These are the instructions for building the LEGO Advanced Models Eiffel Tower that was released in 2007. BUILD INSTR 3006, 10181 2/3 IN [9.3 Mb] BUILD INSTR 3006, 10181 3/3 IN [13.87 Mb] BUILD INSTR 3008, 10181 1/3 IN [17.11 Mb]In the Buttliere family’s Buffalo Grove home, the Eiffel Tower shares a table with the World Trade Center complex, Toronto’s CN Tower, and Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. A row of shops sits on top of an entertainment center, with cotton balls representing snow artfully arranged on the rooftops. Each building is a 1:650 scale model assembled entirely out of LEGOs and designed and constructed by Rocco Buttliere, a senior. Buttliere first became interested in LEGOs when he was in first grade and selling popcorn for his Cub Scout troop. He earned enough points to win his first set, a Harry Potter-themed kit. Two years ago, he started designing and building models of skyscrapers, having been influenced by the work of Spencer Rezkalla, a fellow designer of LEGO models.
"My models are based off his work," Buttliere said. "They might look similar, but I use a different technique to make each model unique." He does not use glue to hold the bricks together, reasoning that he can simply piece a model back together if it breaks. Buttliere emphasized that he does not “play” with LEGOs. Indeed, it definitely is not play; Buttliere designs and assembles each skyscraper, usually taking as much as three months to complete one model. Simply starting a project can take weeks, as Buttliere is particular regarding which color of bricks he will use for a skyscraper. He also acknowledged the difficulty of incorporating details to scale and in such a small space. His website details the number of bricks and time used to complete a building. “I don’t want cost to push me from using certain colors for the building to look right,” he explained, noting he typically purchases pieces from LEGO-specific websites and has waited as long as one month for a shipment from overseas.
He estimated he spent almost $2,000 in LEGO pieces since he started building skyscrapers two years ago. Carla, his mother, quickly pointed out that Buttliere paid for 90 percent of his LEGOs himself by doing small jobs. Buttliere uses a computer program to help him design a skyscraper. In addition, he has traveled to downtown Chicago to take extensive pictures of a skyscraper, including street-level views. An Eagle Scout with Troop 140, Buttliere is the third of four boys. His parents did not have previous experience with using LEGOs for architectural models before Buttliere started constructing his skyscrapers. “Our other sons played with the kits, but not on this level,” Carla said, gesturing toward Buttliere’s models. His hobby is definitely a family affair, with his parents accompanying him to LEGO conventions. Last summer, Buttliere and his father, Randy, attended Brickworld, a convention created by Adult Fans of LEGOs. "Rocco had a few of his skyscrapers on display, and it was just great to see people in their 40s and 50s coming up to Rocco and asking 'How did you do that?'"
"When Rocco sets a goal, he finds a way to finish it," Carla said. "He's very determined in his goals." Buttliere doesn’t have plans to walk away from LEGOs. He recently applied to the Illinois Institute of Technology, with the goal of eventually becoming a set designer for LEGO. He also is designing a model of the World Financial Center in New York. Some of Buttliere’s skyscraper models are on display at . He will display additional skyscrapers and landmarks from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 3 at the library. "I want to do this exhibit at the library because I want to show kids that LEGOs aren't just something you do from the time you're 6 until you're 10. The LEGOs can help you mathematically, too," he explained. "Whatever someone's hobby is, it doesn't matter. It's what you like to do." Chris Gibson, the library's associate director of public communications, is excited about Buttliere's exhibit, noting that some of his models previously had been on display at the library.
"Rocco has quite a collection, so it'll be neat to see," she said. "Hopefully, this will encourage other patrons to share their collections at the library." This post is contributed by a community member. The views expressed in this post are the author's. Registered users are welcome to post on Patch.For 80’s kids (and decades either side), LEGO was a way of life.You’ll remember building the next Empire State Building, CN tower or the complete Star Trek Enterprise and, of course, the sound your parents made as they stepped on the extraordinarily painful blocks!William Fong was a childhood fan as well but didn’t actually buy LEGO until he decided to make a !We got a chance to ask Will some questions about this intensely detailed project.What made you want to make a SkyTrain? As someone who is a daily user of the transit system, and as someone who has a minor interest in design in general, I found that the 2009 Skytrain stock extremely intriguing. It’s the most modern and well designed piece of equipment in the fleet (although Xcelsiors are pretty excellent buses and the new Bombardier 300’s probably trump that claim, too).
The colour scheme of the exterior and interior, streamlined shape as well as adding user friendliness, like destination boards, updated system maps, better seat layout and air conditioning. Everything was done right on the 2009 trains! I think the main reason I wanted to recreate some of the great design features in LEGO was because I had the passing realization that there were some new LEGO pieces that had striking resemblance to the angles on the trains. I designed the LEGO train mostly around the windscreen due to its identical curved shape to the real life train. I didn’t start building it until I was satisfied with the accuracy of the curvature of the roof as well as finding a way to have doors that could slide open. I also chose this specific train because of the number of seats. Three seats and an aisle is about as wide as you can make a train in LEGO before it starts looking too wide. The details are so perfect, how did you get the stickers and other minature details of the actual train ON the LEGO model?
I made the stickers in Photoshop. Interior graphics like the system map and the safety and security sign were entirely drawn from scratch using photos as a reference. I didn’t want to print photos as stickers because they didn’t scale to the LEGO very well. The exterior livery was based off of and extremely altered from the information sheet that was shown alongside the 2009 presentation of the new Mark II stock, which I found online. The corporate and government logos as well as official fonts were found on the internet. I then sent the artwork off to a printing company named Model Decal Depot at Adlion Printing to have the graphics put onto vinyl stickers. The stickers are especially important because they complete the train more than people may realize, mostly because the doors are stickers that have been applied onto LEGO window panes. What are some of the cool features of your model? The model is as accurate to real life as I could build it. It has an identical seat count to its real life counterpart.
Curved handrails, which may not seem remarkable, but when building out of lego, it is! It has an articulated corridor joining the two cars. It has the same number of ceiling lights as in real life. Orange “Door open” lights in the door jambs that can be toggled on the left or right doors. The doors can also be slid open and are not just decorative placeholders. Directional lights, so that when the headlights are on at one end of the train, the taillights are on at the opposite end. The advertising boards are illuminated using something called electro-luminescent tape (a strip of copper that is coated with phosphorus and glows when an alternating current is applied to it). It’s also not just a stationary model. Each train is also powered by two 9V DC motors, so it can move along track. Hopefully by next BrickCan, I’ll have built enough elevated guideway for it to run a decent length. How long did it take you to create? I think I finished the digital model in 2011.
I wasn’t satisfied with the accuracy until late 2013 and held off building it until early 2014. The digital model continued to go through several revisions which slowed me down, but it was mostly the cost of the model that made me build it on and off for a while. Building one car was costly enough, but when I found out that there was going to be a LEGO convention in Vancouver, I decided to spend the extra money and twin the first car and build some overhead guideway for it to sit on. It wasn’t right up until April 2016 during BrickCan that I completed both cars and the two sections of track. Technically, I’m still not done yet. I just finished gutting and reinstalling all of the electronics this month. I want to reprint the stickers to more closely match some colours in the livery as well as correct some inaccuracies. I’m also going to install digital destination boards, although I’m running into technical issues with the hardware for that right now. Maybe later on, I’ll also install speakers inside the train, too.