Lego flame
Flickr user Cole Blaq’s Lego flames use florescent and transparent elements to give the illusion of fire without resorting to backlighting. [via brothers-brick.com]
Archive for the 'Lego' Category
1981 ad for Lego
Photo from Flickr user Moose Greebles
I like this 1981 ad for Lego. It reads, in part: “Have you ever seen anything like it? Not just what she’s made, but how proud it’s made her. It’s a look you’ll see whenever children build something all by themselves. No matter what they’ve created.”
Compare the above to Lego ads for girls today. (Via Feministing)
Lego video celebrates moments of inspiration
Think of that little bolt of excitement that hits when the solution to a problem suddenly becomes clear. That’s a CLICK moment in action. Consider times when a great idea comes out of the shadows of the brain and needs to be shared. That’s a CLICK moment, too.
The hub of the program, www.LEGOCLICK.com, is a virtual canvas of ideas, inspired moments, quirky stories, solutions and tips from serial CLICKers designed to celebrate and inspire CLICK moments of all types.
Lego Steering Wheel Converts iPhone Into Tiniest Racing Simulator
So, you don’t have $191,000 for that F1 car simulator you always wanted? Don’t worry: 1) take some Lego Technic, 2) grab an iPhone, and 3) invent a way to connect your brain to a hamster. [eblogx via RandomGoodStuff]
Realistic Lego models
Check out Polish Lego fan Maciej Drwiega’s 1:13 truck models — the blue and black truck is a Kenworth K100 Aerodyne, the red one is a Kenworth W900 LongNose, and the truck with the crane is a Jelcz 315. Drwiega puts so much care into researching and crafting his models that they can be confused for the real deal at thumbnail size. [via the Brothers Brick]
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Lego minifig snowperson
I assume that minifigs are gender-neutral in the absence of characteristic clothing or hairpieces. Danes Bjarne Tveskov and family are responsible for Lego Leslie, here. [via The Brothers Brick]
Aluminum Technic bricks
Bill Shaw creates and sells Lego Technic-compatible aluminum bricks.
It all started as a supplement to enhance Bill’s Mindstorms projects. All the elements are made to work with the original Lego Technic elements, but what makes them interesting is the fact of being made from high grade 6061 aluminum, instead of plastic. All the elements are designed in shapes not available through Lego, but that somehow may help you to solve some specific needs.
For instance, Shaw sells beams at nonstandard lengths and angled parts at different angles than Lego offers. [via technicbricks]
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Fab-your-own Lego
Check out the work of Ottawa maker Andrew Plumb. A few months ago, he created the .stl of a four-stud disk, uploaded it to Thingiverse, prototyped it on his Makerbot and then sent it off to fabbing service Shapeways to be output in plastic as well as bronze-infused steel.
In more recent experiment, Plumb used a laser cutter to create plates with holes sized for Lego studs and pins.
At first glance, I’ll have to tweak the designs more for the laser’s kerf. The hole inner diameter is too loose for Lego and too tight for my Shapeways-printed stainless-steel disc buttons, so that places the inner diameter somewhere between 4.9mm and 5.0mm. Will have to break out the calipers when I get home for more precise measurements.
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Lego domino row-bot makes setup a snap
Matthias’ Lego domino row building machine takes the tedium out of laying out lengthy domino runs – and looks pretty smooth doing it. A motor from an old tape deck keeps the little guy moving forward and equally spacing each handmade wooden piece -
The key idea that makes the machine work is that the magazine is just a row of dominoes dragged along the table. This avoids the problem of having to somehow lower the dominoes onto the table. My first unsuccessful attempts back in 1985 involved dropping the dominoes out of the magazine onto the table. But the impact of dropping the dominoes would often cause them to tip over, with ruinous consequences.
Project pics and much more of his process can be located over at WoodGears. [Thanks, Mark!]
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Lego polaroid looks snappy
Arvo’s neato Lego polaroid cam looks ready for retail … in some parallel universe where the classic format is still widely supported 
Alas, this model only produces pretend pics – still quite sweet. [via Gizmodo]
