Tag Archives: Robot

LEGO V.I.N.CENT. goes in, through...and beyond

Pascal explores the depths of space with this awesome rendition of V.I.N.CENT. (Vital Information Necessary CENTralized.) from Disney’s The Black Hole. The Black Hole has not aged well, in my opinion, but V.I.N.CENT. has always been one of my favorite movie robots. Pascal has managed to capture his essence quite well. You can almost hear Roddy McDowell’s voice coming over the speakers. The expression of the eyes and studless build technique are perfect. One also has to love the presentation, using the same black hole graphic as in the movie.

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I am not a robot.

Gamabomb brings us this friendly AI robot, named Cailín. Not to be confused with Caylin, the author of this post, who is quite insistent that this is not a portrait. The robot Cailín is tall, slender, and looks to be a distant relative of No-Face from Spirited Away. The human Caylin is not tall, and as far as I am aware, not related to any spirits.

In all seriousness, Cailín is just lovely. The robot is delicate, but still seems to have enough power to rip one’s head off should you become a threat. Such an excellent combination!

If Cailín does not suit your robot needs, then I invite you to take a look at the Hillmaster Exoskeleton. This exoskeleton features an ADORABLE pilot in the Operatorsuit.

LEGO Omnibot, the fully programmable robot ...with memory!

Back in the mid-1980s kids across the world were begging their parents to buy them an Omnibot. Toy manufacturer Tomy released Omnibot 5402, and Peter Reid has built this adorable LEGO version. The advert-style background compliments this awesome LEGO robot perfectly. The build was created for a ‘parts challenge’ over on parts-obsessed blog New Elementary and the eyes of the robot utilise the new Nexo Knights part trans neon orange bar with towball. What a great way to utilise this new part!

So just as I get over not receiving a Tomy Omnibot for my 8th birthday, I now long for my own LEGO Omnibot all these years later…

Titanosaurus Wrex wreaks havoc

Tremah has managed to create this menacing little robotic dinosaur from Bionicle figure parts. I particularly like the small details such as the cool blue eyes, the fangs, and raised vertebrae. The design even improves on the original dinosaur… See, mother nature? Longer arms!

Yamaha Tachikoma tank is music to my ears

French builder F@bz doesn’t remain aloof from the current month-long Tachikoma theme and delivers an exceptional mech model to the party.

Futuristic and a little bit weird, this Tachikoma tank’s got a lot of noteworthy building and design solutions. I’m speaking not only about mind-blowing use of motorcycle fairing pieces as leg armor (by the way, these parts appeared only in a couple of Junior sets in 2004-2006), but also about a Yamaha logo on the side of the tank. Not only does it look unusual and realistic, but also immediately gives the model an intriguing background story: Imagine a future where a global manufacturer of musical instruments and marine engines becomes a leading mech brand. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?

Strategic pursuit

Far from the present, at the Futuron base
A small ship alit on the platform with grace
No ruckus was raised, no alarm began screaming
But the alleys have ears, and data was streaming
A blue and white robot did power itself on
And began to creep silently through the cold dawn
Fly, little ship, you’ve got nothing to prove!
Strategic Pursuer 1 is on the move…

Model by Andrew Lee.

Zen and the art of Tachikoma maintenance

I want to go skateboard after I make a few deliveries on my motorcycle. But first I’ve got to polish a cute blue robot with this eye-catching red towel. Good thing I’ve got plenty of tools and a lovely fluorescent light fixture. There’s a lot of detail in this small space, but it doesn’t feel cluttered or claustrophobic. Room to breathe, room to work, room to drop things down the grating in the floor. This mechanic diorama from Ted Andes is part of a month-long theme of four-legged robots who probably just barely fit through the sliding door.

Mister Sandman, build me a mech...

Pascal is a prolific builder, and a master of microscale mechs, managing to pack heaps of character into a tiny handful of bricks. His latest creation, the Sandman, is a typical example of his signature style – a delicious combination of whimsy and menace…

The body of this small model is pretty simple – nowhere near the realism and complexity of the awesome heavy robot Andrew blogged recently. However, there’s a nice level of detail with that green “eye” and the gun barrel striping providing welcome splashes of color against the tan and grey. What makes the model for me is the smart parts usage around the head, creating a sensor array with a real air of functionality. Couple all that with some sharp macro photography and you end up with one of my favourite microscale models so far this year.

Transforming LEGO Nemesis Prime is almost cute

Fans of Transformers will immediately recognise Nemesis Prime, the evil clone of the Autobot leader Optimus Prime, built by Japanese builder Moko. Brick-built Transformers have been featured before on TBB, but Moko’s build is a little bit different. Transformers originated as an animated television series in the 1980s. In the series Nemesis Prime is an evil, merciless killer …but oh my goodness, now he is super cute!

Moko has gone for the chibi feel with this build, yet manages to maintain accuracy and detail despite the diminutive stature. And as if that was not enough, his Nemesis Prime even transforms:

If you want to see detailed views, Moko has more photos of his builds of Nemesis Prime and Optimus Prime on his own blog. (Note: Moko’s blog is in Japanese, but the photographs are easily seen as thumbnails and Google roughly translates the page)

In the blue corner...

August has ended, and that means the latest bout of Iron Builder is now in the hands of the judges. We saw an exciting month long build-off between American title holder Matt De Lanoy and young Canadian challenger Tim Schwalfenberg. The fight produced some epic creations, many of which we’ve been covering along the way. So while we wait to see who emerges victorious, let’s enjoy some more of the entries, starting in this post with Matt’s…

Out with the old, in with the new – BB-8 joins R2-D2

When I first saw The Phantom Menance, the most memorable moment was when R2-D2 made his heroic entrance – the entire audience cheered! I have no idea if Artoo is planning a similar reprieve in The Force Awakens, but I think he’s going to have a hard time upstaging his even more adorable replacement, BB-8. Not even if he shows off all his bells and whistles, as builder Takamichi Irie imagines him doing here:

In the overall robot pecking order, I suspect a gyroscopically self-balancing sphere probably beats a metal drum with a guy inside. Who knows, maybe this’ll become a divisive issue for Star Wars fans? Of course, if they met on screen, it certainly would be a touching moment. Although I’d worry about half the audience spontaniously losing bladder control.

What is the Mayo-trix?

If you’ve noticed a lot of ribbed flex-tubing in some of the builds we’ve featured this week, it’s because of this year’s first Iron Builder contest, featuring yet another mind bogglingly difficult-to-use seed part. In the current battle, Sean and Steph Mayo are up against Tyler Clites and our very own Nannan Zhang (…ah well, there goes any hope of impartiality!).

In their latest salvo, the Mayo’s have recreated a scene from the classic Matrix trilogy, which seems like the perfect companion to Tyler’s Zion Dock Defense from a few years back. We wait with bated breath to see how the two lads will respond!