)submitted by π Rendered by PID 54520 on app-791 at 2017-03-02 23:42:33.901628+00:00 running c500e39 country code: SG.Although we usually try to keep our writing on The Brothers Brick accessible to everyone, LEGO jargon inevitably sneaks in. This page works like a dictionary and lists the LEGO terms you’re most likely to encounter here on The Brothers Brick, and is not intended to be exhaustive.Lego bricks do not come cheap. Just ask Zhao, the Chinese artist whose Lego sculpture worth $15,000 fell victim to the clumsiness of a small child at a Lego Expo on Sunday. The sculpture, a brick version of Nick from the animated film Zootopia, fell to pieces within an hour of the exhibit's opening. SEE ALSO: Sneakers made of only legos are perfect for playtime and game time On the bright side, $15,000 worth of Lego bricks are worth the same amount whether they're assembled or dissembled. And though that number may seem high, it's not particularly surprising considering the prices of retired Lego sets that fetch much more than their original retail prices.
This is some seriously pricey plastic. Wildly Expensive Lego SetsThis week I wanted to do something a little different with the Ten 3D Printable Things column. Instead of finding amazing objects for you to 3D print I wanted to find amazing LEGO parts that you could 3D print and then build even more amazing things with them. I have found a ton of great LEGO pieces that can take your builds into entirely new directions and really change how you thought LEGO blocks work.Of course one of the things that you’re going to need to make sure of before you plan to 3D print a bunch of LEGO parts is that your printer can manage the level of detail needed on the parts. Because of the shape and size of the models, there isn’t a lot of room to do much post processing to the finished bricks so the final printed piece is going to be the best they are going to get. But if you have a 3D printer capable of high resolution parts, then go to town and build yourself some of the coolest LEGO constructs ever.
Here are Ten 3D Printable LEGO Things:Found on: Thingiverse Cost: FreeAs far as I’m concerned this is a must have for any LEGO fan. Not only can it be left empty just for decoration, but it works with LEGO pieces and can be decorated with any bricks or minifigures that you want. You could even change your LEGO light switch plate daily depending on your mood. And it should go without saying that this is perfect for kids.CURVED AND ROUNDED LEGO BRICKSFound on: Thingiverse Cost: FreeWhile there are thousands of LEGO shapes available, the one shape that they have never made is a curved brick. There are certainly some that give the illusion of being curved, but they are all based on the same square pattern. But these curved bricks offer a ton of new building opportunities that standard LEGO parts are simply incapable of. And you can even design your own curved bricks with the radius that you want using this .Found on: Thingiverse Cost: FreeThis ball and socket joint set is perfect for building highly posable LEGO action figures or models.
This is one of those parts that seems so obvious I find it hard to believe that LEGO hasn’t already designed something like it. According to the designer it works like a smooth revolving joint, so it should give any models that you build with it an extremely wide range of movement. Found on: Thingiverse Cost: FreeIf you want to make your LEGO minifigs fully representative, then here is a great 3D printable wheelchair for them. It fits all standard-sized figs and even has a little peace sign design in the center of the wheel. This is going to be a complicated print that requires a bit of support, but its small enough that any post processing should be quick. Found on: Thingiverse Cost: FreeIf you know how to use OpenSCAD then this is a great LEGO brick customizer that you can use to design bricks in virtually any shape that you can think of. The designer included a few STL files for bricks that he designed himself as well, just in case you’re not familiar with OpenSCAD. He also created an as well.
Found on: Thingiverse Cost: FreeBuild LEGO constructs that aren’t limited to the standard X and Y axes with this cool hemisphere part that has four LEGO bases embedded on half of a sphere. This is perfect for that while and crazy project idea that you have, or for displaying minifigs and other small constricts in a unique way.Found on: Thingiverse Cost: FreeAt first a melted LEGO brick may sound a little ridiculous, but they actually make great stands for minifigs. Because they are at an angle, and have a wide base they are stable and allow figs to be posed in great dynamic ways. There are two different melted bricks available and the designer did include some detailed 3D printing instructions to make sure that they print correctly. Found on: MyMiniFactory Cost: FreeThere are a ton of 3D printable bow ties around, but I think this LEGO version is one of the most fun. It is perfect for any LEGO nerd and can be worn as is, of you can build on top of it with actual LEGO parts. Just don’t go crazy with the LEGO parts, you don’t want to come off any weirder than you already will by wearing a LEGO bow tie.
Found on: Thingiverse Cost: FreeHere is another entry on the ‘I can’t believe they haven’t made these pieces yet’ list. These great triple LEGO pieces will work with standard blocks and let you build all sorts of unique constructs that would be a lot harder using only standard bricks. There are a ton of different shapes available, including flatter pieces, thicker pieces, short stubby pieces and longer pieces. Found on: MyMiniFactory Cost: FreeThe original toy that was used to get kids into engineering and other STEM fields were LEGO sets, so it seems appropriate that a LEGO compatible remote controlled robotic kit is used to get kids into modern STEM education. The is a simple RC base that has LEGO studs on the top of them, so once you assemble the robotic base, you can add any kinds of LEGO parts that you can think of. This is the toy of every kid’s dreams, no matter that kid’s age.That’s it for this week folks, I really hope that you if you all 3D print yourself some LEGO parts you show off what you build because I love looking at LEGO projects, the wilder the better.