Robotic vehicles can have a wide variety of drive mechanisms that range from a simple tricycle setup all the way to crawling legs. Alex Le’s project leverages the reliability of LEGO blocks with the customizability of 3D-printed pieces to create a highly mobile omnidirectional robot called Swervebot, which is controllable over Wi-Fi thanks to an Arduino Nano ESP32.
The base mechanism of a co-axial swerve drive robot is a swerve module that uses one axle + motor to spin the wheel and another axle + motor to turn it. When combined with several other swerve modules in a single chassis, the Swervebot is able to perform very complex maneuvers such as spinning while moving in a particular direction. For each of these modules, a pair of DC motors were mounted into custom, LEGO-compatible enclosures and attached to a series of gears for transferring their motion into the wheels. Once assembled into a 2×2 layout, Le moved onto the next steps of wiring and programming the robot.
The Nano ESP32 is attached to two TB6612 motor drivers and a screen for displaying fun, animated eyes while the robot is in-motion or idling. Controlling the swerve bot is easy too, as the ESP32 hosts a webpage full of buttons and other inputs for setting speeds and directions.
Kultige LEGO Themen krachen spektakulär aufeinander – in einer bunten Steinschlacht voller Individualisierungsoptionen, freischaltbarer Inhalte und lustiger Action für die ganze Familie. Während wir uns auf den Start des neuen lebhaften Brawlers auf PS5 und PS4 am 2. September vorbereiten, nimmt uns das Entwicklerteam mit, um einen exklusiven Blick hinter die Kulissen von LEGO Brawls zu werfen.
Unendlich viele Anpassungsoptionen
LEGO Brawls beinhaltet ein paar ganz besondere Features, die das Spiel zum Pionier seines Genres machen. Das Wichtigste: In LEGO Brawls können Spieler ihren eigenen, voll individualisierbaren Brawler erschaffen. Gekämpft wird mit anpassbaren Minifiguren und Loadouts, die ganz auf eure Persönlichkeit, Vorlieben und euren Spielstil abgestimmt sind. Darüber hinaus können durch einfaches Spielen noch mehr Möglichkeiten freigeschaltet werden.
Wobei „unendlich“ vielleicht ein bisschen übertrieben ist. Falls ihr es genau wissen wollt – wir haben nachgerechnet: Zum Spielstart werden euch exakt 77.289.215.065.920 Minifigur-Anpassungsoptionen zur Verfügung stehen … die 2.737.000 individuellen Loadouts nicht mitgerechnet! Nach guter alter LEGO Manier könnt ihr eure LEGO Minifigur mit einer beliebigen Kombination aus Gesicht, Hautton, Torso, Beinen, Kopfbedeckung, Nahkampf- und Power-up-Optionen sowie Emotes und Namen ausstatten und so euren ganz eigenen Brawler erschaffen.
„Die Minifigur-Anpassung ist mit Abstand mein Lieblingsfeature des Spiels“, sagt Dustin Andrew, Senior Software Engineer bei Red Games Co., dem unabhängigen Studio, das LEGO Brawls in Zusammenarbeit mit LEGO Games entwickelt und veröffentlicht hat. „Es gibt sage und schreibe Billionen irrer Kombinationen. Ich könnte Stunden damit verbringen, immer wieder neue witzige Brawler zu erschaffen.“
„Es gibt endlos viele lustige Zusammenstellungen, und es ist jedes Mal interessant zu sehen, wie sich Spieler mit den Minifiguren ausdrücken“, ergänzt QA Lead Alex Medes.
Dustins Lieblingsbrawler: ein zerzauster Tunichtgut. Trent Burke, einer der Spiel-Engineers, bevorzugt eine alten, erfahrenen Veteranen, der wirklich jede Waffe verwenden kann, die er findet, ob das nun ein Schwert oder ein morsches Brett ist.
Aber ein Brawler wäre kein ganzer Brawler ohne persönliches Loadout. Power-ups reichen von leicht bis schwer und können einfach alles sein – vom Huhn über eine Hotdogstand-Kanone bis hin zur Rakete in Faustform.
„Mein Lieblings-Power-up ist das Saxophon, das mit dem Punk-Pirat-Champion freigeschaltet wird“, erklärt Alex. „Es heilt mich und umstehende Verbündete und verpasst ihnen überdies einen temporären Schadensbonus.“
„Mein Lieblings-Power-up ist definitiv der Kaktus, weil der mich vorübergehend unverwundbar macht“, fügt Animator Victor Rios hinzu.
Und Dustins Favorit? „Auf jeden Fall Pigsys Food-Truck. Der hat mir schon so oft den Pelz gerettet. Sein Power-up ist super, weil ich damit Spieler von erhöhten Standorten oder von Klippen stoßen kann. Und der endlose Wurstregen ist einfach zum Schießen … buchstäblich.“
Habt ihr euren Brawler erstellt, geht das eigentliche Chaos los.
Epische LEGO Themen-Levels
Die Levels sind passend zu LEGO Themen gestaltet, von Klassikern wie Burgen und Western, bis hin zu Fanfavoriten wie Jurassic, Ninjago und Monkie Kid. Alle bieten unterschiedliche Spielmodi, einzigartige Herausforderungen und Bedingungen für den Sieg. Zu Matchbeginn stimmen alle teilnehmenden Spieler ab, in welchem Thema gespielt wird.
„Wir wollten nicht, dass die Levels immer gleich sind, weil Kunst auch nie gleich ist“, sagt Rae Reynolds, Producer von LEGO Brawls. „Jeder Level hat einzigartige Kniffe – darunter Level-spezifische Power-ups, verschiedenste Fortbewegungsarten, die Möglichkeit, große Charaktere zu steuern sowie unterschiedliche Ziele und Teamstrukturen. Manche Levels bieten eine besondere Wendung, z. B. die Chance, den T-Rex aus Jurassic World oder den Mech und Wojira aus Ninjago zu steuern.“
Jeder Level kann immer wieder ausprobiert werden, sodass ihr irgendwann die Vor- und Nachteile herausfindet und daraus eure eigenen Gewinnstrategien entwickeln könnt.
„Ich finde, das Beste an LEGO Brawls ist, neue Power-ups und Waffen zu finden“, meint Trent. „Das ist so aufregend, weil es unglaublich viele gibt, wodurch sich enorme Vielfalt ergibt, die ebenfalls für immer neue Strategien sorgt.“
Spielmodi
Ihr könnt das Online-Matchmaking nutzen, um über Plattformen hinweg mit Verbündeten und Gegnern zu kämpfen oder private Sessions hosten, bzw. ihnen beitreten, um mit Freunden zu spielen. Die Levelauswahl bietet verschiedene Spielmodi, von denen manche eher auf normales Teamwork oder aufs Sammeln fokussiert sind, während andere größere Herausforderungen darstellen.
In einem Kontrollpunkt-Spiel schließt ihr euch zusammen und tretet in Teams 4 gegen 4 an, um besagten Kontrollpunkt zu verteidigen. Solange sich euer Team allein auf dem Kontrollpunkt befindet, generiert ihr auf dem „Sieg-o-Meter“ (Vict-o-meter) Punkte. Ist es voll, ist das Match gewonnen!
Im Sammelmodus macht ihr Jagd auf Sammelobjekte (z. B. Pfirsiche im Monkie-Kid-Level oder Kristalle in Blacktron). Wer zuerst genug gesammelt hat, gewinnt.
In einem Brawl Royale heißt es, jede Minifigur kämpft für sich allein! Wer in diesem chaotischen Prügelfest die meisten Gegner erledigt, trägt den Sieg davon.
Im Free-For-Brawl gewinnt der Spieler, der als letzter noch steht. In diesem rasanten Wettbewerbsmodus verdient ihr mit jeder Eliminierung Gesundheit und bleibt auf diese Weise am Ball.
Im Party-Modus habt ihr die Möglichkeit, private Spiele lokal mit Freunden zu hosten oder ihnen beizutreten. Wählt zwischen einem Free-for-Brawl für 4 Spieler oder einem 4-gegen-4 Online-Match. Da LEGO Brawls plattformübergreifend spielbar ist, könnt ihr eure Teammitglieder problemlos in eure Gruppe einladen, egal, auf welcher Plattform sie spielen.
„Wir wollten, dass Spieler Spaß mit ihren Freunden haben, egal, ob nun online oder im selben Raum im ‚Couch-Koop‘, so wie früher“, kommentiert Lead Engineer Rory Aguilar.
Sammelbare Inhalte
Ihr könnt ein Hauptthema auswählen, das nicht nur das Aussehen eures Home-Bildschirms verändert, sondern euch außerdem die Chance bietet, mittels Gameplay themenbasierte Sammelobjekte freizuschalten.
Euer Erfolg in einem Match bestimmt, wie viele Noppen ihr verdient, mit denen ihr euch wiederum neue Minifiguren und Power-ups holen könnt. (Für diejenigen, denen der LEGO-Jargon nicht geläufig ist: „Noppen“ sind die Knubbel an den Steinen, welche die Steckverbindung möglich machen. Im Spiel könnt ihr damit neue Inhalte freischalten.)
„Das Freischalten von Gegenständen ist teils vorhersehbar, teils Mysterium“, sagt Rae. „Ihr könnt auf eure bevorzugten Inhalte hinarbeiten, indem ihr ein bestimmtes Thema auswählt, aber Bonus-Freischaltungen enthalten auch immer ein Überraschungselement.“
Eifrige Sammler und Perfektionisten möchten womöglich ganze Sammlungen vervollständigen, ehe sie zu einem neuen Thema wechseln, was übrigens jederzeit möglich ist.
Eines ist sicher: LEGO Brawls ist in der Tat ein Spiel für alle – ob ihr nun LEGO Fans seid, die am liebsten sammeln, eifrige Ranglisten-Eroberer oder Spieler, die einfach mal Lust haben, Freunde und Familienmitglieder mithilfe eines Baguettes auf die Matte zu schicken. Es ist die Art von Spiel, die Leute zusammenbringt, und es ist nicht eben abwegig, festzustellen, dass das genau das ist, was wir alle gerade am meisten brauchen.
Iconic LEGO themes are about to collide in a brick-battling game that’s full of customization, unlockable content, and action-packed brawling for the whole family. As we gear up for the release of the new light-hearted brawler on PS5 and PS4 on September 2, 2022, the dev team behind LEGO Brawls takes us through the game with exclusive insights.
Infinite customization
There are some distinct features that make LEGO Brawls a first for the genre. The biggest: LEGO Brawls lets players create their own, fully customizable brawler. You’ll compete with customizable minifigures and load-outs tailored to your personality, preference and play style. And you’ll unlock new content through gameplay for even more possibilities.
“Infinite” may be a bit of an exaggeration. In fact, we did the math: there are 77,289,215,065,920 minifigure customization options available at launch to be exact… and that’s not including the 2,737,000 possible custom load-outs. In true LEGO style, you can choose any combination of LEGO minifigure faces, skin tones, torsos, legs, hats, melees, power-ups, emotes and names to build your perfectly unique brawler.
“The minifigure customization is by far my favorite part of the game,” says Dustin Andrew, senior software engineer for Red Games Co., the independent studio that developed and published LEGO Brawls in partnership with LEGO Games. “There are literally trillions of possible crazy combinations. I could spend hours just coming up with fun brawlers.”
“There are endless goofy combinations to create, and it is fun to see players expressing themselves in different ways,” adds Alex Medes, QA lead for the game.
Dustin’s go-to brawler: a scruffy-looking scallywag. Trent Burke, an engineer behind the game, opts for an old and seasoned Super Legend who uses whatever weapon he can find (a plank of wood works just as well as a sword).
What brawler would be complete without a personal load-out? Power-ups range from light to heavy, and can be anything from chickens to hot dog shooters to a flying rocket shaped like a fist.
“My favorite power-up is the saxophone unlocked by the Punk Pirate champion,” says Alex. “It heals me and nearby allies, and gives them a temporary damage increase as well.”
“My favorite power up is definitely the cactus because it makes you invincible for a short period of time,” adds Victor Rios, an animator for the game.
Dustin’s favorite? “Hands down Pigsy’s Food Truck. It has saved my bacon so many times. It’s a super power-up with the ability to push players off a point or over the edge of a cliff. Also the endless rain of sausage firepower is hilarious.”
Once you’ve built your brawler, that’s when the real mayhem begins.
Epic LEGO themed-levels
Levels are centered around LEGO themes, ranging from classics like Castle and Western to fan-favorite IPs including Jurassic, Ninjago and Monkie Kid, each with different game modes, unique challenges, and win conditions. At the start of a match, all players will vote on which theme to play.
“We never wanted the various levels to be the same, just with different art,” says LEGO Brawls’ producer, Rae Reynolds. “Each level has its own unique hook – anything from level-specific power-ups, various ways to traverse, or gaining control of big characters to completely different objectives and team structure. Some levels have a special twist, like being able to control the T-Rex in Jurassic World, or the Mech and Wojira in Ninjago.”
Each level can be picked up and played, but over time you’ll learn the advantages and disadvantages of that level’s distinct traits and form your own winning strategies.
“Discovering new power-ups and weapons is my favorite part of LEGO Brawls,” says Trent. “It’s exciting because there are so many, it adds variety and new strategies for each one you get.”
Game modes
You can choose to brawl online, matched with allies and opponents across platforms, or host or join private games to party with friends. The assortment of levels provide a variety of game modes—some are more focused on casual teamwork or collection, while others present a more intense individual challenge.
In a Control Point game, you team up and compete 4v4 to capture and hold a control point. When your team alone is on the control point, you generate points for your team’s Vict-o-meter. Fill the Vict-o-meter to win.
In Collect Mode, you’ll gather collectibles (like peaches in the Monkie Kid level or crystals in Blacktron). The first player or team to collect and hold enough items wins.
In a Brawl Royale, it’s every minifigure for themself. The player who defeats the most opponents in this chaotic kerfuffle will be crowned the victor.
In a Free-For-Brawl, the last player standing wins. In this fast-paced competitive mode, defeating another player will fill up your health, giving you the chance to catch up.
In Party Mode, you can host or join private games with friends locally for a 4-player free-for-brawl or online in a 4v4 match. With cross-platform support, you can invite your squad to a party, regardless of the platform they play on.
“We wanted to make sure that players could enjoy brawling with friends online or get that competitive couch co-op experience when together in a room like so many great games in the past used to have,” says Rory Aguilar, lead engineer for the game.
Collectable content
You can select a main theme that not only changes your home screen appearance, but also sets you on course to unlock theme-based collectables through gameplay.
Your success in a match impacts the amount of studs you earn to collect new minifigures and power-ups. (For those less familiar with LEGO jargon, “studs” are the bumps on a LEGO brick that connect one another. They’re also the means to unlock new content in the game.)
“There is a mix of predictability and mystery when unlocking items,” says Rae. “You can work towards your goal content by selecting a theme, but there is also a surprise element when getting bonus unlocks.”
Avid collectors and completionists may opt to complete entire content tracks before switching to a new theme, which you can do at any time.
One thing is for certain: LEGO Brawls truly is a game for everybody – whether you’re a LEGO fan that’s in it for the collection, a true competitor building your way to the top of the global leaderboard, or a casual player who simply wants to take down your friends and family with a baguette. It’s the sort of game that brings people together, and it’s not outrageous to suggest that’s what we all need right now.
Vom ersten Aufstieg bis zum finalen Override: Das Gefühl, wenn man seinen aller ersten Langhals überbrückt, ist einfach unbeschreiblich. Die gewaltige Maschine aus Horizon Zero Dawn kehrt zur Freude der Fans mit Aloys neuestem Abenteuer zurück, und sorgt mit seinem gutmütigen Wesen und seiner beeindruckenden Größe für noch mehr Wow-Momente in Horizon Forbidden West.
Wir haben uns den sanften Riesen als LEGO Set für zu Hause geholt und ihn für euch zusammengebaut. Was dabei rausgekommen ist, wollen wir euch natürlich nicht vorenthalten.
Stein um Stein
Der LEGO Langhals besteht aus insgesamt 1.222 Steinen. Aber nicht nur die legendäre Maschine aus Horizon Forbidden West kommt mit dem LEGO Set. Ein Ständer samt Birke und rostiger Ampel verleiht dem Langhals noch das gewisse Horizon-Etwas. Aber was wäre ein Maschine aus Horizon Forbidden West ohne Wächter? Auch die nervigen kleinen Kerlchen sind mit von der LEGO Partie – sogar mit unterschiedlicher Augenfarbe.
Neben dem Langhals ist ein weiterer spektakulärer Hingucker zweifelsohne Aloy. Die LEGO Minifigur stellt die Horizon-Heldin mit ihren typischen Waffen, dem Speer und dem Bogen, dar.
Ab in den Verbotenen Westen
Habt ihr die legendäre LEGO Maschine schon zusammengebaut und euer Daheim in die Welt von Horizon versetzt? Verratet uns in den Kommentaren, welche Maschine ihr euch als nächstes LEGO Set wünschen würdet.
LEGO Builder’s Journey is now available on PS5 and PS4, we are very proud to bring even more playful game experiences to players.
As a brand new feature in the game, you can unleash your creativity and build and share your own creations in Creative Mode. This is a much-requested feature where you can go and build your own models or scenes with a curated selection of LEGO bricks.
There are several available themes and different options for build plates to start out with: Some have a bit of inspiration built in from the start like the lower half of a car, while some plates leave more room for you to be creative in your build out.
We have kept the controls and interface as simple as the rest of the game: When you open a brick bin, you get a curated selection of bricks to build with. Placing a brick automatically gives you another one in the same shape and color – which is great for building symmetrical things. If you open the bin again, you get a new selection of bricks. The paint bucket can be used to dye your bricks by literally pouring paint over them to change their color.
Once your creation is done, the photo mode lets you adjust the lighting and viewing angle before taking the perfect picture of your model and sharing it with friends.
The vision for Builder’s Journey was to create a different kind of LEGO game – one that puts the bricks at the center of the experience. The main part of the game is about building with bricks to complete small diorama-based puzzles that also tell a story about a child and a parent, and the importance of playing together.
The music, art, design, and animations all come together to bring a non-verbal, atmospheric experience of soothing cerebral mind exercises and creative solutions to the game’s challenges. Sometimes thinking out of the box, getting new ideas and breaking the rules is the only way to move forward.
Everything in the game from the waterfalls and trees to the characters and machines is built with LEGO bricks. Our designers have come up with some really unusual and unexpected uses for certain LEGO elements – try and see if you can spot peculiar ways we use bricks like sausages, cherries or roller skates.
The PS5 version of the game features ray tracing for an unprecedented realistic rendition of the LEGO bricks. The micro scale scenes really come to life to the point where it feels like you can reach out and pick up the bricks.
We hope you will give LEGO Builder’s Journey and the new Creative Mode a try.
LEGO Builder’s Journey ist jetzt auf PS5 und PS4 verfügbar und wir sind stolz euch eine noch verspieltere Erfahrung zu bringen.
Ein ganz neues Feature im Spiel ist der Kreativmodus, in dem ihr eurer Kreativität freien Lauf lassen könnt und eure eigenen Kreationen teilen könnt. Dieses viel nachgefragte Feature lässt euch eigene Modelle oder Szenen mit einer Auswahl von LEGO-Steinen bauen.
Es gibt verschiedene verfügbare Themen und unterschiedliche Baugründe, mit denen ihr starten könnt: Einige sind schon mit inspirierenden Kleinigkeiten ausgestattet, wie der unteren Hälfte eines Autos, während andere euch ganz viel Freiraum lassen, kreativ selbst zu bauen.
Wir haben die Steuerung dabei so einfach wie den Rest des Spiels gehalten: Wenn ihr eine Steinschachtel öffnet, seht ihr eine Auswahl von Steinen, mit denen ihr bauen könnt. Verbraucht ihr einen Stein, bekommt ihr einen in der gleichen Farbe und Form zurück – so könnt ihr sehr gut symmetrische Dinge aufbauen. Wenn ihr die Schachtel erneut öffnet, seht ihr eine neue Auswahl an Steinen. Mit dem Farbeimer könnt ihr Steine färben, indem ihr einfach Farbe darüber gießt und sie einfärbt.
Wenn ihr fertig seid, könnt ihr eure Kreation im Fotomodus ablichten und dabei Beleuchtung und Perspektive anpassen, um das perfekte Foto zu machen und mit Freunden zu teilen.
Die Vision hinter Builder’s Journey war, eine neue Art LEGO-Spiel zu erschaffen – eins, in dem die Steine im Zentrum der Erfahrung stehen. In der Hauptsache geht es im Spiel darum, mit Steinen kleine diorama-basierte Puzzle zu lösen, die eine Geschichte von einem Kind und Elternteil und der Bedeutung gemeinsamen Spielens erzählen.
Musik, Kunst, Design und Animationen kommen alle zusammen um eine non-verbale, atmosphärische Erfahrung zu bieten, in der ihr beruhigende Denkübungen und kreative Lösungen für die Herausforderungen im Spiel entdecken könnt. Manchmal geht es darum, ganz neu zu denken und mit frischen Ideen auch mal Regeln zu brechen, um vorwärts zu kommen.
Alles im Spiel – von den Wasserfällen über Bäume bis zu den Charakteren und Maschinen, ist aus LEGO-Steinen gebaut. Unsere Designer hatten ein paar wirklich ungewöhnliche und unerwartete Ideen für den Einsatz von LEGO-Elementen – haltet die Augen offen nach interessanten Varianten, wie wir Bauteile wie Würstchen, Kirchen oder Roller Skates nutzen.
Die PS5-Version vom Spiel ist mit Ray-Tracing entwickelt worden, um nie gewesene realistische Darstellung der LEGO-Steine zu ermöglichen. Die Szenen in Mikro-Skala werden richtig lebendig und fühlen sich an, als könnte man direkt hingreifen und die Steine aufnehmen.
With its disc-shaped head, tall stature, and good-natured disposition (especially compared to some of the machine threats that are lurking in the Forbidden West), the Tallneck is one of the most iconic and well-loved machines from the world of Horizon. Today, we at Guerrilla are incredibly excited to share a bold new look for this gentle giant, destined to become even more iconic — one that is made out of LEGO bricks.
Together with our friends over at the LEGO Group, we’ve been working on the ultimate Tallneck brick model, which we are proudly unveiling today!
Part of the LEGO sets for adults, the Horizon Forbidden West LEGO Tallneck uses clever building techniques to capture the machine’s authentic details, and measures over 34 centimeters (13.5 inch) high. You can display the Tallneck on a stand with details from the Horizon landscape, such as a birch tree and a rusty traffic light. Also included is a LEGO Aloy minifigure featuring her bow and spear, and even a Watcher with either blue, yellow or red eyes.
LEGO Model Designer Isaac Snyder: “I fell in love with Horizon Zero Dawn the first time I played it. It’s a futuristic world full of gorgeous scenery, strong characters, threatening machines, and a rich story. The Guerrilla designers were a huge inspiration and help in capturing the spirit of this universe in LEGO form. The Horizon fan community is so creative, and this model is dedicated to their passion and imagination.”
We couldn’t agree more with Isaac. We hope you will enjoy all the endless creative possibilities this set has to offer, and can’t wait to see you reenact Horizon stories once it launches.
The set will be available from May 2022; for now, we look forward to rocking your world on Friday, February 18 with the release of Horizon Forbidden West on PS5 and PS4.
Durch seinen scheibenförmigen Kopf, seine hohe Statur und sein gutmütiges Wesen (besonders im Vergleich zu einigen anderen Maschinen, die im Verbotenen Westen lauern) ist der Langhals zu einer der legendärsten und beliebtesten Maschinen in der Welt von Horizon geworden. Wir von Guerrilla freuen uns sehr, heute einen neuen Look für diesen sanften Riesen vorstellen zu können, der sogar noch legendärer werden könnte – und zwar aus LEGO-Steinen.
Zusammen mit unseren Freunden bei der LEGO Group haben wir am diesem ultimativen Langhals-Modell gearbeitet, das wir euch heute stolz präsentieren!
Der Langhals aus Horizon Forbidden West gehört zu den LEGO-Sets für Erwachsene. Er ist über 34 Zentimeter hoch (13,5 Zoll) und nutzt clevere Bautechniken, um die Details der Maschine authentisch einzufangen. Ihr könnt den Langhals mit Details aus der Welt von Horizon, wie etwa einer Birke und einer rostigen Straßenlampe, aufstellen. Zusätzlich enthalten ist eine LEGO-Minifigur von Aloy mit ihrem Bogen und Speer und sogar ein Wächter mit entweder blauen, gelben oder roten Augen!
LEGO-Modell-Designer Isaac Snyder: „Ich habe mich in Horizon Zero Dawn verliebt, als ich es zum ersten Mal gespielt habe. Es spielt in einer futuristischen Welt mit wundervoller Szenerie, starken Charakteren, bedrohlichen Maschinen und einer großartigen Geschichte. Die Designer von Guerrilla waren eine große Inspiration für uns und haben geholfen, die Essenz dieses Universums in LEGO-Form einzufangen. Die Fan-Community von Horizon ist so kreativ. Dieses Modell widmen wir ihrer Leidenschaft und Vorstellungskraft!“
Wir stimmen Isaac da absolut zu! Wir hoffen, dass euch die endlosen kreativen Möglichkeiten, die dieses Set bietet, gefallen werden und können es kaum erwarten, zu sehen, wie ihr die Geschichten von Horizon nachspielt, sobald es auf den Markt kommt.
Dieses Set wird ab Mai 2022 erhältlich sein. Hoffentlich fiebert ihr jetzt erst einmal der Veröffentlichung von Horizon Forbidden West am 18. Februar genauso entgegen wie wir!
As so many CoderDojos around the world, our office-based CoderDojo hadn’t been able to bring learners together in person since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. So we decided that our first time back in the Raspberry Pi Foundation headquarters should be something special. Having literally just launched the new Raspberry Pi Build HAT for programming LEGO® projects with Raspberry Pi computers, we wanted to celebrate our Dojo’s triumphant return to in-person session by offering a ‘LEGO bricks and Raspberry Pi’ activity!
Back in person, with new ways to create with code
The Raspberry Pi Build HAT allows learners to build and program projects with Raspberry Pi computers and LEGO® Technic™ motors and sensors from the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Portfolio.
What better way could there be to get the more experienced coders among our Dojo’s young people (Ninjas) properly excited to be back? We knew they were fond of building things with LEGO bricks, as so many young people are, so we were sure they would have great fun with this activity!
For our beginners, we set up Raspberry Pi workstations and got them coding the projects on the Home island on our brand-new Code Club World platform, which they absolutely loved, so their jealousy was mitigated somewhat.
Being able to rely on your learners’ existing skills in making the physical build leaves you a lot more time to support them with what they’re actually here to learn: the coding and digital making skills.
We wanted to keep our first Dojo back small, so for the ‘LEGO bricks and Raspberry Pi’ activity, we set up just four workstations, each with a Raspberry Pi 4, with 4GB RAM and a Raspberry Pi Build HAT on top, and a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime set. We put eight participants into teams of two, and made sure that all of them brought a little experience with text-based coding, because we wanted them to be able to focus on making projects in their own style, rather than first learning the basics of coding in Python. Then we offered our Ninjas the choice of the first two projects in the Introduction to the Raspberry Pi Build HAT and LEGO path: make Pong game controllers, or make a remote-controlled robot buggy. As I had predicted, all the teams chose to make a robot buggy!
Teamwork and design
The teams of Ninjas were immediately off and making — in fact, they couldn’t wait to get the lids off the boxes of brightly coloured bricks and beams!
Our project instructions focus primarily on supporting learners through coding and testing the mechanics of their creations, leaving the design and build totally up to them. This was evidenced by the variety of buggy designs we saw at the project showcase at the end of the two-hour Dojo session!
One of the amazing things Raspberry Pi makes possible when you use it with the Raspberry Pi Build HAT and SPIKE™ Prime set: it’s simple to make the Raspberry Pi at the heart of the creation talk to a mobile device via Bluetooth, and off you go controlling what you’ve created via a phone or tablet.
While beginner-friendly, the projects in the Introduction path involve a mix of coding, testing, designing, and building. So it required focus and solid teamwork for the Ninjas to finish their buggies in time for the project showcase. And this is where building with LEGO pieces was really helpful.
Coding front and centre, thanks to the Raspberry Pi Build HAT
Having LEGO bricks and the Build HAT available to create their Raspberry Pi–powered robot buggies made it easy for our Ninjas to focus on writing the code to get their buggies to work. They weren’t relying on crafting skills or duct tape and glue guns to make a chassis in the relatively short time they had, and the coding could be front and centre for them.
The most exciting part for the Ninjas was that they were building remote-controlled robot buggies. This is one of the amazing things Raspberry Pi makes possible when you use it with the Build HAT and SPIKE™ Prime set: it’s simple to make the Raspberry Pi at the heart of the creation talk to a mobile device via Bluetooth, and off you go controlling what you’ve created via a phone or tablet.
The LEGO Technic motors that are part of the LEGO Education SPIKE Prime set are of really high quality, and they’re super easy to program with the Build HAT and its Python library! You can change the motors’ speed by setting a single parameter in your code. You can also easily write code to set or read the motors’ exact angle (their absolute position). That allows you to finely control the motors’ movements, or to use them as sensors.
Some of our teams, inspired by everything the SPIKE Prime set has to offer, tried out programming the set’s sensors, to switch their robot buggy on or help it avoid obstacles. Because we only had about 90 minutes of digital making, not all teams managed to finish adding the extra features they wanted — but next time for sure!
With a little more time (or another Dojo session), it would have been possible for the Ninjas to make some veryadvanced remote-controlled buggies indeed, complete with headlights, brake lights, sensors, and sound.
Learning with LEGO® elements and Raspberry Pi computers
If you have access to LEGO Education SPIKE Prime sets for your learners, then the Raspberry Pi Build HAT is a great addition that allows them to build complex robotics projects with very simple code — but I think that’s not its main benefit.
Because the Build HAT allows your learners to work with LEGO elements, you know that many of them already understand one aspect of the creation process: they’ve got experience of using LEGO bricks to solve a problem. In a coding or STEM club session, or in a classroom lesson, you can only give your learners limited amount of time to complete a project, or get their project prototype to a stable point. So being able to rely on your learners’ existing skills in making the physical build leaves you a lot more time to support them with what they’re actually here to learn: the coding and digital making skills.
You and your young people next!
The projects using the Raspberry Pi Build HATs were such a hit, we’ll be getting them and the LEGO Education SPIKE Prime sets out at every Dojo session from now on! We’re excited to see what young people around the world will be creating thanks to our new collaboration with LEGO Education.
Have you used the Raspberry Pi Build HAT with your learners or young people at home yet? Share their stories and creations in the comments here, or on social media using #BuildHAT.
This automated analogue film scanner runs on a Raspberry Pi and LEGO bricks. BenjBez took to Reddit to share this incredible lockdown project, which makes processing film photographs easier.
“When doing analog photography, scanning is the most painful part – RoboScan tries to make the whole workflow easier, from the film to the final image file.”
Mesmerising, isn’t it? We don’t know why we want it, we just do. We love it when new technology supports traditional methods with hacks like this. It reminded us of this Raspberry Pi powered e-paper display that takes months to show a movie.
How does it work?
A 3D rendering of the LEGO parts used to make the scanner, from Mecabricks
The film roll is fed through the LEGO frame and lit by an integrated LED backlight. Machine learning detects when a photo is correctly framed and ready for scanning, then a digital camera takes another photo of it. RoboScan downloads the photos from your digital camera as soon as they are taken. Only 80 photos were used to train the Raspberry Pi and Benj has shared the model here.
This is what the machine learning sees. In purple are the tentative complete frames
But I only take digital photos anyway…
Most of us rely on our phones these days to capture special moments. However, we bet loads of you have relatives with albums full of precious photos they would hate to lose; maybe you could digitise the negatives for safekeeping using this method?
Skip to 16 mins 37 seconds to watch electromaker’s take on this project
We love our lovely friends at Electromaker and we found this project through them. (They found it on Reddit.) They release a new video every week, so make sure to subscribe on YouTube so you don’t miss out.
We shared Dennis Mellican’s overly effective anti-burglary project last month. Now he’s back with something a whole lot more musical and mini.
Inspiration
Dennis was inspired by other jukebox projects that use Raspberry Pi, NFC readers, and tags to make music play. Particularly this one by Mark Hank, which we shared on the blog last year. The video below shows Dennis’s first attempt at creating an NFC Raspberry Pi music player, similar to Mark’s.
After some poking around, Dennis realised that the LEGO Dimensions toy pad is a three-in-one NFC reader with its own light show. He hooked it up to a Raspberry Pi and developed a Python application to play music when LEGO Dimension Minifigures are placed on the toy pad. So, if an Elvis minifigure is placed on the reader, you’ll hear Elvis’s music.
Mini KISS rocking out on the NFC reader
The Raspberry Pi is hooked up to the LEGO Dimensions toy pad, with Musicfig (Dennis’s name for his creation) playing tracks via Spotify over Bluetooth. The small screen behind the minifigures is displaying the Musicfig web application which, like the Spotify app, displays the album art for the track that’s currently playing.
No Spotify or LEGO? No problem!
Daft Punk LOVES Raspberry Pi
Spotify playback is optional, as you can use your own MP3 music file collection instead. You also don’t have to use LEGO Minifigures: most NFC-enabled devices or tags can be used, including Disney Infinity, Nintendo Amiibo, and Skylander toy characters.
Why not have Elsa sing… what’s that song again? Let it… what was it?
Dennis thought Musicfig could be a great marketable LEGO product for kids and grown-ups alike, and and he submitted it to the LEGO Ideas website. Unfortunately, he had tinkered a little too much (we approve) and it wasn’t accepted, due to rules that don’t allow non-LEGO parts or customisations.
Want to build one?
The LEGO Dimensions toy pad was discontinued in 2017, but Dennis has seen some sets on sale at a few department stores, and even more cheaply on second-hand market sites like Bricklink. We’ve spotted them on eBay and Amazon too. Dennis also advises that the toy pad often sells for less than a dedicated NFC reader.
What’s the best movie soundtrack and why is it Tron?
Watch Dennis’s seven-year-old son Benny show you how it all works, from Elvis through to Prodigy via Daft Punk and Queen.
You can tell which songs Benny likes best because the volume goes to 11
There are some really simple step-by-step instructions for a quick install here, as well as a larger gallery of Musicfig rigs. And Dennis hosts a more detailed walkthrough of the project, plus code examples, here.
You can find all things Dennis-related, including previous Raspberry Pi projects, here.
This mega-machine was two years in the making and is a LEGO creation itself, built from over 10,000 LEGO bricks.
A beast of 10,000 bricks
It can sort any LEGO brick you place in its input bucket into one of 18 output buckets, at the rate of one brick every two seconds.
While Daniel was inspired by previous LEGO sorters, his creation is a huge step up from them: it can recognise absolutely every LEGO brick ever created, even bricks it has never seen before. Hence the ‘universal’ in the name ‘universal LEGO sorting machine’.
Hardware
There we are, tucked away, just doing our job
Software
The artificial intelligence algorithm behind the LEGO sorting is a convolutional neural network, the go-to for image classification.
What makes Daniel’s project a ‘world first’ is that he trained his classifier using 3D model images of LEGO bricks, which is how the machine can classify absolutely any LEGO brick it’s faced with, even if it has never seen it in real life before.
We LOVE a thorough project video, and we love TWO of them even more
Daniel has made a whole extra video (above) explaining how the AI in this project works. He shouts out all the open source software he used to run the Raspberry Pi Camera Module and access 3D training images etc. at this point in the video.
LEGO brick separation
The vibration plate in action, feeding single parts into the scanner
Daniel needed the input bucket to carefully pick out a single LEGO brick from the mass he chucks in at once.
This is achieved with a primary and secondary belt slowly pushing parts onto a vibration plate. The vibration plate uses a super fast LEGO motor to shake the bricks around so they aren’t sitting on top of each other when they reach the scanner.
Scanning and sorting
The underside of the beast
A Raspberry Pi Camera Module captures video of each brick, which Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ then processes and wirelessly sends to a more powerful computer able to run the neural network that classifies the parts.
The classification decision is then sent back to the sorting machine so it can spit the brick, using a series of servo-controlled gates, into the right output bucket.
Extra-credit homework
In all its bricky beauty, with the 18 output buckets visible at the bottom
Daniel is such a boss maker that he wrote not one, but two further reading articles for those of you who want to deep-dive into this mega LEGO creation:
Adrian Hanft is our favourite kind of maker: weird. He’s also the guy who invented the Lego camera, 16 years ago. This time, he spent more than a year creating what he describes as “one of the strangest cameras you may ever hear about.”
What? Looks normal from here. Massive, but normal
What’s with all the straws?
OK, here’s why it’s weird: it takes photos with a Raspberry Pi High Quality Camera through a ‘lens’ of tiny drinking straws packed together. 23,248 straws, to be exact, are inside the wooden box-shaped bit of the machine above. The camera itself sits at the slim end of the black and white part. The Raspberry Pi, power bank, and controller all sit on top of the wooden box full of straws.
Here’s what an image of Yoda looks like, photographed through that many straws:
Mosaic, but make it techy
Ground glass lenses
The concept isn’t as easy as it may look. As you can see from the images below, if you hold up a load of straws, you can only see the light through a few of them. Adrian turned to older technology for a solution, taking a viewfinder from an old camera which had ground glass (which ‘collects’ light) on the surface.
Left: looking through straws at light with the naked eye Right: the same straws viewed through a ground glass lens
Even though Adrian was completely new to both Raspberry Pi and Python, it only took him a week of evenings and weekends to code the software needed to control the Raspberry Pi High Quality Camera.
Long story short, on the left is the final camera, with all the prototypes queued up behind it
An original Nintendo controller runs the show and connects to the Raspberry Pi with a USB adapter. The buttons are mapped to the functions of Adrian’s software.
A super satisfying time-lapse of the straws being loaded
What does the Nintendo controller do?
In his original post, Adrian explains what all the buttons on the controller do in order to create images:
“The Start button launches a preview of what the camera is seeing. The A button takes a picture. The Up and Down buttons increase or decrease the exposure time by 1 second. The Select button launches a gallery of photos so I can see the last photo I took. The Right and Left buttons cycle between photos in the gallery. I am saving the B button for something else in the future. Maybe I will use it for uploading to Dropbox, I haven’t decided yet.”
Adrian made a Lego mount for the Raspberry Pi camera
The Lego mount makes it easy to switch between cameras and lenses
A mobile phone serves as a wireless display so he can keep an eye on what’s going on. The phone communicates with the Raspberry Pi connected to the camera via a VPN app.
One of the prototypes in action
Follow Adrian on Instagram to keep up with all the photography captured using the final camera, as well as the prototypes that came before it.
Reddit was alive with the sound of retro gaming this weekend.
First out to bat is this lovely minimalist, wall-mounted design built by u/sturnus-vulgaris, who states:
I had planned on making a bar top arcade, but after I built the control panel, I kind of liked the simplicity. I mounted a frame of standard 2×4s cut with a miter saw. Might trim out in black eventually (I have several panels I already purchased), but I do like the look of wood.
Next up, a build with Lego bricks, because who doesn’t love Lego bricks?
Just completed my mini arcade cabinet that consists of approximately 1,000 [Lego bricks], a Raspberry Pi, a SNES style controller, Amazon Basics computer speakers, and a 3.5″ HDMI display.
u/RealMagicman03 shared the build here, so be sure to give them an upvote and leave a comment if, like us, you love Raspberry Pi projects that involve Lego bricks.
And lastly, this wonderful use of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+, proving yet again how versatile the form factor can be.
CM3+Lite cartridge for GPi case. I made this cartridge for fun at first, and it works as all I expected. Now I can play more games l like on this lovely portable stuff. And CM3+ is as powerful as RPi3B+, I really like it.
Recreating the Death Star Trench Run scene with LEGO
Arduino Team — January 9th, 2019
South Korean LEGO Certified Professional Wani Kim, with the help of Olive Seon, has created an incredible replica of the Death Star Trench Run scene from Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
The LEGO diorama—which measures 2,680mm (8.79 feet) long, 1,370 mm (4.49 feet) deep, and stands 1,100 mm (3.60 feet) tall— features defensive turrets, along with Luke’s X-Wing, the wreckage of another Rebel ship, and Vader and two TIE Fighters in pursuit.
The build consists of 80,000 LEGO bricks and 100 minifigures, and even includes a cutaway of the back to reveal the insides of this astronomical object. If that wasn’t enough, an Arduino was used to coordinate flashing effects to further enhance this iconic recreation.
Additional images of Kim’s impressive project, plus some of his other work, can be found on Instagram.
LEGO sets have long been able to work with simple pneumatic controls, but what about a full air compressor built out of these components? Would this be possible?
As demonstrated in the video below, this can in fact be accomplished, and in brilliant style no less. The design uses four motors, eight pneumatic pumps, and 10 air tanks to produce a pressure of 35PSI and beyond.
Controls consist of an Arduino board, along with a pair of resistors to set two separate tank pressures. User feedback is provided by two external displays, and the setup even features a lighting system to allow “workers” to perform maintenance access 24 hours a day!
For a quick start, the compressor has a Turbo function which is enabled under 35 psi this makes the motors run on 12V instead of the rated 9V. This way the air tanks are filled a bit faster but without overloading the motors.
The compressor has two sections which can be used separately with their own setpoint or as one big compressor. This selection is done by switching the outlet valves at the back of the compressor and by setting a jumper on the circuit board.
The Arduino control also tracks the running time of each section in hours and is shown when a switch on the circuit board is pressed.
The pressure is measured by a non official LEGO pneumatic sensor by Mindsensors.com.
If your kids (or you) have somehow gotten tired of playing with LEGO bricks, Lenka Design Workshop has a great way for you to breathe new life into this unused pile.
Their game enclosure consists of a 32×32 LEGO baseplate, along with walls made of blocks to support a clear acrylic cover. This in turn holds four large arcade buttons for gameplay control. Five games are currently implemented to run on the game’s Arduino, with light and sound feedback.
We decided to recycle the unwanted Lego bricks and created an arcade game.
The code has been written in such a way that it doesn’t have dependencies and will compile on any Arduino board. And of course the games have been intensively tested by our kids. 🙂
How is this game different from many others that have been published before?
First of all, there are 5 games built into it:
Memory game (“Simon-Says”-like, similar to Touch Me game)
Reaction game (similar to Whack-a-Mole)
Contest/competition game (for 2-4 players)
Melody game (push and play free mode for toddlers and smaller ones)
War game (for 2-4 adults)
Secondly, it has a great design (from our perspective) and can be easily repeated.
And thirdly, it is earth-friendly because it allows you to recycle the plastic.
Tired of using the same old plastic LEDs in your projects? It’s time to grab a hot glue gun and some confectionary moulds to create your own custom LEDs!
Blinky LEDs!
Lighting up an LED is the standard first step into the world of digital making with a Raspberry Pi. For example, at our two-day Picademy training events, budding Raspberry Pi Certified Educators are shown the ropes of classroom digital making by learning how to connect an LED to a Pi and use code to make it blink.
Blinking LED Light @Raspberry_Pi #picademy! https://t.co/zhTODYsBxp
And while LEDs come in various sizes, they’re all pretty much the same shape: small, coloured domes of plastic with pointy legs that always manage to draw blood when I grab them from the depths of my maker drawer.
So why not do away with the boring and make some new LEDs based on your favourite characters and shapes?
Making custom LEDs with a whole lotta hot glue
The process of creating your own custom LEDs is pretty simple, but it’s not without its risk — namely, burnt fingertips and sizzled LEDs! So be careful when making these, and supervise young children throughout the process.
The moulds
I used flexible ice cube trays, but you could also use chocolate moulds. As long as the mould is flexible, this should work — I haven’t tried hard plastic moulds, so I can’t make any promises for those. Also be sure to test whether your mould will withstand the heat of the hot glue!
Check your LEDs
Before you submerge your LEDs in hot glue, check to make sure they work. The easiest way to do this is to set up a testing station using a Pi, a breadboard, some jumper wires, and a resistor. To save having to write code, I used the 3V3 pin and a ground pin.
Remember, the shorter of the two legs connects to the ground pin, while the longer goes to 3V3. If you mix this up, you may end up with a fried LED like this poor LEGO man.
Everything isn’t awesome.
Once you’ve confirmed that your LED works, bend its legs to make it easier to insert it into the glue.
Glue
Next, grab a hot glue gun and fill a mould. The glue will take a while to cool, so you have some time to make sure that all nooks and crannies are filled before you insert an LED.
Tip: test a corner of your mould with the tip of your glue gun to check how heat-resistant it is. One of my moulds didn’t enjoy heat and began to bubble.
Once your mould is properly filled, push an LED into the glue, holding on to the legs to keep your fingertips safe. Have a wiggle around to find the bottom and sides of your mould and ensure that your LED is in the centre.
Pick a colour best suited to your mould. You could try using multiple LEDs on larger moulds to introduce more colours!
You may notice that the LED tries to sink a little and the legs begin to drop. Keep an eye out and adjust them if you need to. They’ll stop moving once the glue begins to set.
These took about ten minutes to cool down.
Be patient
Don’t rush. The hot glue will take time to cool down, especially if you’re using a larger mould like the one for this Stormtrooper helmet.
Here I used a gumdrop LED, which is larger than your standard maker kit LED.
You’ll know that the glue has set when the shape pulls away easily from the mould. It should just pop out when its ready.
Pop!
Light it up
Test your new custom LED one more time on your testing rig to ensure you haven’t damaged the connections.
As with all LEDs, they look better in the dark (and terrible when you try to take a photo of them), so try testing them in a dim room or at night. You could also use a box to create a small testing lab if you’re planning to make a lot of these.
Now it’s your turn
What custom LED would you want to make? How would you use it in your next project? And what other fun hacks have you used to augment tech for your builds?
Michael Portera‘s trading card scanner uses LEGO, servo motors, and a Raspberry Pi and Camera Module to scan Magic: The Gathering cards and look up their prices online. This is a neat and easy-to-recreate project that you can adapt for whatever your, or your younger self’s, favourite trading cards are.
For those of you who aren’t this nerdy [Janina is 100% this nerdy – Ed.], Magic: The Gathering (or MTG for short) is a trading card game first launched in 1993. It’s based on a sprawling fantasy multiverse storyline, and is very heavy on mechanics — the current comprehensive rules fill 228 pages! You can imagine it as being a bit like Dungeons and Dragons, with less role-playing and more of a chess vibe. Unlike in chess, however, you can beat your MTG opponent in one turn with just the right combination of cards. If that’s your style of play, that is.
Scanning trading cards
So far, there are around 20000 official MTG cards, and, as with other types of trading cards, some of them are worth a lot of money.
Michael is one of the many people who were keen MTG players in their youth. Here’s how he came up with his project idea:
I was really into trading cards as a kid. I recently came across a lot of Magic: The Gathering cards in a box and thought to myself — I wonder how many cards I have and how much they’re worth?! Logging and looking these up manually would take a while, so I decided to see if I could automate some of the process. Somehow, the process led to building a platform out of Lego and leveraging AWS S3 and Rekognition.
LEGO, servos and camera
To build the housing of the scanner, Michael used LEGO, stating “I’m not good at wood working, and I thought that it might be rough on the cards.” While he doesn’t provide a build plan for the housing, Michael only used bricks from in the LEGO Medium Creative Brick Box he bought for the project. In addition, his tutorial includes a lot of pictures to guide you.
Servo motors spin plastic wheels to move single cards from a stack set into the scanner. Michael positioned a Raspberry Pi Camera Module so that it can take a picture of the title of each card as it is set before the lens. The length of the camera’s ribbon cable gave Michael a little difficulty, so he recommends getting an extension for it if you’re planning to recreate the build.
Optical character recognition and MTG card price API
On the software side, Michael wrote three scripts. One is a Python script to control the servos and take pictures. This, he says, “[records] about 20–25 cards a minute.”
Another script identifies the cards and looks up their prices automatically. Michael tried out OpenCV and Tesseract for optical character recognition (OCR) first, before settling on AWS S3 and Rekognition for storing and processing images, respectively. You’ll need an AWS account to do this — Michael used the free tier, which he says allows him to process 5000 pictures per month.
A sizeable collection
Finally, the data that Rekognition sends back gets processed by another Python script that looks up the identified cards on the TCGplayer API to find their price.
Michael says he’s very satisfied with the accuracy of the project’s OCR. He found out that the 920 Magic: The Gathering cards he scanned are worth about $275 in total. He provides a full write-up plus code over on hackster.io.
And for my next trick…
You might be thinking what I’m thinking: the logical next step for this project is to turn it into a card sorter. Then you could input a list of the card deck you want to put together, and presto! The device picks out the right cards from your collection. Building a Commander deck just became a little easier!
What trading cards would you use this project with, and how would you extend it? Also, what’s your favourite commander? Let me know in the comments!
During work hours, Matt Denton is director of visual effects company Micromagic Systems – known for stunning Harry Potter and Star Wars effects. In his spare time, he publishes videos on his YouTube channel Mantis Hacks. But, as a maker, he’s not content with leaving it at that – instead, he 3D prints Lego kits and makes them much bigger. He then assembles them with his nephew, and hilarity ensues.
Matt Denton and his young nephew are at it again. Previously, Mr. Denton designed and 3D printed a giant lego go-kart and built it, while his nephew built the regular size kit, which All3DP reported on at the time.
Since then, he’s had many other large 3D printing projects including a giant lego forklift to go with his go-kart. He based his design on the LEGO Forklift from 1977. It took over 500 hours to print 215 pieces.
Now, his latest 3D printed kit got even bigger. This time around, he created the Lego Bulldozer from 1979. This design took 600 hours of printing to create the necessary 372 pieces.
Reuben, Denton’s nephew, is a great sport and yet again helps Denton build his oversized Lego kit:
How to 3D Print a Giant Lego Bulldozer
If you feel your 3D printer is capable of creating giant Lego prints, Denton has made his 3D files available on Thingiverse. However, he asks that to help him continue with his projects, anyone who downloads them leaves a tip.
For this project, Denton used a Lulzbot Taz6 3D Printer, a Taz5 3D Printer, and a Lulzbot Mini Printer. The filament for his project came from 3Dfilaprint. He used Premium PLA.
Although Denton has yet to do a follow-up video for his Giant Lego Bulldozer, check out his previous explanation video for the giant forklift to learn more about how he creates such large prints.
You can follow along with Denton’s Giant Lego projects easily with his series on YouTube. Don’t forget to subscribe, as he also has some other fantastic projects which don’t involve huge Lego parts. For example, Denton adds: “Hexapod walking robots, electronics, hacking, coding, engineering, 3D printing and other stuff.”
Lego is set to open its first VR roller coaster ride in March. Called the Great Lego Race, visitors to the attraction at Legoland Florida will have the option of wearing a headset, immersing themselves in the blocky world of Lego.
For fans of Lego who’ve yet to visit Legoland’s Florida resort, the company’s latest ride may just be the enticement they’ve been waiting for. The iconic brand is now launching its first VR roller coaster ride.
Merlin Entertainments Group announced last September that three of its LegoLand resorts will soon have VR roller coasters. Next month, Florida’s VR ride will be opening. The exact date for the grand opening of the new attraction is March 23, 2018.
Although the roller coaster is designed with children in mind, it’s certainly worth visiting for adults who love Lego and have a penchant for tech.
Visitors have the option of wearing the VR headset during the roller coaster, plunging them into a world of crazy races, animated characters and Lego scenery.
The company explains in their YouTube video: “It’s the first virtual reality (VR) roller coaster experience designed for kids and represents the first time the LEGO brand and minifigure characters have been integrated with VR technology in a theme park attraction.”
Experience Action from Every Angle
While wearing the VR headsets, riders of the Great Lego Race will be able to experience action in 360 degrees. Looking right at home among the universe of films Lego has churned out in recent years, the VR experience features pirates, wizards, pharaohs, scooters fueled with espresso, mummy servants and more. All constructed from Lego, naturally.
MackMedia is behind the VR app and offers previews of its technology in it’s freely downloadable Coastiality app. The VR headsets fit both children and adults, and can be adjusted for comfort. However, it’s also possible to experience the ride without the headset.
“The Great LEGO Race was inspired by the way kids play with LEGO toys at home… It’s a unique LEGO adventure that lets kids enter an epic imaginary world made entirely from LEGO bricks, featuring a host of different themes and fun LEGO characters, all mixed up together,” Candy Holland, senior creative director for Merlin Magic Making, which designs and develops attractions for Merlin Entertainments sites explains.
The Great Lego Race opens March 23rd, 2018, at Legoland Florida.
Wir waren für euch auf der Modelbau und Spielemesse 2017 in Wien unterwegs, und konnten unseren Augen kaum glauben was wir alles vor gefunden haben.
Alles was das Modelbau und Spiele Herz größer Schlagen lässt ist vor Ort, und wir hatten auch unseren Spaß vor Ort 🙂
Eisenbahnmodelle, Massstäbe und Spurweiten soweit das Auge reicht!
Alles, was das Modelleisenbahnerherz höher schlagen lässt, ist wieder mit dabei auf der Modellbau-Messe: Neben Faller, Hornby, Märklin, Noch, PIKO, Auhagen und Tillig sind heuer auch Herpa, Roco/Fleischmann, Viessmann, Busch und viele weitere als Aussteller mit dabei. Dieses Jahr sind die Modelleisenbahn-Clubs Vomec und Migl auch mit einer zusätzlichen Modellbauwerkstatt vertreten, wo Interessierten in wenigen Schritten der Einstieg in die Welt des Modellbaus nahe gebracht wird. Andere ausstellende Modelleisenbahn-Clubs sind n-Spur.at, Spur 1 USA Team, ARGE Modellbahn soll Spaß Machen, Fachclub der Märklin Freunde und viele mehr.
CARRERA Fun Tour 2017
Einmal mit Lightning McQueen über die Piste sausen – das war schon immer Ihr Traum? Bei der Carrera Fun Tour wird er wahr! Hier treffen Sie die Stars der Disney Pixar „Cars“-Filmreihe: den roten Flitzer Lightning, Dinoco Cruz und Jackson Storm. Schlagen Sie mit Ihrem Helden die Rundenzeit von Captain Carrera und gewinnen tolle Sofortpreise. Neben den flinken Flitzern aus Disney Pixar Cars 3: Evolution warten auch die Champions der DTM darauf, über die Rennbahn zu fliegen. Spannende Drifts und rasante Überholmanöver sind hier an der Tagesordnung! Allen Fahrern der Carrera Fun Tour winkt auch die Chance den diesjährigen Hauptpreis zu gewinnen: Eine Reise ins Disneyland Paris. Anmeldung vor Ort. Die schönsten Momente der Carrera Fun Tour können in der Carrera Fotobox verewigt und mit dem Hashtag #carreramoments auf Facebook und Instagram geteilt werden
Tägliches Flugprogramm!
Spitzenpiloten der Flugmodellbau-Aussteller zeigen die neuesten Trends aus dem Modellflug – vom Flugzeug bis zum Copter. Lassen Sie sich durch Kunstflugshows zu Musik verzaubern – ein Tanz hoch oben in den Lüften! Der Verein FMBC sorgt mit experimentellen Flugmodellen und spannenden Rennen mit fliegenden Hexen für Nervenkitzel. Kleine Naschkatzen kommen beim Süßigkeitenabwurf garantiert auf ihre Kosten! Durch das Programm führt ModellflugExperte Markus Mittermüller. Seit seiner frühesten Kindheit hat ihn der Modellbau begeistert, mittlerweile ist er in ganz Österreich als Moderator zahlreicher Flugshows und Veranstaltungen bekannt
DIESES JAHR NEU
➤ Foodtruck Corner in der Halle C – Trendy Streetfood und altbewährte Klassiker genießen.
➤ Modellbau zum Ausprobieren auf zahlreichen Aktionsflächen
Hier auch unsere Bilder Gallerie zum ersten Tag der Messe:
Alle Infos zur Modelbau & Spiele Messe 2017 findest du hier:
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