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Hi guys! Time for another update on my Lego® Constructor - as you might've seen, there has been changed a lot. Most notable, the frame is getting into shape!
One of the most important things for the Constructor, in my view, is that it should be sturdy. Having a sturdy model is kind of a must for my current Lego® models (after reflecting on my Afterlord and Helicopter, I felt I could do much better) - consider the Constructor lifts itself from the ground too. You can hold the Constructor almost at any point at the moment and yet it won't fall apart or bend (and yes, that's hard to believe but it's true) - the only places where you cannot hold it at the moment is the hinge on the back (this won't change in the future due to the requirement to access the EV3 programmable brick) and the bottom of the sidepanels on the front (reinforcements will be added later). You should know, making this model as sturdy as I can, really got me to go nuts on it - I even included some Lego ZNAP pieces because they fill in the desired shapes I need to achieve as much sturdiness as I can! Bonus point is you can find them in the pictures (shouldn't be too hard...)!
You might not think about it, but my Constructor weighs 2,5 kilograms! This isn't the final weight, consider the rocket barrel on the top has yet to be built and some decent amount of plating. It's still able to lift itself up in some decent amount of time. You can actually see height of lifting on the image below.
Currently, I've added some improvements to a few mechanisms. Most mechanisms were not included yet due to lacking a specific form of progress - there will be one mechanism that has yet to be built, however the progress of the Constructor is not far enough progressed to be able to built. There's not much space "wasted" in the Constructor because most mechanisms are built upon the same piece of frame and about all the frame segments either connects multiple segments to each other or give extra reinforcement to that location.
There's this mechanism on the back that makes it "somewhat easier" to access the Mindstorms EV3 programmable brick. The back will basically fully cover this element, you'll need to open the back to boot up/shut down the Constructor's program. Several months ago, this mechanism was made and it didn't had enough reinforcement around it - this was scheduled to be added later. Now it has a part of the reinforcement it needs - others will be added later as well.
The sidepanels on the front for the Digistruct camera's has been improved, and I've added an extra mechanism to hold the secondary sidepanel that's connected to the main sidepanels. Imagine that the sidepanels on the front in-game are opened in two (one large and one small) different hinges - in older versions of the Constructor, this had yet to be added, due to not having the front finished as far as it should be.
The front finally has the recognizable angled top, which was lacking in older versions, as all other mentioned mechanisms/shaping in this post, due to the requirement of a certain progression in the model. This top is actually hinged (acting as a lid and shape together), and underneath the battery box for the Power Functions LEDs are revealed when you open the Constructor. The lid has some extra friction, by using some sliding mechanisms that makes it harder to accidentally "open" the front. Even though this lid isn't finished in shaping yet (and the Constructor in general misses the entire plate-shaping around it), it also functions to secure the battery box even better than a few traditional studs underneath it.
There's also some other details/improvements about the three legs that actually work together - unfortunately I won't really go into detail at the moment, since I'm really picky about what to share on my blog or not. I would prefer explaining more only when it's finished. That's just for personal reasons, I'm sorry. I know most people really want to see some footage of the Constructor lifting itself up and the Hailfire Droid driving around, but I'm only willing to show footage of it when they are finished. I'd love to showcase my projects and my passion for Lego® to others, but I'm extra careful when my projects are just in their "prototyping" (read: Work In Progress) phase...
That's it for today guys, I'll see you again next post!
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| I'm still at it! Even though it's still a (unfinished) frame, it becomes more recognizable a day~ |
One of the most important things for the Constructor, in my view, is that it should be sturdy. Having a sturdy model is kind of a must for my current Lego® models (after reflecting on my Afterlord and Helicopter, I felt I could do much better) - consider the Constructor lifts itself from the ground too. You can hold the Constructor almost at any point at the moment and yet it won't fall apart or bend (and yes, that's hard to believe but it's true) - the only places where you cannot hold it at the moment is the hinge on the back (this won't change in the future due to the requirement to access the EV3 programmable brick) and the bottom of the sidepanels on the front (reinforcements will be added later). You should know, making this model as sturdy as I can, really got me to go nuts on it - I even included some Lego ZNAP pieces because they fill in the desired shapes I need to achieve as much sturdiness as I can! Bonus point is you can find them in the pictures (shouldn't be too hard...)!
You might not think about it, but my Constructor weighs 2,5 kilograms! This isn't the final weight, consider the rocket barrel on the top has yet to be built and some decent amount of plating. It's still able to lift itself up in some decent amount of time. You can actually see height of lifting on the image below.
.JPG) |
| As you can see, I can almost fully place my hand underneath the Constructor |
.PNG) |
| As you can see, there's not much space wasted in my Constructor! |
The sidepanels on the front for the Digistruct camera's has been improved, and I've added an extra mechanism to hold the secondary sidepanel that's connected to the main sidepanels. Imagine that the sidepanels on the front in-game are opened in two (one large and one small) different hinges - in older versions of the Constructor, this had yet to be added, due to not having the front finished as far as it should be.
The front finally has the recognizable angled top, which was lacking in older versions, as all other mentioned mechanisms/shaping in this post, due to the requirement of a certain progression in the model. This top is actually hinged (acting as a lid and shape together), and underneath the battery box for the Power Functions LEDs are revealed when you open the Constructor. The lid has some extra friction, by using some sliding mechanisms that makes it harder to accidentally "open" the front. Even though this lid isn't finished in shaping yet (and the Constructor in general misses the entire plate-shaping around it), it also functions to secure the battery box even better than a few traditional studs underneath it.
There's also some other details/improvements about the three legs that actually work together - unfortunately I won't really go into detail at the moment, since I'm really picky about what to share on my blog or not. I would prefer explaining more only when it's finished. That's just for personal reasons, I'm sorry. I know most people really want to see some footage of the Constructor lifting itself up and the Hailfire Droid driving around, but I'm only willing to show footage of it when they are finished. I'd love to showcase my projects and my passion for Lego® to others, but I'm extra careful when my projects are just in their "prototyping" (read: Work In Progress) phase...
That's it for today guys, I'll see you again next post!
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