Introducing the Outpost 6987 Blacktron build project

Talented fan builder Simon Pickard and his father David Pickard have been working on an exciting new LEGO Blacktron build project, that they are now ready to reveal – get ready for the beginnings of Outpost 6987…

These are the first few images of a long term collaboration I am starting with my father, David Pickard. My initial dream was to create an AFOL version of the 6987 Message Intercept Base, which even today is still considered one of the LEGO Group’s best releases. Although the design we are working on now bears no similarities to this inspiring set, we are calling the project ‘Outpost 6987’ in homage to it.

This project will be undertaken over many years but will slowly grow into a larger base with the main compound buried into the side of a mountain. We knew the size of this project would depend on the spacecraft we wanted in the service bays etcetera. Once we established the dimensions needed, we got to work with the landing pad and you can see a spacemen clearing the way for our spaceship’s arrival. I have only just finished designing this spaceship and it will be appearing at Brick Live this year.

When I built my Aliens Load Lifter for Blocks magazine, I proposed to my father that we could turn these into a series of support mechs around the base and this is the first picture of this conversion. At the show there will be many more of them because my father is great at taking a design and replicating it quickly – sometimes improving on the original design as well.

There is also a now fully lit corridor that I created a long time ago for our first teaser image showing a Blacktron spaceman about to step into the great unknown. I’ve never been one for thinking much about lighting models and this is where my father’s collaboration really shows its muscle as he has made sure the tunnel is going to be fully lit for the show. I’m hoping – given he’s not yet seen the finished spaceship – that he might get our engine lighting up and running too.

If you’re attending Brick Live at the NEC, Birmingham over the next few days be sure to check out Simon and David’s new project, as well as the multitude of amazing creations in the AFOL zone.