Bringing Bricks to Life: Inspiration from JK Brickworks

Combining a LEGO set with LEGO electronics is the fundamental part of a "ROBOTMAK3R Remix". This blog post focuses on the work of Jason Alleman (aka JK Brickworks), who has a tremendous knack for automating traditional LEGO sets and "bringing bricks to life." We hope this blog and the sample projects discussed serve as an inspiration to readers to try their hand at automating LEGO sets.

Option 1: Adding gears and a crank

Take, for example, the Shark from Deep Sea Creatures (31088). Alleman transforms this simple 3-in-1 Creator Set into a kinetic sculpture. Building instructions are provided here. Another similar remix was made with the Majectic Tiger set (31129) which Alleman use to create a kinetic sculpture koi fish. Adding a motor and hub (PoweredUp or SPIKE Essential) can easily transform these models from crank-based to motorized with LEGO robotics.

Option 2: Adding motors

As you build your sets, think about how you might create movement in them. For instance, using Hedwig (75979) and a Power Functions M-Motor, Alleman does a beautiful job making Hedwig flap its wings. Alleman pays special attention to the details. Notice the wing movements at the joints.

Alleman's Motorized Command Center Base is also a creative alteration of a LEGO Set. Alleman begins with set 40786 and uses Circuit Cubes to motorize the set. While he doesn't use LEGO robotics components, this model might provide some inspiration for builders who want to creatively add LEGO robotics components to their sets.

Image Credits: Jason Allemann

ROBOTMAK3RS Review: LEGO River Steamboat

I thought the LEGO River Steamboat would be an interesting set for a ROBOTMAK3R review for a few reasons. First, the LEGO designer of the model is Marina Stampoli, a long-time collaborator of the late ROBOTMAK3R Vassilis Chryssanthakopoulo s. From earlier collaborations with Vassilis, I knew Marina was incredibly talented, with an eye for aesthetics and functionality. Her background in architecture is particularly useful for her relatively new position at LEGO. Her other sets include the Magic of Disney (21352), Message Board (41839), and Red London Telephone Box (21347). Second, watching Marina's reveal video and reading her designer interview made this set even more tempting to build. The gearing mechanisms running through the model gave way to many opportunities for automation using LEGO robotics elements. Since ROBOTMAK3RS is all about adding interactivity and automation to LEGO brick, I thought it would be fun to see where and how LEGO robotics could be added to this s...

Celebrating 25 Years of MINDSTORMS

In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS, we take a trip through history. Please also visit ROBOTMAK3RS Community every week as we highlight different projects all through 2023 in celebration of the anniversary. Some of the early history is based on the content shared by Coder Shah in our MINDSTORMS EV3 Community Group . Some of the text and links may have been edited from his original posts for consistency and clarity. 1984 - Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen watched a TV program called "Talking Turtle," where MIT professor Seymour Papert demonstrated how children could control robot "turtles" using LOGO, a programming language he developed. 1988 - The collaboration between MIT and LEGO resulted in LEGO TC Logo in 1988, which allowed students to control LEGO models using computer commands. The video shows Papert demonstrating TC Logo. 1990 - LEGO TC Logo was hampered since the robots you built had to be tethered to a personal computer. LEGO and MIT...

Ghostbusters R.T.V Remix

Nino Guba is from Torrance, California, USA. He played with LEGO as a kid, but growing up in the Philippines, it wasn’t something he had easy access to. He only got reintroduced to LEGO when he moved to the US and had kids of his own. When his sons were younger, they received LEGO sets as gifts, but as they grew older, the sets got put into storage as their interest faded. Fast forward a few years, he started coming up with his own product ideas and thought about how he could quickly prototype them. That’s when he discovered LEGO MINDSTORMS—and was hooked! He raided his kids’ old collection, got everything organized, and now he's designing and building his own creations, blending his coding skills with LEGO robotics to bring ideas to life. Tell us about your Ghostbusters Remote Trap Vehicle (R.T.V) project. This project is a LEGO Technic adaptation of the Ghostbusters R.T.V.—a ghost trap converted into a remote-controlled vehicle. Its companion build is a prop replica of the Futaba...

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