Category: About Lego

Lego: New Project

Map

I’ve started populating this map as you can see in the top left hand corner … where I’ve displayed the actual plate with its subject—the sun—and its place on the map.

Next for the plate, is waiting for me to make decisions about base plates and fixing them to the wall. another post that will be, I haven’t worked it out yet.

The prospective map, still mostly blank, is cobbled together with my favourite sticky tape. I’m planning 32 panels, each a 16 x 16 plate.

The story that will accompany this endeavour is a couple of chapters behind as you’ll discover in coming weeks. Or not, if you’ve stepped out.

Lego: Success!

So far, anyway. Built three eighths of a 32 x 32 base plate and managed to fasten it to the pilaster beside my front door.

Four of the velcro type wall click-ons will together ‘carry’ four and a half kilos but I’m more worried about the Lego, This little scene is clicked to the blue background with three plates, all with between 8 to ten studs. Hopefully it will stay up. I’ll know tomorrow morning.

And then there are the four stud wide horizontals anchored only by a single row of studs at their inner edge. Have so far not weighed them down with too much, this is a test piece, after all.

If anything will give up, I’m betting on the base plate. They are such weak bits of plastic. I know, I know … I’m making this one do stuff it’s not designed for.

Using the third of my MILS plate designs did not work, scenes just too hard to install vertcally. I ended up having to take the whole base plate off the wall, and lay it flat, click the scene on, and re-join the velcro.

Lego: Building Sideways

I saw in the stats for this blog that interestingly—some would say co-incidently—the original MILS plate post was once again dug up from the archives.

Due to some house rules I have up to now ignored, I can no longer display my Lego creations on the hall table in the corridor.

I’m hoping there won’t be any complaints if I display on the pilaster beside my front door. Where usually only names and seasonal things are stuck.

Hence now attempting to invent a vertical MILS plate

A first trial vertical MILS plate only partially covered. With a very basic version of men at work starting the build

The question is how much weight I can hang off such a structure keeps me experimenting. Second, how easy or hard will it be to change the displays?

That up there is a thirty-two stud base plate stuck to the wall with five velcro-type fixings. Not ideal as I have already found, as all the places where there aren’t fixings are hard to press down on.

And after being bent in, they bend back and the thing being connected jumps off. It’s even awkward to fix on small plates such as eg 4 x 8s with stuff on them.

I think I need to get a bunch of 16 x16 plates. build on them, and stick them to the baseplate with strips or 2 x 4 plates. Something like that.

While I’m waiting for a postal delivery, I might break out some old ladders from the vintage fire engine and get the characters onto the next level, since at the moment it reminds me of an old fashioned arcade game.

Lego, Set #60439

On the weekend last I had my grandkids, aged 7 and 4, over for a few hours. While we played hide and seek, the box was inadvertantly discovered in Oma’s not-so-secret Christmas present hiding place.

And of course we opened it and set to with great gusto. And I’m happy we did, because though the set is recommended for age 6+ the 7 year old found it difficult.

He soon narrowed his focus to the wheelchair guy in Bag 1 and his buggy, while the four year old helped the 76+ yr old Oma by finding shapes amongst the contents of Bag Three.

Which was a lucky guess for it held a girl minifig, helmet, airpack, a bed/couch, microwave, mug, coffee machine and a bank of windows. In other words, a collection of playable elements.

The rest of the set was completed after the kids had gone home. and I was tickled pink to find another iteration of the frog element …

I laughed discovering how the slippery slidy minifigs are made to stay on their beds … “Oooh, is that what those bricks are for?”

The hinge joint pieces I first stumbled over in a mystery pack from http://www.brickresales.com and had no idea what to do with. Just in case you’re thinking … Well, duh! What else could they be? That’s right. Once you know, it’s obvious.

The number of different elements in this set was probably nothing out of the ordinary … count them if you like.

The ‘round’ hatch opening-and-closing mechanism is a joy to operate, as is the sliding up-and-down hatch. I think both these will get their real work-outs when the kids come again.

Now I’m wondering where and how to set up a moon base in my apartment. I’ll need to do some re-arranging.

Mmm.

And PS, what is the ring meant to represent?

Lego: Bosley & Co, 15

15. The Bunkhouse

Finally the day arrived when Bosley felt ready to put together the bunkhouse. He now had all the necessary elements stored here and there, and there was no reason, not even inclement weather, to hold off any longer.

He, Drew and Dan and Dan’s trusty four-wheel drive moved the components of the shadoof to the garage. While Drew helped Bosley put the shadoof together, Dan fetched the front beam to tie the side walls together and support the roof over the garage.  

Drew and Dan between them managed that hiccup without Bosley’s input, though none were happy with the lack of control over the vertical movement. “Which is the bit that does the lifting, after all,” Drew said.

“Hmm,” Bosley said. “Think I’m going to need a lever. Have a holiday, Dan. It’s back to the drawing board.”

Dan went away and a little while later returned with Nin Wiz and the most northerly wall balanced on the truck. They stood it ready. Went back to fetch the south wall. Bosley and Drew took the shadoof arm off the upright frame and threaded a lever handle onto it. Stood the contraption back up.

With Nin Wizard supporting the walls as they were raised, the work proceeded so smoothly that Drew quite forgot to take the snapshots they’d decided on. He only remembered when Bosley said, “Stop. Wait.”

“What?” Drew said.

“I’m not happy about that window hole,” Bosley said. He pointed.

“We only have windscreens and French doors in our window store,” Dan said.

“Fine,” Bosley said. “In making do, we’ll invent something better.”

“We’ll sling a tarp and sleep up here,” Dan said. “I like what you did in the corner.”

Next morning, while Dan, Drew and Nin raised a further two courses of bricks on the walls so that people wouldn’t hit their heads on the ceiling, Bosley invented his preferred front window using a glass door on its side and a few modified blocks.

After re-installing the shadoof, the front wall was lifted into place.

Then the furniture, with Drew back on the drag-line.

“Let’s celebrate!” Trish called. She brought a stack of cups and mugs while Tim followed with the bubbly. They admired the bunkhouse, Bosley & Co’s first permanent dwelling, and partied into the night.

And after they went to bed, nobody got any sleep, Nin Wizard so busy with his build.

Clatter bang rattle! Something fell a long way down.

“What was that?” Dan grumbled.

“You’re all right,” Drew said. “Sleeping in the bunkhouse. I’m just lucky it missed me!”

Next morning, they one by one climbed the two and a half ladders to compliment Nin on his new abode, and exclaim politely over the corner-post that had clattered all the way to ground-level.

Nin shrugged. Ran out of magic, he indicated. Only Trish stayed to plan the new bathroom annex and her and Nin’s share-garden, and have a cup of celebratory tea.