The Magazine for LEGO® Enthusiasts of All Ages! Issue 49 • February 2018
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Celebrating 40 Years of TECHNIC! Michael Brown’s AH-64 Apache Helicopter TECHNIC’s Model History MINDSTORMS Printing Press
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Issue 49 • February 2018
Contents
From the Editor........................................................2
People Building WTC1: A New York Icon....................3
Building
Michael Brown’s Apache!...................................8 The LEGO MINDSTORMS Gutenberg Printing Press......................................................15 A Visual Tour of the Khagaan........................20 From Spooky to Kooky: The IDEAS of Hugh Scandrett....................26 40 Years of Technic..............................................31 BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art: Expert Builder Car............................................40 Minifigure Customization 101: The Power of the AFOL Community......43 You Can Build It: MINI Episode VIII Resistance Bomber....46
Community
Bionicle Chronicle Barriers: The Brick-built Wall in our Minds........................................................52 Making a MINDSTORMS Lab.........................58 Reviewing The LEGO Trains Book ................62 A Review of Brick Madness..............................65 Postcards from Princess Land.......................66 Who is the LEGObomber?..............................70 Bricks by the Bay..................................................72 Community Ads...................................................78 Last Word.................................................................79 AFOLs........................................................................80
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From the Editor: It finally happened. I wasn’t able to get something promised in the magazine. BrickJournal was supposed to have an interview with the designer to the Technic Space Shuttle, but something got in the way—the LEGO House, to be exact.
February 2018 Issue 49 Publisher John Morrow
Editor in Chief Joe Meno
Photography Editor Geoff Gray Proofreader John Morrow
Japanese Bureau Editor Nathan Bryan West Coast Editors Todd Kubo Ashley Glennon
LEGO Ideas Correspondent Glen Wadleigh
Contributors: Nicholas Allard, Michael Brandl, Sam Bridgham, Michael Brown, Jared Burks, Christopher Deck, Greg DiNapoli, Dave Foreman, Peer Kreuger, Ingmar H. Riedel-Kruse PhD, Princess Lee, Justin McAleece, Hugh Scandrett, Tommy Williamson, and Greg Hyland. Many thanks to the websites who have served as mirrors for BrickJournal:
The designer of the really impressive set from the late ’80s is still with the LEGO Group, and is now the manager of the LEGO House. Because the LEGO House opened at the end of September, he was not able to take the time to do an interview. This is a disappointment, and I apologize. This will be in a future issue, probably with a look at the LEGO House, when BrickJournal gets to visit! There’s other stuff in this issue, though—the Apache article made it in, as well as other articles on MINDSTORMS lab machinery and space rovers! There’s also the regular columns too, and there’s a lot to go through, so.... Build on! Joe Meno, Editor P.S. Have ideas or comments? Drop me a line at brickjournal@gmail.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. Or you can scan the bottom codes with a QR reader! P.P.P.S. If you want info on a subscription, you can go to: http://twomorrows.com/ index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=78&products_id=616 or scan below! Website
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About the Cover: The anniversary of the Technic theme was celebrated with a printed beam in selected Technic sets. Photo by Joe Meno. About the Contents: A shot of 1WTC at its real site! Photo by Greg DiNapoli.
Glossary AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) AFFOL (Adult Female Fan of LEGO) TFFOL (Teen Female 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) MECHA (a large armored robot on legs, typically controlled by a pilot seated inside) MECH (a large piloted combat robot) DARK AGES (usually teen years, when you drift away from building) STUDS OUT (building where the studs on bricks face the viewer)
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 2011, 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 are $55 Economy US, $70 Expedited US, $97 International, or $23 Digital Only 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, 5610 Briar Oak Lane #510, Raleigh, NC 27612 USA or admin@brickjournal.com. First Printing. Printed in China. 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 of2the LDraw suite. For more information, please visit http://www.ldraw.org.
People
Building
1WTC
A New York Icon Article by Greg DiNapoli As a graphic designer and an architectural illustrator, my love of art and architecture can be traced back to my childhood obsession with LEGO bricks. As a child, I was enamored with big structures; whether it was supertall skyscrapers, lighthouses, or huge ships, it was always a dream of mine to build large models of my favorite structures out of LEGO bricks. It was frustrating, however, being limited to the pieces in my collection. While extensive, I never had enough of the right parts to realize my dream. After graduating college and landing my first job with steady income, I discovered bricklink.com and this opened up a world of possibilities I never dreamed of. Suddenly I had access to any piece I could ever want, mostly in large quantities. I immediately decided to try to fulfill my childhood dream and build a large skyscraper. I chose the Sears (now Willis) Tower in Chicago. Completed in 2006, it is about six feet tall and is accurate in proportion, but being my first build in years, it lacked detail. After that, I became busy with my career, marriage and becoming a father, but the desire to build another, more accurate skyscraper never left me. Living only an hour outside of New York City, I grew up drawn to the Twin Towers. I had such an interest in tall skyscrapers, and there weren’t many bigger than them. Watching them collapse during the tragic events of 9/11 was devastating on so many levels, not only because of the unimaginable loss of life, but also from an architectural standpoint. The city had lost an architectural icon, and the hole in skyline was a constant reminder of that awful day. Greg DiNapoli by his model.
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Building
Michael Brown’s
Apache! Article by Joe Meno
The first thing you notice about Michael Brown’s Apache model is its size. Using a scale larger than minifigure scale, the helicopter replica is over 30 inches long and is primarily made up of LEGO Technic parts. It’s the result of years of work by Michael. It looks intimidating in black, until its electrical systems are activated. Then it becomes stunning. The rotors slowly begin to rotate, and lights flare to life under the model. In spite of its size, the model sounds bigger and even meaner. Michael’s research with the Apache has been extensive, as his son works on them in the military. From there and Michael’s own experience working in the aerospace industry, he has worked to make the Apache as accurate as possible with LEGO elements. Even at this state, though, he is not finished building—there are some details Michael wants to add to make the model more realistic. In the meantime, here’s a look at the model at this point. There’s a lot of work that has been done already, and more than enough to examine!
Looking Forward
The front tip of the Apache is where the pilot’s night vision and gunner’s sensor turret are located. Both the model and the actual chopper can rotate the turrets, but one feature that Michael wants to incorporate is gearing the turret so the underside gun also rotates in unison. The lights are LEDs that are not LEGO, but from a third-party maker. The tires in the landing gear are also non-LEGO at the moment, as the size is non-standard.
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Rotor Control
The rotors are LEGO Technic helicopter blades and are accurate to the Apache’s rotors. A closer look reveals that the pitch of the rotors can be controlled like a real helicopter—and the functioning control yoke is in the pilot’s position in the cockpit. You can actually control the rotors from the cockpit! Another thing that can be seen here is how Michael used fairings and panels to shape and sculpt the Apache’s body. The engine cowlings are fairings that are held together with Technic pins, which makes it easy to remove and access the gears and interior.
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Building
A Visual Tour of the Khagaan
Article and Photography by Peer Kreuger
Khagaan with its support vehicles.
My name is Peer Kreuger, and for my job I work in a warehouse for a medical company. (It inspired me to make my Muravi forklift.) I halfway finished a study in graphic design, and enjoy dissecting art and movies for fun. (This also helps me get inspiration for my own YouTube work.)
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I’ve been building since forever. My dad got me an 8843 forklift when I was five or so (I strongly suspect he bought it for himself, but it eventually ended up in my collection anyway). I had a bit of a Dark Age between 14 and 18, but finding other folks online who were still busy with LEGO quickly ended my misconception that LEGO was just for kids. Going to meetings and connecting with other AFOLs sealed the deal. Technic is by far my favorite theme, but I always prefer to support it with generous helpings of system bricks. A combo of Model Team and Technic would be ideal for me. Otherwise, LEGO just excels at great themes. Khagaan was an experiment to mix Khagaan as seen on YouTube. Technic with Space, but other themes like Elves, Racers and Power Miners are interesting as well. I’d be a trainhead if I had the money, time and space. The inspiration for Khagaan and the additional vehicles is from the game “Homeworld—Deserts of Kharak.” The Homeworld series has a massive influence on just about every space builder I know, mainly because it has a very solid graphic identity that in turn was inspired by artists like Chris Foss and John Harris. It is a style that’s very distinctive; Star Trek is very clean, sleek and monochromatic, Star Wars is dirty, greebly and monochromatic. The Homeworld series just goes hog wild with color schemes, striping and visual identity. Also, most of it is very geometric in shape, which translates well to LEGO bricks.
The latest iteration of the Homeworld series (Deserts of Kharak) takes a spacebound RTS game, and since it’s a prequel, translates space warfare to mostly land-based combat. There’s some interesting parallels between the vast emptiness of space, punctuated by asteroids and shipwrecks, and a massive desert (dotted once again by crashed, salvageable shipwrecks). As expected, DoK has some fantastic vehicle design, and absolutely magnificent cutscenes that showcase all that hardware from their best angles. Also, since making functional air- or spaceships isn’t easy with LEGO, Landships are more feasible to do.
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Building
The Addams Family Mansion.
From Spooky to Kooky:
The IDEAS of Hugh Scandrett Article and Photography by Hugh Scandrett 26
Background
As a child in the 1960s, I had lots of LEGO, and always built many things. About four years ago, a friend sponsored a FIRST® LEGO League competition at our work as a team-building activity. About 100 people (ages 20-60) were thrown into a ten-hour, no-preparation event, which culminated in a super friendly and inspiring competition and social event. It was awesome, and it rekindled the LEGO brainwaves in me. About three years ago, after completing the Parisian Restaurant (a personal favorite!), I caught the modular building bug and completed all ten (at the time) of them. Then I built The Tower of Orthanc 10237 to get into the creepy space, and studied the Haunted House 10228 for more building ideas.
Addams Family Mansion
I loved the 1960s TV series Addams Family and wanted to do a building that was big and creepy! The mansion is an “end of series” 50th anniversary tribute, coinciding with the April 1966 finale. The Addams Family Mansion consists of three fully detailed floors, and the whole building can be split through the center. Each of the floor segments are removable. The family looks right at home. It took me about six months of studying the old TV series DVDs, trial and error on the greenhouse, and angled corner section, and sourcing the 7,000+ parts. Then it was submitted to LEGO IDEAS and received 10,000 votes of support in June of 2016 and went into LEGO Review. While it was not “approved” into a kit, I enjoyed the experience, and lots of people enjoyed seeing the creation. The Addams Family Mansion can be found here: https:// ideas.lego.com/projects/b0a40865-77f1-4c04-9d89-53ff8a754c3d
Above and below: Some interior sections of the mansion.
The project was a challenge because it was my first MOC. There was lots to learn about translating an idea into large implementation and lots of building and rebuilding. There was lots of learning the better way to do something right. I did the project freehand, from looking at several source materials, mostly screen captures from the original TV series on DVD and one fictional sketch of the rear of the mansion (never shown on TV) that I found. I had no LDD file or drawings. I started by prototyping the greenhouse, portico and the 45-degree front corner of the mansion. With solid designs of those, I could layout the whole footprint, and determine baseplate needs. There are over 7,000 pieces in the build, so sourcing was one of the toughest parts of this project. Also, the amount of detail presented a challenge. Among the many aspects, the mansion features full tile carpeting throughout, a glass greenhouse at the rear, and a whole host of furnishings such as suits of armor, taxidermy, and a bed of nails. All the ceilings are finished with inverted tiles. You can also find the family automobile out front and all of the Addams Family members as minifigures including Lurch, Thing and Cousin It (added using hair from Gloin/Hobbit). The Addams Family Mansion consists of three fully detailed floors and the whole building can be split through the center on a pivot hinge; each of the floor segments are removable allowing for easy access and imaginative play. The front view of the mansion includes the grand portico and Addams Family car. Nighttime shots of the LEGO Addams Family Mansion with interior lighting using Brickstuff components can be found on Flickr at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/140336078@ N03/sets/72157665021280493 The cast, from left to right: Morticia, Gomez, Wednesday, Pugsley, Uncle Fester, Grandmama, Cousin It, and Lurch.
Some interior sections of the mansion.
The mansion lit up.
Community
Barriers: The Brick-Built Wall in our Minds! Article by Dave Foreman Photography by Molly Raye
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LEGO is a fantastic toy, and even more amazing art medium with boundless possibilities. LEGO does one thing very well though, that perhaps isn’t always a net positive: It constructs really well. And one of those things LEGO tends to build is mental barriers. The divide between AFOLs who build with system and those like myself who build with constraction is a great example. SNOT (Studs Not On Top) is still to this day a difficult concept for some MOCers to grasp even though its proliferation is seen at all levels of LEGO set buying, from a small Polybag like Colt’s Mech up to the big giant mega sets. Some builders just can’t seem to wrap their minds around the idea. Classes, tutorials, building techniques, these are all things that help us break down the mental barriers in our minds that have been put in place. How did they get there, those barriers we have to overcome in our minds? One could speculate on the many possible reasons but I will offer my own. First, that’s just how the mind works. Our brains like to put things into containers or filing systems for future reference. So you could argue that it’s just biology. Secondly, I think it has to do a lot with how we are introduced to and experience LEGO on a regular basis. Most FOLs buy LEGO sets with instructions which tell you how to build the set itself. LEGO has a very rigid structure in its design of play, and they seldom break those rules for themselves, even though FOLs don’t adhere to them much, if at all. We’ve all seen that varying degree of what a builder will do to get the results they want out of
their MOC. Even I have my limits on what I’ll tolerate as a builder. Take the fact that we are told very early on in our experience how to build our LEGO, coupled with the fact that LEGO’s marketing is often very segregated, and the conditions seem ripe for mental barriers to spring up without us even realizing them. It isn’t until we’re teenagers or adults that we start analyzing these barriers and begin to chip away at them. The barrier I most wish to address is that between building systems and styles of MOCing. LEGO House famously has three Dinosaurs in it, a Duplo Dino, a System Dino, and a Technic Dino. Even LEGO’s own marketing dictates that these are very separate building systems and only two of them ever really see any crossover in LEGO’s designs. However, if pushed, every building system LEGO has can work together if the transitions are right. A 2x4 fits onto a 1x2 Duplo block, Technic and system integrate almost seamlessly with the plethora of parts available made specifically for this transition. Even constraction can be fully integrated with elements designed especially for that. These types of elements are typically found in action sets where Mechs and moving figures are found. When you dive even deeper into the Bionicle community, there exists a divide between older “G1” or “Gen1” Bionicle, and CCBS which is what is used today and has been since 2011. System Builders even go as far as to categorize Bionicle and CCBS as “not really LEGO.” OUCH, that hurts! Not only does that hurt my feelings as a “Bionicle guy,” but that hurts your potential as a MOCer as well. One major symptom of barriers is “Stale building.” I’ve talked to a good amount of MOCers who were bored with their established building style or even what they were seeing from other builders, until they saw my unique blend of Constraction elements mixed with System. Once they realized that the two aren’t very separate, they became inspired to build new things or explore new territory. How many builders have been turned off to the possibilities that Constraction holds for their MOC because they won’t even look at those kinds of parts as being a viable option? I think you might be surprised at how often a Constraction element might be just what the doctor ordered for your MOC.
Meskii
The petite robot girl with a love for all things adorable. Built by Molly Raye.
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Community
g n i w e i v Re
Review by Ashley Glennon Page Layouts provided by No Starch Press
Hello BrickJournal readers. I need to disclose a significant bias. When I received my review copy of The LEGO Trains Book by Holger Matthes, I was stoked! You see, Matthes is no ordinary LEGO train builder. His early train work was so popular that even the tourist arm of the African country of Namibia recognized him. Matthes built a LEGO replica of their desert traversing train called the Transnamib Express back in 2001. After seeing photos of his LEGO model, the Namibian tourism department invited him to come tour their country (all expenses paid) on the real train! Back in 2003-2004, Matthes spoke at a number of LEGO gatherings, including Brickfest PDX 2004—where I met him live and he presented his Namibian story.
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Acquiring bulk parts and building models with intimate detail was not an easy feat in the early 2000s. Fans were just starting to find each other online and digital cameras were still in their infancy. Matthes was building extraordinary LEGO trains before many of you were even born.
Some page layouts showcasing the photography in the book.
So heck yeah, I was excited about his book! The LEGO Trains Book is actually an English translation of a book Matthes released in his native Germany in 2016. The German book, LEGO Eisenbahn: Konzepte und Techniken fur realistische Modelle translates to something like: LEGO Trains: Concepts and Techniques For Realistic Models. Thanks to No Starch Press, we have an easier-to-read title and a hardbound edition of the book at a lower price than the German edition. The book features an introduction, four huge, information-packed chapters, and then concludes with nearly 100 pages of building instructions. Matthes kicks off the book by offering advice on where to find parts and ideas to build more trains, then takes the reader through the most comprehensive history lesson I have ever read about LEGO trains. And this history lesson isn’t boring or weak. Matthes carefully threads together the pros and cons of each LEGO train era and points out distinguishing features of each. Matthes naturally begins with the blue-rail era when trains were blocky and the wheels were red. Next he takes us into the gray-rail powered decade between 19801990. The 9-volt era begins in 1991, then we visit the RC era starting in 2006. We entered the Power Functions era in 2007 where we remain today. LEGO trains have been around for 50 years, and as we have come to expect, some parts made in 1966 fit well and look great on LEGO trains today. The next chapter consists of an excellent overview of LEGO building principles, with an emphasis on train-building of course. Matthes begins with a visual overview of the basic names of parts, then jumps headlong into one of my favorite sections of the book: SNOT! Studs not on top (or SNOT as it’s known among us fans) is a fun way of describing building in every direction. Matthes is a master in this space and it shows. Here you will learn how the meager headlight brick is essential for train designs and you’re treated to many colorful applications. Next you will learn how side-studded bricks, plus plates, panels, tiles and hinges can be used in surprising ways. An off-center and odd-dimensions building section will help you build more realistic trains. Then the chapter wraps up with pinstriping and texture techniques.
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