Because anyone who bought Lego toys in the 80's and and early 90's knows, round bricks mean something amazing will happen. Did you See that Red crane earlier in the post with the grey round brick on it's side? I'm using the same parts to build this!
Submarine Elevator! Up up and it's gone folks. The only thing left to see is Honey comb bricks!
The Submarine window can open fully while inside the dome. I've removed the flip up portion to better show how thing's fit inside. I would have liked to mount my yellow rack at the bottom and the top... but It actually holds, and I didn't design the top to accept a mount point with period appropriate pieces in a way I could figure out. However... I don't think it would hold up to significant play by enthusiastic kids... I can do it... but I operate it with a gentle steady twist like I'm playing Operation.
Now for some fun with the existing spaceship. Deliveries can be made from the spaceship's landed lab to the underwater lab's larger facility. Robot helps.
Submarine enroute. Sadly the magnet's grip is not strong enough to hold the sub by either front or back... a kid would need to hold both to get things where they're going.
Delivery inbound!
The elevator can take the cargo while our yellow submarine departs.
Meanwhile inside the lab some repairs are being made to a rocket module. The Lab can perform delicate repairs or upgrades in the lab's artificially controlled atmosphere.
For more deliveries the spaceship carries the cargo in yet another modular reconfiguration. The refurbished rockets are ready to rumble.
The Pilots and lab technician prepare to offload their latest haul. Robot got lazy and wandered off.
Green stuff is the cargo apparently...
OMG it's soo much Slushies mix! every lab has a slushy, my astronauts and underwater spacemen love them dearly. And how do you get Slushies mix... it's very hard to find. They had to bring it all the way from earth in an ice cold container cuz it's super cool and delicious.
At this point I suppose it's apparent that if I keep looking for modular re-configurations I'm going to find something I missed... Rocket Booster modules will fit here in a pair. I think this configuration looks nice... It's a mild adjustment of a design I showed in one of the first posts.
This is Seatron as I've reimagined it. It's the Swiss Army of MOCs. I hope you've enjoyed seeing it as much as I enjoyed sharing it.
Sincerely, the Cure-all Pill
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