How does a designer achieve a flawlessly smooth and seamless aesthetic?
The answer involves three things: A passion for using curved parts, mastery of connection techniques, and the motto: "The spaceship factory never closes."
Steve Marsh embodies this philosophy. As one of the featured designers in our Brickwith+ campaign, he designed the stunning R-1 Mantaray model. Hailing from the UK, this artist focuses completely on original sci-fi spacecraft.
In this interview, he will walk us through his creative journey. He shares how his background in astronomy and art shapes his unique, studless style.
We will also dive into the R-1 Mantaray's design process. We will explore his special "impossible-to-see connection" aesthetic. Plus, we'll discuss his focus on original designs—a practice that has resulted in over 80 ships in just a few years.
Meet the Designer: Steve Marsh
To start, please introduce yourself to the friends of Brickwith.
My name is Steve, and I’m from the UK. My hobbies at the moment are learning to play the drums, learning how to conquer every single souls-like video game ever made, and creating spaceships and robots out of bricks.
For my day job, I’m the art editor of an international magazine.
Do you find that your day job and your brick hobby have a relationship of mutual nourishment or mutual consumption? How do you maintain a healthy balance between these two?
By not watching TV. :D
There are only so many hours in the day, and I have to be doing something creative with them. I don’t feel my job clashes with my hobby at all.
Often when I finish work, even though I’ve been creative all day, I find that building is a completely different style of creativity that feels far more personal and really helps me switch off from any stresses in my life. And I’m my own boss!
How do your creative hobbies influence your brick creations?
I create sci-fi mocs, and the main hobby that has influenced my love of all things space is astronomy.
I practised astronomy for many years, photographing the moon and the planets.
I would stay up all night taking hundreds of pictures of Jupiter so that I could turn them into a movie of the planet rotating. I realised that there can be so much more to a hobby if you look for it.
It was fun to look through a telescope, but it was even better to capture what I saw as a picture or movie.
Likewise with building, it’s one thing to make a set, but creating one of your own is on another level, especially if others can enjoy building it too.
You said, "The spaceship factory never closes." What drives you to maintain such a high level of productivity and passion in your creative state?
I’ve found that I never seem to run out of ideas, whether that is for new shapes or entirely new concepts.
For example, I recently had an idea to create a fleet of combat spaceships that fight without guns. So I’ve come up with inventive ways that each one will fight space battles.
One of them is a giant battering ram that can smash everything in its way, and another is a flying circular saw blade that can chop through its enemies.
These conceptual ideas then drive the shapes that I end up creating, and a whole new fleet of ships can be born that way.
This process in my head never stops. I’m always thinking of new ideas or taking inspiration from things I see in everyday life.
What do bricks mean to you today?
The hobby has certainly profoundly impacted how much space I have left in my house!
Luckily, I have the best wife in the world who supports and encourages my hobby and the best kids in the world who love building as much as I do, and are becoming pretty good spaceship creators themselves!
Becoming a creator with bricks has given me a sense of validation that I can be good at something.
Although, like all forms of art, ‘good’ is in the eye of the beholder. So first and foremost, I always make sure that I’m building for me. If I’m enjoying it, that’s all that matters. And that’s when I get the best results!
Daily Inspirations
What kinds of everyday life most often spark your creative drive?
Actually, it’s social media.
I’m not the type of person to scroll for hours, so I use it mainly for the purpose of inspiration, and I take screengrabs of interesting things I might see in the hope of one day incorporating those small moments of inspiration into a future build.
Which elements of life have given you great inspiration or a strong urge to create?
Probably my love of art and design. I’ve been fortunate to have spent most of my working life designing for a living, which has snowballed into my personal life with my mocs.
You started your journey by building IP ships, and later transitioned into designing your own original spacecraft. Why did you make this shift? What were the different feelings and changes this transition brought to your creative process and overall experience?
This is probably not the answer you’d expect, but… I stopped creating IP ships simply because everyone else was doing it. I would find that as I was getting to the end of a ship I’d been working on, someone else would release the same ship (usually better than mine), and I really wasn’t enjoying creating things under that sort of pressure.
So I put everything I’d learnt building IP ships into practice and went my own way with my own spaceships. At least now I know that no one will ever be working on the same ship as me!
You've created about 80 original spaceships in just a few years. How do you consistently find new inspiration? Do you have any self-developed "inspiration catching" methods?
I often create fleets rather than just a single spaceship.
If I have an idea for a ship, in a certain colour scheme, or following a certain aesthetic, I’ll usually create a fleet of four or five ships following the same rules.
These turn into long projects, and I find it really satisfying to have a whole group of ships of different shapes and styles that all have the same theme, or all have similar functions.
As my method of working is to create 4 or 5 ships at a time instead of 1, it’s not surprising how I’ve ended up with so many ships in a relatively short amount of time.
What kind of music do you enjoy most? Does music provide the backdrop—or even direct inspiration—for your designs?
I’m a big fan of instrumental bands such as Sleepmakeswaves, God is an astronaut, Maybeshewill, and 65daysofstatic. If Sci-fi were a band, it would be who I listen to the most while building.
Beyond creating more ships, have you considered a deeper fusion of spaceship design with other creative fields (like the music-themed work you've done)? What are your thoughts or specific ideas for expanding the "spaceship factory's" product line in the future?
Oh, I do like the idea of musical instrument-inspired spaceships!
Perhaps that’s something to aim for one day, after I’ve explored some more inspiration from the animal kingdom. I don’t always make spaceships, though. I’ve also made quite a few robots and ... ironically, I even made a robot rock band.
So fusing sci-fi with other hobbies is definitely something I’ve had some experience with!
Story behind R-1 Mantaray
This campaign’s theme is “Brickwith+”. How do you interpret this theme?
For me, this campaign’s theme is about taking something that inspires or appeals to you, like a shape, or an animal, or a colour and making something new with it.
How long did it take from the first sketch to the final R-1 Mantaray build?
It took about 2 weeks to design and create the R-1 Mantaray.
I hardly ever do sketches of my builds. Instead, I usually do a lot of research. For this model, the first few days were spent examining as many different pictures of Manta Rays as I could find.
And also seeing what sort of things others had created with this shape. Then I began to think about how I could create the shape out of bricks, but also what changes would be needed to give it a sci-fi feel.
The R-1 Mantaray was inspired by the manta ray's "gentle curves," and you prioritize aesthetics, favoring the "smooth, studless" look. In the design process, how did you manage to achieve those soft curves and make the model look so fluid and seamless?
I’m a huge fan of curved pieces of all types.
Luckily, I’ve had a lot of practice combining these pieces to make seamless, flowing shapes. It’s what I do with all of my spaceships and has become recognised as my style.
As the wings are such a strong visual part of this ship, the trick was figuring out how to strongly connect them, but make it impossible to see from the outside where that connection is.
Once I’d figured that out, the ship started looking like one structure and not several stuck together.
You've designed several versions of the stand. Were there any specific small design cleverness or considerations you put into the final stand's design and appearance?
The stand is meant to be strong and stable, but not meant to be the focal point or be mistaken for part of the ship.
That’s why I chose light grey for it, as it contrasts so strongly with the rest of the ship. But it also needed to be designed with the same aesthetics as the ship, so it is also smooth, curved, and studless.
It’s connected to the ship by 2 pins, but I deliberately used a brick with 3 holes in it so builders can add an extra pin to it if they feel they want a stronger connection.
What was the most exciting part of creating this build for you?
It was definitely when I first slotted the wings into place and realised how cool they looked.
I don’t have flat plates with studs to stick pieces onto, as with most conventional builds, so I need to be very careful with how I connect all the submodels of my builds together.
Sometimes I really need to think outside of the box about how I’m going to make it all work. This can cause more than a few headaches.
Does the R-1 Mantaray's lore exist before you start designing, or does the narrative evolve as you're designing the creation? How does the lore influence specific design decisions in the finished model?
Lore always comes afterwards.
Sometimes I don’t know exactly what I’ll end up with when I start creating something. I have my initial concept in mind, but it can change through the build.
I feel it’s important for a spaceship to have a reason for existing, so I always either give my ships a function or a story, and usually both.
This ship has an entire faction of space travellers behind it and… who knows what other spaceships they may have in their fleet ;)
What are your feelings on this collaboration with Brickwith?
This project has been a fantastic boost for my creativity. From the first pitch to the final piece clicking into place, I’ve loved every minute of it.
I love creating digitally and making instructions too, so the opportunity to work with Brickwith and benefit from your knowledge of the hobby has been fantastic!
What are your thoughts after using the Brickwith palette? Do you have any suggestions for improvement?
There are certainly some pieces I would love to see, such as wedge-shaped tiles, which would be a real asset to the Brickwith palette.
Building with Compatible Parts
Do you use compatible parts in your designs? If so, in what situations would you consider using these parts? Where do you purchase them?
Sometimes I do.
I have many compatible parts, which were once part of old sets I purchased or came with bulk buys that I made from eBay. I would only ever use compatible parts that match official LEGO moulds.
I wouldn’t use a new type of piece, such as a double-sided plate (studs on both sides), because I prefer the challenge of creating with the piece types that are currently available from LEGO.
My builds should be possible to make from entirely LEGO or entirely compatible parts equally.
Whether it’s LEGO or other brands, what’s disappointing about the current parts library available on the market?
I always say that I’m still surprised that a whole range of wedge-shaped tiles hasn’t been created yet. It’s one piece type that LEGO hasn’t made yet that I definitely would use if it were a compatible piece.
Do you mix LEGO with other parts when building? And if so, what issues have you run into?
Sometimes I mix the two, and I’ve never run into any issues. As time has gone on, the quality of compatible parts has also improved enormously, and they are now equal in terms of strength and clutch power to LEGO pieces.
Share with Builders
Do you share instructions? How do you share them? And do you have any standards for what to share and not?
Yes, I’ve created instructions for several builds that can be found on Rebrickable, Brickvault, and Buildamoc.
So far, most of these are IP creations from well-known movies, but I’m planning to branch out and start creating instructions for some of my own ships, too, like I’ve done for you with the R-1 Mantaray.
I have extremely high standards for ships I sell instructions for, and I always test build everything first to ensure that it works and the build is strong and stable.
How many people bought parts and rebuild your designs?
Yes, I’m usually able to keep up with the number of people who purchase my instructions. I won’t reveal exact numbers, but I would say that my creations have proven to be quite popular.
Are those people usually brick fans or not?
Most of my creations are definitely purchased by fans of LEGO and other bricks.
However, I was once asked by a lady to design and create instructions for a guitar effects pedal board that she could give to her husband for his birthday. The build was an exact scale replica of his own guitar effects pedal board, which she sent me photos of.
That was probably one of the coolest non-LEGO friends I’ve met. Her husband was thrilled with it when she gave it to him!
Have fans ever come back to you with small struggles?
I always test build everything, so I’ve never had any complaints about the builds or my instructions.
I’ve created a guide for how to purchase parts, which I give to anyone who asks me how they can get hold of the pieces for one of my creations.
What kinds of moments of joy, satisfaction, or even touching experiences have you had from sharing your designs?
Fan feedback is everything.
The brick building community is fantastic to be part of, and the people I care about the most are the ones who honour me enough to buy one of my designs. I’ve never had any negative feedback from any of them, which I’m very proud of.
Creator Support
From a creator’s perspective, what kind of support with parts would be most valuable to you?
Some kind of image detector in a parts library would be useful.
If you drag and drop a photo into the Images bar on Google, it will analyse the picture and find all other instances of it on the internet. Sometimes I have a picture of a piece, but I don’t know what it’s called or what its ID number is.
It would be great to be able to drag and drop that picture into a parts search engine and for that search engine to find the piece for me in its library using the same method Google Images does.
What tools or services could make your creative process easier?
The main problem I have is with the instructions maker in Stud.io.
It is very difficult to use. One of the most time-consuming things happens if you want to reposition a piece in the instructions. You need to figure out and type the correct angles into 3 boxes every time.
It would be so much quicker to be able to click on the piece on the instructions page and just rotate and re-position it with your mouse.
In terms of community, what kind of support will encourage you to keep creating and sharing?
More followers, of course! You can never have too many followers of your work!
If you think beyond just parts and community, is there any other kind of support you feel a platform could provide to help you as a creator?
In today's world, all forms of entertainment made for others' enjoyment (even if firstly it’s for your own enjoyment) live and die by their exposure.
I would like to see more sharing and promotion of moc creators (the people and their work) by all platforms in this community. I’m always discovering new incredible builders whom I admire, but it’s often only because the algorithm has chosen to show them to me, and I never see them again unless I follow them (which I do, of course).
There are a lot of brilliant creators for sure, so the choice of whose work to share is always vast… but so is the internet!
Editor's Note
Steve Marsh’s insights confirm that the brick hobby is a profound blend of personal passion and creative challenge.
His commitment to a smooth, studless aesthetic and his unique method of creating entire fleets simultaneously explain how he maintains such a high level of output with fresh ideas.
Reflecting on the R-1 Mantaray project for the Brickwith+ campaign, Steve described the collaboration as a "fantastic boost" to his creativity.
The model itself, inspired by the manta ray's "gentle curves", perfectly exemplifies his design philosophy: taking a real-world object and transforming it into something new for the sci-fi realm.
Looking ahead, Steve’s feedback on the current parts market is clear: he believes the availability of pieces like wedge-shaped tiles would be a major asset to all builders.
Most importantly, he advocates for more sharing and promotion of creators and their work across all platforms to ensure they get the exposure they deserve.
We are incredibly proud to have featured Steve Marsh and the R-1 Mantaray in our campaign. His story is a powerful reminder that if you are building for yourself and enjoying it, you will achieve the best results.
Interviewee
Steve Marsh @rubblemaker_lego
Interviewer
Huang Manqing
Editor
Cornelia
About Brickwith
Brickwith.com is the official destination for premium Gobricks building parts, offering an extensive selection of parts and colors, trusted quality, and tools built for creators. Every order is individually sorted and packed according to your parts list, giving builders a faster, smoother experience from checkout to construction.
