Over the months, some of the Ukrainian POWs have been exchanged, and I began chatting directly with the released soldiers. Unfortunately, sourcing unusual LEGO parts (including custom-printed pieces) ended up being a months-long process, and many of the figures were only completed quite recently. But in addition to the families of these prominent officers, I heard from the wives of less-famous soldiers still held in captivity, asking if I’d create LEGO versions of their husbands, sometimes even sharing photos taken inside the Azovstal steel plant. These two groups of minifigures were then featured on Ukrainian TV, leading to messages from the wives of POWs, including the wife of the Azovstal garrison’s commander, Denys Prokopenko. Many people asked me to create minifigs depicting the defenders of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, all of whom by then were being held in Russian captivity. Remembering my WW2 vet grandfather, my first group of minifigures highlighted the work of combat medics and other women contributing to Ukraine’s defense. Last year, I wrote about why I personally choose to actively support Ukraine and its defenders. This past Saturday marked the 500th day since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In less than two weeks, both of these models will be on display at BrickFair Northern Virginia, as part of the “eXperimental Military Collaboration”. However, there has been speculation that it carries reconnaissance equipment and may even be intended for anti-satellite missions or to test space-based weapons. Its official role is to demonstrate reusable space technologies.

The latest was the longest, with almost 909 days spent in orbit. So far, two vehicles have flown six missions. This is an unmanned reusable spaceplane currently in service with the US Space Force. The second is the much more recent and successful X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. A few years later, with the first prototype already under construction, escalating costs and an unclear mission resulted in its cancellation. It started within weeks of the Soviet Union’s first Sputnik launch. This was an ambitious program to build a reusable manned spaceplane. The first is the X-20 Dyna-Soar (for “dynamic soarer”). Then again, they aren’t exactly your everyday space builds, representing real-world spaceplanes developed for the US military. Usually I don’t build space-themed models, but my latest two models are exceptions.

Lego military russian tanks