engine1ear

Yeah I was pretty excited when I found out. I actually learned this by emailing Matthias personally and when I asked about documentation, he sadly said that he didn't have any from that early 1985 engine. He does have one video on his YouTube channel of a LEGO engine powered by one of his wooden turbine fans. The earliest known documented one would now be Dan Hartman's that you can see here.

I've been doing some research on the history of LEGO air-powered engines of both the compressed air (LEGO pneumatics) and high-volume-low-pressure variety. I found it interesting that to build a LEGO air-powered engine before pneumatics parts were released in 1984, the piston and cylinder assembly had to utilize the close tolerance of the bricks and had inherent leaking problems. This type of engine, often known as a LEGO vacuum engine now, is quite popular still since it requires relatively few special parts. I've written a wiki page about it, but just for interest, the first known LEGO air-powered engine was made by the prolific YouTuber Matthias Wandel in about 1985. This is followed by Dan Hartman's first oscillating engine of 1986. I got to interview Erin, who built his first in 1994, without knowledge of other builders, and here's that video. Check the description for my wiki page.

Hey everyone! Quick note here: I just joined the Brickipedia Discord server and evidently there's no great ball contraption page on there. I asked the Wiki administrator there and he said he'd love to make a page for it and that they are looking to expand the articles on fan culture so they are less like just another Brickset. I've never made a module but watched a lot of videos and would love to see someone who is a GBC wealth of knowledge share that on the largest LEGO wiki site. Just a thought :D

Impressive!

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