Exclusive: One-of-a-kind official Blade Runner "Spinner" car from LEGO

Today BBtv and I headed to the house of artist, designer, and futurist Syd Mead, who graciously let us sit around for a couple of hours and talk about, gosh, everything. It was without a doubt one of the most fantastic days of my life, bouncing ideas and picking the brain about car design, utopianism, and Hollywood. We shot enough video we could cut multiple BBtv episodes (and maybe we will!) but I thought I'd give you guys a little something to tide you over.

So here you go: A one-of-a-kind official LEGO version of Mead's "Spinner" flying car from Blade Runner, presented to Syd by LEGO when he attended a design summit in Billund. Syd let me pick it up and swoop it around my head like a child.

I have the best job ever.

Thanks again to Xeni, Dana, and Derek (Team BBtv!) for setting up the whole thing. I owe you big.

Two more pictures after the jump.

[#1 posted by Rob Beschizza , June 25, 2008 7:01 PM]

Blue, beautiful, and bricky.

[#2 posted by Xeni Jardin , June 25, 2008 7:12 PM]

Dammit your iphone shots came out better than mine! Yay, great fun today, Joel. Can't wait to edit!

[#3 posted by chris23 , June 25, 2008 7:28 PM]

ZOMG that is so fricken sweet.

[#4 posted by Xeni Jardin , June 25, 2008 7:38 PM]

And actually I was afraid to pick it up, and did not.

I thought I'd lose my cool and compulsively spazz out and break it somehow.

[#5 posted by Jack , June 25, 2008 9:22 PM]

Someone's brown-nosing for a promotion.

[#6 posted by Dunechaser , June 25, 2008 9:28 PM]

Oh, that is so very cool on so very many levels.

@Xeni: It's LEGO, it can be rebuilt. Somebody had to say that, heh heh. :-P

[#7 posted by eustace , June 25, 2008 10:02 PM]

This looks like mostly standard parts, but I don't recognize the parts used for the inside wheel hub covers. I'm longing to build one - this is one reason I want a reprap. Custom Lego.

[#8 posted by skramble , June 25, 2008 10:29 PM]

Blade Runner + LEGO = Undeniably Awesome

[#9 posted by jpharves , June 25, 2008 10:37 PM]

every once in a while, two things of such quintessential radness collide that the word 'rad' fails to adequately reflect the sheer excellence of what you're seeing.

This lego spinner is such a thing.

I propose the term radt. The t is silent.

[#10 posted by E0157H7 , June 25, 2008 11:27 PM]

Eustace: The inside wheel components were originally the heads of the Bohrok from earlier Bionicle sets. They are usually translucent with a fading opaque pattern on them. I have no idea where solid blue ones came from. GIS "bohrok" to see what I mean.

[#11 posted by themark , June 26, 2008 12:30 AM]

Any chance of posting more pictures of this? Especially rear and interior shots. Thanks.

[#12 posted by pete_darby , June 26, 2008 2:31 AM]

Geekgasm. That is all.

[#13 posted by Thanateros , June 26, 2008 3:18 AM]

Oh my God. That is just . . . just . . . oh God.

It's . . . *sniff* . . . so beautiful . . .

[#14 posted by swestcott , June 26, 2008 4:44 AM]

OK who is going to start the petition to get lego to sell this set very cool

[#15 posted by brotherclone , June 26, 2008 5:03 AM]

More LEGO PKD - A LEGO Valis snuck in to their kids site?

http://mln.lego.com/en-us/Publicview/Patrick%20Fate.aspx

http://mln.lego.com/en-us/Publicview/Zenith.aspx

http://mln.lego.com/en-us/Publicview/David%20Lampton.aspx

[#16 posted by Anonymous , June 26, 2008 8:37 AM]

Now that's what I call a perk - both to Syd for being himself, and to y'all for boinging. Also a perk for us, I s'pose, since it's just about the coolest goddam thing I've ever seen made from Lego! And it's official. HOT DAMN!

[#17 posted by Chris , June 26, 2008 8:47 AM]

Syd Mead!!!!?!?!?!?

WOW! Awesome! I'm totally jealous of your job at this point.

[#18 posted by Kingboy , June 26, 2008 8:55 AM]

Eustace: The inside wheel components were originally the heads of the Bohrok from earlier Bionicle sets. They are usually translucent with a fading opaque pattern on them. I have no idea where solid blue ones came from. GIS "bohrok" to see what I mean.

Specifically it is this part:

Bricklink Catalog page
Peeron Reference page

Those links are for the part in solid colors. It never appeared in any retail set it blue (dark blue, not the color shown here however), but LEGO sometimes makes test runs of molds in colors that are never meant for production. Likely this was something like that and the designer simply used the test pieces for this one of a kind set, or they did a small run of this piece in blue for internal use.

While it's very cool that LEGO made this set for Mr. Mead (and as Brotherclone pointed out, someone at LEGO is obviusoly a big PKD fan), I've never been partial to the Technic sets. I much prefer the fan made minifig scale spinners that you can find at Brickshelf and other places.

[#19 posted by kromekoran , June 26, 2008 10:57 AM]

mother of god.

I have found my holy grail.

[#20 posted by erzatsen , June 26, 2008 12:17 PM]

...must...have...partslist...

nomnomnom

[#21 posted by License Farm , June 26, 2008 9:22 PM]

With this, I think some doors have just been opened wide for possible officially licensed Lego models, to say nothing of other toy lines looking to expand their businesses. I will take a flying train from Back to the Future III, please. At least do the Delorean.

Speaking of which, the Spinner car showed up repainted in Back to the Future II. Do I hear variant paintjob?

[#22 posted by RobotOmens , July 24, 2008 8:02 AM]

More Sci-Fi Geek Pron! I must have, where's that office? It would be cool if LEGO kitted that car out.