LEGO website FBTB runs a few contests throughout the year, and one of the most popular ones involves steampunk. The first Steam Wars competition was held in 2008, and it challenged participants to choose any vehicle from the Star Wars universe and build it from LEGO with some steampunk flair. The entries were brick masterpieces, and FBTB came back this year with the Steam Wars Returns.

The MOC (my own creation) contest ended last month, and it had five rounds. Entrants didn’t have to come up with just one original piece, they had to design and build five vehicles. Five! It gets crazier because they only had about seven days to build for each round. I’m tired just reading that. Categories included starfighters, speeders, walkers, enemy starfighters, and a wild card. Builders were eliminated from each round, March Madness style. This is serious business.

LEGO builder markus1984 took first place with this stunning Millennium Falcon:

That color palette makes it look like it belongs in a Victorian steampunk tale set on Tatooine. Ooh, could that be one of the spinoffs?

Markus1984 built the ship over six days in about 50 hours. The coolest part about the design is that it looks as though the top flips up to reveal a deck with a pirate ship vibe. It’s covered in details including barrels, a table and chair with food, water, and plenty of propellers. Sorry Han, but this builder made your hunk of junk more beautiful.

See more of the sexy ship in the gallery and a bonus steampunk TIE bomber:

See the other winners at FBTB.

HT: Technabob