Motorized Wheelchair

For a gentleman requiring the use of a wheelchair, this latest model affords him the utmost in mobility. By harnessing the ultimate power source – steam – this wheelchair provides all the self-sufficiency such a gentleman should need. All that is required of a hired helper is the initial input of coal or wood, and then the gentleman is free to go as he chooses. Recent technological breakthroughs have allowed this wheelchair to be equipped with the smallest steam engine ever built, and has reduced the overall weight to merely a  few tons.

Hazardous Environment Suit

This is what to wear when heavy lifting is required, and the environment is less than pleasant.

What started it: That gatekeeper in the movie Labyrinth- the one with the memorable line: “Who goes?” That’s what I envisioned, but a more industrial, friendlier version. Originally, I envisioned this being a lot bigger. The “body” as it is now was going to be just the control booth for a much bigger “body.” It was going to have jointed arms and legs. I wasn’t sure how I was going to build the joints, or if I’d have enough pieces to build it all, but I was going to work something out. Then, as I was almost finished with the control booth, I remembered that I had a parts from several of the Technic Throwbot sets. I decided to go simply with the pre-built limbs. I built this immediately after the hot rod of the future.

What I like about it: I wanted to have a multiple-part door than would open up to reveal a much larger door, and this turned out to be much better than I had envisioned. I like that the three sections of the door have to be opened in a specific order, and they have to close in the opposite order, or they won’t work. I surprised myself there.

What I don’t like: I hadn’t planned on it having a “face.” That just happened. If I had known that the control booth would become the body, I wouldn’t have made it so boxy. Also, I couldn’t quite work out a strong method of securing the limbs to the body – the shoulders have a tendency to fall off.

Espresso Machine

Phillip keeps telling me that I should stop building vehicles and build something architectural. So, I decided to build an espresso shop. I thought I should start with the details and build out. I built a nifty espresso machine. Then I built a cash register. Then I put a coffee grinder together. (I’ve seen a lot of espresso shops.) I was very pleased with the results.

However, it wasn’t until I started building the counter (complete with a refrigerator) to put those things on that I realized that I had completely neglected to consider that scale of them. They were almost twice minifigure scale. I considered building people to fit the espresso machine. I considered building the espresso shop devoid of people. The problem with both of those options is that the rest of the espresso shop would have to contain the same level of detail, it would be too large, and I just don’t have enough room for it.

I consider this espresso counter a happy mistake. Lesson learned: Layout first, details later.