Technic 4x4 Interactive Challenge - Brisbricks 2013

[OzBen]

Hi Guys,

I know the below write up is a long read, my apologies. Brett will be posting up pics below



Now for my perspective on building the course and going to the Brisbricks show to display to the public.....

So I happened to have a couple of weeks annual leave with nothing planned just as I started to hear about the Brisbricks event that was scheduled for the Labor Day long weekend.

Brett (Doc_Brown) and I had been chatting through PM’s and we messaged each other at almost exactly the same time saying to each other that we should go to the show and “fly the Technic flag” so to speak. I contacted the Brisbricks president, Roger, and he was really encouraging so we decided to dive in and do it!

A plan was hatched and over 2 weeks I visited Brett about 5 times on the sunshine coast (about 1hr north of Brisbane) to plan and then get to work building the course using our own ideas and suggestions from a thread that Brett posted (thanks guys!!!) In between my visits Brett chipped away at the course adding details and generally doing a lot of the boring stuff so I got to do the fun stuff when I dropped by, thanks mate!! During this time we also attended a Brisbricks social event to meet the members and talk about our ideas and to show off an early version of my crawler MOC. I gotta say the Brisbricks members had a lot of great ideas and suggestions gathered from years of putting on shows so that helped a heap with our planning! I handed my crawler to one of the kids to have a go and gauge their reaction and when I saw how the kids there driving it around the table and over other peoples Lego I though we might be onto something.....

Like a lot of Technic AFOL’s I tend to build a MOC, take some photos or a video and then if I think it is interesting enough I will post details in an online forum. After that I break it apart and build my next MOC. If I have a bit of a play with a MOC or official set it is generally only for a total of a few hours of its life. Our reasoning behind building an interactive display was that motorized Technic models should be played with and a show like the Brisbricks show would give us a chance to show people MOC’s that we created, as well as what Lego has to offer in the Technic category, and have kids play with them and have fun. At the show we had 4 crawlers going around a course for 8 hours continuously, 3 days in a row. Much more play than a model would usually see in its lifetime!!

I should also mention that we had a table for some static MOC’s, Brett had his black Hot Rod and his gigantic Patria, I displayed my Honda CB400-4 and also Rosco’s Lotus 43, which included a big write up about Luca and his F1 car design talent as well as credit to Blackbird and Mocplans.com for the instructions. I didn’t receive any questions at all about the Lotus all weekend so I assume lots of people read the write up which is great for the guys 

There were soooooo many people taking photos of Brett’s Hot Rod, and a lot of people were asking if it was motorized etc, the public loved it!

I got some great feedback about my Honda MOC, the best was from a guy who loved it because it looked just like his 400 that he had been riding that morning!! How stoked am I !!!



Readers of this part of the forum know that Technic doesn’t get the best coverage as people don’t see it in the same way as traditional Lego so we wanted to introduce this sometimes forgotten part of Lego to the public and in my opinion we raised the profile of the Technic brand for those that saw what we had at the show. I had so many parents asking questions like -

• Can you buy these in shops?

• How much would one cost?

• My child is X years old, could he/she build that?

• What would be a good first Technic set for my son/daughter for $X

• Do you do kids birthday parties (yes seriously I was asked more than once lol)

We also heard that a retailer that set up a shop at the show took all of their 9398’s from 2 of their stores to sell at the show and sold them all. And of course when I saw a Technic set in someone’s hand I gave them the thumbs up



So how did it go at the show? Well we thought we would have a few kids (and "big kids") wanting to have a go at driving the crawlers, and that we would run 2 crawlers at a time. We didn't think we would need to run all 4 at a time (leaving only 1 spare) and form a queue and enlist the help of my wife, Emily, to keep the kids moving through and having a play!!

We were super busy from start to finish each day for the 3 days......

Over the whole long weekend we only had a model go off the display 3 times, Brett's 41999 (rear end smashed – 20 min fix), my MOC “Shadow Monster” virtually broke in half with bits dangling off it everywhere (20 min fix) and Brett’s “Reaper” which is built so solidly that in only lost a wheel and was back driving around the course straight away.

We had 4 sets of 3rd party tires rotating amongst the crawlers their grip is just so much better than the standard Lego tires, most of the time the 9398 had Crazy Crawlers, Shadow Monster had Rock Crushers XT’s, the 2 Boss 41999’s shared a set of Ansmans and the Reaper had the “Two face” tires and sometimes the Ansmans. No real feedback to report except for the “Two Face” tires, they are useless on crawlers but on the Reaper they were awesome as it is so powerful and sturdy. The rest of the tires performed perfectly. one thing we saw twice was the standard Lego tires popped off the new 6 hole rim. it seems that along with the tires going onto the new rims easier they also come off easier......

Now I must add at this point that there was a little bit of “playwear” evident after the show. Of course we did expect this to be the case as you can’t expect to drive a crawler around a course of wood and rocks for 24 hours and expect it to look pristine at the end, each crawler rolled over dozens of times so both 41999 Boss’ are looking rather 2nd hand. The shock absorbers on all of the models are scraped up from the constant rubbing against the springs. Most panels on all of the crawlers are lightly scratched and the special silver parts on the 41999’s, well just take a look at the photos below, but hey, they were used as intended so they wear their scrapes and scratches with pride!

There were plenty of things we learnt over the weekend and we already have a big list of changes and improvements for next time, but overall I would say it was a resounding success judging by the smiles on the kids faces and the awesome comments, feedback and “thank you’s” that we received from the parents.

Some fun numbers

AA Batteries used - 300+

AA battery boxes loaded and ready to go - 15

Over the edge crashes - 3

Number of times we were asked - "it that Lego"? - 1000 (possible exaggeration....)

percentage of dads that "helped" his child drive - 50%

Thin liftarms broken by over enthusiastic use of the remote controls - only 2!

Battery boxes dead - 2 (fried the electronics....)

Shock absorbers worn – 12 (see photos)

Motors killed - 2 possibly, the L motors in my 41999 Boss were very slow at the end of the show even with fresh batteries.....

Kids receiving 9398 this Christmas - I reckon at least 12 ( had a lot of conversations with parents about how and where to buy the 9398)

Cans of Red Bull I consumed over the 3 day weekend – 12

Cups of tea & coffee drunk by Brett over the weekend – 12 (at least LOL)

Number of kids that had a play with a crawler

5min per child = 12 kids/hr

12 kids/hr x 8hrs = 96 kids per crawler per day

96 kids x 4 crawlers = 384 kids each day

384 kids x 3 days = 1152 kids............

so roughly 1000 kids + or - a couple of hundred had a play with a Lego Technic rock crawler.......

At roughly 11pm on Monday night I finished helping the Brisbricks guys pack up the show and I was absolutely exhausted...... but so glad that we did it.

I had an absolute ball, I seriously don’t know who was having the most fun, the kids playing with Lego or Brett and I manning our display and teaching kids how to drive, repairing battle damage, testing and replacing batteries and fixing remote controls. LOL

On top of all this we managed to squeeze in a BBQ, some fine whiskey, a few beers and we all went to the first round of the speedway season on Saturday night, http://www.brisbanespeedway.com.au/, and they had monster trucks there..... heaven LOL

In summary, if you have a chance to exhibit at a show, go for it. If you are thinking about building a crawler course and you have the space, do it, it’s a bunch of fun!! :thumbup: :thumbup:

Now for the Pics and Videos........ Brett!!!!!! (master editor )

[Doc_Brown]

Thanks Ben for that amazing intro! I could not have said it any better. :thumbup:

Edited October 9, 2013 by Doc_Brown

[TasV]

Awesome!!! Just awesome!

[piterx]

i could only say that i really wish i was there with you guys !!!

[skriblez]

This was awesome! Very well done you 2(3). Did that 41999 fall all the way to the ground to cause that amount of damage?

[Lakop]

Brilliant. The looks on those childrens faces. Technic builders of the future.

H

[Blakbird]

Absolutely amazing work. LEGO should give you a personal thanks for the amount of positive PR you generated. I'm inspired to try to do something similar. I find that Technic doesn't get much love at conventions in the USA, and it looks like you had a similar experience that parents and kids are not even aware of Technic. This kind of display gets them interested very quickly!

I can see from the videos that you experienced the same problems with IR that I did at BrickCon. IR works very poorly especially in bright fluorescent light. The kids needed to stand right next to the model in order for the signal to be received. I occasionally lament that they did not use RF, but I understand why they didn't.

[Splat]

Nice work! The track ended up looking great, and it looks like everyone involved had a great time. I think anytime that there is something interactive at a Lego expo, it is going to drew quite a big crowd and keep the kids (and you) busy.

I visited BrickWorld Indy earlier this year, where they also had a crawler track set up, however they had theirs at ground level so it was a bit hard to see with the crowd surrounding them. You can see some of the track in this video, but I like your track better.

Congrats!

[dr_spock]

Good work. Kids appear to have a great time. Those poor 41999s...

[legomuppet9]

Wish it wasn't half way round the world or I'd have loved to have been there, looks like a load of fun

[peter_m]

Poor 41999s! I even keep my 'silver' parts wrapped up so they do not scratch each other in the container

[Rishab N]

Wow looks like a lot of fun, but those poor 41999s

Edited October 9, 2013 by Rishab N

[timslegos]

I would love to have an event like that close to my city! Nice PR though for sure.

tim

[rm8]

Guys, You have done a great promotion for Technic and make happy many little and big kids. Sure, we got new fans and AFOLs because of you. Sad that some unique and rare were damaged.

Love both your black crawlers;)

[OzBen]

Thanks for all the comments guys

This was awesome! Very well done you 2(3). Did that 41999 fall all the way to the ground to cause that amount of damage?

yeah, it fell off at the bottom of the ramp on the right side of the course, none of the crawlers fell off the ramps or bridges so we did something right there

Hey Brett, do you have a pic of the Shadow Monster all smashed up?

So funny, the bystanders were horrified but as I kept saying all weekend, "You can't break it, it's Lego!! You can just put it back together again"

Absolutely amazing work. LEGO should give you a personal thanks for the amount of positive PR you generated. I'm inspired to try to do something similar. I find that Technic doesn't get much love at conventions in the USA, and it looks like you had a similar experience that parents and kids are not even aware of Technic. This kind of display gets them interested very quickly!

I can see from the videos that you experienced the same problems with IR that I did at BrickCon. IR works very poorly especially in bright fluorescent light. The kids needed to stand right next to the model in order for the signal to be received. I occasionally lament that they did not use RF, but I understand why they didn't.

The IR was a little bit of an issue with the brightly lit arena, originally we intended to have the kids stand at the front corner of the course but we ended up telling them to chase their crawler around the course so the IR signal only had to go a short distance. A learning for next time I suppose and with that we will also need to drop the course height by about half so that the kids point the remote control down towards the crawler.

On another note, we are still looking for suggestions for improvement too so if you have an idea let us know

some ideas Brett and I have thrown around include a seesaw ramp and a larger and slightly challenging rock pile

also looking at about 50% larger total footprint and wider driving path on the ramps and bridges.

Of course we have a few cool tech ideas that we will keep under out hat for fear of failure lol

[MrNumbskull13]

Wow that's looks amazing, so proffesional! I'm pretty sure everyone there would have had a great time. :)

[clarkdef]

Very awesome, I hope you converted some kids into Technic fans! Cause that's what it is all about man, thanks for the videos and pictures. The chaser cam was actually quite cool. Did you guys do time trials?

I think that the birthday party thing would be a great side gig!

[Paul B Technic]

Excellent work guys. Would you mind me posting this on my blog?

[daehenoc]

I was one of the Dads who 'helped' my sons drive the trucks around the track

It was just as awesome as OzBen said, and it was the best ever Techic display I have seen at a Lego event!

Thanks a bunch for the diplay guys, I was the guy who commented on all the battery boxes you had pre-filled, I was there at 9am on Saturday (wasn't keen at all!)

[skriblez]

Thanks for all the comments guys

yeah, it fell off at the bottom of the ramp on the right side of the course, none of the crawlers fell off the ramps or bridges so we did something right there

Hey Brett, do you have a pic of the Shadow Monster all smashed up?

So funny, the bystanders were horrified but as I kept saying all weekend, "You can't break it, it's Lego!! You can just put it back together again"

Hehe, poor car :P But that is the Lego way :)

[Johnny P]

Hey guys really awesome and outstanding course you have build. Looks like a lot off fun.

what was the height of te course? The table height?.

I am building a course of my own to do same thing at our upcoming BELUG event.i have allready learnt a lot from you guys. Practical issues and stuff. My course will be a bit bigger and with real dirt and all kind of obstacles like yours.

Greetings from belgium

Johnny

[Doc_Brown]

Thanks for all the GREAT comments guys! We really appreciate them. :thumbup:

Excellent work guys. Would you mind me posting this on my blog?

No problem go right a head!

Very awesome, I hope you converted some kids into Technic fans! Cause that's what it is all about man, thanks for the videos and pictures. The chaser cam was actually quite cool. Did you guys do time trials?

I think that the birthday party thing would be a great side gig!

Thanks! No I just chased Ben and recorded. We had to start packing up and you hear the organizers over the load speaker.

Had no idea how the footage was going to turn out as I had never tested the camera! I'm very pleased with the results, and at 40grams can't complain!

YES Birthdays are a really good idea and a few people have mentioned to me that it should be given a shot.

Hey guys really awesome and outstanding course you have build. Looks like a lot off fun.

what was the height of te course? The table height?.

I am building a course of my own to do same thing at our upcoming BELUG event.i have allready learnt a lot from you guys. Practical issues and stuff. My course will be a bit bigger and with real dirt and all kind of obstacles like yours.

Greetings from belgium

Johnny

Standard table height plus 40cm for the height of the bridges. This is way too high for little kids.

I was one of the Dads who 'helped' my sons drive the trucks around the track

It was just as awesome as OzBen said, and it was the best ever Techic display I have seen at a Lego event!

Thanks a bunch for the diplay guys, I was the guy who commented on all the battery boxes you had pre-filled, I was there at 9am on Saturday (wasn't keen at all!)

You're welcome! I'm very glad you had fun with your kids. :grin:

Edited October 11, 2013 by Doc_Brown

[Johnny P]

My base will be a flatbed trailer from my car. This floorheight is 68cm. A standard table is around 80cm. So maybe its still a bit to high?perhaps removing the wheels would be better.thats something i will look into.my course will be 5.4m by 4m.do you think that the center of the course could be to far for the ir remote's?thanks allready for the answers and tips.

Johnny

[OzBen]

The size should be ok for the IR remotes as long as it's not to brightly lit. Your issue may be reaching into the middle if a car tips over, might be a bit of a stretch.

We are looking at going to about 40cm from the ground next time, our ramps and bridges are 40cm above the base and that puts it over 1m above ground, way too high for the 4-7 year olds that were driving.

Hope that helps :-)

Hope that makes sense, Heineken has been consumed....... :-P

[Johnny P]

So without wheels it will be around 50cm so this should do. the middleis gooing to be a big pile of durt. so cars will probably always fall to the side of the course. so this should also be good.and for bright light disturbance, i was thinking of putting a tent over the course. to keep direct light off the course.or do you think that this won't help?

ps: stop drinking Heineken ,drink Vedett a much better beer. its belgian. so obvious its better then that dutch beer.

Grtz Johnny