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Showing results for tags 'competition'.
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https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fgetoutlines.com%2Fblueprints%2F4879%2F2005-ford-transit-connect-van-blueprints&psig=AOvVaw18F99xavZYXcov7X6a1nsU&ust=1718984550825000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCLiPuM7C6oYDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAEHey everyone! This van is going to be my entry to the TC27 competition. The reason for making this van is that it is honestly one of my favorite everyday cars. Although I do not drive yet, (5 more months!!) I would like to buy this car. So, this is the closest I can get right now lol. So far, I don't have much; I just started working on a torsion bar for the rear suspension. It is still in progress, so I do not have much to show, at least nothing that wouldn't be embarrassing. My vehicle will be in 1:8.3 scale, which means that (according to Sariel's Model Scaler) it will be about 40 studs long. Hopefully, I will be able to finish it out. -
The Brick Train Awards are back for 2022 for their third year. The awards are open to all LEGO train fans to submit their models for free during September in 15 categories: Best steam locomotive Best diesel locomotive Best electric locomotive Best other locomotive Best consist / full train Best passenger wagon Best freight wagon Best special wagon Best digital locomotive Best digital wagon Best TFOL (Teenage Fan of LEGO) locomotive Best TFOL wagon Best TFOL display Public vote Best display 2021 saw over 750 entries from builders around the world, and showcased a huge variety of creativity in the LEGO fan community. Winners are judged for most categories at a regional level (Americas, Asia & Australasia, and Europe) and a global winner is then picked by a panel of international judges from the LEGO train community. The Brick Train Awards started in 2020 during Covid to try and provide some meaningful activity for LEGO train fans. The TFOL categories are aimed at teenage LEGO train builders aged 13 - 18 to support up and coming LEGO fans, and the quality of submissions is particularly strong here. Prizes for global winners are sponsored by TrixBrix.eu, as well as contributions from TrainedBricks and Brick Model Railroader. Entries are open from 1st - 30th September 2022, and winners will be announced in the first week of October on the Brick Train Awards website, bricktrainawards.com. -
The 2022 Summer Joust starts today! The Joust is a large scale castle building contest that has been an annual event since 2016. Builders of all skill levels are welcome! This year it's back with loads of new categories, a huge prize pool, and unlimited castle building fun! See the full details in the dedicated flickr group:
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RULES Build a body on the top of the predefined chassis. Instructions can be found here: http://bit.ly/Competition_instuctions You may extend or retract the cassis by 2 studs and change the type of wheels. Any other changes to the chassis are not allowed. You are only allowed to use unmodified Lego bricks and a BuWizz, no gluing or such allowed. You may use third party rubber bands or strings. Each participant is judged in for the following: 1. Aesthetics – the model with the best-looking body 2. Most epic stunts performed – a jump, drift, crash, chase, etc… Try your best to set up and record the most epic video of your creation. Contest voting will be held at here Eurobricks forums, each user can assign points to 6 competitors using the following formula: Contestant 1 : 10 points Contestant 2 : 6 points Contestant 3 : 4 points Contestant 4 : 3 points Contestant 5 : 2 points Contestant 6 : 1 points Competition start: 10.09.2018 Competition END: 20.10.2018 31.10.2018, 23:59 CET PRIZES: 1 st prize: 3 x BuWiz 2 nd prize: 2 x BuWiz 3 rd prize: 1 x BuWiz -
This topic is dedicated to voting for the 3 winners of the BuWizz small car competition. Please ask any questions related to the competition in the following topic: Please only post your votes in this topic. Voting ends on 8th of November. Each user can assign points to 6 competitors using the following formula: Contestant 1 : 10 points Contestant 2 : 6 points Contestant 3 : 4 points Contestant 4 : 3 points Contestant 5 : 2 points Contestant 6 : 1 points Example: 2 : 10 6 : 6 13 : 4 7 : 3 10 : 2 9 : 1 Entries: 1. The Shocker 2. LIME RACER 3. Amethyst: 4. Flipping Arrow: 5. Lego Technic Turbo Tractor: 6. Lego technic mini race truck: 7. RC Hot Rod - Mean Green Machine 8. Toyota Trueno 9. Gauge Stengal: 10. Ben's BuWizz small car: 11. Furious red monoplace: 12. Lancia Stratos: 13. Azure Arrow: 14. Trinus racecar: 15. 1969 Lamborghini Miura: 16. Red bullet: 17. Cuda 72:
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This is my entry for BuWizz Fast Car competition. Features: - RWD with differential - Front independent suspension with positive castor - Rear live-axle suspension with long trailing arms - RC/Buggy motor for propulsion - Servo-motor for steering - BuWizz 2.0 I wanted to make a fast and agile car that will provide some real "turbo" experience of driving. The appearance is much inspired by BJ Baldwin's trophy truck. I recorded video in the last days of March, when we still had a lot of snow and it was a bit of luck to find some clean place to make video. I am still learning how to make good videos and this was a nice experience. If you like my entry, you are welcome to vote:) https://buwizz.com/buwizz-fast-car-competition/ -
Hi all, We are organizing a BuWizz Truck Trial event weekend with family picnic on june 9 - 10 You are all invited! More info here: https://buwizz.com/buwizz-truck-trial/ -
I couldn't find a dedicated thread, so please feel free to move this comment to the appropriate thread if I have failed in my extensive search to find the correct thread to post this in. If there isn't one, may I suggest this as a general but official LEGO contests thread? Therefore, please feel free to add an appropriate pinned comment regarding this topic's remit... certainly something better worded anyway. To my issue/point/problem... I have been trying to upload an entry to one of LEGO ReBrick's contests all day. I've tried on my iPad and my old Kindle Fire. My four image files are easily below the largest file threshold, in fact, the combined size of my four images is below 2Mb. I'm adding only three tags as outlined and have tried with and without spaces after the commas. Each time I manage to press submit after the preview I get the error message that "oops!" I need to check my file sizes or my tags. Has anyone else experienced similar problems or have any advice? I've alerted the admin in a comment that will get moderated in 1-2 working days but I'm feeling a bit impatient and wondered if anyone else was experiencing difficulties and therefore confirming the problem being LEGO's website and not my hardware.
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[Lester] Lesters Cliff Top Copter
Hammerstein NWC posted a topic in LEGO Action and Adventure Themes
Letters Cliff-Top copter is great for scouting out routes through the jungle or flying short distances across lakes or foothills. His toolbox has everything he needs including a nice selection of sandwiches! Lester has stopped here to enjoy the view from above a valley and perform some routine maintenance. -
For the "Fast car competition" organized by BuWizz, I have done that: For this contest, you have to make a vehicle with suspensions, and do a video showing it doing at least one jump. Of course, the MOC must be powered by a BuWizz! For the steering, there is a servomotor. The driving is done by two L motors, with a 1:1.8 ratio. So the buggy has a correct speed, and enough torque to be driven on dirt, sand... It is fully suspended. The front is an ordinary system. But for the rear, I couldn't do independant suspensions (not enough compact) or a suspended axle (because as the motors are in the chassis, when you accelerate the axle tilts). So I done an "amost suspended axle". The liftarms thin 5L have an effect of anti roll-bar. I have tried to do a light design. Thus, the MOC weighs 460 grams. -
Hi all, We are announcing the BuWizz fast car COMPETITION! 1. Build a LEGO fast car with BuWizz, 2. Record a stunning video 3. Upload the video to: http://bit.ly/WinBuWizz 4. Win compelling prizes: 1st place: LEGO Technic 42083 Bugatti Chiron 2nd place: 2x BuWizz 3rd place: 1x BuWizz RULES: http://bit.ly/WinBuWizz Deadline for video submission: Mar 31 2018 24:00 PST Public voting for best videos starts Apr 1 2018 0:00 PST, ends Apr 15 2018 24:00 PST 10 best videos enter the finals; winner will be selected by 3 person jury (members TBA) and announced on Apr 25 2018 You can compete or vote for your favorite videos and help Competitors to the second round. Let the GAMES begin BuWizz Team
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Here's my entry model for the TC13 competition: It was inspired by the real life Tesla roadster 2 both aesthetically and mechanically. The model uses 3 pullback motors in the following configuration: As you can see the rear two pullback motors power the wheel directly for best possible acceleration. BUT the front pullback motor is geared up. This additonal gearing gives the model a higher top speed and a greater range, which is a technique I have yet to see on any other pullback cars. Around 30 panels were used to give the car it's very smooth, organic shape. Notice the small yellow rubber band used to keep the front part tightly together: There is enough room in the back of the cabin to fit two or three small human beings: The rear boasts a difusor and a small spoiler in the back, just like the real thing: While this is one of my smalles models to date, I am very pleased with how it turned out. The shapes are very smooth and organic and the fact the car drives mere milimeters above ground, give it a very sporty feeling. Video coming as soon as I find enough space to run it
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Last year, korea did lego exhibition called "Brickorea 2019". And we had a race as a sub-event. Rule One car for one person Can possable use just lego set. not only moc. Any shape allowed If model can move forward. width is limited to max 30cm(circuit width is 50cm). no limit in length. If model use PF system, only 2 channel is allowed per car. Sbrick, Buwizz, and other none-lego motor or batterybox is not allowed. 9V buggy motor and other remote contol system before PF is not allowed. If model use PU or C+ as control method, driver can use brickcontroller2 for contol. Ranking method Racing(racing time) 50% design(voted by competition participant) 50% Circuit rayout. It was a round trip course. not normal racing circuit. All yellow cone is obstacle. That charactor in middle of course is not obstacle. Originally is obstacle but removed. All cone sticked use tape. Even fastiest car chash to cone with full speed it is safe. Car list 1st winner. msk6003(me!)'s 'Porterleghini Muerlcierlago' Original is Hyundai's porter truck. One picture is worth a thousand words. Type - PF Used - 2 Train motor, 1 Servo motor 2nd winner. Fried Kim(새우튀김무영 in korean)'s 'White gold' Type - Powered up Used - 2 PU M motor 3rd winner. Bluebox(파란상자 in korean)'s 'Ladybug chased by wasp' Wheel on front bumper is working as roller for following track wall. Type - Powered up Used - 2 PU M motor Design winner. Nomingi(노민기 in korean)'s 'Lizard' This model is 'walking' with 4 leg. Even can't moving properly but enough for attracting other people. Type - Control + Used - 2 C+ XL motor Crescent_cho(초월 in korean) This car is originally designed for soccer competition but it canceld. Type - Powered up Used - 2 PU M motor Byeolgom(별에서온곰돌 in korean)'s 'Slapdash' Type - Powered up Used - 2 PU M motor ParticleS's 'Two wheel' He bought 76112 batmobile but want to try something different. Type - Powered up Used - 2 PU M motor Ggureogi(꾸러기 in korean)'s 'Banggu-cha' This is 42070 which converted to old korean-style disinfection car. Smoke from car is mini humidifier. Type - PF Used - 1 XL motor, 1 M motor Rumix(루믹스 in korean) Type - PF Used - 1 L motor, 1 Servo motor. Olive(올리브 in korean)'s 'I like bath' This is pretty fast and very good-looking car. Type - PF Used - 1 L motor, 1 Servo motor Macgyver(맥가이버 in korean) Type - PF Used - 2 L motor Hyung Jun Jin(육포공장 in korean)'s 'Artist Jin's secret dietary life' He is korean lego community 'Brickinside' 's lego ambassador. Type - PF Used - 2 L motor Vant(반트 in korean) That QR coad is linked to his instagram. He is normally create lego art but doing first try to technic this time. Type - Control + Used - 1 C+ XL motor, 1 C+ L motor Car under this sentence is made by korea technic team 'DASAN'. First 3 car is body changed 42099. Onepeace(원피스 in korean) Type - Control+ Used - 2 C+ XL motor, 1 C+ L motor Kimkamza(신봉동찐감자 in korean)'s 'Kamza car' Type - Control+ Used - 2 C+ XL motor, 1 C+ L motor Love like spring rain(사랑봄비 in korean) Type - Control+ Used - 2 C+ XL motor, 1 C+ L motor Kwonsu Shin(소원희인아빠 in korean)'s 'Dumper' Type - PF Used - 1 XL motor, 1 Servo motor, 1 L motor for dump function Kwonsu Shin's junior Type - PF Used - 2 L motor ETC Picture with all participant and there own car. Top low(from left to right) Wani kim(competition host and main admin of Brickinside), Rumix, Macgyver, Olive, Vant, Crescent_cho, Onepeace, ParticleS, Love like spring rain, Kimkamza Bottom low(from left to right) Kwonsu Shin, Byeolgom, Ggureogi, Hyung Jun Jin, msk6003, Fried Kim, Bluebox, Nomingi Top 3 winner with there own car and aword. msk6003(1st), Fried Kim(2nd), Bluebox(3rd) -
For Mission to Mars I decidd to build more of a classical machine - a six wheeled rover. I was heavily inspired by the upcoming Mars 2020 mission (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_2020) and wanted to integrate a drone inside the model. First thing to build were the foldable Rocker-bogie suspension arms, which is unfolded with pneumatics Each bogie featurs a steerable front wheel which is steered using a worm gear mated to a small turntable. Drive power is carried through the turntable to the front wheel. The rear wheels are on their own bogie and are driven by a combiantion of Cv and universal joints: A longitudinal differntial is used on each drivetrain which allows for the speed differences between front and rear wheels when steering. Differential is especially required when steering at 90 degree steering angle, since the rear wheels do not turn at all. A driven differential is used to level the both sides of the suspension arms: Differential allows for the movement of suspension and keeps the body leveled. A single M motor is used to adjust the leveling angle via a worm gear. Suspension in action: In order to unfold the rover, a pneumatic compressor was installed near the front of the body: The same compressor also powers 4 small pneumatic cylinders which open up the tops sides of the rover: A large actuator lifts the base of the 3D camera (placeholder for Wi-Fi camera) on the top and reveals the propeller "drone" inside the rover: Since most rovers include some kind of an arm to dig and check samples, I decided to equip mine with claws. They are able to pick up and lift with the use of a single M motor: And finally the rover can launch the propeller drone using an RC motor powered by BuWizz: Here is the final wrap up of the features and characterisics: 38 x 25 x 15 cm when folded 41 x 25 x 57 cm when unfolded Weighs 1800 grams Powered by 5M, 2L and one RC motor Controlled by 2 BuWizzes Independent all wheel drive with longitudinal differentials Rocker-bogie suspension Pneumatic unfolding Raisable 3D camera arm - placeholder for a WiFi camera Leveling mechanism Drone launcher Working claws Unlimited steering angle And a quick video of the rover in action:
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I decided to UP the things with my take on the 8081 modification contest. Here's what I came up with: Driven and steered front axle with homeage to the original design Tandem live rear axles working on a simillar prnicipal as the front axle Differential lock Two speed gearbox Working steering wheel You can see a sneak peek of the progress made in LDD:
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After collecting enough cranes i've decided to try to compare them all somehow... So here is the result: The most interesting thing is the conclusion of all the tests in the video. P.S, It is not about some serious calculations. It is more about fun with cranes. So, have fun and rest with Mozart! P.P.S. I may say whatever i want about cranes' ability to lift things, but 42082 is the only set that actually had chains for attaching the cargo. :) -
Hi everyone BuWizz team has prepared another competition, more details below: PRIZES 1st PRIZE: Porsche 911 RSR + 1 BuWizz 2nd PRIZE: 2 BuWizz 3rd PRIZE: 1 BuWizz RULES -Show with your MOC the POWER of BuWizz Examples: lift a heavy object pull a car push a sofa fly a helicopter drive fast, etc... You must use BuWizz START & END Competition strats on Wednesday 20.02.2019. All entry videos will be excepeted until 23:59 h CET 20.03.2019. HOW TO APPLY Want to participate in our Competition? Apply now and we will enroll you as a contestant. After that, all you need to do is build your model and record a video of it do amazing stuff ? APPLY NOW CHOOSING A WINNER 5 independent and respected judges from AFOL community will choose the winner, and the 2nd and 3rd place runner ups. DECLARING A WINNER We will post the name of the Winner on 1st of April 2019. We will contact the winner by mail so please be careful when applying for the competition. More details on BuWizz website: https://buwizz.com/competition-the-power-of-buwizz/
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In December 2017 when it became clear that the colour Teal would make a comeback the blog ‘New Elementary’ announced a contest to kill ‘Teal’ again after Mark Stafford inadvertently had already done so back in 2008. It did sound so much fun that I wanted to give it a try. Therefore, this little scene got made. We are on a factory floor and the minifigures working there have to wear protective gear to be safe from the unwanted ‘Teal’. Being rounded up and shipped to the facility to be dumped on a conveyor belt and molten into black little lumps. ‘Peach’ and ‘Chartreuse’ are already gone and others will surely follow. So there. But then I thought what if 'Teal' had not been molten into black lumps after all (government cover story, smoke and mirrors and double entendre) but had secretly been sent to through a dimensional portal instead? Might it not have posed a pretty puzzle for someone somewhere?
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BuWizz Picnic and Competitions Free accommodation, food, drinks and animation. FUN, FUN & FUN BuWizz Team is happy to invite you all to our annual Picnic and Competition in a beautiful Lake Bled, Slovenia. The event is for all AFOLs and BuWizz fans that would like to meet up with the BuWizz team and big BuWizz international community. This year we will offer free accommodation to all contestant and BuWizz affiliates. There are 20 beds in the Villa. Extra beds can be arranged upon request in surrounding apartments and hotels. Food, drinks, and animations are FREE. Good company and FUN is guaranteed. Come to our event and have FUN with other AFOL’s. Free accommodation The Millhouse guesthouse offers 20+ beds in beautiful refurbished millhouse. It is in the most beautiful place on the planet. Bled is voted the most beautiful place in Europe and the World by Tripadvisor. Slovenia is the 2nd best country to visit in the world by Tripadvisor. It offers so much in a small space. In one our you can be skiing and an hour later swimming on a beautiful coast. BuWizz LEGO Truck Trial 11-13.05.2019 Truck trial in nature with 2 events: Truck trial Tracked vehicles Rally racers No limits competition Sumo (battle bot competition) Free food and drinks - Picnic in nature Food, drinks and crystal clear lake to cool down. Everything for a perfect day with friends and AFOLs. Animation and games We will organize some animation and games for you: archery, blowgun, Survival in nature crash course, and outside games for all (volleyball, swimming…) Please book ASAP as the number of places is limited. Believe us – it is worth it. It’s going to be awesome. For more info, rules and to book, please check the following link: https://buwizz.com/buwizz-picnic-and-competition-2019/
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You’re stuck inside, we’re stuck inside Build us a B-Model to win an AWESOME prize! Whilst we’re all stuck inside we want to see what you can build with your LEGO pieces locked-down, whilst in lock-down! That means creating a new vehicle from only the pieces found within an existing official LEGO set. There are some incredible prizes on offer from the awesome guys at SBrick, the leading remote control solution in the building toy market, allowing you to control your models remotely using a smart device like a phone, tablet, gamepad, or even Chromebook, MAC or PC! The Rules Build us a B-Model from only the pieces found within a single official LEGO set. The set can be from any era or theme, including Technic, Creator, Town, Space, Pirates… everything except Galidor. You may also choose to use the pieces from two official LEGO sets if the RRP of each set was below $25. Photograph and upload your B-Model to Flickr, MOCpages, Brickshelf, or Eurobricks between May 1st and June 30th 2020. You must include the words ‘TLCB Lock-Down Competition’ or a link to this page somewhere in the creation’s title or description, so that we know you’re entering it. You don’t actually have to be in Lock-Down to enter, although do please abide by whatever the COVID-19 advice is in your country of residence. How to Enter If you upload your B-Model to one of the free-to-use creation-sharing sites above with ‘TLCB Lock-Down Competition’ in the title or description our Elves will find it. You can also contact us in the usual ways or post a message on our Facebook page with a link to your creation if you want to make sure we’ve seen it! You may enter as many creations as you like and the winners will be chosen based upon the designs that best meet our usual Submission Guidelines and our completely subjective opinions on what we think is cool. Prizes! Winner: SBrick Pro Pack; Includes SBrick Plus, Wire, 2x Lights, Servo, L-motor, Battery Pack, & colourful cases Runner-up: SBrick Starter Pack; Includes SBrick Plus, Wire, & colourful cases Legal Stuff TLCB Lock-Down B-Model Competition runs from May 1st to June 30th 2020 GMT, and no late entries will be considered. All entries must be your own work and be built and photographed during the eight-week competition. If you’re under the age of 18 you must get parental permission before entering the competition, as winners will need to provide TLCB and SBrick with their contact details. TLCB and SBrick are not responsible for any additional tariffs, taxes, customs, bus tokens, or traffic tickets your country may impose on you when claiming your prizes. Good luck to all our readers, and don’t forget you can join the discussion, ask questions, submit complaints etc. via the comments here at TLCB or via our Facebook page. You can find TLCB’s Facebook page here, SBrick’s Facebook page here, and you can read our 5-star review of the awesome SBrick bluetooth brick by clicking here. Stay Safe, and Happy B-Model Building! -
I thought it would be nice to collect entries into Brickset's ongoing polybag competition into one thread. Info on the competition here: https://brickset.com/article/49955/competition-build-a-polybag! My two entries so far:
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Hello everyone! Just finished my batllebot - Black Egyptian! Before building the bot, I thought - what can inspire me? And thought came to the Egyptian pyramids - they stood for centuries, therefore, they were built very competently. The shape of the pyramid is attractive to me, so I decided to embody it in my future battlebot. All I had for this bot was a few motors, a battery box and a SBrick. I wanted the battlebot to be mobile, but it could also bring significant destructions, so I made the upper part of the pyramid detachable in order to cause powerful hits. The destructive effect of the hit is also enhanced by the fact that the entire impact force is applied to the small edge of the pyramid, and not to a large area, as in the case of a simple hammer. The robot's design is very solid, its wheels are hidden deep inside, like the power button, which is a great advantage in the combat. Specifications: Dimensions: 25 x 25 x 25 studs; Drive - 2 XL-motors; Hit mechanism - 1 M-motor; Power supply - 1 battery box; Remote control - 1 SBrick. ---------------------------------- UPDATE #1: In accordance with the recommendations of the moderators, I edited the main demonstration video (cut off the ending, the original version is still available on the Youtube channel). Also, according to the proposals of the forum members, I played with the gears in the chassis - a pair of 12- and 20-teeth gears is not reliable, but a pair of two 4-teeth is reliable enough (you can see it in the video below). The bot's speed became slightly higher. Also, at last two balls from the Mindstorms series arrived to me. I planned to use them as supports, but they lift the bot a few millimeters more than necessary, because of what the wheels just spin in the air. A more precise adjustment of these supports will take a long time and lead to a total redesign of the model. So I will not put them into the construction. UPDATE #2: I finally edited the main video and replaced the 20- and 12-teeth gears with 4-teeth gears for greater reliability and speed: ---------------------------------- -
LEGO Masters, a television show in which teams of contestants have their building and creative skills pitted against each other starts tomorrow (24 August 2017) at 8pm on Channel 4 (with repeats 27 August at 11.05pm and 29 August at 1.15am). Guest presenters include Richard Osman, Bill Bailey and Dara O'Briain. Can we assume they're AFOLs? Here's the trailer. And here's the press release. Apologies if this has been mentioned on the EB boards already. I had a look but didn't see anything. -
Hi LEGO fans, I'm from Kraze Magazine! We've recently recorded a fun un box and review video of the awesome new LEGO City Police station set! Check it out on the Kraze YouTube page by clicking HERE - it would be great to hear what you think! We're also giving away three LEGO City Police Stations! So make sure you go and buy Kraze Magazine Issue 65 which is in shops in the UK on 29th March 2017!
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I guess it's time to share my works for TC11. To be honest, I started building almost on day 1, so this means I tried out a lot of things that didn't work, and that I won't show all. Anyhow. So, my first plan didn't work because it didn't fit the box (remember the diagonal question? It was a long thin design.) Secondly, I didn't want to do a spinner. A spinner seemed boring to me. I wanted to do something bit more technical. A lifter? A slammer? I built a lot of (non-functional) battlebots back in the studded age, when I was still a nerdy teen, but I don't have those photos anymore (which is a shame). A few bots I do still remember, so I chose a design from those that I always liked. The concept is this: So, it's a "horizontal dual hammer" bot. I think there are very few horizontal slammers, and I think it's cool. The original was named "Wimbledoom" because it had a flat top with some sort of a stadium with two figs and a tennis net (white fence) and some minifig audience. So let's use that as a working title for now (even though the tennis theme won't return) The idea is that there will be some sort of force built up and then released to slam the hammers forward into an enemy that's in between. The high speeds and sharp ends of the hammer will damage the enemy. Then, a slow return mechanism should bring the hammers back in their original positions. So, how to build up force? The frist thing I thought was "wprings are too weak, I want something better" and I was thinking about a flywheel approach, where a motor tries to let a wheel spin really fast and then somehow make a sudden connection with the weapon. This idea got quite far: The idea was that the orange axles move the gear racks so the green gears mesh with the red gears. If slid back, it meshes with the blue gears, which would be the return mechanism. It didn't work. It had far from enough force, and most energy was lost to the drive train anyway. I tried mechanisms with fewer gears (and using tires as gears) but they all didn't work. So I went back to the idea I originally rejected: Springs. These are all long springs I have except for some black ones from a motorbike set. As if it was meant, the dark-gray ones are half as strong as the other ones, which are about equal. Which means this is the perfect spring: As energy is distance times force, this spring, with a distance of 6 studs and a force of two 8466 springs, should store quite some energy (remember, this is the suspension from three large sets added together). So, now the hammer itself. Of course, this is a mock-up. It needs to be strengthened with plates and tiles, because, well... one particular piece didn't survive a test version... (it was already slightly damaged) OK, so I needed a mechanism to rotate the hammer about 180 degrees (preferably slightly more), and a frame to hold it. For the frame, I learned: if it needs to be strong, make it triangular. This is not exactly Pythagoras correct, because the straight sides are 7^2 + 24^2 = 625, where the diagonal is 25^2 + 1^2 = 626 (due to the 2x2 corner plates at the pointy end), but this difference is so small that noone will notice. To rotate the hammer more than 180 degrees, you can't just attach the spring to the hammer directly - you need a system of beams to amplify the motion in some way. This was a long puzzle and I eventually came up with (the red axle is where the spring will attach) The idea is that this is one half of the bot. It will eventually look like so: which gives plenty of space in the center for PF material and a drive system for some wheels. Doubling the frame gives which, as you can see, stays in place without me having to hold it, so it has an automatic locking mechanism due to the geometry of the beams (it locks over center). Moving the yellow part a little makes it blast away with quite some force. I'm happy! Dimensions of this unit so far: Width 17 (which is half, so width will be 35 or so) Depth 34 Height 8 Well within the limits. Next challenges are: fitting some drive mechanism, finding a way to trigger the mechanism, and maybe most importantly, building the return mechanism (which is where the 40t gears come in).
