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Hi everyone!
(Alternate subject for this post: “Why has Sean been so quiet for the last few
months?”)
I was comissioned by a Dallas-area company called Healthvision to build a large
LEGO model for their booth at a trade show, also in Dallas. The model is
currently on display at the Dallas Convention Center, and will be there for the
rest of the week. (Although it’s not open to the public - sorry TexLUG folks!)
Read all about it on MOCpages.
The model consists of 2 large buildings, 5 small buildings, a gently contoured
terrain, and little minifigs that walk around from building to building.
See
the minifigs walk! (500K Animated GIF)
It was incredibly complicated to get the motion working (being as non-Technic-al
as I am). Actually, the mechanics were simple enough, but I encountered a lot
of woes with friction and the topheavy nature of a minifig. (I even assembled a
12-minute video of the various mechanical tests I ran over the last few weeks...
some people have found it amusing, shrug.)
The model took 350 man-hours to complete, and was built in about a month. (Yes,
do the math - I didn’t sleep much.) :)
Sean
http://www.mocpages/com/home.php/1
http://www.seankenney.com/lego/
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In lugnet.announce.moc, Sean Kenney wrote:
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It was incredibly complicated to get the motion working (being as
non-Technic-al as I am). Actually, the mechanics were simple enough, but I
encountered a lot of woes with friction and the topheavy nature of a minifig.
(I even assembled a 12-minute video of the various mechanical tests I ran
over the last few weeks... some people have found it amusing, shrug.)
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It was more than amusing; it was hilarious. I especially recommend watching it
at some point where you’re not supposed to be giggling at your desk, such as at
work. Just make sure you won’t get into TOO much trouble when you bust up.
Seriously though, this is amazing work Sean. I’ve experimented with moving
things around with hidden magnets too, and I know how finicky they can be. My
hat’s off to you for getting it to work so well, and for producing a beautiful
layout besides!
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In lugnet.announce.moc, Sean Kenney wrote:
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The model consists of 2 large buildings, 5 small buildings, a gently
contoured terrain, and little minifigs that walk around from building to
building.
See the minifigs walk! (500K Animated GIF)
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Wow that is amazing! I can only imagine how much trial and error was required
to get the whole minifig-walking aspect right. Your LEGO studio is to-die-for -
having foam playmats on the floor is an excellent idea.
Did you glue the entire display together?
-Bryan
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Wow that is amazing! I can only imagine how much trial and error was
required to get the whole minifig-walking aspect right.
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Thanks!
How much trial & error? Well, way too much -- but still not enough! :) In
retrospect, there were a few things that I could have planned better to make it
much less of a pain:
For example, the paths of the minifigs cross each other. I did that to make the
motion look a little more random, and less mechanical. But this meant that the
machinery had to be synchronized so that the figs wouldn’t bump into each other,
or so that the mechanisms underneath wouldn’t jam into each other as paths
crossed. (What a pain!) It also meant that I had very few places to add
supports for the baseplates above. That, in turn, led to floppy baseplates,
which introduced a giant world of friction problems and loss-of-contact with the
magnets.
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Your LEGO studio is to-die-for - having foam playmats on the floor
is an excellent idea.
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LOL, thanks. :)
Those playmats are hard to find! I found them in 4-packs at a Target here in
Austin; I proceded to buy out the entire supply of 4 Targets here in Austin.
Now I’ve discovered that Lowes has tons of them (cheaper too!) at a larger
scale.
Although since they’re so brightly colored, it makes it easy to lose
similarly-colored LEGO pieces on the floor! :)
But after having my “LEGO studio” crammed into a 1 bedroom Manhattan apartment,
it’s nice to have a lot of “Texas sized” space in my new place to really spread
out. You need to for a project this big!
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Did you glue the entire display together?
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Yes... all of the models are glued. Each building can be lifted up (they’re
resting on tiles) for easier transport, and the two larger buildings separate
into sections. The base, containing the machinery, is 8 feet by 4 feet, and
splits into four 2 x 4 foot sections. I was lucky that the event was in Dallas
(“only” 200 miles away) because shipping something like this would have been a
nightmare!
Sean
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Hey Sean,
This is way cool! The figs actually look to me like they’re ice skating, which
suggests an ice rink as a possible MOC. Perhaps the Brick Apple could use a
Rockefeller Plaza creation?
I’m curious, when a work like this is commissioned for an event, what happens to
it after the event is done? Will the healthcare organization display it in a
company headquarters somewhere? Or do they return it to you? Of course, since
you glued the bricks you can’t break it back down into component pieces.
Bruce
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This is way cool! The figs actually look to me like they’re ice skating,
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That’s funny... my inspiration for this was from a magnetic-based ice skating
rink that my father has on his LGB model railroad. It works basically the same
way.
I had to try to get the minifig’s center-of-gravity towards the back of the
magnet to prevent them from spinning as they walked. It worked most of the
time, but as you can see in the little animation, that old guy was walking
backwards and swirling around a lot. :)
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Perhaps the Brick Apple could use a Rockefeller Plaza creation?
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LOL! Not a bad idea :) I haven’t built any New York related models in quite a
while, maybe it’s time. :)
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I’m curious, when a work like this is commissioned for an event,
what happens to it after the event is done?
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Most of the time, the client wants to keep the model -- they’re really big and
cool looking, so they make great talking pieces or displays for their lobbies.
In this case, they also plan on using the model at future events.
If a customer doesn’t want to keep the model or only needs it for a short event,
I’ll usually skip gluing it and re-use the parts on a later project. Gluing is
really only useful for two things: longevitiy, and/or safe shipping.
Sean
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In lugnet.announce.moc, Sean Kenney wrote:
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Hi everyone!
(Alternate subject for this post: “Why has Sean been so quiet for the last
few months?”)
I was comissioned by a Dallas-area company called Healthvision to build a
large LEGO model for their booth at a trade show, also in Dallas. The model
is currently on display at the Dallas Convention Center, and will be there
for the rest of the week. (Although it’s not open to the public - sorry
TexLUG folks!)
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I snuck in the show on Monday to check out the display, and WOW. I was really
really impressed. Great work Sean!
Jake
---
Jake McKee
Community Liaison
LEGO Community Team
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Sean Kenney wrote:
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Hi everyone!
(Alternate subject for this post: “Why has Sean been so quiet for the last
few months?”)
I was comissioned by a Dallas-area company called Healthvision to build a
large LEGO model for their booth at a trade show, also in Dallas. The model
is currently on display at the Dallas Convention Center, and will be there
for the rest of the week.
|
Very nice work, Sean!
I reeeeaaaalllly loved the 12 minute video clip. It was agonizing hilarious and
familiar, remembering some of my recent building marathon periods preparing my
latest creations (which I have yet to document online). I can’t believe you had
the forethought to actuallly film the process on that tight timeline.
And those Target foam mats (*1) in your workspace look pretty familiar. I
picked up a whole bunch of them last year, and we’ve used them here for several
public events, creating a “play area” for kids. After I got them, I found
another source here (in Canada) and covered the floor of my building area, as
you’ve done.
Excellent job, all round. What’s next for you?
Talk to you soon,
Robin
(*1) - Don’t you love the misleading package cover on those mats? They picture
a nice square of 9 mats, but the package only contains 6!
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I reeeeaaaalllly loved the 12 minute video clip. ... I can’t
believe you had the forethought to actuallly film the process on that tight
timeline.
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Well, actually, my fiancee has been away in Finland for a month on business, so
since we are 8 hours off, I kept her up-to-date with my work with little videos
and photos. This is the first time in a really long time that I haven’t had her
here as my muse, and I needed her feedback!
In retrospect, I’m glad it forced me to take the time to set up the camera,
because I love being able to go back and relive the behind-the-scenes stuff.
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And those Target foam mats (*1) in your workspace look pretty familiar.
(*1) - Don’t you love the misleading package cover on those mats? They
picture a nice square of 9 mats, but the package only contains 6!
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Darn it! Ours only have FOUR in a pack. Must be a US-mat / Canada-mat exchange
rate thing. :)
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Excellent job, all round. What’s next for you?
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Thanks!
Well, first a little bit of R&R, then a wedding, then an 80-day trip around the
world with my soon-to-be-wife. :) Other than that, I’ve got another potential
trade show, potentially a 30-minute TV special, and perhaps a 100 cubic foot
model of a corporate logo. We’ll see... all TBD, of course. And that wedding
is getting in the way, they’re so time consuming. :)
Sean
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