Details: Ever wonder just how many motorized features you can cram into one small vehicle? This extreme backhoe seems to be pushing the limit with it's eight motors, two light units, four IR receivers, and six linear actuators. This is pure function, and still looks great in spite of that. This is another case of someone clearly knowing how to use new parts well - note how several linear actuators are powered by multiple 3-stud-long universal joints, and how a (new for 2010) 20-tooth bevel gear with pin hole is used in the back to allow rotation on a fixed axle.
Details: Here's another fantastic spaceship in the style of the original Space Police line. This is a pretty spectacular example of microscale building - many interesting details are achieved here by using minifig tools. Some pieces used cleverly to keep an eye out for: 4(!) Technic Hub / Handles in blue (a part/color combination that I don't believe was ever released in a set), 2 minifig binoculars, 2 minifig wrenches, 2 hose nozzles, 2 hinge brick tops, and 2 minifig hands. There are also some other clever parts uses in here too, with cheese slopes, that tilted cockpit, and studs-not-on-top parts hidden from view (probably this part in particular).
Details: The manager of the LEGO Brand Retail store in Chandler, Arizona, USA recently built this minifigure scale version of the store. It includes custom minifigs (made with decals) for each of the employees. Although the store shelves aren't filled in in much detail, the various kiosk shelves and the Pick-a-Brick wall do a very good job of making this match the iconic LEGO store look. All of the LEGO Brand Retail stores (in the US) are fairly standardized, so this should look pretty familiar to you if you've been to any LEGO Store.
Details: Here's an interesting idea - using the NXT tethered to another small computer to play a game on a PC. Apparently the builder had some custom embedded computer vision (CV) and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in use. From his description:
Tetris-Bot is a Tetris-playing robot. Jay Leno would say "How lazy are we getting? Now robots play games for us!" Well, not exactly, but I agree, we are getting lazy. I made it in order to engage my kids in a fun and educational project. Tetris-Bot consists of a camera, a TI DM6437 DSP board (running my embedded vision and artificial intelligence algorithms), and a three-finger NXT robotic hand (that presses the keys on the computer keyboard). I was inspired by the NXT Rubik and Sudoku solvers and the Segway-like NXT robots. Unlike them, Tetris-Bot is not an NXT-only system, because the Brick has a limited input bandwidth. That's why I use a TI DM6437 DSP board to analyze the images coming from the camera, recognize the new shape, and find the best place and orientation for it. The instructions are communicated to the NXT robotic hand via LEDs on the board. HOPE YOU LIKE IT !!!
Details: Here's more of a "moment of zen" for today - a pair of vintage LEGO advertisements. One is from 1964 and the other is from 1979 - fifteen years apart, and you can actually get an idea for how the possibilities were growing during that time from these ads. Both are from pretty meaningful events for the company - the 1964 advertisement is for the early town plan line (which still included road boards instead of baseplates and small die-cast vehicles that gave the sets a more traditional scale of 1:87, also known as "HO scale"), and the 1979 ad shows the early Technic line (then known as "Expert Builder"). The Technic sets would later become a much bigger deal, as we all know - and all of the vehicles we see in the early line have since been redone in many new and exciting ways.
Details: Scripps Encinitas Critical Care Center has been built in minifig scale - even though the "real" thing hasn't been finished yet. Five weeks of work from a former LEGOLAND California Master Builder and her assistants resulted in this permanent model for the hospital. This model debuted at a recent event, but I don't know if/when it's still available for the public to see. Since this is just the kick-off of the expansion, we'll have to wait a few years to see how well this captures the final building.
Just a head's up - we've been a bit late updating the BrickJournal Shared Calendars lately, but there are two newly-added events coming up this weekend. One's in Tarrytown, New York, USA, and the other is in Durham, North Carolina, USA. We'll be at Maker Faire NC, displaying our own models for once. Expect a full report next week. We're hoping to finish scheduling the next few days' worth of posts in advance, but bear with us if a few posts end up coming up late.
Details: After featuring several models in a row with a fairly large footprint, it's time to feature a small vignette. A small, short, tiny, very self-conscious vignette, because you shouldn't feel bad about building something clever that isn't large and dramatic. We all build something small once in a while - it happens to everyone. Particularly everyone who isn't trying to show off how many parts they've bought (while we try to avoid showcasing models that seem to exist purely to show that their builder can afford to make them, there are quite a few of them out there). Sometimes, someone builds something small that is just as clever and worth sharing due to building techniques, or it's something small that could be part of something bigger. Then there are cases like this, when someone manages to capture something perfectly without breaking 10 inches (or ~25 cm) across. It's not easy to put together an accurate bit of constructive criticism in LEGO form, but here it is - proof that we need to keep looking at smaller creations, which are often just as great as (or better than) larger models.
Details: The Medieval Market Village kit is one of the best current LEGO sets, but the lack of a baseplate in the kit immediately poses a challenge to you when you're done building it: What will you put the buildings on? Here's an answer - make the goodies in the kit part of an enormous full-fledged medieval village. This large, modular diorama is one of the most well-documented peasant villages I've seen in the past few years. There's even landscaping (with a forest's edge and cobblestone), a map, and a full cast of characters.
Details: The Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, France is one of seven landmarks that Arthur Gugick deemed unbuildable. In spite of that, though, he has built it and it came out well (and quite small). The technique for the water is closer to what he's done for mosaics before - round pieces on a solid background to allow for more color. The village in the front features a surprising amount of variety at this scale - lots of little roof pieces make the distinctive roof lines. On the cathedral itself, we see large amounts of hinge pieces used for the architectural details. There are only 4 photos of this model (which comes in at a mere 64-studs square at the base, and is only 20 bricks tall), but they're all worth a look - even with little space and relatively simple techniques, there's a surprising amount of detail snuck into this model.
Ever wonder just how many motorized features you can cram into one small vehicle? This extreme backhoe seems to be pushing the limit with it's eight motors, two light units, four IR receivers, and six linear actuators. This is pure function, and still looks great in spite of that. This is another case of someone clearly knowing how to use new parts well - note how several linear actuators are powered by multiple 3-stud-long universal joints, and how a (new for 2010) 20-tooth bevel gear with pin hole is used in the back to allow rotation on a fixed axle.
