Most of us are staying home a lot more these days, and if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably already built all the LEGO sets laying around your house and have run out of ideas for your custom build. Our friend Ryan Howerter has just the thing to solve your brick doldrums and keep you flexing your LEGO muscles with a little brick workout. Introducing the Reverse Engineering Contest, a daily challenge wherein you, the viewer, are tasked with recreating a tiny but deceptively complex model with your own bricks. Ryan will be posting a new challenge to his Instagram every day from now until August, so you’ll have plenty to keep you busy.
Much like the crossword puzzle in the papers, there are no prizes to be won in this contest, just a victorious sense of accomplishment and expanded knowledge of your favorite highly sophisticated interlocking brick system.
Designed by Ryan and his friends, each of these small creations uses only a handful of elements and looks pretty simple, but don’t be fooled: there’s more than meets the eye to these brain teasers. Here’s today’s challenge to get you started.
Some might be simple to you, but no matter what your skill level, others are sure to have you pulling your hair out and wondering if Ryan has invoked the Kragle. However, the only shenanigans that may be involved with building the models are weird pieces and outside-the-box thinking. Ryan says that none of the solutions include things like stickers, flex tubing, or rubber bands–and certainly no Kragle. Can’t find the right parts to make it work? Give it a try in a digital building program like Studio or Mecabricks.
And if you get stuck, Ryan will be posting the answers every Sunday to a Dropbox linked in his Instagram bio (so as to not accidentally spoil anyone). This is the fifth time Ryan has run a challenge like this, and I’ve had a blast puzzling out the devious intricacies of previous challenges and can’t wait to see what else is in store this time around.
2×1 hinge plate in purple connected to a reversed 2×1 hinge plate in aqua?
Or, could be a modified 1×1 brick (e.g. headlight brick) connected to a 1×1 brick with technic hole that were caught see.
It’s a single 1×2 tile sticking out on each side
Dano, nope, they’re actually connected.
Peter, I don’t think there’s room for that inside!
1×1 plate with horizontal clip and 1×1 round ‘nipple’ tile?
Took a while but I pulled it off…at least a version of it…
…using Plate, Modified 1 x 1 with Clip (any version) at each top of the Plate 2 x 3.
…in between I used a Friends Accessories Lipstick with Handle between the 2 clips to hold it together.
You’re right about the hinge plates – when they are connected they are around five studs long (too long to fit vertically in these two “bricks”. However, the modified 1×1 brick could work, bearing in mind we can only see the top of one “brick” (aqua 2×3 plate) and the base of the other (purple 2×3 plate). On the side we can’t see, there’s still a thickness of three plates so a modified 1×1 headlight brick could easily be hidden in the centre of the top of the aqua “brick” connecting with a 1×1 brick with technic hole in the centre of the lower row of studs of the purple one. Alternatively, it could be two 1×1 bricks with a technic hole connected by a technic pin!
Pretty sure its a 1×1 plate with horizontal clip and 1×1 round ‘nipple’ tile…
https://imgur.com/a/pAVZTCZ
Peter, I should have clarified – I’m not being sneaky with the camera angle, it looks the same on the other side. A couple other comments here got it :)
I had fun figuring this one out. As someone who is trying to step up from following the instructions to making my own MOCs, this is a great exercise. Thank you :)