The SoundMech

My newest creation: The SoundMech! Pretty much the biggest and most advanced mech I've made, this LEGO marvel is packed full of advanced weapons and plenty of building techniques. Read more to find out!

I actually made a mech before in this post: http://www.lokejuin.com/2021/09/mech.html. But I wasn't very happy with the design and thought I could do better. So, I challenged myself to make a full-LEGO mech. To do this, I used some unconventional joints (the arms are actually a smaller mech's plastic fists!) to form this new mech. 

First; the head. (front and back view) I took inspiration from Aaron Newman's post: https://www.aaronbrickdesigner.com/iron-man. This is actually the simplest head I've ever built. Still, I think its' simplicity lends a somewhat ominous look to the mech!

Next; the legs. Note the yellow 1x1 dots arranged in pairs, those are actually missile launchers. On the other side of the missile launchers, there are engines (to help the SoundMech take flight!)

Third; the right hand. I was somewhat daunted by the task of making two hands, so I just turned to this rather blocky gun arm as a solution. The two nozzles (fire and ice) can be flipped too according to the situation (refer to the video below)

Simple, and effective. 

The left arm, with the hand, just had to be created. I gave it my best shot and I'm quite happy with the bend in the middle. Also, note the elbow blade; another nice touch that adds a weapon to the hand (this mech has no hand-held weapon)

Actually, the hand can actually hold a Technic axle (there's a bracket inside), but I couldn't design a proper weapon that wasn't too heavy. 

The special feature that forms the mech's name; the entire chest plate opens up to reveal a huge speaker. Feel free to watch the video above. It's the newest advancement in sound technology and can be used as a weapon (and host big parties)!

Charged and ready for battle!

Thank you for reading my blog. 

Mech

Building a mech has been one of my dreams for a long time. I actually improvised with some KRE-O joints but it would be nice to have more special joints. I modified the Bumblebee set into this model:

OK, so it doesn't look so good. In my personal defense, this was actually my first half-built mech, and I was still learning the tricks of the LEGO trade. The mech in general is actually quite sturdy (tapping into the inflexibility of the KRE-O joints) and can grasp a boomerang in its hand. 

Well, this is the model that the big mech was based on. Can see the similarities? Unfortunately, the amount of complexity needed for a bigger mech didn't cope well with this simple design, so I altered the features a bit. Colour was naturally a problem, but I think it still looks nice enough!

This is the back of the mech. Pretty simple in my opinion, but it has a slot there where the small mech can clip into. Great for climatic appearances, don't you think? Also, you can see that many of the parts are still from the KRE-O set from the back. Rule of my creations: never look behind!

This is a view of both mechs together. The similarities can be seen, but the green markings are missing and the legs aren't blocky enough. Maybe an improvement for next time? Stay tuned!

Thank you for reading my blog. 

Plight of the Mad Scientist

This is one of my favorite creations. I call it "Plight of the Mad Scientist". Because of how this model was built, the post will be told in "story form", with notes about the building process along the way. Enjoy!

The Mad Scientist has achieved what everybody thought was not possible; he built a teleportation machine! It consists of a portal frame with a generator. The other side opens up to the wide sea (it's the mad scientist's idea) and there's a rock with some greenery on the other side. (just to create a seamless transition from land to sea; didn't work out too well)

Note:

This is the generator. It took quite a long time to make and I'm really happy with it. The grey side (on the right of the picture) uses a technique called greebling. That's using lots and lots of random pieces of the same color on one surface to add detail to it. 

The other side: Mainly red-hot grilles to give an engine effect, but there's an on button partially hidden by the angle. Now, back to the story...

Unfortunately, the government has heard of the Mad Scientist's invention (how? I have no idea-) and wants to seize it for safekeeping. 

So, the government has sent one of their best officers (uh oh, he looks angry) in his high-tech sub to secure the portal that the Mad Scientist has created. He has pulled out his radio and is either reporting his status or calling for backup; we'll never know!

Note: The submarine turned out pretty nice (it was modified from one of my earlier scrapped builds, a mini battleship) and I've used curved and sloped pieces to give it a techy look. The green windscreen looks amazing too. (note that one missile is missing!)

But the Mad Scientist isn't going to let that happen and he's sent his faithful robots to deal with the government official. They wield unlikely weapons such as drills, dynamite, and even a fire extinguisher!

Who will win the battle and take control of (or keep) the Mad Scientist's amazing invention? It's up to you to find out!