Boy, the way Glen Miller played... Songs that made the hit parade... Guys like us, we had it made... Those were the days...
About this creation
My classic spacemen have been complaining that I never play with them anymore. "You only bring us out to use as a minor prop in some MOC, maybe make a snide remark about our obsolescence, and then stuff us back in that Ziploc bag! We don't get no respect, I tell ya, no respect! When was the last time you built us a base, or a ship, or a rover? We may be old but we're not dead, you know!"
A return to my roots -- if I'd had the pieces twenty-five or more years ago, I might have built something very much like this. Or might have wanted to, more like it. The MGS incorporates a few features I wouldn't have known how to pull off back then.
An interesting build, to say the least. The wheels and chassis proceeded smoothly. The body did not. I originally wanted the classic gray/trans-green colors in a sleek modern design, all slopes and diagonals and tricky SNOT construction. Nothing I did looked quite right.
So eventually I thought, why am I trying to complicate things? It's an old school color scheme, why not go with your old school building technique as well -- just stack bricks and plates. Keep it simple, stupid.
 
And there you have it. It turned out boxy, but I like it -- it has an almost Hummeresque profile.
I even like the studdy top, and I'm usually heavily biased towards studless builds. It is possible that I'm blinded by nostalgia. If this had been a set when I was a kid, I totally would have wanted it.
Classic Space color scheme - check. Classic Space construction - check. It just needed a Classic Space kind of name, some forgettable generic label having to do with exploration and discovery... something like "Mobile Geologic Surveyor" - check mate.
All right, on to the fun stuff. The MGS was designed to be played with, to be pushed around while making big rumbly engine sounds. What looks like a regular old exhaust pipe is really the steering mechanism.
 
The MGS features four-wheel steering. The wheels don't pivot that far, but they do the job. It isn't the most nimble thing on six wheels, but the vehicle will turn left and right.
So the intrepid classic spacemen have maneuvered the beast to a likely spot, a good place to take soil samples and... do whatever else they do. You know, sciencey stuff. The doors swing open...
 
The ramp extends...
And out comes... Hey, what the heck is that thing anyway?
Well might you ask. This, my friends, is a Speedy. Speedy is the oldest MOC I can remember making, invented when I was about five. I liked him so much that for many years whenever I built a base there would be a Speedy to go with it, and most of my ships had to have some sort of cargo hold to fit one. I named him Speedy because he was really fast. Bet you never could have figured that out.
I'm not really sure what Speedy did, exactly -- served as a sort of mascot, pet, cute R2-D2 type comic relief, I don't know... I remember he didn't talk, he beeped, and I had the pieces to make three at once, but only one would have the Classic Space logo on the sides -- he would be the leader Speedy. Maybe his patriotic color scheme was good propaganda for the homesick spacemen: "U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A!"
 
I'm still rather fond of old Speedy, in case my devoting so many pictures to him hasn't already tipped you off. I purposely dug out an old beat up red slope and 2x4 gray plate (both complete with my childhood teethmarks) to go with the faded CS logo bricks, old wheels, and old reverse slope computer on the back. Every piece in this current Speedy is the same piece that would have been in one almost thirty years ago.
 While I've taken you on this maudlin trip down memory lane the spacemen have done whatever it is they came to do, so let's follow them back inside. That will give me just enough time to point out that while Speedy was designed by a five year old back in 1980, he still looks better than 90% of the Warthogs on MOCpages. (Come on, you had to see that coming!)
Pretty basic interior -- room for Speedy in back, and plenty of computers for data analysis, downloading music, and looking at online porn and Lego MOCs. Hopefully separating those last two... that would be a weird combination. No need to thank me for that unsavory mental image.
The trouble with a three-man crew is that the guys who didn't get to drive were always trying to call shotgun -- sometimes it would come to blows. So central command did away with the front passenger seat and installed some storage units there instead.
Of course somebody still gets the chance to be a backseat driver.
"Hey, slow down! Watch out for that crater up ahead! No, don't go that way!"
"Will you shut up! So help me, I'll turn this Mobile Geologic Surveyor around RIGHT NOW!"
The strip of grill tiles along the floor is there because without it there'd be a gap at the base of the wall where it needs to clear the round tanks on the outside. I considered tiling the entire floor area but exercised some restraint. So consider them baseboard heaters or something.
A few more shots of the exterior, and we'll call it a day.
The satellite dish is more often than not a source of frustration: "Five hundred forty channels and nothing but reality shows on? I think I'm gonna kill myself."
While on a mission, the MGS may be the only vehicle in a thousand-kilometer radius. But it still needs brake lights, just in case.
When storing fuel or volatile gases, you want the tanks as exposed and vulnerable as you can get them.
The floodlights are brighter than supernovae, the radio antenna is impervious to the most ruthless carwash, and of course the horn plays La Cucaracha.
 
All right classic spacemen, are you satisfied? You like your new ride? Good -- see you in another twenty years or so, then.
Comments
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I like it |
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December 8, 2011 |
Lots of funny write up, and a great truck/thing. And the speedy is cool, too. |
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I like it |
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June 28, 2011 |
Very nice, the style and retro parts are amazing. I wish I had more of that radar piece on top (I recieved many parts from the space era from friends and neighbors) but some are broken. It's too bad the present ones aren't like that anymore. |
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I like it |
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Alex Huffman May 11, 2010 |
nicely done |
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I like it |
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April 30, 2010 |
Nice job, I really like the v2's facelift though. |
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I like it |
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November 10, 2009 |
All In The Family, right? love that show, and this creation, especially the turning wheels. nice moc! |
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I like it |
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July 9, 2009 |
Wow, you are really good! Not just the creation (which is impressive by itself to say the least) but the presentation is unequalled by anything else I have seen on MOCpages! It adds so much! Good job and keep it up! |
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I like it |
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April 3, 2009 |
sweet ride! |
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I like it |
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March 21, 2009 |
Awesome job! I love the neo-classic space theme. Perfect vintage style vehicle! |
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I like it |
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May 27, 2008 |
GREAT CREATION!!!long live speedy!!is there a possible way for you to send instructions?? |
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I like it |
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May 6, 2008 |
Long live Speedy!!!!!!!!! |
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I like it |
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March 30, 2008 |
This looks like a moon bus on steroids. Anyways it is a good moc. |
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I like it |
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March 30, 2008 |
I wasn't around when Lego was making Classic Space, so I don't get the nostalgia part. It's an excellent MOC either way. |
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I like it |
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March 28, 2008 |
Hey Shannon, I did the math on that, it's actually 96 percent... 96. And, is it strange that those are the only two things I look at on the internet...never mind. Great build, but you don't need me to tell you that. Later ~ Chris. |
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I like it |
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March 28, 2008 |
Its a work of art. Can't think of what else to say. |
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I like it |
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March 28, 2008 |
Ah, old school lego, how you've grown. I am really liking this. I especially like the radar dish. My only complaints are that the black domes on the wheels might look better as black smooth round tiles and that old school lego figures wouldn't stand for those bley mechanical hands on the front. I am glad you shared speedy with us. It reminds me of an old childish creation of mine. |
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I like it |
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March 28, 2008 |
Nice work. I like the interior and the ramp. |
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There is something in the proportions that not me conevence completely. But it is a good idea |
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I like it |
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March 28, 2008 |
Nice to see that your ramp definitely doesn't have any problems with ED. What a great six-wheeled monster this is! You should make more of these plastic flashbacks: perhaps with a Blacktron II inspired cockpit or something... |
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I like it |
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March 28, 2008 |
thats Fantastic man! good job! |
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I like it |
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March 28, 2008 |
Not your best, but 5/5 for Speedy. |
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I like it |
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March 28, 2008 |
Big and chunky - very nice. Lee. |
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I like it |
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March 28, 2008 |
This is awesome! The steering's a nice touch, with a decent quantity of greebles all around. |
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I like it |
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March 28, 2008 |
Did my Moc have some design influence? Maybe? No? Oh well,it looks good and I love the extendendable ramp.Unfortunately,I'm to young to remember the old classic space sets.This Moc should that as a monument to them. Nice Moc. |
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I like it |
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March 28, 2008 |
This makes me wish this was a set. I think the way you did this makes it look like it could be seen in the pages of a LEGO catalog. Also, the photo captions were very amusing and help enhance the MOC as a whole. I like how you show the viewer the Speedy. |
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I like it |
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March 28, 2008 |
Ah! That does take me back. A bit more complex than we might have seen back in the day, but it's got that old Lego car smell. Nothing finer as the weekend approaches here than to harken back to the days of Saturday morning cartoons, barely audible over the sound of a kid's hands rummaging through a big box of Legos. Good times!! |
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I like it |
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March 28, 2008 |
ROFL Oh god what a great build! I can't pick my favourite feature: Speedy or the La Cucaracha horn!!! (Is that an upsidedown blue computer slope on Speedy's rear? Man, the northern hemisphere really is the oppisite of down Under...) So MANY cool features; do we really have to wait another 20 years for the next one?!?!?!?!?! |
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I like it |
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March 28, 2008 |
Too cool ! Your Classic Space guys must be happy to have such an awesome vehicle ! The ramp is a very nice feature.
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