Subject:
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Space Factory translation, part one.
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.space
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Date:
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Mon, 25 Feb 2002 12:08:40 GMT
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Viewed:
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1026 times
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Hi all,
Marc Atkin is my hero! He translated the first twenty pics "just for fun".
Many many thanks, Marc! So here we are. Sorry for posting just the text here
instead of a complete translated gallery, but that would mean two days of
work in Photoshop®... However, hope you'll enjoy it.
Regards from Germany
Fred
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/01.startchart.jpg
SPACE FACTORY®
I could never believe that a legend like LL497 could have been created in a
frosty factory hall in Billund.
I'd expect something greater. A subspace dock for example, 1200 studs wide.
Or a dimension where blue, grey and trans-yellow atoms randomly bob around
until causing a Big Bang, culminating in the best page of the 1980
LEGO®-catalog.
Don't you agree?
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/02.kubrickscube.jpg
One important question has never been answered: What does one of these red
cosmonauts do after he has nicely totalled his LL918?
What'll a poor white astronaut do when it's time to say goodbye to his
corroded 886 with half a million miles on its mileage indicator?
Ok, you could get it on eBay, but everyone knows that the prices there soar
as quickly over market value as the Enterprise does going through a wormhole.
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/03.mit_926.jpg
But DON'T PANIC. Just hitch a ride through the galaxy and get dropped off in
space sector LL.49.X. That's a kind of intergalactic Detroit. Since the
White Trash Wars under General F. Ibblesnork (1987-93), its formerly good
infrastructure has been been reduced to one location: The Space Factory.
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/04.926.ruine.jpg
The trashy neighbor of the Space Factory isn't the factory museum, but the
outpost 4.9.3., which was abandoned many years ago. It was from there that
the whole planet had been industrustrialized. Yes, those guys were still
heroes. Even in this windy corner of the galaxy they couldn't even close the
door. The ruin's only use nowadays is to demonstrate the relative size of
the technocratical monster that is our main focus.
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/05.mit_trafo.jpg
You can't do anything electrical without mass - and here it's the mass of
gray 4x4 satellite dishes that is notable. 84 of them are in this
transformer station. Many a reader will remember that I needed plenty of
them then, in early 2001.
Again many heartfelt thanks for the numerous contributions. Without them the
station's workers would be on the dark side due to energy shortages.
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/06.schrottplatz.jpg
Naturally a factory such as this occasionally has to dispose of some trash,
which finds its final peace here. A pile of garbage, which you couldn't buy
for under $ 20,00 initial asking price on ebay: 6901 (very rare in Germany),
a rocket from a 483 (only used once), the fork lift part from a 487 (of
course without the spring), bits from 462, 6941, and lots more.
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/07.hintertor.jpg
Size does matter: Based on minifig scale this gate would be about 30 ft.
high. But this piece of crap still isn't big enough - more on that later.
Note the high shelf on the inside right. Officer Justin Time, the stores
supervisor, had it made a while ago, to temporarily keep structures for the
452. This became necessary due to delivery difficulties by the company that
made transparent radar dishes.
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/08.lift.jpg
Pull my fing... ehm... elevator: This turbolift is a bit silly because there
is a turbo missing. Quite the opposite: it doesn't have any means of
propulsion, other than the hand of the designer.
Using the push design you can see on the right (or as Lego would say:
"Multimechanical start-stop equalizer"), the elevator can stop on every
floor; and it's used to activate the sliding doors on the higher floors.
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/09.dachvogel.jpg
J.J. Chatking* is the building's caretaker, and he has gone straight to the
top. This is partly due to the fact that he's at work 40 hours a day (which
has made him quite popular), and partly to his official vehicle, a modified 885.
He rushes around the station on it, cares for the warm water and plasma
pipes, and is always jovial. He was born in a small English town. This town
hasn't existed for a long time, but he still remembers it fondly.
*Note: I made him the caretaker because in the german newsgroup
www.1000steine.de Jojo "J.J." Koehler (lugnet member no. 693) is known as
the man chatting and posting around the clock. Completely incredible. And
the English town where he (the caretaker...) was born is an allusion to set
1592.
"J.J." and me have got a running gag in the newsgroup: One time we found out
that two or three versions of 1592 are existing (concerning just the
stickers) and after that we began to build various 1592's like these:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Pudie/hattersheim2001/1592snow.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/olivgrau/Meeting-30-12-2001/1592space.jpg
This became a contest between us and we're laughing steady about our 1592
fantasies like the "underwater-edition" or the "paradisa style 1592" and so on.
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/10.begruessung.jpg
You're welcome. Perhaps. You may be greeted in one of many different ways
when standing in front of the gate, asking for admittance. One is especially
for known late-payers who still spout negative comments. Or astronauts who
bring oversized wooden horses. They get a shot across the bow. Which can
also happen if the gatekeeper in the booth is simply in a bad mood that day
-- due to his go-nowhere job. But that's not important right now.
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/11.waffen.jpg
The other possibility: You are a pizza delivery that doesn't deliver*. Or
you post nasty links in the Lego forum. Then don't take too much time
getting lost. Within 20 seconds an unexpected amount of firepower is at the
ready -- ready to introduce the unwelcome visitor to infinity.
By the way: that can also happen if the gatekeeper is just in a bad mood,
and the relationship between this planet's faded infrastructure and this
weapon system has never been completely determined. But that's not so
important right now either.
*Two years ago the whole German newsgroup had a lot of trouble with an ebay
seller named "pizzaflitzer". Actually he's in prison caused by his bad
business manners.
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/12.haupttor.jpg
But DON'T PANIC. If you paid your last 918 on time, you don't have any
problems with your credit history, or you have at least 10 positive comments
on eBay, the main gate will open. The cameras keep an eye out for anyone
hiding behind the next crater, trying not to be seen.
Let's go in. We were trying to find out were all the little spaceships come
from, after all.
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/13.886.line.jpg
In loving memory of Henry Ford: the production line for model 886 is nearly
fully automatic. However, there is a supervisor for every robot - caused by
artificial intelligence the grippers do prefer to put buggies together for
LL497.
The 886 is very interesting from a marketing standpoint, since it has the
property of vanishing without a trace in any ordinary pile of bricks. This
creates enough demand for assembly line manufacturing.
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/14.6950.jpg
6950 may be named Mobile Rocket Transport, but as threatening as this thing
looks, nobody can tell me it was only used to move the rocket. So after the
owner of a 6950 has shot his bolt, he can get new ammo in the Space Factory.
The one shown here is nearly ready, but still needs to be painted.
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/15.924und928.jpg
The one and only space frame: Now at last we come to the starting point for
every Space Factory thought. That plain frame back there will have matured
into the best space ship of all times within the next two work days.
Propelled by seven large jets it will reach up into the starry firmament,
lighting a torch for the good old Lego sets with its ion vapor trail, and
the poetic blue paint job will remind the whole universe of great times,
during which...
*cough* So much for pathos.
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/16.924.jpg
This evening she'll be blue again: This 487 isn't a new construction, but a
restoration job. Welded, derusted, and primed she waits for the paint car.
It can be seen in the background. It will uncouple the blue paint container
and then roll towards the main entrance, so that the aforementioned 6950
rocket can get a little coloured.
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/17.grabber.jpg
This charming four-armed device is of course inspired by "Aliens", but has
quite the earthly purpose: The hybrid between fork lift and crane can reach
every corner of the factory floor. It was made using the WATS method: Where
Are The Studs? Named after my confusion during construction, because I
didn't know anymore which side was up, and was nearly forced to take this
labor saving device away from the minifigs.
- - -
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/18.tower.tor.jpg
Ah yes, the boys from the tower. Their job involves many ups and downs.
Because the "landing platform with tower and factory entrance" (does anyone
know the set number?) was already finished in my head, I had to justify this
mental picture with the need for flying a 497 out of the factory. The two
other gates were too small, after all. Which I unfortunately didn't notice
until brick row 42...
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http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/19.grosstor.jpg
Well, one could have simply ordained that the minifigs have to take the 928
apart again to get it out of the building. For legoholics the construction
and deconstruction is the point of the game, after all. But from the
perspective of the yellow worker astronauts - and especially the grouchy
boss - maybe not very productive. First I tried out a moving ceiling. A
Space Factory convertible, so to speak. Great idea! Removing the damage of
this structural insanity I remembered the times before my Dark Ages - and
solved the gate problem as I did then: hinge as hinge can.
- - -
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/herrminator/SpaceFactory/20.kantine.aussen.jpg
Minifigs are hard - which is is well known to anyone who has stepped on one.
Nevertheless, they can't survive a 26 hour day without a break. Even if the
boss would prefer it that way. The interstellar Lego union has therefore
made sure that the Space Factory is equipped with a cafeteria. To make up
for it the work co-operative S.T.U.D. overlooked the extremely perilous
staircase to the 2nd floor.
-- to be continued --
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Classic Space Factory
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| (...) member no. 1267 here. I really didn't expect so much interest for the Space Factory from the other side of the world. Nice to read all this praise from Classic Space fans over there. The text in my gallery is full of allusions and quotes (...) (23 years ago, 23-Feb-02, to lugnet.space)
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