Name of Model: LIU - Napu Art Museum |
Created by: Emperor Ludgonious |
Found at: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/186983 |
Details: |
Fans of LEGO® and models made of LEGO® showcase one model each day.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Futuristic Art Museum
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Candy Machines
Name of Models: quarter machines and Choices, Choices |
Created by: brian.schlosser and Armothe |
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brian-schlosser/4383797734/in/pool-44124304756@N01 and http://www.flickr.com/photos/armothe/4053730306/ |
Details: |
Friday, February 26, 2010
Third Blogiversary
I've generally tried to avoid posting about the history of this blog, for the obvious reason that we're called "LEGO Model of the Day" but haven't been truly daily in any consistent manner until fairly recently. From time to time (especially at LEGO events, which I've been increasingly active at since starting this blog), I've been asked about how long LMOTD has been around. As of right now (I've scheduled this post in advance to be live exactly 3 years after my first model post), LMOTD is three years old. It's been an exciting couple years. At first, I wasn't really sure if I could truly add something insightful to another LEGO model every single day. I've brought in help to keep the blog going, I've experimented with the format a bit, but in the end what made the magic happen was some changes in my personal life (I was a college student and a "LEGO community outsider" when I started LMOTD, now I'm a cubicle dweller and regular AFOL). The looser formats I've experimented with kept this blog going in leaner times, and I'm happy to say that 2010 is the first year that we're on track to truly deliver a fresh post about a LEGO model every day. LMOTD hasn't been a runaway success story. I'm happy to have roughly 500 visitors per day (even if most of them are search engine hits), and I do feel like I've created something of value to LEGO fans. If nothing else, LMOTD has created a library of easily searchable models and techniques that is appropriate for all ages. It's thrilling to try looking up a technique, and then find that this blog is the only place where it was described well enough to turn up in a search result (although most of the pictures are hosted elsewhere and other people discuss many of these models, few people write in as much depth as I do here). I had originally hoped to be more than that, but as other LEGO blogs grew, disappeared, came into being and otherwise changed over the years, I've found that all the voids I wanted filled have been filled. Thank you for a fun three years - let's hope there are many more to come! |
Convertible "Supercar" with Low Transmission
Name of Model: Convertible old supercar, inspired by 250GTO, miura, 2000GT. Engine and gearbox placed side by side in the front of car. It s enable to have HOG axle in the center of frame, with no by pass. RWD, V10, Gearbox, steering wheel and convertible |
Created by: nico71 |
Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=420257 |
Details: Oh, and did I mention that this was a snazzy looking car with realistic opening doors (no gull-wing goofiness here!), front wheel steering, four wheel independent suspension, powered rear wheels, steering geared to the steering wheel and a separate knob, a V-10 motor, headlights, and studless body work? There's a reason we call these models "supercars" (and it's not entirely due to the legacy of set 8880). |
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Hello Kitty Sculpture
Name of Model: hellokitty |
Created by: car_mp |
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/carmp/tags/hellokitty/ |
Details: |
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
H.M.S Imperial Shark
Name of Model: H.M.S Imperial Shark |
Created by: mattbliss83 |
Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=420890 |
Details: |
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots
Name of Model: Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots |
Created by: jasoncorlett84 |
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason84/sets/72157623446546540/ |
Details: Don't forget that you can use the "All Sizes" button on flickr to zoom-in - it's a must if you want to get a good look at the linkages that make the arms work just right. |
Monday, February 22, 2010
Robotics Monday: Set 8258 NXT-ified
Name of Model: LEGO Crane Truck 8258 NXTfied |
Created by: Ramacco |
Found at: http://ramacco.blogspot.com/2010/02/lego-crane-truck-8258-nxtfied.html |
Details: We've seen attempts at automating current Technic sets with an NXT before, but that's never the first challenge when it comes to adding an NXT to a set. Before you can start experimenting with sensor input and automation, you need to actually build in the motors and test out the functions. Here's an example of that part of the process based on set 8258 Crane Truck |
Sunday, February 21, 2010
News Roundup
LEGOWORLD is currently underway right now in Denmark. Naturally, photos are slowly starting to find their way on to these "intarwebs" of ours. There are plenty of exciting original creations from LEGO fans on display, and the LEGO company brought back a few of their own popular displays as well (The giant version of 8880 Supercar is back out on display!) Photos from LEGOWORLD 2010 (I'll be updating this post as I find out about more): Ken_1974's flickr photo set Coverage from TheNXTStep marcus-e's flickr photo set gerth6000's flickr photo set On another note, some of the LEGO parts and creations stolen from BAYLUG President Mark Benz have been found and returned. While about a third of the models have not been recovered (and many of them were disassembled), at least this makes up for some of the monetary loss. Unfortunately, because they were recovered from an unattended vehicle, the thieves still haven't been caught. Photos from Toy Fair NY are still surfacing. ASMZine has some great photos Finally, some housekeeping: The book review post of I LEGO NY was supposed to appear on Saturday morning, but was inadvertently published early. I've decided to leave it where it is, but that's why there was no model featured yesterday. |
Friday, February 19, 2010
I LEGO N.Y.
Name of Book: I LEGO N.Y. |
Created by: Christoph Niemann |
Available at: Amazon |
Details: You may recall that about a year ago, a New York Times blog post featuring sketches in LEGO form of various things (focused on New York city) became something of a viral phenomenon. That post is now coming out in book form, with 13 new illustrations added to the 17 included in the original article. I recently received a review copy and was surprised to find that the book is printed as a small board book - perfect for withstanding use by kids. While none of the sketches are particularly exciting from a technical standpoint, many of them are surprisingly effective at matching the captions. Scale is treated as a non-object, with some pages intentionally referring to things as being at very different scales for comedic effect. Beyond the zen-like simplicity of the illustrations, I think that this book could serve a purpose as a kid-friendly idea book. LEGO hasn't published an official idea book in years (the life cycle of a LEGO set is too short now for that to make any sense - it's no longer safe to assume that a special part will still be available in 6 months, never mind a few years later). While there are many ideas and model photographs online in various venues, I haven't seen anything else that attempts to take very basic (and common) parts and challenges you to see them as everyday objects, people, and places at various scales. Parents who aren't comfortable letting their kids loose online but still want to give their kids LEGO-related ideas will love this (I'm sure it will also help that you could build your own version of anything in the book without more than a handful of parts). While the book is fairly New York-centric, only 6 of the pictures are specific enough to be confusing for non-New Yorkers. While I'd generally point people interested in LEGO and New York towards more advanced models like Sean Kenney's creations, this book might be a bit more appropriate for youngsters (and parents) trying to figure out how to make something evocative with very few parts. I LEGO NY officially comes out on March 1st but Amazon appears to be selling it now |
Dollhouse Furniture
Name of Model: bedroom |
Created by: brn2stndout |
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/search/?ss=2&w=32901144@N05&q=bedroom&m=text |
Details: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Dutch farm
Name of Model: Nederlandse Boerderij |
Created by: Neverrroads and McBricker |
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24974283@N04/sets/72157623422478996/ |
Details: You can get a better look at McBricker's tractor on Brickshelf. |
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Olympics Mascot Ilanaaq the Inukshuk
Name of Model: VancouverGamesInuksuk2010 |
Created by: Janey Red Brick / Janey Gunning |
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/janeyredbrick/4361230680/ |
Details: |
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Alternate Models for set 4100 Maximum Wheels
Name of Model: Cars created out of the 4100 MaxiWheels designer set |
Created by: industrialdesigner |
Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=64981 |
Details: |
Monday, February 15, 2010
CubeStormer Can Solve Any 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube in less than 12 seconds
Name of Model: CubeStormer |
Created by: Mike Dobson / RoboticSolutions |
Found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaRcWB3jwMo&feature=player_embedded# |
Details: We've seen Rubik's cube solvers before. It's been a while, though, since we've seen one that used the Vision Command system. The 9731 Vision Command set was a standard Logitech Quickcam web inside, but thanks to the included software and the API that was available online at the time, they could be used with a PC to control a LEGO Mindstorms RCX. While LEGO and Logitech have both stopped supporting this product, it can still be useful in the right hands - such as those of the builder of today's model. The program comes up with a solution for the cube - any 3x3x3 Rubik's cube While I'd love to write more about what's going on here, how it was programmed, what mechanisms were used, etc, I don't have any more details to share. Maybe if the builder could post a second video that looks behind-the-scenes... |
Sunday, February 14, 2010
1º Tomar Lego (2008)
Name of Event: 1º Tomar Lego |
Created by: Comunidade 0937 |
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/0937/sets/72157623247828943/ |
Details: There is an annual show in Portugal that the 0937 Community (a LEGO Users Group in Portugal) puts on. The first year of the show was in 2008, and this June 9th-13th will be the third such show. Details in English are a bit scarce, but even with the language barrier we can spot some interesting models, layouts, and set displays. The photos featured today are from the 2008 event. |
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Valentine's Day (Warning: Shameless Advertising Content)
In lieu of a proper model for the day, here's are the seasonal models that LEGO is trying to sell this Valentine's season. A straightforward heart Too bad that rose isn't available unglued - it's a really nice design and I think most of us could use more 1x2x2 slopes in red. |
Friday, February 12, 2010
Three-Legged Mecha
Name of Model: Watain |
Created by: SerratedSyringe |
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36963250@N06/tags/mecha/ |
Details:![]() |
Thursday, February 11, 2010
LEGO News Roundup
There's been a deluge of interesting LEGO-related news lately. Here's a round-up of what's going on out there in the past week or so:
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A Non-Movie Star Wars Landspeeder
Name of Model: X-34 landspeeder |
Created by: Garbageman13 |
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28530273@N07/4344257147/ |
Details: Normally, I'd delve into techniques here a bit, but this model's actually not a difficult build (again, if you actually have the parts). Well-placed jumper plates, 1x4-1x2 brackets, and 1x1 bricks with Technic holes are really all it took. In spite of all the time I spend talking about crazy techniques, sometimes a model can turn out well even if it is fairly simple to construct. |
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Shannonia
Name of Model: Shannonia |
Created by: Shannon Young |
Found at: http://www.mocpages.com/folder.php/16332 |
Details: |
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Small Rhombicosidodecahedron
Name of Model: ZPD Ball |
Created by: 1brick |
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/1brick/sets/72157623223643559/ |
Details: Lest you think this is easy, check out the full Wolfram Alpha list of 62-faced polyhedra. Leave it to irregular polyhedra to make it difficult to blog about LEGO. |
Monday, February 8, 2010
Steerable Hexapod Walker
Name of Model: Hexapod Walker |
Created by: gus.jansson (who is on both YouTube and flickr) |
Found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuqeaIT8X8I and http://www.flickr.com/photos/9836584@N03/sets/72157623215601373/ |
Details: I've previously expressed my love for pneumatic walkers, but they have a few limitations. Pneumatic walkers can't steer, and they can't be controlled by sensors or programmable bricks. This walker used an NXT and three motors to make a walking robot that can be steered in either direction, respond to light, and sense distance. Construction details are pretty clear in the video above, but there's also a flickr set from the builder showing still photos of the walker. |
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Colossal Castle Contest VII - Winning Entries
I've featured my fair share of Castles (and even other entries from previous Colossal Castle Contests), but I barely touch most of the excellent castles out there. The latest Colossal Castle Contest brought some of the best castles I've seen yet. The categories are listed on that website, along with builders' credits and links to additional photos. This would easily be over a week's worth of "of the day" models here, but in the interest of not just establishing a backlog of phenomenal medieval creations, I'm featuring the winners as a group for today's Sunday edition. |
Saturday, February 6, 2010
New Set: 10211 Grand Emporium
I can't wait to get my hands on this one for myself - it looks like a fitting replacement for the original Cafe Corner kit (this is now the only corner building available from LEGO in this scale). The few official photos that were available briefly earlier this week can now be found at Brickset. With any luck, LEGO will give this the official big announcement it deserves soon. |
Friday, February 5, 2010
Miniland Figures Go Fishing
Name of Model: Gone Fishing |
Created by: Mariann Asanuma |
Found at: http://modelbuildingsecrets.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/gone-fishing/ |
Details: |
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Schirra Colony, Mars
Name of Model: Schirra Colony, Mars |
Created by: -Mainman- |
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mainman/tags/microspace/ |
Details: |
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Louis Vuitton Style Purses
Name of Model: LV pattern like stuff, created by Chiukeung |
Created by: Chiukeung |
Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=311559 |
Details: |
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Monroe County Courthouse from To Kill A Mockingbird
Name of Model: Monroe County Courthouse, Alabama - To Kill A Mockingbird |
Created by: Wesley Higgins |
Found at: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/181729 |
Details: |
Monday, February 1, 2010
NXT-Powered Arctic Tracker Snow Crawler
Name of Model: Snow Crawler |
Created by: bazmarc |
Found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSNtFlToSrw&feature=player_embedded |
Details: If you have the 8263 Snow Groomer kit |
Via TheNXTStep |