During a recent afternoon, I found myself bored. Then, I experienced a spontaneous urge to build a sort of homemade pull-back motor. (My junior high shop teacher would comment about what happens when I get bored. Refer to The Gear Train of Doom). I didn't want to use the type with an elastic band wrapped around an axle, because I've seen that done before. Instead I decided on a model with a rack sliding along a track, meshing with gears driving the wheels. The rack is securely locked within the casing, able only to slide back and forth.Three rubber bands stretch from the rack to fixed points on the frame of the vehicle, which pull the rack along the gears. In this respect, it is more like an automatic rip-cord than a tension coil, but it still works.
The final product
As usual, my first attempt did not work. I tried to use all studless pieces, but the frame was not strong enough to withstand the elastic tension. The frame warped just a bit, allowing the rack to slip by without turning the gears.
Though slight, the distorted angle of the rack is visible.
This picture shows the basic mechanism, which did not have
enough support to function correctly.
For my second attempt, I used a combination of studded and studless pieces. While most technic builders have drifted away from studded beams, they have their merits. Their dimensions are more rigidly set, so a track using bricks and tiles virtually eliminated the vertical breathing room seen in the first model. However, bricks can pull apart vertically, which is why I reinforced it with studless beams crossing the casing vertically. When reinforcing in this way, it is important to note that there must be exactly two plates (two thirds of a brick) between two technic bricks in order for a beam to cross them vertically. This formula follows for greater distances, though it is sometimes easier to fiddle with it until it works than to calculate it. The new, sturdier casing has no vertical give, thus forcing the rack to mesh with the gears at all times. The casing is long enough that the rack can pull all the way off the gears when fully contracted, thus allowing the vehicle to coast.
The rubber bands take up the space where the cockpit should
be. Note that the diagonal beams keep the front end from
bending upward under high tension.
This picture shows how the studless beams (in gray) reinforce
the studded beams (green) of the main casing.
This picture shows what it looks like when wound up to maximum.
This picture shows how the gears interact when wound up.
This one shows how the rack (black) does not mesh with
the gray eight tooth gears when at rest. This allows the car
to coast after all the tension has been released.
Though outperformed by the one-piece Lego pull-back motors, I still managed to make it go about fifteen feet. The one-piece motors can go twice as far, but they are easy to find, and I tend not to do things the easy way. I enjoy knowing that I created a working mechanism, though not perfect. I encourage everyone to try to build something different, just to see if you can. Happy building!
It's been seven years since I last visited a Lego store, in Disneyland California. All I remember about it is that they had Mars Mission a month before it came out everywhere else. Since then, I have waited patiently, wondering if a store would ever be built close enough to visit regularly. Now the wait is over, and there is a Lego store practically on my doorstep: Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah.(Its location can be found here.)
The new store is smaller than the others I have seen, but it still has everything a Lego store should: walls full of boxes, sets in display cases, even tiny displays embedded in the walls, only visible through small holes. And, of course, the signature wall of pieces. The selection isn't great, but it's a pretty good deal if you find yourself in need of those particular bricks.
The walls full of different sets
The wall of bricks
This display contains large insects.
This one is a movie theater full of minifigures.
This one has butterflies in several colors.
I attended the grand opening on October 4th. there were so many people there, they handed out tickets and issued updates whenever another group was permitted inside. It was about an hour and a half wait, so we went hunting for series 11 minifigures (I found them at a different store and came away with seven: the Blacktron robot, the yeti, the climber, the tribal warrior, the barbarian, the scarecrow, and the welder), and then went out to dinner. By the time we got back, it was time to go inside. Inside, there were tables where anyone could build random stuff, and also a stand where custom minifigures can be made and purchased (also slim selection, but fun). I talked to an employee for a while, and he was impressed that I could give the name of any set he described (particularly space sets from 1988 on). Any in attendance could also witness and assist in the construction of an eight foot Hulk sculpture. It was about half finished when I went.
The custom minifigure table
One of several tables of random stuff
The sculpture is constructed of scaled-up bricks made of many smaller ones.
This is a scaled-down version of the monstrous sculpture.
All in all, I am very excited to have a Lego store so nearby, and I plan to go regularly. Happy building!
Do you ever get irritated when someone makes a grammatical error? Are you irked by linguistic discontinuities that seem blatantly apparent to you, but unbeknownst to the speaker? Well, chances are you are not just a victim, but also a perpetrator. To put it plainly, there is a decent chance that any given reader uses the term "Legos" to describe everyone's favorite toy. We appreciate the effort, but unfortunately this is WRONG.
This police officer knows what he's doing. Notice the handcuffs.
LEGO is a brand name, and therefore should not be pluralized to describe its products. Proper form is to use "LEGO" as an adjective, with a noun behind it. For example, instead of "Legos", one should say either Lego bricks, pieces, parts, or elements (the latter being the most formal). "Blocks" is also regarded to be incorrect. To describe an entire product, say "Lego set". Kit is incorrect. Also, use minifigures (or minifigs, for short), instead of "people". If my word is not good enough, I have found some official statements from the company. The first was originally issued in 1980, and is still upheld. The second is an excerpt from the Lego company's trademark infringement rules.
“The word LEGO is a brand name, and is very special to all of us in the LEGO Group Companies. We would sincerely like your help in keeping it special. Please always refer to our products as “LEGO bricks or toys” and not “LEGOS.” By doing so, you will be helping to protect and preserve a brand of which we are very proud, and that stands for quality the world over. Thank you!”
Proper Use of the LEGO Trademark "If the LEGO trademark is used at all, it should always be used as an adjective, not as a noun. For example, say "MODELS BUILT OF LEGO BRICKS". Never say "MODELS BUILT OF LEGOs".
Exceptions
First off, I will make the note that official form for multiple building elements is "LEGO® brand building bricks," but honestly that's ridiculous and nobody really takes the time to say that every time. Most often, builders will use just LEGO, though it is generally also accepted to capitalize only the "L" in an informal setting. I do it that way because if you put LEGO in all caps too many times in an entry, I find it distracting.
According to official rules, it is also incorrect to refer to The LEGO Group as simply "Lego" (It's officially TLG), and also to refer to "your Lego collection". These two rules can usually be safely disregarded during casual use, because there isn't an easier but still respectful form. The former should probably be observed if you own any different products similar to Lego, but if you despise and eradicate these knock-offs like I and many fans do, you're fine. It is also usually acceptable to address Lego bricks as simply "Lego" in a casual setting, but NOT "Legos".
These guidelines are nothing new, the first statement having been issued thirty-three years ago. It may also be helpful for you to notice that no official statement from the company has ever used the term "Legos", and some word processors even treat "Legos" as a typo, while accepting the proper form. So, out of respect for the company and for the sanity of nerds everywhere, kindly try to use proper terminology. Happy building!
I have recently acquired Lego set 10236, the Ewok Village. This monstrous set is truly a necessary addition to any Endor layout, but it carries a hefty price tag of $250. It has 1990 pieces, though, so that's about twelve cents per piece-- much more reasonable than a lot of other sets. I found out about this set a month or two before its release, and began saving up for it immediately. You will soon see why.
The Ewok Village as it comes, without other sets thrown in.
Let's start with the minifigures. The set comes with 17 of them, making it the second largest number for a Star Wars set (the Death Star has 24). They include two Stormtroopers, two Rebel Commandos, two Scout Troopers (which have a new, vastly improved design), a new Luke, a new Leia (with a fabric skirt), a new R2-D2 (with a silver head instead of gray), the most recent versions of Han and Chewbacca, and five Ewoks: Wicket, Chief Chirpa, Teebo, Logray, and an unnamed one.
The five Ewoks: Wicket, unnamed, Chirpa, Teebo, and Logray
The new Scout Trooper has more accurate armor.
The Building Experience
The building experience is very enjoyable. The trees and other structures are similar enough to be cohesive, but unique enough to keep you engaged the whole time. The set is built in several sections, which can be put together and separated easily, allowing multiple configurations. The lower parts of the trees and the sockets in the floor are color coded, so it is easy to tell which tree goes where. The trees and undergrowth are very fun to build, and the rope bridge is tedious, but also fun. The worst part are the railings, since it is difficult to get all of the droid arms evenly spaced. The set has some rare pieces, such as the mushroom tops, the Death Star Trooper helmet, and some 3X3 plates (when did they invent those?), but for the most part it is composed of familiar pieces and colors. It took me perhaps an hour or two to build, but for some it will take longer. If you hate applying stickers (as I do) then don't worry-- there are only three!
Functionality
This set has an abundance of play value in addition to its striking construction. There is a catapult which works very well, a hidden hollow in one of the trees, a pop-out spider web (which also has a new design), the swinging log trap (it was used on an AT-ST in the movie, but the trees are only tall enough to permit speeder bikes), C-3PO's floating chair, the roasting spit, an escape chute, and the net trap. The top part of the village also houses a campfire, a kitchen of sorts, a bedroom, and a room with design charts on the wall. The set also has two drum sets: one of regular drums, and the one with imperial helmets.
Han Solo hanging from a rope
The Finished Product
Because of its huge size and incredible detail, this set is perfect for AFoL (Adult Fan of Lego) display as well as KFoL (Kid Fan of Lego) play, though the only problem is it is a bit expensive for the target audience. All in all, this is an excellent set, perfect for bolstering your Endor collection. I have thrown in some of my other sets to make the scene bigger, such as 7657, 7956, 9489, and 9492. I think this set would look great next to the shield generator bunker (8038), but I don't have that one. I'll have to round one up just to complete the series. Anyway, I highly recommend this set to fans of any age. It really is a work of art.
Luke fights alongside two Rebel soldiers
My fleet of speeder bikes prepares to attack.
Chewie throws the driver out of the AT-ST
The complete battle, with TIE Fighter, just for fun. Happy building!
Sometimes it's fun to create something completely and utterly pointless. Then, after you create something pointless, you want to share it with the entire world, right? Maybe not. In any case, I want to properly display one of my great feats of uselessness: The Gear Train of Doom. The principle is simple. It consists of lots of sets of gears stacked against each other, such that the gear reduction reaches ridiculous levels.
This gear train uses seven 40-tooth-to-8-tooth pairings, and nine 36-tooth-to
12-tooth pairings, with a few 24-tooth gears in there for some reason.
Here are some stats:
The gear ratio is one billion, five hundred thirty seven million, seven hundred thirty four thousand, three hundred seventy five to one, or 1,537,734,375 to 1.
When driven by a Lego RC motor, which can operate at 3000 RPM, it would take two years and four months nonstop to finish one rotation of the output.
When driven by a Lego RC motor, the output has 20 million, 755 thousand, 396.46 foot pounds of torque, which approximately equals 27,131 Chevy Silverados. With that kind of power, one could easily snap the Empire State Building in half. (It would take decades, though).
When driven by a Lego NXT motor, it takes an abysmal twenty five years to complete a rotation, but has nine times as much torque as the RC motor.
Under no circumstances would you need to use this. EVER.
I built the Gear Train of Doom when I had spare time in shop class, out of the forgotten remnants of a few Mindstorms NXT's. I pretty much raided every gear in the box to build it. My gear train became quite popular among my classmates, and my teacher even mentioned it at a meeting once. (My shop teacher is awesome, by the way. You can find his YouTube channel here). The conversation went something like this:
Other Teacher: "I wrote this great new assignment to make students calculate gear ratios!"
My Teacher: "I have a student who does that for fun, except REALLY OVERKILL."
I think he almost passed out when I showed him all the numbers I calculated. In spirit of this, I encourage everyone to build something completely useless, as time well wasted is not wasted at all.
As I sat in front of a pile of recently dismantled Blacktron II pieces, I wondered what to build. Then, thinking of a vehicle from Star Wars, I got to work. The ship that popped into my head was a B-Wing, an advanced fighter used by the Rebellion in Return of the Jedi. The B-Wing's cockpit is mounted on a complex system of gyroscopes, which keep the cockpit level no matter where the rest of the ship is. This allows for some very impressive maneuvers, if the pilot can withstand the strain. The idea of the gyroscopes is what got me started on my newest creation, the Asteroid Raider. This ship is built according to the Blacktron II color scheme, and it includes the signature globe cockpit of that theme. Rather than make the entire cockpit swivel, (which probably would have been much easier), I decided to make only the pilot move. That doesn't seem too hard, but it took a few hours' work to get the minifig pilot to spin without hitting anything.
Released this past year, set 10227 is the largest and most
detailed B-Wing Lego has ever produced. Note that the
cockpit is mounted on a turntable.
The Asteroid Raider employs all signatures of Blacktron II, incorporating the colors, shapes, and the famous cockpit. I even took care in naming it according to the Blackton/M-Tron title formula, a two-word name with the second ending in -er/-or. Unlike actual BT2 cockpits, which are detachable, the Asteroid Raider's cockpit is fixed, so that its main mechanism can operate uninhibited. The pilot's seat is mounted on an axle, which runs through the length of the ship. The axle is weighted at the aft end by a magnetic coupling. (I know that belongs in M-Tron, but it was the best available weight). The weight keeps the pilot's seat level at all times, rotating freely within the round cockpit. The main body of the ship is built around a 9V battery box, so I threw some blinking lights on it just for fun. The wings are mounted on hinges, so they can be bent down when the ship is upside-down to create an entirely different design. In an effort to make the bottom of the ship look interesting, I accidentally prevented it from sitting level on a landing pad. I'm currently working on some retractable landing gear to even out the front end, but until then, enjoy!
In this picture, the ship is at a diagonal to the pilot,
demonstrating the rotation capabilities.
The body of the ship can be flipped over and the wings
bent to create a different fighter. The pilot reliably follows
the movement.
I put a makeshift jack under the ship so it would stay level.
Today, I have taken the time to pay homage to one of my favorite Lego space factions: Blacktron. This faction covered two themes, one in the late eighties and another in the early nineties. The Blacktron have been defined as theives who steal technology from other factions, helping to secure their own domination. The first of the two themes, simply titled Blacktron but usually referred to as Blacktron I or BT1, revolutionized Lego space and has been named the first truly "themed" series of space sets. Blacktron I featured intimidating minifigures, sleek shapes, and interchangeably modular designs, all glued together by a striking color scheme of black, yellow, trans-red and trans-yellow.Many ideas pioneered by Blacktron I are still used today, such as smaller vehicles detaching from larger ones, etc. To this day, Blacktron I sets are very popular and therefore expensive and hard to come by. Regrettably, I do not own any as yet but I plan on collecting them all eventually. Pictured below are the Battrax, the Renegade, and the Message-Intercept Base, some of the most acclaimed Blacktron I sets.
The Renegade isn't huge by today's standards, at only 313 pieces,
but it's by all means a work of art.
The Battrax is a mean four-wheeled machine that is still
highly sought after today.
The Message Intercept Base features a dome that
can open using a mechanism similar to that of the
Futuron Cosmic Laser Launcher.
Blacktron returned in 1991 with Blacktron: Future Generation, which is usually referred to as Blacktron II or BT2. Unlike Blacktron I, its "sequel" had a color scheme of black, white, and trans-neon green, which added to the notion that it was an "upgrade" of Blacktron I. This newer series is often slandered as a set-by-set rehash of its predecessor, but I think this theme needs to be appreciated for what it is, not insulted for what it could have been. Blacktron II shared the idea of interchangeability, since some vehicles had futuristic, spheroid cockpits that were very similar and compatible with one another. Unfortunately, only four of the dozen sets had these cockpits, making the others incompatible. Blacktron II minifigures wore a new logo, a green letter B inside an octagon, emblazoned on their chests. While the new logo and design made the minifigures seem slightly less formidable (you can see their smiley faces through their visors), they still have a great design and excellent play value. Unlike Blacktron I, Over half of Blacktron II sits upon my shelves, hopefully to be joined eventually by the rest of both themes. Two of the most popular Blacktron II sets, the Aerial Intruder (I have that one) and the Spectral Starguider (I really need to get me one of those) are seen below.
The Spectral Starguider is impressively designed, including suspension, steering
and the ability to form an aircraft from the cockpit and the top-mounted engines.
The Aerial Intruder sported two spheroid cockpits
and a cargo ramp for deploying two buggies.
The Blacktron Intelligence Agency
The Blacktron Intelligence agency is a monstrous Blacktron I layout built by Brian Darrow in Indiana. The BIA was a massive undertaking, being under perpetual construction for almost a decade. At its peak, it included at least 78 trans-yellow quarter-dome panels,(worth 20-30 dollars each) and over 1600 minifigures from various themes (mostly Blacktron). It measured almost forty feet long and had over 245 feet of monorail track. Each one of those numbers is amazing, as the quarter-domes, vintage minifigures, and monorail tracks are all very expensive. I cannot go in-depth enough to do this project justice, so you can visit the creator's MOCpages site here for additional information and images. I have also included a video tour done by Joe Meno in 2007. It effectively captures the scope and grandeur of this amazing piece. Regrettably, the BIA no longer exists, as it was dismantled and auctioned off in chunks almost two years ago. This means I will never see it in person, but it has been immortalized on the internet. In fact, it has inspired me to build my own layout of epic proportions, which is already four years into the design process. It will likely be posted in the distant future.
Evidence of Blacktron
Both Blacktron themes were released in conjunction with a "civilian" theme and a Space Police theme. Unfortunately, with the release of Space Police III in 2009, there came no Blactron III. This does not mean there were no hints, however. The minifigure named Rench, who was included in the Raid VPR (5981) wears a modified BT1 uniform with a BT2 logo on it. The "Space Villain" minifig from Minifigures Series 3 also wears the Blacktron II logo, whilst his armor and weapons match the BT1 color scheme. Most interesting of all is the upcoming "Evil Mech" minifigure from the new Minifigures Series 11, which wears a Blacktron I logo (not the BT2 logo) on its armor. Be sure to look out for it upon its release. While it is uncertain as to whether there will ever be an actual Blacktron 3, we can always enjoy the classics.
