About Ralph

Ralph Savelsberg, also known as Mad physicist, is an actual physicist, but he's not all that mad. He has been building with LEGO ever since he could first put two bricks together. He primarily builds scale models of cars and aircraft. You can find most of Ralph's stuff on his flickr pages.

Posts by Ralph

Out with the old, in with the new – revising and updating older LEGO models

For a long time I used non-LEGO plastic canopies on my aircraft and helicopter models, but in the last two years I have been steadily replacing them with purist brick-built ones. Usually while I was doing this, I also fixed up some other issues.

I have had models of an RA-5C Vigilante, A-7E Corsair II and F-14A Tomcat for more than ten years. The models represent aircraft that were assigned to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, in 1978, and carry high-visibility markings that were typical for US Navy jets in the Seventies. The models were showing their age: their stickers were peeling, they were built with somewhat grubby-looking old grey LEGO, some of the white parts dated back to my childhood and were pretty badly yellowed and, finally, I have picked up a fair few new parts and tricks since I built them. They are the final three models that still had non-LEGO canopies.

The new models are built with new grey and I gave all of them new stickers. The Tomcat had been updated before, and apart from the canopy, its shape remained the same during the rebuild. The other two jets, however, were rebuilt from the ground up. I hope you agree they now look good to go for another decade.

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Black Five evolution

I am not sure whether any of the trains built by Andrew Harvey (technoandrew) have been featured here before, but in British LEGO fan circles he has a well-deserved reputation for building beautiful steam locomotives. His latest picture shows how he has been updating his model of a British so-called Black Five steam locomotive. These were among the last steam locomotives used on British railways. As I’m currently updating some of my own existing models, it caught my eye.

It is fascinating to see how the new parts and new tricks Andrew has picked up over a period of several years have lead to a constant refinement in the shape and the level of detail. As a result, the LEGO model is getting closer and closer to the scale model shown at the bottom.

Avenger, US Army style

The High Mobility Military Wheeled Vehicle, better known as the Humvee or Hummer, has been the standard general purpose vehicle of the US Military since the mid-Eighties. As such it is a popular subject for military builders. Despite the easily recognisable angular shape, it’s not an easy vehicle to build properly, certainly not if you want it to look decent with minifigs. In the last weeks Project Azazel has been steadily cranking out new versions, but I am going to highlight one.

It is the Humvee Avenger, a version used by the US Army for air defence armed with Stinger missiles and a .50 machine gun. The body of the model has a width of seven studs, which is an excellent compromise between detail and interior space on the one hand and a size that does not make the minifig look like a midget on the other hand. The presentation doesn’t hurt either. I’d love to see one in woodland camouflage or a maxi ambulance next.

Picture perfect profiles

Some people see LEGO as a toy, other people see building with LEGO as a form of art, but some people, myself included, tend to use it as a medium for building scale models. There are obvious limitations when building a scale model using mostly angular elements of a certain (minimum) size, but nonetheless it is possible to achieve a high degree of accuracy.

Lately I have been updating some of my existing models, including my F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter. Another builder who is working on a LEGO model of a Hornet (or make that Hornets -plural) is Corvin Stichert. He recently made a direct comparison between a line-drawing of the real jet and a side-view of his work in progress made in LEGO Digital Designer.

He did such a good job that it made me (and him) wonder how my Hornet stacks up. (In fact, I was a bit worried, as I do have a bit of a reputation to uphold.)

Well, I am not disappointed and I think you’ll agree that, even though Corvin and I have made some rather different choices, the agreement between both our models and the profiles is about as good it gets on this scale.

Project Swapfig

Yes, some Kickstarter projects are lame or overly ambitious, but here’s one that actually makes sense to me: Project Swapfig.

The man behind the project is British AFOL Drew Maughan (.SilentMode). His intention is to address the following question:

How many times have you wanted a specific minifigure, but didn’t want to buy a whole set – or spend hours feeling through packets and risk getting the wrong one? Wouldn’t it be easier to trade with someone who had the figure you want?

The (modest) funding he is asking for will go towards promoting a web site that Drew is setting up, where collectors of LEGO minifigures can trade their unwanted figures for ones they want, instead of having to use different forums all over the web or having to pay big bucks to unscrupulous sellers. Drew has already put a lot of thought and work into this project and it looks good so far. I also know him to be a stand-up guy. I heartily recommend that minifig-lovers among you (you know who you are) check out the project and support it. The funding deadline is the 16th of April.

Reaching for the sky in China

Spencer Rezkalla (Spencer R) is a master of micro-scale skyscrapers, and his models have been featured on TBB many times. That does not stop me from calling your attention to his latest project, however. The US may be known for cities full of skyscrapers, such as Chicago and New York, but nowadays most such buildings are being constructed in Asia and Spencer has now turned his attention to China, building the Shanghai World Financial Center and the Jin Mao Tower.

The subtle curve and the way the façades intersect on the Shanghai Financial Tower is particularly noteworthy. A third skyscraper, called the Shanghai Tower, is currently under construction next to these two and is due for completion in 2014. As you can see from the picture above, Spencer has already saved a spot for it.

Fill her up in style

In the world of gas/ petrol stations, corporate blandness rules. If it weren’t for the scenery, just looking at the building and the forecourt doesn’t really tell you whether you’re at a petrol station next to, say, the M3 in the UK heading towards Southampton, the A2 between Utrecht and Amsterdam or even I-70 through the Rocky mountains. Back in the thirties, there was still something glamorous about owning a car and it showed in the architecture. The stylish gas station built by Marcus Paul (ER0L) looks like a work of art.

I know ER0L mainly from the cars he builds, but even though I prefer my own minifig scale cars to be a bit smaller, his vintage truck doesn’t look out of place.

The proportions, clever build techniques and all the small details really appeal to me. The building also has an interior and I encourage you to take it all in by looking at the other photographs.

It’s exactly what she wants it to be

A few years ago, while I was still living in the UK, my neighbour Jon and I took Becca, his six-year old daughter, to see LEGOLAND Windsor. I had spent way too much money at their shop during their Christmas shopping a few months before and had ended up getting two annual passes, as well as several discount vouchers through shopping at LEGO on-line. Furthermore, while I had been to the park several times before, this was never when it was actually open to the general public.

It was fun to see the park in operation and all the children and parents enjoying themselves, but two things stood out to me: girls like pink (and Dora the Explorer) and girls do get what LEGO is about if they are presented with it. The former was driven home to me when we were in an outdoor play area. Becca ran off to play with the other kids. I said to Jon: `don’t worry, we’ll find her. We’ll just have to keep an eye out for a little girl wearing a pink coat and a Dora the Explorer backpack’. We looked around, somewhat oafishly. Almost all the little girls were wearing pink coats and Dora the Explorer backpacks! The latter became clear in one of the indoor play areas, where parents and their children could build small cars and race them down wooden slopes. After having retrieved Becca, we spent at least an hour there. She loved every minute of it and so did we.

As I’m sure many of you know, LEGO’s girl-friendly Friends-line has been very successful, despite the toy being criticised for supposedly reinforcing girly stereotypes. Yes, the sets have pink and purple elements (girls like pink) and it does have cutesy figures, but ultimately it’s about getting girls to build and play with LEGO (and girls do get LEGO if they are presented with it). I think LEGO has expressed this very well in a new magazine ad, posted on flickr recently by LegoMyMamma.

I love how the ad captures the spirit of the old advertisement of a girl holding up her LEGO model and clearly makes the point: critics be damned, it’s exactly what she wants it to be.

I realise, of course, that the quality of the MOC and photography may not be quite up to our usual standards and that not all girls like pink.

Highway maintenance truck -redux

We have previously blogged a brilliant updated version of an old set built by Moritz Nolting (Nolnet) and he has built one again. This time he has turned his attention to the Highway maintenance truck, a classic city set from the Eighties, which I too used to own and love.

That’s already a good thing in my book, but furthermore he has rebuilt it in the style of a Unimog 406; a vehicle that actually was used for maintaining the German Autobahn. It reminds me very much of a similar die-cast truck by Siku that my cousin used to own (and that I craved) and that is a good thing too. Red rims may not be the most realistic choice for such a vehicle, but they are an excellent reference to the original set.

The nuclear-armed Dart

There’s something about the Sixties. In the Western world the standard of living was rapidly increasing and there was a sense of optimism about the future that shows in the design of the cars and jets from this era. Technology seemed to promise a better a life for everyone. Anything seemed possible. Aeronautical technology, in particular, moved forward at an amazing pace. A manned aircraft first flew faster than the speed of sound just after WW-2, but by the Sixties operational jets were routinely flying at speeds more than twice as fast. Even higher speeds didn’t just seem likely; they seemed inevitable. In many ways the Convair F-106 Delta Dart is typical for jets from this era, with a highly swept-back wing, a sleek area-ruled fuselage and a sharp nose.

However, something sinister lurks underneath. The Sixties were also a time when it looked as though the Cold War could turn very hot. A high speed meant the ability to intercept enemy bombers from a larger distance. Intercepting bombers was what the F-106 was all about, with an unguided nuclear-tipped air-to-air missile tucked in its internal weapons bay. This makes a long stand-off distance a very desirable feature!

I hope I can be forgiven for blogging one of my own models, especially an older one. It was built for an article in Brickjournal Issue 22. It has been out for a while now and this prompted me to finally post multiple pictures.

Dutch Coaster ‘Fiona’

Since about three years I’ve been living in a port city. I’m enjoying the fresh sea breeze (although we’re having a bit too much of that at the moment, both in terms of quantity and freshness, but that’s another story) and the scenery. For instance, my route to work takes me through the inner harbour, which means I get to see some of the ships moored there. Among them is a coaster, complete with bearded skipper wearing a cap and a wooly turtleneck jumper.

The Dutch Coaster built by Arjan Oude Kotte (Konajra) doesn’t seem to have a skipper with a wooly jumper, but all the other details are there. I can now go stare at it without the windchill.

Announcing the Wrath of the Titans Contest

Are you already getting tired of the MocAthalon? Then I’ve got good news for you. Simon Pickard and James Pegrum, both active members of the Greco-Roman LEGO group, are organising a contest that strikes me as new and original. No, it’s not about wrestling; the aim is to create a LEGO scene that depicts an event involving the titans of ancient Greece.

If this has made you curious, see the contest rules on flickr and let’s get ready to rumble!

About Ralph

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