rodiziorobs

Here is my entry for Category B (Maze control system). MAZE joystick control by rodiziorobs, on Flickr Rather than relying on an etch-a-sketch style control system (in other words, rather than the forward/backward tilt movement and left/right tilt movement being controlled with separate knobs), all movement is controlled by a single joystick. MAZE joystick control by rodiziorobs, on Flickr The joystick is attached to a ball joint mounted pointing upwards, which gives it a wide range of motion. A similar ball joint attaches the maze platform to the base. The movement of the joystick is transferred to the column that supports the maze by two control arms within the housing: one arm controls the left to right movement, and the other controls the movement back and forth. Below is a video clip that explains and demonstrates the function of the control system (clicking the video will take you to Flickr to view it there). These features are also explained in the text below: Video by rodiziorobs, on Flickr MAZE joystick control by rodiziorobs, on Flickr These control arms have a reducing effect on the movement of the maze tilt platform, meaning that large movements of the joystick will only effect small movements on the column. This allows greater control over the tilt of the maze in any direction. The reduction effect works because the control arms are attached very close to the base of the joystick but very close to the top of the maze support column. Moving the joystick moves these control arms a proportionate amount in any horizontal direction. The arms move the same distance for the maze support arm, but because they are farther from the pivot center, the change in angle for the support column is smaller than for the joystick, resulting in a reduced tilt. The housing is decorated with an electric blue and black design with white accents. The knob on the joystick is also the storage for the marble/soccer ball. The maze board design is just the official design used in the LEGO Ideas set, based on the project submitted by Jason Allemann, but redesigned in a fiery lava color scheme (which contrasts nicely with the colors on the base). It is for demonstration purposes only, and not considered part of my entry. In fact, you might have seen it on Andromeda’s Gates recently. (Go MANTIS!) MAZE control box, detached cradle, and maze board by rodiziorobs, on Flickr Thanks for looking over my entry! And thanks to Bob for organizing the contest! Good luck to all participants. More at my Flickr page: rodiziorobs

...woah. Unbelievable...

academies

like

...still trying to wrap up my Cat B! I hope I can also get to a Cat A, but that might not work out We'll see how much time I have.

perform

Welcome to MANTIS!

Thanks! No worries on the collab, life comes up and is more important. Besides, I managed to kill him off pretty well on my own.

I really like the angular design of the platform area, and the vehicles are nice, too

This build has me remembering all the old CS sets--the few I owned, and the others in the catalogs I would spend hours poring over Love it!

"Mega blocks"! The building facade--the emblem in particular--is really cool! The windows fit right in, too

Man, the brick separator sure has been getting a lot of love at AG lately! That racer is a great addition to the Separatist lore going on.

Clever use of the stud shooter in the beacon, and I like the ground cover (and story )

Really great interior. I like the details all around the room that make it feel somewhat lived-in

The alien design is so great! I never would have thought to use that Ninjago piece that way. I really like the bit of landscape you've built, and as always, scorpions Liking the way your story is unfolding, too, and its always good to have Odus.

I love the AI (and its personality!), and like sk said, the interior is really top-notch. Great story, too, I look forward to reading more!

immediately!

^Thanks!

This is, I believe, the reason the Maze was able to be produced. It's the largest Ideas set so far, yet included no minifigs or accessories or printed parts, and what was included is largely basic bricks, plates, and tiles in colors Lego already has in large production numbers. Despite its larger size, it probably wasn't too much of a crunch on production resources.

aromatherapy

I don't know what this is, and I'm not even sure if this is even a Lego piece, because of the printing (only on this side, the other side is blank), and I couldn't find a LEGO stamp on it.

This is absolutely true. Plus, every once in awhile some news outlet will get hold of something and run a feature or an article on "what might be the next Lego set", which drives more traffic to the site and to Lego's brand. I think Blondie-Wan also has a point though, about Ideas not wanting to alienate users who post lousy projects. Perhaps it is not just because they might stick around and vote for other, better projects, but rather so that all users can have a good "brand experience". TLG probably wants to avoid any person having an actively bad experience with the brand to the point that they are more willing to make a couple people roll their eyes at sub-par projects (people who probably will keep up with the Ideas site and stay brand-loyal regardless) than send someone away because they 'aren't good enough' for Lego.

Some people go dumpster diving for food, 'cause they're hungry. I went dumpster diving for Lego, 'cause...it's Lego. But come on, I mean someone had thrown a couch in and someone else a box of old toys right on top! There weren't any complete sets, or really any rare pieces, just a handful of random parts. Much of it was stuff I don't have any of and hey--Lego is Lego, and you can't just throw it away. Left the Bloks and K'nex bits behind. Currently soaking in soapy water for the second time...

Since they are Netflix exclusives, I highly doubt it.

Pie