First on Mars

 

In June 2028 the Mars Race yielded a shocking and final result: having jumped into the compedition with a major underdog position, the frogs made it into the red planet before any human-occupied spacecrafts. Despite their shortcomings (no written language, no universities), it turned out that launcing a 14-gram Pelophylax ridibundus with a 20-gram space suit took a lot less rocket fuel and advanced engines than, for example, 80 000 gram human with a 100 000 gram space suit.

It's needless to say that her first words upon stepping into the Martian surface was "ribbit".

This is my first build for Bio-Cup 2024 with the preliminary round theme of Space. This high-octane contest once again drives me to use less System pieces than usual. This one started simply with the lovely metallic silver 90s wheel hubs and thei combination with a half of Buzz Lightyear's bubble canopy (I have two of the female half and none of the male). They fitted nicely together, and applying a second wheel on the top defined the whimsical, somehow chef-like atmosphere. The bulky legs followed this. I think I suspected it would turn into a frog somehow, and it did. The hardest part of the model was to shoot it without too large obscuring reflections on the canopy; you can see my reflection holding up a big sheet of cardboard. The second hardest part was to connect the canopy by its side holes while still leaving enough room for the frog's large, magenta cheeks.

-Eero.