This very small version of the rig is much more affordable than the big one. It should be doable for under $10 on BrickLink, etc.
Working in the micro scale like this is an absolute blast. It forces you to choose the most important aspects to convey, similar to traditional origami.
This beast of a vehicle is the Rig from the podcasts A Knight of Shreds and Patches. It’s how they transport around their armored mech suit (the titular “Knight”) and get around. This set has all valid piece colors.
Note: These instructions have not been color/price-optimized.
This ship from Breathing Space, Fading Frontier makes me think a little of a horseshoe crab, just without all the legs. It’s got small cargo containers of various colors, and a transparent stand so it floats in the air, or, well, in space.
Back with another ship from Breathing Space, Fading Frontier. This one had some tricky details that made it ideal for a larger build. In particular, the eight small engines around the large one and the window to the reactor area would be tough at a smaller scale and might have to be dealt with more by suggestion than anything else.
Note: These instructions have not been color/price-optimized.
Back again with some fan art for the podcasts Breathing Space, Fading Frontier. This is another model adapted from a ship design by Scott Paladin.
The engine area was particularly finicky with this, but it turned out rather nicely. The updated version here also includes a transparent stand. Parts should run under $10, though as always for small projects, it may be better to include them as part of a larger order to save on shipping and handling.
One of my favorite podcasts is Breathing Space, Fading Frontier. If you’re looking for socially conscious science fiction, it’s a hard show to beat. This is one of the ships from that show, adapted from a design by Scott Paladin.
Note: These instructions have not been color/price-optimized.
Another of my favorite podcasts is A Knight of Shreds and Patches, a post-apocalyptic story of a band of mercenaries trying to make ends meet, with a big, beat-up armored robot.
Overall this model turned out well. It’s got the sort of half-disassembled feel of the Knight from the show, and does so for around $20 in parts. There’s enough articulation to modify the poses slightly, but the arms in particular are very delicate. Also, to get the right leg shape, the legs aren’t able to be extended any further, so you’re basically just getting the ability to move the legs a little wider or narrow and point the feet slightly in either direction, but it looks great.
It’s a great piece for display, but isn’t sturdy enough for play.
One of my favorite podcasts, We Fix Space Junk, features a unique retro-styled yellow spaceship called the Yellow Submarine. These instructions have not been color/price-optimized. (Getting these parts in these colors is pretty much impossible without getting off-brand parts)
I’ve recently gotten into Mobile Frame Zero, a LEGO-based skirmish wargame. While I’m not big on playing tabletop wargames (I’m more of a TTRPG sort of guy), I deeply appreciate the LEGO aspect.
Note: These instructions have not been color/price-optimized.