LDD: Making Abraham Lincoln's Rocket Chair

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Update: I have ALMOST built the entire chair and posted a photo at the bottom of this post.

I'm trying to recreate Abraham Lincoln's rocket chair with my bricks based on a VERY careful examination of the trailer. I don't quite have all the bricks, but I'm close. In the meantime, I think I've figured out what it needs through LDD.

Lincoln's chair is not very visible, and

. You can only see it from 1:50 to 1:54. Here's a bit of it from somebody's screen grab which I actually found useful--this little glimpse told me that the chair back was higher than his armrests, and this is the only shot where you can see it.

Still, when it flies out of the palace, you can get a very careful look at what bricks make it up. Here's what I could make of it disassembled, with a little guesswork on my part:

So here's what you need, mostly in white bricks:

• 4 1 x 4 plates
  
• 3 1 x 2 plates
  
• 3 2 x 4 plates
  
• 5 1 x 2 tiles
  
• 1 1 x 4 tile
  
• 5 1 x 2 ribbed bricks
  
• 1 2 x 2 brick
  
• 1 1 x 2 brick
  
• 1 2 x 2 round ribbed brick (I think anything could go in there, but the round ribbed brick looks good)
  
• 1 octagonal piece
  
• 1 R5-D4 white droid head (which I don't think exists without printing, but that's what appears to be under the octagon if you pause the trailer. Use a white 2 x 2 dome if nothing else is available.)
  
• 1 giant flame
  
• 4 smaller flames (with one caveat--I have no idea how to attach them, and I think the trailer is cheating)
  
• 1 Abraham Lincoln Collectable Minifigure
  

Here's how the assembled product should look. The vertical "ribs" on the white bricks should face outward on all sides. The plates which form the base should be in two layers. The top layer should basically equate to a 4 x 6 white plate (and really, you could use that if you don't care that it's not film accurate). The bottom later should form a frame so you can put the big rocket exhaust in the middle.

Front view:

Back view:

From what I could tell from the trailer, the back appears to be plain bricks, not ribbed. I could be wrong, but that's how it looked from the few seconds that we can see it. For the chair back, I used a 2 x 2 white brick for the base, two 1 x 2 white plates, and finally a 1 x 2 white brick, topped with a 1 x 2 white tile. Remember, the back should be slightly higher than the armrests.

Bottom view:

You CAN get a good look at the bottom in the trailer if you pause at the right moment. The only problem I have is that in LDD, the smaller flames WILL NOT attach to the white booster rockets. I have no idea how to get them in there. If it works in real life, please let me know. Also, again, the bottom piece holding the big flame should be an R5-D4 droid head from Star Wars, minus the printing. That doesn't exist in LDD, so I used the 2 x 2 round dome.

One other thing to note in the trailer is that some of the white bricks appear to be tan depending on when you pause it. I have carefully decided that it's an effect of the light and the whole thing is actually white. Watch it carefully as it flies off--the whole thing looks white. I believe it's simply a reflection at certain moments where some of the white plates look tan. However, the color change does give you a good look at the bricks that make the base.

EDIT: Here's what I've built using the bricks I have available:

The top layer of the base is NOT film accurate. It's a 4 x 6 plate, so it holds together, but it's not made of the 2 x 4 and 1 x 4 plates that I identified from the trailer. Also also, I obviously don't have the little booster rockets, the flames, and my octagonal piece and exhaust are in black. This is close, so I'm happy, but I will need to Bricklink the right parts at some point.

Edited January 11, 2014 by ResIpsaLoquitur

[Sir Brickalot]

Nice one! Can't wait to see it in real bricks!

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Update: now with a photo of the Lincoln Chair I've built so far. "A house divided...would be better than this!"

[DannyRww]

That is pretty neat. I'd love to try it but being a castle,fantasy,Pirate, and Lord of the Rings guy I have mostly grey, black, and brown bricks :)

[TheLazyChicken]

Wow, that does look really nice!

[flyosu]

Hello there! I just wanted to share a discovery I just made regarding the piece used to make the center rocket....

The piece is Lego part# 981000 and is called a "round 2x2 truncated cone".

This can currently be found in 10 sets, one of which is the "Cloud Cuckoo Palace 70803-1"

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Hello there! I just wanted to share a discovery I just made regarding the piece used to make the center rocket....

The piece is Lego part# 981000 and is called a "round 2x2 truncated cone".

This can currently be found in 10 sets, one of which is the "Cloud Cuckoo Palace 70803-1"

Thanks. I also didn't realize until recently that Lego makes two types of small flames: some with two little brackets on the peg, and some that just have a peg. The ones without the peg should fit in the smaller rockets. It's part # 4261397.

Edited February 22, 2014 by ResIpsaLoquitur

[MrSinistar]

I hope you don't mind me posting my build. A friend of mine sent me his LDD file a week ago and I bought the parts on BL. The rockets are dark bluish gray, while the truncated cone and cylinder are light bluish gray.

Can't wait to see your finished build, ResIpsaLoquitur!

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Well, I think you've pretty much finished it there (except for the colors being off, but who cares?). The next time I get around to Bricklinking, I'll need to remember to order those parts.

[Israel Hands]

Finished off Abraham Lincoln, I used part 981000 (truncated cone) as well. And thanks for the heads up about the two different flame types.

I wanted him in the flying pose so after a few attempts I produced this. It's not eaxctly a replica of the Master Builder meeting hall, but I think it captures it's essence. For example, I think the hall is made of plain white bricks but the stained glass windows lights the interior a pastal hue. I replicated this using some tan tiles. Also, until this morning I hadn't intended to include another figure, but after watching the trailer again I realised that the scene looked a little bare. The tiles under Shakespear's feet are temporary as I intend to replace with a 1x2 tan tile and a 1x2 tan plate.

Here's a top view of the base. Due to their unusual placing, the seats are held on using 1x2 and 2x2 tiles with center studs.

So, thanks all for your advice and tips

[Maniac4Legos]

Thanks! Very cool! What about screenshots from the video game for better angles and views? There are several already floating around (no pun intended) with his flying chair in them.

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

This makes me wish that the next Lego Architecture release would be the Lincoln Memorial with an all-white version of the minifigure (maybe with light grey details like the face and coat). Of course, for an architecture model, it'd be pretty big even in minifigure scale.

[Doc_Brown]

quite original!

[Sir Brickalot]

Nice chairs! I built one too, will post a pic soon.