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Subject: 
Re: Idea Crunching
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.space
Date: 
Tue, 7 Dec 2004 05:06:29 GMT
Viewed: 
1747 times
  
In lugnet.space, Leonard Hoffman wrote:
   Okay, Paul Baulch has a well documented distaste of the use of wheels as engines. And at first I thought he was crazy, but then, the more I hear his words in my head, the more I think he’s right. They are somewhat un-LEGO-y, not to mention easy and over-used.

Often yes. But at the same time, don’t let somebody else’s idea root itself needlessly. And it doesn’t sound like you’ve done that, but at least consider whether it’s your style or not, and why. When a wheel is the perfect part, regardless of moc size, then it is the perfect part.

   So I was hoping to mine the forum for some ideas on how to achieve cool engines without resorting to space wheels, specifically in relation to building large ships and shuttles (not dinky fighters ;) ).

Scale can have tons to do with it. Right angles often take the lines away from a small model that needs all the contouring help it can get from special pieces. As an example, antennae, bars, rods and hoses could suffer a similar malady simply because 99% of the time that they’re visible on a ship, they seem to be only antennae, shooters or conduit.

   I had one good idea with the Kushinata, but the result didn’t look 100% engine to me, so I added the transorange bit and then it ended up looking more like a giant Bot head.

I think that idea looks like a bot head because the rest of ship style doesn’t match the stern, IMO. Usually I’m not one to point out a less-than-desirable choice of color, esp. when the builder’s collection is more limited, but the engine cowling would have been much better in light gray or green, as there is no other major black section to match it. The black is just too great of a contrast with those lighter colors. IMO, that looked just as “tacked on” as any wheel.

Don’t think that I might be raining on Paul’s parade either because I’m not. I agree that wheels are overused and frequently “tacked on”, What I think builders really are grasping for here is more various round parts in different sizes and slope grades, as well as textures and orientations. I wish Lego would make some. As a meager, newer example, The Jack Stone engine comes to mind. More recent wheel designs and “upgrades” need help because they only seem to attach as wheels and not anything else. But just because a part was used in an official set as a wheel, doesn’t always make it a wheel :-)

-Tom McD.
http://www.spamcake.com



Message is in Reply To:
  Idea Crunching
 
Okay, Paul Baulch has a well documented distaste of the use of wheels as engines. And at first I thought he was crazy, but then, the more I hear his words in my head, the more I think he's right. They are somewhat un-LEGO-y, not to mention easy and (...) (20 years ago, 6-Dec-04, to lugnet.space, FTX) ! 

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