Posted by
Dan
at
3:06 PM
| Name of Model: Helios the Flammable | | Created by: fallentomato | | Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fallentomato/sets/72157622829354735/ | Details:
 It's very difficult to make humanoid Bionicle creations that don't come off as childish, spindly, or action-figurish. This anthropomorphized sun works surprisingly well, considering how many Bionicle joints, bizarre Throwbot and Bionicle elements, and unusual angles are used. A full 17 photos are up for this one, showing some interesting details and poses - and, of course (this still being related to a world filled with comic books) a storyline. | | This is Wednesday's model of the day |
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Posted by
Lego Model of the Day
at
10:44 PM
| Name of Model: Feuerwehr Unimog | | Created by: nolnet | | Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nolnet/tags/1300/ | Details:
 At first glance, this looks like your standard armored truck. More specifically, it is a unimog and is built 6 studs wide with a 5-stud wide cab. Perhaps some of the details caught your eye as well. What you probably didn't catch, though, was just how precise the details were - check out this partially-built image for a variety of interesting techniques, including using tools with pins for exhaust, building the wheelbase upside-down to improve ground clearance, and using clips with 1x1 tiles to make custom mudguards. The texture on the sides of the truck are achieved in a surprisingly complicated way (sideways) as well. | | This is Tuesday's model of the day |
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Posted by
Lego Model of the Day
at
12:00 AM
| Name of Model: Micro Pneumatic Walker | | Created by: Alexander "aeh" Holroyd | | Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=411572 and in true pneumatic walker tradition, also in a LUGNET thread | Details:
 Every once in a while, you hear me mention that something has become a "fad" of sorts among LEGO fans. About a decade or so back, a rash of pneumatic walkers flooded LUGNET (the LEGO Users Group network) and RTL (Rec.Toys.LEGO, a USENET newsgroup from back when "USENET" and "newsgroup" were things people actually used) as Technic and Mindstorms fans tried to push the limits of what could be done mechanically without having to use expensive motors and sensors to automate creations. Pneumatic walkers are an incredibly fun application of pneumatic logic gates. Simple logic gates (of the same sort used in electronics) have long been considered a "classic project" for LEGO pneumatic elements, but the relative scarcity of those parts generally prevents people from experimenting with the field too much. The basic idea of pneumatic walkers is to have all motion control handled purely by pneumatics - no motors, gears, or sensors are needed on the machine itself. The only source of power is a pneumatic tube supplying air pressure. Each piston-forced movement is mechanically attached to another pneumatic valve, which in turn will force another pneumatic piston to trigger its linkages. Since LEGO pneumatic parts aren't quite instantaneous, they can be used in a variety of synchronized machines, including walkers. Today's featured model is a recent creation that claims to be the smallest pneumatic walker. The machine has a small footprint and only uses the smallest size of pneumatic piston. The newer studless valves are used here to great effect - I can't imagine trying to build a similar structure while needing to brace the older valve elements with bricks. Don't miss the video on Brickshelf alongside the photos. | | This is Monday's model of the day |
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Posted by
Dan
at
11:40 AM
| Recently, the LEGO company posted instructions for a series of holiday models on their website. There's a good variety of models - life-size sculptures, minifig-scale characters, and even a few minifig-scale ideas. You can find those instructions (PDF format only, sorry) at http://shop.lego.com/HolidayShop/festivefun.aspx |
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Posted by
Dan
at
4:00 AM
| Name of Model: The Slippery Eel | | Created by: -infomaniac- | | Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/-infomaniac-/tags/pillagethevillage/ | Details:
 The whole "Pillage the Village" concept (which has been the basis for a few contests now) is to force Pirate builders back onto land to show us how the non-seafarers of the time lived - and what the Pirates could do to them. This village is a delightful mix of soldiers' fortifications and more civilian buildings, and also features plenty of Pirate action. Don't miss the rounded towers or the rocky landscaping. The pirate leaping into the water shows an interesting technique for the newer style of "fiber optic" cables LEGO has been using to allow the smaller lights to light up a larger area. |
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Posted by
Dan
at
6:49 PM
| Name of Model: Triceratops | | Created by: retinence | | Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38246614@N02/tags/triceratops/ | Details:
 It can be difficult to achieve just the right shape using only Bionicle parts. It's even harder if you start off with a very limited palette of Bionicle elements. Yes, I know I should nitpick the lack of a third horn (even though there's clearly space for it) on this model, but when you consider that this was built in 2 hours by someone on vacation - without access to most of their collection - it's an impressive little model. If you don't consider those limitations, it's actually still not a bad little dinosaur - it's certainly more realistic texture-wise in some spots than most brick-built ones are. | | This is Wednesday's model of the day |
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