A match made on the launchpad.
Kerbal Space Program is a game where you assemble cool things out of neat parts and then eventually break them on accident. The Lego hobby is about literally the same thing. Understandably, there’s more than a bit of crossover.
A new proposal on Lego’s Ideas fan design site has achieved the 10,000 supporter goal needed to be considered by Lego, and creator Sam67c has assembled an absolutely lovely collection of bricks and parts to make just about any early game craft that players of Kerbal Space Program would be familiar with. There’s even a trailer showing the set off.
(Image credit: Sam67c, Lego, Private Division)
Just look at that. The perfectly stacked piles of rocket parts are immediately familiar from my time playing Kerbal. The rocket cockpit modules in both one- and two-kerbal sizes to the batteries, probe computer cores, and more. Of course, since it’s an Ideas proposal it’s not set in stone, and any resulting set might not have the stuff Sam67c uses in the videos and proposal shots—but still, it’s pretty dang impressive.
Proposed builds even include adorable rockets with two solid fuel boosters alongside. The perfect craft for those intrepid space engineers trying to make their first Mun landing. I like the dedication to Kerbal-realism in the complete kit, with Poodle, Vector, and Skipper rocket engines on display.
“Build either the standard ship, complete with Mk1-3 Cockpit that fits two kerbals inside, or build your own designs from a collection of over 40 possible mini builds! Parts include a range of in-game items from the Small and Medium item sizes that are most commonly used and have the most lego parts in common. Engines, fuel tanks, batteries and cockpits all connect vertically through either a 6×6 or 4×4 round plate while solar panels and RCS tanks use clips positioned around the circumference of major parts,” says Sam67c.
Sam’s designs evolved over the course of the campaign, with further proposals including materials for stage separators—so your rocket can blast apart properly—and even a design for the Rovemate rover body so familiar to Kerbal players. You can find the designs and Sam67c’s proposed upgrades on the Kerbal Space Program – Modular Ship System Lego Ideas Page. Having gotten 10,000 supporters, the idea will go to Lego for consideration and the working out of whatever thorny license issues might arise with Kerbal publisher Take-Two.
This isn’t the first Lego Kerbal design I’ve seen, but it is my favorite. Past Ideas proposals have mostly been dioramas or busts—more display pieces than something you could actively play with. That’s not to say I don’t like the Kerbal Space Program diorama or this quite possibly life-size Jebediah Kerman statue. I do like those—but there’s a reason they didn’t make it to 10,000.
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