How to Build a Lego Spaceship

Acquire Lego sets. Good choices are the Lego system or the 4-plus bulk set. You can also buy a specific set, such as Star Wars or Mission to Mars, which contains the pieces to build spaceships.

Choose the kind of spaceship you want to build. You can build a ship from a movie, such as the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek, the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars or the Discovery from 2001: A Space Odyssey. You can build an actual spaceship such as the space shuttle or make up your own spaceship.

Find photos of the spaceship you want to build. They should be large enough for you to see the details of the ship. If you're making up your own spaceship, you obviously don't need a photo to work from.

Begin with a large, flat piece to use as the bottom of the space ship. You will build your ship from the bottom to top. Look for triangular or trapezoidal pieces to make the nosecone, and fin-shaped pieces to make the wings and tail. A clear plastic piece will serve as the windshield. Don't forget to add guns or landing gear.

Consider placing Lego people in the spaceship. Plan ahead so you'll be able to build the ship around the people rather than trying to dismantle part of it to add people later. Or you can build a door into the spaceship so you can add and remove people.

Save on weight and the number of pieces used by making the spaceship hollow.