If I were TLG and Had a Creativity Gene Series: Part 3 - Independence Day (Film)

As I have said in the last two installments of this, I have really enjoyed doing these as I entertain the possibility of me being creative enough to come up with a good Lego idea. Today I decided to do another movie – in fact one of the most box-office popular movies of all time: independence Day.

The reasons I chose this movie? Well, besides it being very popular and quotable, any movie with aliens and spaceships are going to have tons of good ideas for Lego sets. Everyone loves aliens and spaceships; this is what the whole Star Wars theme is built off of!

So, without further rambling, I give you my sets from the movie Independence Day:

The Welcome Wagon 1

This ship doesn't have a huge part in the movie. If you remember, this was the helicopter that was being recorded and broadcast on live TV from that was covered in lights. They were trying to communicate to the aliens through the use of visual stimulus. That vehicle did not last very long at all as the Aliens abruptly told them "Hi!" back... with an explosion.

So why this helicopter? First of all, it is because it's a really unique helicopter and is a very iconic scene in the movie. This was the first time the aliens really showed any bit of malice at all towards the people of Earth. Secondly, Lego planes and vehicles have been very popular and this one is unique enough that it could be popular as a change of pace from all the others.

In my eyes, it would be a smaller set, around 300 pieces or so. Since Lego has started getting into a few bricks that light up in the Monster Fighters line, this one would utilize that as well. When turned on, the lights would flash from the helicopter so that it could communicate with any aliens in front of it. It would come with two minifigures – The pilot and the welcoming officer with the light controls.

F/A -18 Hornet

This jet is one of the ones that was featured in the beginning of the battle between Earth and the Aliens. Will Smith and his team of fighter pilots were flying these. These jets were very memorable in the movie; they really stood no chance at all against the enemy aircraft and were overrun pretty quickly. If you remember, everyone was pretty much taken down except for Will Smith.

This jet would be a very popular vehicle among people who liked the movie and people who collect Lego vehicles. There are not near as many Jets as airplanes and helicopter's in the Lego line up. As well, the F/A 18 Hornet is a very popular Jet to people who like military aircraft. It is one of my favorites.

To really make this set sell to everyone, it could come with 4 flick missiles for the 4 missiles each of the jets had in the movie. It would also come with an ejection seat along with a parachute that would pop out once the pilot had been ejected. Since only one person was flying these jets in the movie, it would only come with one minifigure, but hey, it would be Will Smith. Who needs more than that?

Alien Fighter Craft

This was an obvious one to have in the lineup. I always loved this vehicle in the movie because, even though it seemed like a take on a flying saucer, it was so much more sophisticated. Because of it's size and aerodynamics, it could seemingly change direction at will and was incredibly fast. Also, who doesn't want to fly a plane that is protected by a seemingly invincible shield (Unless you run into a mountain or Jeff Goldblum gives you a computer virus)?

This ship itself would be the one that was hidden inside Area 51 for the last 20 years. The set would include two flick missiles on the side of it for the Alien's artillery, but they would be made differently as to look more advanced than the Earth's puny current flick missile technology.

The cabin of the aircraft would also open up so that characters could fit inside. The aircraft controls would also be included for great detail inside the ship along with a sign that mistakenly had the up and down direction switched (We need to work on our communication!). This would be a better minifigure set coming with:

• Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith)
• David Levenson (Jeff Goldblum)
• Dr. Brackish Okun
• An Alien

Having this set and the Jet set would provide hours of fun and entertainment.

Area 51

Any big time conspiracy theorists out here? This one would really appeal to everyone. The set would really be for use with the above set, but I thought it would be cool to have I be separate since it is a pretty big place not only in the movie, but in historical pop culture.

This set would mainly be an open modular set with a walkway leading into the docking room for the Alien Space craft. Along the way, there would be classified and “sterile” areas for scientists to work on with Computers and lab machines.

The docking area itself would include a landing area for the alien ship so that it could be safely docked inside the area. Behind the docking area there would be double doors so that when the ship wants to leave, they could open allowing the ship to fly out to save our Earth (assuming the alien is not in it).

This set could also include the doctor's surgery area so that they can cut open the alien to see what's inside. This set would include:

• Dr. Brackish Okun
• Two other unlucky surgeons
• An Alien whose exoskeleton pops open like in the movie
• 2 other robed scientists who are working around area 51

Hopefully, this set would appeal to all the conspiracy theorists out there as well as people who loved the movie!

Check-Mate

If you watched this movie in theaters when it came out, you knew this was the part you had really been waiting for. As things get more and more nervous, David Levenson has his large countdown clock on his laptop which indicates that something bad will happen when it turns to all zeros, or “check-mate” as he dubs it.

In the movie, though this wasn't the first building to go, this was the one that really sticks out in people's minds because of what the White House symbolizes to America. Also, because the movie somewhat centers around the President (Bill Pullman), this is what was really signifying the attack on him as a leader and his personal hate for the Aliens.

The set would include the large Alien ship along with opening doors for the light-beam attack they use to destroy the cities. Once these doors opened, another light brick would be inserted so that it could be shown down onto any unsuspecting Lego buildings someone decided to destroy. The White House would be a small model, like the current architecture set. In my eyes, it could be engineered so that once put together, something could be pulled or pressed by the person playing with it to make it fall apart (at least into a couple of large pieces to simulate an explosion).

I would also include a stand system with the set so that it could sit upright with the Alien ship hovering over the White House about to open it's major attack for those of us who would want to display it. Maybe even give it a display placard like the UCS Star Wars sets.

Minifigures would include:

• The President (Bill Pullman)
• David Levenson
• Constance Spano (Margaret Colin)
• An Alien for good measure

The MotherShip

Though the mother-ship wasn't shown a ton during the movie and eventually meets it end by nuclear warfare, it is a really nice looking ship. It is very comparable to some of the larger Star Wars ships like the Super Star Destroyer. Because of this, I think it would make a great 4000 piece set. It could be very detailed and even include a docking area for the smaller versions of the ships in the above sets. It could even be made into more of a play-set like the Death Star 10188.

This set would be really great to have this one as well if you were doing some fleet building with the other alien ships as this was the one that controlled them all. There could be a lot of different alien minifigures that could come with this set as well to really fill out the whole theme as play-sets. Minifigures would include:

• David Levenson
• Captain Stephen Hiller
• 10 Aliens (or really as many as they will give us! They were starting an invasion, remember?)
• Queen Alien

The Alien Bust

I am not going to lie, I am a sucker for the Lego busts. I love models and things of that nature, so sets that are statuesque really make me want to open my wallet. The Alien form Independence day is very unique. As we heard the doctor say, it has the outer harder biochemical skeleton that protects the soft inner tissue. It also has 8 tentacle/arms protruding from it's body. It honestly kind of reminds me of General Grievous a little bit:

This would be the UCS set that came with a placard in my eyes. It is a very recognizable alien and different form most other sci-fi movies out there (It is somewhat close to Alien, but it is easy to tell the difference between the long double mouth of Alien himself.)

What do you all think? A great theme, or a total dud? They would at least sell one of them, that's for sure!

Note: All of the information here are my own opinions and are pulled from my experiences. You may or may not have success with these methods.