Truly Building Blind

Name of Resource: Lego for the Blind

Created by: Matthew Shifrin

Found at: http://legofortheblind.com/

Details: The "Blind Build" is a popular game at LEGO conventions, but it doesn't truly capture the experience of a blind person building a LEGO set. Being blind doesn't mean only not being able to see the parts - it also means that you can't see the box or the instructions. Depending on how long someone has been without sight, it might even mean never having seen a LEGO piece. While bricks and plates are very tactile elements, most of us who experiment with a "Blind Build" as a game are very familiar with what the parts look like, and we're usually looking right at the instructions while we build. A blind person attempting to build even a fairly simple kit will need to be able to interact with all of the parts - and the instructions - without ever seeing them. This challenge has been met by an exciting website launched recently called "Lego for the Blind". Matthew Shifrin has compiled a series of written instructions in English for a variety of popular LEGO sets (19 of them as of this writing). These instructions can then be read aloud by screen reading software. Some preparation is required (besides acquiring a set listed on the site) - a sighted person needs to sort the parts first. I suspect that that step could be skipped for a set that doesn't include the same part in multiple colors, but so far the sets the site has instructions for lean towards the larger size. Then again, having to feel through 2000+ parts to find the right shape would bring back the "goofy convention challenge" aspect...

A Custom Minifigure - with desk and wheelchair

Name of Model: Sigfig/Wheelchair Instructions

Created by: Bladewood

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bladewood/sets/72157607175259554/

Details: A long-lasting craze among LEGO fans is trying to create yourself as a minifig. Known as a "sigfig", these characters often litter flickr to the point where it can be hard to find actual models alongside all of the lightly customized minifigs. It's pretty unusual for a sigfig to actually feature clever building techniques on its own, but this particular one does. As you can see in the vignette pictured to the left, Bladewood has designed a perfect minifig-scale wheelchair. Yes, I know we just featured the Bionicle wheelchair a few weeks back, but trust me, this is spectacular in a completely different way. Check out the wheelchair's building instructions to see the exact parts and techniques used - it's a really clever design.

A Wheelchair for Mobility-Impaired Bionicle characters

Name of Model: Full Access

Created by: the BCth

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33279927@N08/sets/72157622131179152/

Details: Looking at the Bionicle universe, it's hard not to notice that LEGO has chosen not to release many civilian characters. It's a world of heroes and villians, Toa, masks and whatever came after the Toa (I lost track of the plot fairly early on, and started deriding it openly after they announced that the planet of Mata Nui is itself a giant Toa that would star in the 2009 line). Wounded Toa are something that LEGO simply hasn't accounted for. Part of this might be expense - the sheer size of some of these Bionicle characters means that properly scaled vehicles and buildings are generally too expensive to build or for the company to sell (to their credit, though, LEGO has created a few Technic-based vehicles that seem to be roughly to-scale). On to this model, now - this is a builder after my own heart, clearly trying to mesh disparate parts from a wide variety of LEGO themes. "Arctic" treads and "X-Pod" lids (two parts largely ignored as "useless") take on a whole new context when used together and combined with Star Wars droid arms and Explorien octagonal elements to form wheels. The studs of log bricks have been connected directly into studless Technic beams (a simple but surprisingly underused technique) to create a comfortable looking back for the chair. Bionicle elements are used both in the chair's structure and as accents. Triangular Technic propellers (sparsely used now but widely available in the '90s) hold the footrest at just the right angle - and of course, the footrest can be retracted using the Bionicle ball joints. Finally, there's the spectacular color scheme - dark blue and yellow. I had no idea that some of these parts were even made in these colors before.

"Life's Little Annoyances"

Name of Model: Life's Little Annoyances

Created by: Bladewood

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bladewood/sets/72157608483724079/

Details: Here's an interesting find: a series of vignettes about annoying things that happen when people plan thoughtlessly. It's a very effective set of vignettes. I'm having a hard time putting words to them well - there are only a few photos here, but they do a surprisingly good job of speaking for themselves.