Tomik

Eurobricks Knights
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Everything posted by Tomik

  1. Tomik
    When I was thinking about what else I can build out of adidas Superstar shoe (set 10282) I've got such ideas like space shuttle, Moby Dick (white whale), toilet, dog, panda but none of them have any connection with original model of shoe. Maybe only imperial "Superstar" destroyer took part of its name... ...then I've got it! I remembered 90's when I was going to Vietnamese marketplaces with my parents to buy clothes. It was right after collapse of iron courtain and we finally got western goods so we were able to buy branded clothes, shoes, electronics and so on in Czech Republic. I can remember that original adidas T-shirt costed about 1500 Czech crowns and it was much money if you take account of average monthly salary being about 10000 Czech crowns. So who couldn't afford it looked for cheaper alternatives in Vietnamese marketplaces. You could buy similar T-shirt for 300 crowns there. Of course it was not original but fake with better or worse quality. And there were those vendors who were trying to sell you their goods with minimum knowledge of Czech language so you could hear something like: Vendor: "Sir, sir, buy T-shirt adidas, quality very well!" Customer: "But it has four stripes instead of three!?" Vendor: "More stripes, more adidas!" Remembering phrase "more stripes, more adidas" I've built zebra which is definitely more adidas than original shoe! It is static model (same as original shoe) and only moving part is its tail. Even though proportions are little bit cartoonish (big head, small body, thick legs) it is very cute and recognizable. The best part of model is head. I used little bit of SNOT techniques to build snout that even features nostrils, 1x1 quarter tiles make cool eyes and mane is connected by ball joints and hinges. It could be better if it had more stripes but amount of black parts is very limited in donor set. Building instructions will be available soon.
  2. Tomik
    Building instructions are available for sale at rebrickable.com now. I also gave little face to zebra so it has one more stripe and rounded belly.
  3. Tomik
    Thank you for your comment. I agree with you. Anyway this set is good parts pack so I will try to build more things from it.
  4. Tomik
    I haven't bought LEGO Creator set 31121 because I am fan of crocodiles but because it is the biggest Creator set with animals in last 10 years. - So, what will I do with it now? - I'm gonna make some alternative model out of its bricks! - And what could I build from pile of green bricks? - Aquaman! And is not Aquaman from Justice League but Czech Aquaman who is called "vodník" or "hastrman" in Czech. He often appears in traditional fairy tales. He lives in pond and his hobbies are sitting on willow, smoking pipe and collecting souls of drowned people. My figure features great articulation and few accessories: pipe, bench and little frog. Then I thought it would be cool to add one more fantasy creature from water so I built mermaid. She is not perfect but I tried to make her as cute and sexy as possible. It was pretty challenging building - especially head that is mostly built upside-down. She features great articulation thanks to longer ball joints although they doesn't look that good. Finally I made little stone for her from leftover parts so she can sit on it. Building instructions for both models are available at buildinst.cz Any comments are welcome.
  5. Tomik

    [C-model] 31121 - Fantasy Characters

    Tomik replied to Tomik's topic in Special LEGO Themes

    Thank you for your comment. Creator 3-in-1 is my favorite theme together with Technic because both of them contains only basic parts that are easy to reuse in something else.
  6. Tomik
    Few months have gone since I built my last alternative model from set 42106 and I got desire to build another one. The first model was Pullback Racer that I built for TC18 contest - more about it is here. Then I built Pullback Plane - more about it is here. And finally now I've built Pullback Helicopter. I planned to build it even before plane but I rejected it because I didn't see the way how to connect both rotor blades with pullback motor and landing gear. Set 42106 contains only 5 bevel gears and I usually use 6 for helicopter (three pairs). Later I find solution for problem with missing gear - I saved one bevel gear by connecting axle for tail rotor blade to another pair of bevel gears that transmit motion from horizontal axle to vertical. The only con of this solution is low possition of axle for tail rotor - see picture of mechanism. The last issue, I had to solve, was possition of center of gravity - it was too close to tail so helicopter made wheelies. I prevent them by adding structure under tail rotor blade. Do you think it was all for now? No, it wasn't. I've got one more idea, much crazier idea - I wanna build Pullback Steam Engine! I focused more to functionality than its look so proportions are not correct but it really works. Pullback motor is connected to rear axle and it drives also middle axle thanks to piston-rods. Front axle with small wheels works just like stabilizer (I had to move driven axles too far to rear behind center of gravity and whole vehicle would fall on its front without small wheels). Finally I added optional flame on chimney (smoke would be better but I didn't find any in donor set). I plan to make video of steam engine in action but it will not be anytime soon. Any comments and criticism are welcomed.
  7. Tomik
    Thank you for your comment. It is real fun to watch crocodile moving. If you have parts to build it I can recommend it.
  8. Tomik
    Three months passed and I'm back with the 10th alternative model - pullback crocodile. I wanted to build something special so this crocodile is the best among my other alternative models from set 42106 in several areas - it is the longest (it is almost 60 cm long), the funniest, the strangest and probably the ugliest of them. It features three wheeled chassis and when it goes it is opening its maw and moving its tail. Building instructions are available at buildinst.cz
  9. Tomik
    I like this project as much as I had to build one LEGO toilet on my own too. If you own LEGO Creator set 31034 - Future Fliers, you can build it as well while waiting for LEGO to release this UCS one. Building instructions for my little toilet are available for free here.
  10. Tomik
    This helicopter is my first alternative model built out of set 42105 (Catamaran). It features crank that spins both rotor blades and pontoons that gives it ability to float on water (although I didn't try it, it should work). I will be happy if anyone test its floating capabilities and share her or his experience in comments. Building instructions are available at buildinst.cz
  11. Tomik
    Thank you for your comments. And what alternative model would you expect from this set? My first idea was plane but I am not sure I can find enough pieces for it especially in combination with hulls.
  12. Tomik
    I am back with the 9th alternative model - European Truck. It features tilting cab over V6 engine with moving pistons and pullback motor. I am very satisfied with overall design and level of detail. It should be no surprice that I also had to sacrifice few features to get others so it actually can't haul anything because there is pullback motor in place where you would expect the fifth wheel and doors can't open in order to get rigid tilting cab. If you compare this European truck with my American truck, American truck will feel so childish. Building instructions are available at rebrickable.com
  13. Tomik
    So my eighth alternative model built out of set 42106 is another propeller plane. This time it was inspired by planes from WW2 period. It is the most complex model I built from this set so far. It features pullback motor that is connected to landing gear and propeller. It also contains V6 engine with moving pistons. Building instructions are available at rebrickable.com
  14. Tomik
    Thank you for your comment. I haven't found any problems with front suspension in my model. It is pretty soft so you can easily hit ground with chassis but it didn't fall apart.
  15. Tomik
    My latest addition to this series is American truck. Since it uses almost 90% of all parts in set it is pretty big. I built it mostly to look good so functions are pretty basic: pullback motor, inline fake engine with moving pistons and opening hood and doors. Building instructions are available at rebrickable.com
  16. Tomik

    [MOC] Pullback Technic Bug

    Tomik replied to RuTechBrothers's topic in LEGO Technic, Model Team and Scale Modeling

    This is so cool. I like that you built animal out of Technic and its motion is pretty funny. Good job!
  17. Tomik
    I am back with the sixth alternative model built out of set 42106 - Pullback Off-Road Buggy. It is the smallest model from this set - it uses just third of its parts. It features pullback motor and custom suspension built without shock absorbers. They were substituted for rubber connectors and hoses. I am curious what you think about this concept and whether you have any improvements for it. Building instructions are available for free at buildinst.cz
  18. Tomik
    OK, it is not ordinary boat but it can work as one - so let me introduce you my fifth alternative model built out of set 42106 - Pullback Hovercraft. As its name reveals it features pullback motor and it is connected to rear wheels (yes, there are four wheels hidden in chassis), rear propeller and fake engine with moving pistons. Front fan can spin too but it is not connected to wheels due to lack of gears. It is heavily inspired by set 42120 because I was thinking about getting it but then I changed my mind and built it from set 42106 instead. Building instructions are available for sale at rebrickable.com
  19. Tomik
    I like this model much. Maybe I will try to build something like this too but I am not sure that current Technic pullback motor is suitable for such mechanisms. Have you tried to use it?
  20. Tomik
    I've made video of steam engine in action. If you would like to build helicopter or steam engine, you can buy building instructions at rebrickable here: helicopter and steam engine.
  21. Tomik
    Thank you for your comment. You are right, I was thinking about building pullback boat but I found it not interesting. Maybe I will change my mind...
  22. Tomik
    Thank you for your comment.
  23. Tomik
    Thank you once more for your positive comments. I will make video as soon as posible but I am out of time now.
  24. Tomik
    Interesting project. When I saw name of this thread I thought you plan to build UDS (Univerzální Dokončovací Stroj - in English Universal Finishing Machine) on Tatra chassis but then I understood that there are similar excavators from different manufacturers. Anyway for inspiration this is our Czech classic:
  25. Tomik
    Thank you all for your comments. I totally agree with you - set 42106 is really ugly but honestly it is also the best set with pullback motor so far (apart from models it contains good amount of useful parts).