Tag Archives: Blackbird

This LEGO Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Is A Bold Brick-based Tribute to Aviation’s Fastest Jet

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The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is a true aviation legend. Developed in the 1960s, this reconnaissance jet set the bar for speed and stealth, cruising at Mach 3 and reaching altitudes over 85,000 feet. Engineered primarily for high-speed, high-altitude intelligence gathering, it quickly became an icon of the Cold War era, untouchable by enemy missiles and outpacing everything else in the skies. Its titanium skin and advanced aerodynamics embodied the cutting-edge technology of its time, pushing the limits of engineering and daring. Now, this iconic aircraft has been reimagined in a completely different medium: LEGO bricks. A detailed, fan-made LEGO model of the SR-71 Blackbird is making waves for its impressive recreation of this iconic plane.

Designer: Buds 234

This LEGO model of the SR-71 distills the original aircraft’s spirit perfectly. With every detail meticulously crafted, the model captures the SR-71’s sleek, elongated form, its sharply defined nose, and its sweeping wings. The LEGO model includes functional flaps, retractable landing gear, and a fully realized cockpit, each piece integrated to honor the original’s groundbreaking design. This project, created by aerospace engineering student by the name of ‘Buds 234’, reflects both technical appreciation and a keen eye for detail—details that ensure this MOC (My Own Creation) goes beyond a typical LEGO build, bringing a model that’s both captivating and technically faithful to the real SR-71.

Designing a model with this level of complexity in LEGO form isn’t easy. Capturing the SR-71’s aerodynamic design with limited brick options requires an advanced understanding of both LEGO techniques and aviation engineering. The builder succeeded in creating a miniature that’s structurally sound while visually true to the original. While Buds 234 doesn’t detail how many bricks were used in the final build, he does mention adding several stickers and intricate features and details to retain the Blackbird’s authenticity.

The completed model stands on a supportive base with a plaque detailing the SR-71’s key specifications, offering an extra layer of historical and educational value, along with two suited minifigures that can even be fitted into the plane’s cockpit.

Rather than a simple exterior, the LEGO build includes a fully realized cockpit, retractable landing gear, and working flaps, giving it a touch of mechanical authenticity. Aside from merely capturing the Blackbird’s shape, it allows fans to explore its functional design too – making it a must-have for aerospace enthusiasts.

In a touching nod to the people behind the plane, this model includes a tribute to Marta Bohn-Meyer, NASA’s first female SR-71 pilot and flight engineer. Bohn-Meyer’s contributions to high-speed flight testing were instrumental in expanding knowledge of aerodynamics, and she left a lasting impact on the program.

The LEGO Ideas Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is currently a fan-made submission on the LEGO Ideas forum – an online community where LEGO enthusiasts share their own creations. With over 1400 votes in just 3 days, the SR-71 Blackbird is well on its way to hitting the 10,000 vote mark, following which the MOC will be reviewed by LEGO’s internal team and hopefully turned into a retail box set! You can vote for the LEGO Ideas Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird on the LEGO Ideas website here.

The post This LEGO Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Is A Bold Brick-based Tribute to Aviation’s Fastest Jet first appeared on Yanko Design.

This jet-black cabin uses razor-sharp angles to create the ideal 007 getaway!

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STIPFOLD, an architecture and design studio, develops projects that are meant to ignite your curiosity. Driven by the pursuit of singularity and the advancement of technology, the studio’s aim during the creation process is to construct buildings that leave an emotional mark, even if any given design doesn’t exactly match your style. Born out of a 6-hour long sketch period, Blackbird, STIPFOLD’s latest project does just that.

Blackbird is a getaway cabin that exists as “a place to be by oneself.” The getaway cabin, an angular structure of black mass combined with tinted glass and a jagged, haphazard display of metal beams, resembles a spaceship that can land in any environment. As conceptualized, Blackbird has landed in a Georgian forest clearing, amidst dense fog and textured pine trees, where it appears right at home. From the outside, below a white, cloudy sky, Blackbird’s asymmetrical frame has a tough exterior constructed from metal to provide a sense of security. Meant to dissolve the barrier between nature and the interior, the tinted glass windows evoke a feeling of privacy, like a lookout that allows its residents to remain hidden while scanning their surroundings.

STIPFOLD remains committed to blurring boundary lines in order to create unified spaces that permeate all of their designs. The same is true for Blackbird. Inside the getaway cabin, the different rooms seamlessly merge with one another, being only visually separated by means of interior design. The kitchen and resting area share the same room, but are separated by the kitchen’s island and resting area’s fireplace. Sharing the same exhaust hood, the kitchen’s aluminum-clad island merges effortlessly with the open fireplace. While the exterior of Blackbird works to ward off unwanted visitors, the interior welcomes all else with natural wood elements transparent, floor-to-ceiling glass pane windows.

Designer: STIPFOLD

Following a 6-hour long sketch, Blackbird was conceptualized.

The getaway cabin comes equipped with a parking spot and a roofed outdoor patio.

The jet black angles of Blackbird provide a sense of security against the brush of the forest.

Room barriers dissolve into one another inside Blackbird, creating one unified space.

‘Hardspace: Shipbreaker’ is a puzzle-solving parable

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Hardspace: Shipbreaker is a game from Canadian studio Blackbird Interactive that launches in Steam Early Access on June 16th. You play as a shipbreaker, tasked with the dangerous job of cutting up disused spaceships to salvage their contents. Wearing...

Lockheed’s ‘Son of Blackbird’ spy plane might already be here

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The Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird is one of the most recognizable aircraft designs in history. Few other planes have captured the public's attention and imagination in quite the same way as the SR-71 has since it was declassified in 1990 (nearly 30...

Lockheed Martin Shows off SR-72 Concept

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One of the highest performing jet aircraft ever produced was the Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird. That aircraft has been retired for years but was so far ahead of its time that some of the components...