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The LEGO® KidsFest is a wildly energetic weekend-long show ﬁlled with interactive, creative and educational activities for the whole family! The tour is coming to a city near you. Don’t miss: • Dozens of life-sized LEGO sculptures ay • Hundreds of LEGO models on display Sign-up for • LEGO build, race and play booths the LEGO KidsFest • Meet a master model builder newsletter • Video Game Alley LEGOk idsfesta.ctom • LEGO Construction Zone to stay updated an receive discounts &d • LEGO Builder Open Talent Call special offers! • LEGO Club member exclusives • Special LEGO Club meetings • Dozens of exhibitors & interactive activities • Musical and artistic performances, fashion shows, and more on our Entertainment Stage! • And so much more…

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BRICKJOURNAL magazine (edited by Joe Meno) spotlights all aspects of the LEGO® Community, showcasing events, people, and models every issue, with contributions and how-to articles by top builders worldwide, new product intros, and more. Available in both print and digital form. Print subscribers get the digital version FREE! LEGO, the Minifigure, and the Brick and Knob configurations are trademarks of the LEGO Group of Companies.

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“Back To School” issue, with looks at educational LEGO items, a review of the WeDo system, a list of LEGO RELATED BOOKS, and school sculptures by NATHAN SAWAYA! Plus, reports from the LEGO IDEA HOUSE, instructions to build a SCHOOL BUS for your LEGO town, minifigure customizations, and spotlights on LEGO Design byME models. And if you want to build for events, we’ll have building standards used for the Moonbase standard for Space, Great Ball Contraption for Technic builders, and much more! (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 • Ships October 2010

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We go to the Middle Ages, with a look at the LEGO Group’s CASTLE LINE, featuring an interview with the designer behind the first LEGO castle set, the YELLOW CASTLE. Also: we spotlight builders that have created their own large-scale version of the castle, and interview other castle builders, plus a report on BRICKWORLD in Chicago, ands still more instructions and building tips!

BrickJournal looks at LEGO® DISNEY SETS, with features on the Disney LEGO sets of the past (MICKEY and MINNIE) and present (TOY STORY and PRINCE OF PERSIA)! We also present models built by LEGO fans, and a look at the newest Master Build model at WALT DISNEY WORLD, plus articles and instructions on building and customization, and more!

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Issue 10 • July/August 2010

Contents

From the Editor.........................................................................................2

People

Rae McCormick: Building Painted Ladies.............................3 Paul Boratko: Technic Sports Car Builder...............................8

Building

Arvo: Auto Builders.............................................................................12 Greenie: An NXT/Power Functions Hot Rod!..................17 12 Questions with Andrew Woodman, LEGO Racers Designer.................................................................22 LEGO Formula 1 Racing..................................................................26 You Can Build It: Ambulance.......................................................31 Set Review: 8049 Tractor with Log Loader........................34 66.5º (A Model by Jordan Schwartz)......................................37 Building a LEGOLAND Lion..........................................................40 You Can Build It: Pals at Work.......................................................42

Minifigure Customization 101: Q and A?!?........................44 Building for Girls....................................................................................48 LEGO Virtual Building: From Bricks to Bytes.....................51 12 Questions with Olav Krøigår, LEGO Star Wars Designer...........................................................54 Jesper Jørgen..........................................................................................56

Community

CG or Not CG?.........................................................................................58 Design Cruising KOBE 2009.........................................................60 BiLD: Building in Lawndale...........................................................62 FIRST LEGO League World Festival 2010............................64 Art in Pieces (Portugal).....................................................................68 LEGO Idea Conference (Denmark).........................................72 From the Designers Desk..............................................................77 Community Ads...................................................................................78 Last Word...................................................................................................79 AFOLs...........................................................................................................80 Below: Ford GT40 model built by Arvo.

From the Editor: Okay, I’m late. I apologize for the delay, but it has been busy. I have been traveling a lot, going to conventions, and even running one! So it’s been busy.

May/June 2010 Issue 11

Editor in Chief Joe Meno Photography Editor Geoff Gray Business Manager and Proofreader Carin Proctor Copy Editor Allan Bedford Proofreader Eric Nolen-Weathington European and LEGO Group Bureau Editor Megan Rothrock Japanese Bureau Editor Nathan Bryan West Coast Editors Todd Kubo Ashley Glennon

Contributors:

Steen Sig Anderson, Mariann Asanuma, Kevin Bennett, Jared Burks, Nathan Bryan, Comunidade0937. Christopher Deck, Olivia Donahue, Didier Enjary, Shaun Reeves Gary, Geoff Gray, Takuto Harajo, Mark Havens, Tom Hohmann, Jesper Jørgen, Jay Kinzie, Brandon Newendorp, David Pagano, Karl Paulsen, Megan Rothrock, Jordan Schwartz, Hadley Scrowston, Mark Stafford, Américo Verde, Andrew Woodman, and Greg Hyland Many thanks to the websites who have served as mirrors for BrickJournal: www.LUGNET.com, www.Brickshelf.com, www.peeron.com, www.brickmodder.net www.rustyclank.com

About the Cover: Arvo’s prototype Porsche model. Photo by Arvo.

But what’s in this issue? Well, with the theme being cars, we have an article by some of the best car builders around, including Arvo, who wrote an article on building sports cars. At Brickworld, I met another car builder, but in Technic. His name is Paul Boratko, and you’ll be impressed with his building style. Another person (Tom Hohmann) dropped an article about a racing game based on Formula I racing. And another guy (Jay Kinzie) sent an article about his car, which uses an MINDSTORMS NXT and Power Functions motors to drive around! That’s just the beginning - the columns are still here, so there’s info on minifig customization and miniland and micro building. Jordan Schwartz also wrote up a story about one of his models, which is a sight to behold! And we have event reports from all around the world this issue, with FIRST LEGO League World Festival in Atlanta, the Idea Conference in Denmark, and displays in Japan and Portugal! I guess I wasn’t the only one that was busy...

Joe Meno Editor P.S. Have ideas or comments? Drop me a line at admin@brickjournal.com. I’m open to suggestions and comments and will do my best to reply. P.P.S... Yes, BrickJournal has a website — www.brickjournal.com! Twitter? Yep, there too - http://twitter.com/brickjournal. Facebook? Yup - http://www.facebook.com/ group.php?gid=58728699914&ref=mf

Glossary AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) NLSO (Non-LEGO Significant Other) MOC (My Own Creation) TLG (The LEGO Group) BURP (Big Ugly Rock Piece) LURP (Little Ugly Rock Piece)

POOP (Pieces—that can be or should be made—Of Other Pieces) SNOT (Studs Not on Top) LUG (LEGO Users Group) LTC (LEGO Train Club)

LEGO®, TECHNIC, MINDSTORMS, Belville, Scala, BIONICLE, ExoForce, Mars Mission, World City, and other LEGO theme lines are trademarks of the LEGO Group of companies. All articles, photos, and art are copyright BrickJournal Media, LLC 2008, TwoMorrows Publishing and the respective writers, photographers, and artists. All rights reserved. All trademarked items are the property of their respective owners and licensees. Subscriptions: $57USD Media Mail, $75 Canada, $86 International Surface, $128 International Airmail and can be purchased at www.twomorrows.com or payment sent to: TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614 USA. The editorial/advertising office address for BrickJournal is: BrickJournal Editor, 5600 Oak Meadow Lane #1108, Raleigh, NC 27612 USA or admin@brickjournal.com. First Printing. Printed in Canada. ISSN 1941-2347. BrickJournal and its staff would like to thank the LDraw community for the software it makes available to the community, which we use for making all of the instructions and renderings in this magazine. We would especially like to thank Kevin Clague for his continued upgrades of the LPub tool that is a part of the LDraw suite. For more information, please visit http://www.ldraw.org.

Rae McCormick is a program associate in the University of Wisconsin System Administration, supporting the Associate Vice President for Academic and Faculty Programs. Along with web design, she does some writing both at work and outside. However, her most recent focus has been with LEGO building. Her large-scale models of Victorian homes (Painted Ladies) have been seen both online and at Brickworld 2009 and 2010.

People

She started LEGO building in 2001, to try to loosen up and learn to play. She was always craft-oriented and was an art major. She had a brief dark age, “a dark night of her soul” where she, as she puts it, “got burned out - mostly because of a bunch of LEGO sets I bought on eBay and spent forever cleaning and sorting and selling - and I sold *all* of my stuff off. Then, last November I bought some LEGO sets and started building again, as physical therapy. I have colorectal cancer and I was home on medical leave. I couldn’t sit down and was looking for something to get me motivated and up. I could stand and build for a while at my drawing table, and then lay down again. It worked great.” Her first creations were “trivial — Tigger’s Treehouse and Pooh’s house in a stump.” After her Pooh stuff, she started building houses, which led to building Victorians. Her initial houses she calls “glorified floor plans, based on Better Homes & Gardens floor plans.” She also did a LEGO version of her grandmother’s house and others from her imagination. Rae’s Victorian building began when she built a house based on a picture from The Ultimate LEGO Book of a house from the San Francisco section of Miniland in LEGOLAND California. “It [the photo] was too small to see details, so it’s not like I could really copy it, but I did feel like it wasn’t quite a real MOC (My Own Creation). So... that sent me out on the web looking for photos of actual buildings that I could use as inspiration. And that’s how my Victorian series really got started.”

Rae behind her model at Brickworld 2009.

Rae McCormick:

Building Painted Ladies Article by Joe Meno Photography by Rae McCormick and Joe Meno

Detail of the back stairs.

Building

Paul displayed Nathanaël Kuipers’ Concept Car with his car models at Brickworld 2010.

Paul Boratko:

Technic Sports Car Builder

Paul Boratko is a Technic builder of cars. His models have been online and at Brickworld 2010, where they were shown with other outstanding models. His are different, though — his models have working steering and transmissions! Door and hoods open to reveal detailed engines and interiors, and the cars can go into drive, neutral or reverse. He’s been a builder for some time, having gotten out of his dark ages, thanks to an AFOL who became a LEGO model designer. In that time. he worked as a kitchen manager, but left the field to work as his father’s auto body shop. BrickJournal was able to interview Paul about his models and building. You started building at the age of three with a super car what got you interested in that set, as opposed to a simpler town set? Well, my father owns and runs an auto body shop (where I currently work), so I grew up with an automotive background and always had a fascination with cars. My father also owns a 1967 Mustang GT Deluxe fastback and has attended various cars shows around the area, so I always got to see hundreds of muscle, high performance, and exotic cars when I was very young. I played with some castle sets when I was younger, usually between the releases of the Technic sets. I was always tearing apart things around the house to see how they worked. When I witnessed the first Lego piston pumping up and down, I was hooked. Nathanaël Kuipers is the man who’s work truly inspired me to start building again after my “Dark Ages.”

What is your goal when you build a car model? Is it detail, mechanics, or something else? My goals now are much different than they were 5 years ago. My main goals are to design a car that is not only recognizable and functional, but I am also trying to go more of an official LEGO designer route. I am doing this by cutting down on the part count, using pieces that are better suited for situations than others, and mainly having a lightweight but strong model in the end. What is the biggest challenge in building for you? There is a mention on your black Gallardo about the lack of black parts..is that a problem you have to deal with constantly (color parts availability)? Colors are definitely an issue at times. Especially if I need 4 certain pieces and I have to order them from 4 different people from 4 different countries. One of my personal challenges is to try and keep every model ‘fresh’ with new ideas. I always try and do every suspension, transmission, and steering mechanism different from the last model that I did.

Ferrari F430 (left) and V8 with supercharger (right) ready to be installed.

Favorite sports car? And have you built it? I always liked the last generation of Pontiac Trans Ams. I have a 1996 Z28 which is a sister car of the Trans Am, but I would love to customize a 2002 Yellow Trans Am WS6. And no, I haven’t built that one yet. On your brickshelf gallery, you have a transforming car. What as the inspiration for it? Someone actually e-mailed me asking if I was ever planning on expanding my limitations with building, and I always wanted to build a transforming car all out of Technic parts, and I had a TON of red parts, so I spent about a week tinkering around until I had something that actually worked pretty well and could be transformed without having to take anything apart and also in a timely fashion.

1967 Mustang.

Any LEGO parts you wish existed? Yeah, I would love to see a long Technic Friction Pin with Stop Bush that instead of having the whole end a pin, the end of the pin was an axle. I could have used this many times. I would also like to see a 1 X 2 Thin Liftarm in Yellow. With all of the yellow construction sets out there, it blows my mind that this part does not exist in yellow. How long does it take to build a car? I usually spend about 3 months from start to finish. My Gallardo took me about 4 months because I was trying to make it as good as I could possibly get it. How do you design a car - do you plan it out on paper before you build, or do you just build it? I just build. I normally start with the section that I think is the hardest part and work from there. When I did my Gallardo and Murcielago Models, I bought 1/18 scale die-cast models so I could get the scale and details as close as possible. Why studless over studded building? I prefer studless because to me it is more of a challenge, the end result is much cleaner and smooth, the models can be built stronger and with less weight. People still seem to have an issue with studless building though. When I attended Brickworld 2010 in Wheeling, Illinois, I heard many rude comments made by both guests and registered attendees that my cars weren’t real LEGO.

Death Race car, with working suspension, steering and 5 speed transmission. Weapons include saw blades, guns, and smoke screen guns.

Building

Article and photos by

A car called ”Carrera” For many years, LEGO building basically consisted of creating cars. Today, it’s one of our favorite pastimes. Although creating vehicles is one of the most difficult themes, it takes us back to that time when LEGO play was so simple...like building a car.

Despite being a car with a truly sophisticated design, the Porsche 911 Carrera’s most characteristic form is based on very basic lines and is easy to reproduce. In addition, different versions of the Carrera model exist — including the arch-targa, one of our favorites.

We wonder about the human fascination for cars. In our case (and for many others) the different stages of life are defined by all the cars a family has owned — until we become car owners.

In our opinion, the secret to get an ”acceptable” result in building is based on accentuating all the ”features”. We underline those nuances that define the personality of the model (actually, this point is extended to any construction that reproduces a previous design).

Nowadays, there are many models and manufacturers, it would be almost impossible to talk about only one favorite car. In any case, for aesthetic reasons or technical specifications, some of these designs are so distinct, that they are able to mark an era. We are ”children of the ‘80s”, having grown around the pop culture, full of computers, lights and sounds in 8-bit... we grew up watching ”Face” from the A-Team flirt with his Corvette, Starsky & Hutch chasing after criminals in their Gran Torino, or Michael Knight inside KITT - in reality a Pontiac Trans Am. Cars, cars and cars. There is always a story behind every one. There are great cars, and most of them deserve a tribute. This is our tribute to the Porsche 911.

Here are some of the areas where we have focused: • Silhouette: The set of curves that draw the outline, especially those found in the front and rear of the car. • Headlight: Slightly bowed, including the smooth lines that run along the side of the car. • Rear lights: Where they combine and focus much of the color of the model. • Aerodynamics flaps: There is a great variety of them, each more stylized, but generally the easiest option is usually the most ”aesthetic” one. • Details on the bumper: One of our favorite parts, where we can find different materials and textures. In any case, as we said, the theme of cars is one that offers more challenges. The final result will be compared with the original. The slightest defect can ruin a construction full of good details, so care must be taken to replicate the car, which we will create through the magic of LEGO!

Let’s go! When we have built cars, we thought that the largest possible size would give us the best possible result. In practice it is not true. There is an optimal ratio between the average size of the parts used (wedge type, especially) and the model, which provides a better and more attractive result. Our latest models have been built according to this discovery. Personally we like this size much more than larger ones. Once we have decided the size to use, we began to build with what has become an established procedure, beginning with building the chassis. Building this model, we enjoy the advantage of being two builders. Each of us separated the building to different parts of the car. It was not the first time we built different parts of the same model to finally assemble. Generally, this split building often requires some planning, but it divides the labor, time and effort.

The chassis is only a ”base” on which to install some technical details (structure and shock absorbers, basically). We also used it to outline contours, proportions and placement of all the most relevant elements within the overall design. Although we know that the vast majority of items that contain this base will disappear with the evolution of the building, we like to work in every phase of construction, using resources, techniques and textures, as if they were independent MOCs. In fact, they are.

The LEGO® Group

Twelve Questions:

Andrew Woodman Designer, LEGO Racers

Article by Hadley Scrowston Photo provided by Andrew Woodman Set art provided by the LEGO Group Woodman at the wheel of a prototype

Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 1. How long have you worked as a designer for The LEGO Group? I have worked here now for around 6 years.

2. Did you always want to be a LEGO Designer and do you enjoy it? I did when I was much, much younger, I even wrote to The LEGO Company to find out how. I still have the letter they sent me in return. But then as I got older and more into design I decided I wanted to be a vehicle designer and that’s where I ended up. I actually turned The LEGO Company down the first time they approached me, it wasn’t until two years later I accepted their offer.. I’m glad I made the choice to accept and yes I still enjoy the job and the opportunities I’ve had here. Also the people I’ve worked with, both in The LEGO Company and the other companies we have worked with. 3. What sets that you’ve worked on (and can tell us about) are you most happy with? I’m actually really happy with all the sets I’ve been part of, but I love to see comments from people who buy them. That’s the important bit, what do you guys think of the model? That’s always entertaining. 4. Given the parts that have been made in recent years are there any of your earlier sets you would like to revisit now? Maybe I can turn that around a bit. When I started at LEGO Racers my first task was designing the elements for the then new Tiny Turbos. My first model was 22 8644 Street Maniac which used a lot of them. At the

Woodman’s largest Ferrari model the 1:9 scale F1 (#8157), produced in 2008.

time it was a challenge to convince people the elements could be used for anything other than that car, which surprised me. Since then it has been fantastic to see the thousands of ways

both Designers here and the fans in their models have used those, my first elements. I think that’s the greatest thing about LEGO bricks, the way it makes you think creatively. 5. Do you ever look at the car models built by LEGO fans, if so do you have any favorite builders? Yes I do actually, not often, but now and again. I organized a workshop a few years back and I brought all of my favorite car builders of the time from all over the world to Billund for a few days. It was a fantastic experience for me and the team and I’m sure the guys that came over had a great time too. So they know who they are! In the last few years there have been many more giving me a hard time, building Ferraris, Lamborghinis and many others in the 1.17 scale. I always love the ‘comments’ they give about my cars! I’d like to meet them one day, they have a lot of talent.

bricks than others. For example I’m really happy with the FXX, it’s not correct by a long way, but all of the key details are built, on this occasion in existing elements too, so it just works really well. You also have to remember that all our models have to be a great building experience for you guys too, so we have to make sure we build in a way that makes it fun and easy to finish the model, no cheating or glue. But that doesn’t stop us from putting in a massive amount of details. Look out for the oil filter for example among the many other details on my next model, released later this year. 7. We’ve heard you have designed some ‘real’ cars (not made of LEGO bricks), can you tell us who for? Yes that’s true. I’d love to tell but that’s not so easy in a world as secret as vehicle design, especially if I want to go back there one

6. Are the steps that you take to design a LEGO car model different to those

day. I can say that there are indeed a few elements driving around on real cars and trucks that I had a hand in and I’m really proud of them, but that’s it really. Sorry.

followed by other set designers, if so how? We all work to the same basic principles and processes but of course we all adapt them in our own way. If I’m designing a model based on a real car then the first thing I do is get as many photos as possible, sometimes this is not so easy if it is a new unreleased model so ‘unfortunately’ I may have to go see a prototype somewhere. Once I have all the reference it’s time to pick out the design elements that best define that car, we have to remember that in the size and medium we work we will never exactly reproduce every curve and detail of the real car. But when you look at the model you have to be able to say what it is and that’s why it important to concentrate on the key features. As I’m sure you know some models are easier to capture in LEGO

8. Do you prefer to design for real cars or LEGO cars, and why? That’s not an easy one, it’s a totally different process and world. I’m going to take the easy way out of this and say I like both but at least I can afford to keep a copy of the LEGO models I work on! Woodman’s first (and smallest) set design: the Street Maniac (#8644), produced in 2005.

Building

LEGO® Formula One Racing!

Your team operates with a 400 million dollar budget.

Article and Photography by Tom Hohman with Mark Havens and Kevin Bennett

Your car’s carbon-fiber-brake discs require an entire year to fabricate... They will only last for the next two hours.

Your 800 hp engine will rev at 21,000 RPMs producing 3500-degree exhaust that would ignite the car’s rear suspension without the cooling effect of your 200 mph slipstream. Your chassis is designed to produce a downforce of negative four Gs... You could race upside down.

During your fuel stop, it will take only six seconds to load thirty gallons of fuel into your car using pressurized rigs designed to refuel military attack helicopters in forward battle areas. You’re waiting on the grid... Your engineers unplug the laptops from your car. The starting lights bloom red. Welcome to Formula One.

Ferrari fans. The Italians call them “Tifosi”

The outrageous statistics of Formula One racing may seem like science fiction, but the facts listed here have all been true of the sport in recent years. It’s been called the most technically advanced pursuit of mankind after the space industry and since it’s inception in 1950, it has been the absolute pinnacle of motorsport. Formula One ignited a passion in me and ultimately combined with my lifelong interest in LEGO to create a fantasy game in LEGO MOCs called LF1.

Several years ago fellow LEGO and F1 fan Kevin Bennett and I began tinkering with the LEGO Racers board game. This simple but fun children’s game got us thinking about the possibilities of what a realistic LEGO Formula One game could be.

Ross Brawn with the Stig himself.

Juan Pablo Montoya with his Audi.

Kevin Bennett with father Mitch and the Quality/VGX Red Bull.

We began with a few simple alterations. The game board’s Pit space was converted to a function of strategy rather than a mechanism of chance. The Oil and Flat Tire spaces were turned into “Event” spaces. For these Events we created a deck of handwritten cards with a variety of realistic in-race occurrences such as “Missed the Apex” and “Massive Shunt”. We purchased two additional games and combined the track pieces to create a track that was similar in length and configuration to F1. Friends and fellow F1 fans Mark Havens and Steve Wright helped play-test the game. At first, we used reworked LEGO Racer board game cars to represent five F1 teams. In addition, a sixth car was based on the open-wheeled racer from LEGO’s Shell Race Car Transporter 1253. We named our teams after existing F1 teams and appropriately reworked each car’s livery or color. We found that our additions to the game made it a real pleasure to play. The mixture of strategy and chance created an emergent narrative surprisingly similar in many respects to the real sport we all loved so much. We began to look for other

Action Figures refueling crew.

Arrows Team Boss, Steve Wright (note painted rims and custom face based on minifig head 3626bpb165).

Track Marshals.

Pace Car and Medical Wagon.

Custom decaled Jaguar, BMW, and Ferrari cars represent the variety of designs possible within regulations.

Set Review

Tractor with Log Loader Article and Photography by Geoff Gray

Photo courtesy of The LEGO Group

Item #: 8049 Ages: 9-16 Pieces: 525 Price: USD 59.99 # Models: 2 NOTE: The set includes instructions to add motorized compression with 8293 LEGO Power Functions Motor Set

I have had an opportunity to review many different TECHNIC sets for BrickJournal in the past. While all of those sets are large and relatively expensive, the new “Tractor with Log Loader” set is a really nice set that offers some of the advanced TECHNIC features in an easy to build and less expensive set. This is a great set for learning about basic building techniques, the use of TECHNIC elements to simulate real world construction (like the shape of the cab on the tractor), and designing a model to allow easy changes so different functionality can be added (like changing the pneumatic pump to a motorized compressor).

The tractor The tractor model has a really nice form that incorporates mirrors, adjustable steering wheel, a realistic exhaust pipe, and body panels. The light green color mixed with black and white frame pieces accentuates the overall appearance. The one thing I would have liked was to make the seat the same green color as the body panels, or to make it black. Functionality in the tractor is centered primarily on the steering. It uses a rack and pinion setup [diagram 1] driven from a knob on the back of the cab roof. The steering rod assembly uses the typical TECHNIC interlaced gearing (the elements are called “knob wheels”) to transmit the motion through a 90 degree turn [diagram 2]. This style has replaced the older TECHNIC style of standard bevel gears in many of the newer sets.

There is not a simulated engine in this model, and I think it was a good decision. The tractor is too small to realistically fit the standard TECHNIC engine pieces, and I think it would have driven the price point up too much. Overall, the tractor is a solid and welldesigned model that could easily have been released as a standalone set.

Diagram 1: Rack and Pinion elements

Diagram 2: TECHNIC knob wheel 90 degree coupling

The log loader This part of the set is where you really get to play with some of the advanced TECHNIC features and elements. The coolest part (to me) is TECHNIC pneumatics (see the sidebar on the next page). Also included are examples of a worm gear [diagram 3], a technic turntable, a bevel gear [diagram 4] for moving the turntable, and a design that allows for the addition of a motorized compressor.

Figure 1: The pneumatic switches.

The pneumatic pump is connected to a “T” adapter which feeds into two pneumatic switches [figure 1]. Each switch feeds to a pneumatic cylinder [figure 2] and allows the cylinder to be raised or lowered. As with most LEGO sets that incorporate pneumatics, this set uses 3 different colors for the hoses feeding the system. Not only does this make it easier to follow the instructions while building, it also lets you see the different circuits involved. For instance, a black hose is hooked to the high side of a switch, and is also hooked to the high side of a cylinder. This lets you know that turning the switch to the gray side will force air through the black hose, causing the cylinder to retract. For more information on the workings of the TECHNIC pneumatics, see the sidebar on the following page. The claws that pick up the “logs” are controlled by a simple worm gear that opens the arms when you rotate the knob on the claw. This mechanism also demonstrates how applying motion to only one side of the claws can still cause the other side to operate by putting interactive gears on each side.

Diagram 3: TECHNIC worm gear. The turning motion must be applied to the screw. Trying to turn the gear will not provide any motion.

Diagram 4: TECHNIC bevel gear. This acts just like the knob wheel gearing in diagram 2, but the elements are more indicative of real world beveled gearing..

Overall I find this set is very good at showing off many great TECHNIC features without being overly expensive or complicated. While I still love sets like “Crane Truck” (set #8258), I think this set provides a great value for people who do not want to spend $150 USD for a set.

Figure 2: The pneumatic cylinder.

In Her Words

Building for Girls Article by Olivia Donahue Art provided by the LEGO Group Photography by Olivia Donahue For several years, the LEGO® Group has been trying to come out with great sets for girls. Unfortunately, it has not been meeting this goal very efficiently. I am a fourteen-year-old girl that loves to build and play with little plastic bricks. I know what I like and what I don’t like about LEGO sets for girls. I would like to share my ideas and opinions so that LEGO can become more successful in making sets that appeal to girls. When I play with LEGO bricks, I usually build buildings, like houses, shops, and other things you would find in towns. Most girls who are my age build similar things. This is because girls really like things that are very realistic. I like to use a mnemonic acronym to remember this:

Girls are Interested in Real Life Stuff

The Green Grocer is decorated with interesting architectural details (“greebles”) on the front, and the back incorporates a realistic fire escape!

Most of the time, I won’t go buy a Star Wars® B-Wing Fighter because B-Wings aren’t found everyday in the middle of town. Instead, I go after sets like the Green Grocer, which is a building/ apartment with a small grocery store on the first floor. I use this set as an example very often because of its realism. The fridge, the staircase, the mailboxes, and all the other little things are all very realistic and cutesy, and therefore, very appealing. Along with realism, another thing I like are small architectural features, often called “greebles”. The Green Grocer has a lot of greebles as well. The windows, railings, door, and sides of the building are all very intricately decorated with small architectural ornamentation. These are extremely realistic because many buildings all over the world have accents like the ones on the Green Grocer. Another thing that girls like are interiors. The Green Grocer has an interior as well. Like I said before, the small grocery store is very fun, cutesy, and realistic. And there are pieces in the upper floors, like a clock and a fireplace, that make the set even more appealing.

So, overall, the Green Grocer meets just about all of my criteria. Except one: The Green Grocer has no furniture. Furniture is something that you find in a building everywhere you go. But how are you supposed to live in a building with no furniture or appliances? Part of realism is being able to make realistic things happen. Girls like to create minifigures and families to go inside homes and buildings. They create realistic scenarios. It’s fun to set up Mom cooking on the stove while the children play outside and Dad drives home from work. Girls play with a lot of things as if they were dollhouses, because dollhouses are very real. To solve my furniture dilemma, I make my own furniture. A lot of times it ends being pretty blocky, but it definitely works for me. The main point here is that parents should buy sets for their daughters with lots of accessories and cutesy pieces. Having LEGO make more sets with accessories and interiors would certainly be helpful as well. One thing LEGO makes especially for girls are pink buckets. Pink buckets are great for fun, little, hard-to-find pieces. But pink buckets have a problem: They only give you a handful of the same kind of piece. For example, I have 3 clear pink sparkly bricks, which are really fun to have. But I can’t build a clear pink sparkly house if I only have 3 of the same kind of bricks. So the trick is not to have a lot of pieces, but to have a lot of the same pieces. If I have 30 different kinds of windows, that’s great because I have a lot of window styles. But I don’t want to build a house that has a gazillion different windows, because that won’t look very realistic. In real life, houses usually have the same type of window. Now, if I have 30 of the same kind of window, that’s extra great, because I can successfully build a house that won’t look weird. Instead, it’ll look realistic. I appreciate LEGO coming out with things for girls, but, in truth, pink buckets don’t help me build what I want to. Why? Because girls like real life stuff.

Although my furniture is a bit blocky, I incorporate arms for a chair and supports for a bunk bed. The beds also have different patterns to represent bedspreads.

This underwater mermaid castle is tons of fun for Belville dolls, but everything is gigantic for minifigs because of Belville’s larger scale!

LEGO has also come out with things for girls by making Belville® sets. Belville is a larger scale, more doll-like line of sets made for little girls. But Belville has the same problem that the pink buckets have: You don’t get a lot of the same pieces. Belville pieces are certainly fun and colorful, but they do not offer a lot of the same piece. Also, Belville dolls are not to scale with LEGO minifigs. My dolls and minifigs can’t share the same world! Once again, I appreciate LEGO coming out with these sets for girls, but for someone like me, Belville isn’t very helpful. Besides coming out with sets for girls, LEGO has also provided us with girl minifigs. I know that minifigs are expensive to make, and that this topic has been discussed a bajillion times, but I think that just about everyone agrees that girl minifigs could have some more creativity. LEGO does a great job with creating cool dude minifigs with different torsos and faces, but not as well with girls. I think

To make girl minifigs that are shorter, I use a 1x2 brick that looks like a skirt. This way, she is the same height as her brother. If LEGO can make printed 1x2 bricks with patterns, that would be awesome because she could have a fun print on her skirt.

BrickJournal #11