Formula SPACE!

What might the future of formula racing look like? What are G.E.M.S.? What secrets do they hold for the Universe and all-creatures? All kinds?

This is no simple race-- no simple space race.

This is Formula SPACE!

And there is more on the line than just the finish: The fate of the Universe! (ok, maybe not...)

Gravity repulsion engines have overtaken electric-hybrid motors, and combustion engines are a thing of the distant past. Steam power thrives in another world, but here, those who master the power of anti-gravity exert their will and test their fortitude through a primordial force that pushes the limit-- again-- of the meaning of the word endurance, if not survival!

Can you pilot your F-SPACE! craft to the win?

Can you navigate the galaxy and the competition to secure the rare anti-matter elements known as "G.E.M.S." that provide the gravity defying and propulsion power needed for your racer?

• command the forces of gravity
• search the galaxy for energy pods and the scarce anti-gravity matter needed to power your craft
• install hi-performance upgrades
  • upgraded engines
  • tractor beams
  • supplemental turbine injectors
  • improved vertical stabilizers
• use every racing nuance at your command
• discover the real truth behind the origins and purpose of this race-- there may be more than meets the eye! (ok, maybe not...)

Use the basic template F-SPACE! as inspiration to create additional racers from your own personal collection of LEGO(R) parts in another favorite theme, whether it be Super Heroes, Castle, Aliens, or, of course, another of the many awesome space-based themes throughout nearly 35 years of LEGO(R) sets such as M-Tron(tm), Exploriens(tm), Mars Mission(tm), Futuron(tm), and the list goes on.. and on... and on....

The future of space racing has just begun, and it's going to be a whole lot more than just a few laps around the solar system. It's going to be whatever you want it to be.

Ladies and gentlemen-- and all SPACE creatures throughout the Galaxy:
START...YOUR...(anit-gravity)...ENGINES !  ... in SPACE !

Notes from the designer:

• The concept of futuristic hover racing craft has been in my mind since I first saw the video game "Wipeout" on the first-generation SONY Playstation circa 1994 or 5. I have loved playing auto racing games since my first Intellivision "Auto Racing" game and ASCII-art racing on ye ol' Apple II computer. Wipeout introduced a futuristic feeling of physics. I loved the floaty, heavy, inertial feel of the racing craft. Paired with the rhythmic wave of music, the courses swooped, rose, and dove, delivering a satisfying thrill when navigated without curbside collision.
• Over a decade later, in 2009, I joined up with the LEGO(R) Universe(tm) LUP team and answered the call to submit designs for "futuristic formula-style" racing vehicles. I was pleased to see my effort on display in both original, and digitally enhanced-- and animated!-- form in the LU game trailer showcased at CES 2010. At 59-second mark of the video, you can see how the designers incorporated the vehicles into the challenge (
  ). I had designed the racing vehicles to accept traditional rubber tires and easily remove the wheels for the transformation into "hover" racers. Full cockpit canopies, lights, and weapons systems completed the upgrade into the future.
• The inspiration to modularize the F-SPACE! craft also came from the LEGO Universe game. The idea that you have a few sub-modules with a standardized interface seemed appropriate to incorporate into the design of a space racing vehicle:
  • front section: aerodynamic nose, air foils, engines
  • mid section: pilot cockpit and safety enclosure plus environment conditioning unit
  • rear section: main engines and additional steering foils and stabilizers
• The amazing Exo Suit(tm) prompted my 9 year old son and I to ponder (possibly deviating from Peter and Mark's intent... sorry):
  • "What are those yellow cylindrical containers for?"
    • fuel cells?
    • weapons?
    • toxic waste?
    • alien containment?
    • chocolate?
    • I eventually concluded that they could be the storage units for a special anti-matter scattered throughout the galaxy, but very sparsely and scarcely; and the "race" was on!
  • "What can we use the Exo Suit for? What does it do?"
    • I came up with one idea that it was the ideal suit for servicing these F-SPACE racers
    • The EXO-Suit provided:
      • protection from the disruptive anti-matter
      • strength to lift the incredibly heavy containment pods
      • agility to set the pods onto the racing craft power recepticles
      • dexterity to remove and install the racers many upgrade components
  • The very cool-- and amazingly simple-- Exo suit platform provided the foundation of the F-SPACE! static accessories.
• Of course, the idea of racing for some obscure mineral, against the odds or an unnamed dark enemy, isn't new, if in fact tiresomely cliche, but, I have enjoyed many a story based on such a quest to "fight darkness", "save the world", and maybe, just maybe, discover something about yourself, your relationship to Everything, and the fact that you really do matter in the Big Bang scheme of things... in SPACE!
• I would also like to give a "SPACE"! shout-out to all the folks of inspiration at those long-ago fan conventions. Your echoing call to arms shall forever reverberate in my mind for all things SPACE!
• Get a helmet, build an F-SPACE! racer, find some G.E.M.S., hit the throttle, and see where you go.