We recently posted about [James Bruton]’s most excellent oversized LEGO electric longboard. Well, now he has completed the project by tidying a few things and building oversized versions of classic light-up bricks to serve as headlamps and the tail light. Most importantly, he’s hitting the road with it!
He built a LEGO-looking enclosure for the battery as well, based on a 2×6 brick. The battery pack sits behind the motor with the tail light on top and holds the radio control receiver as well the twin LiPos. The head and tail lights pack 24-LED discs and are controlled by [James]’ FS-GT2B 3-channel RC transmitter. Its third channel is just a button, and he can trip that button to activate the lights with the help of a Turnigy receiver-controlled switch.
For an added touch he printed some LEGO flowers and a minifig, suitably oversized, and took the skateboard on the road. The thing has some zip! [James] kept his balance while holding the controller in one hand and a selfie stick with the other. The headlamp housings fell off, and a while later the minifig fell off. Fortunately [James] was able to snap them back into place, in proper LEGO fashion.
[James] runs XRobots and also served as a judge for the 2016 Hackaday Prize. We wrote up his Star Wars builds a while back, as well as his tutorial on mixed reality filming without a green screen.
A full grown man…. playing like a little boy, with toys. We became neutered…
I would agree to disagree so long as you acknowledge the following. grown men make nth scale models of combat vehicles in their spare time- some of us make them slightly functional. this man took a scale model and made it practical at super-scale. if that’s not the definition of growing up I don’t know what is.
He has a part time job as a toy designer and spends the rest of his time doing projects like this because that’s what people want to see and he makes at least $500/video according to patreon. So he gets to play with fun technologies, make things, and make money… I don’t see how that is emasculating at all.
Is LEGO company going to sue him?
I think red LED modules might be better for the tail light. At the moment it’s more yellow than any other colour.
A flat mirror angled inside the light bricks would help too… direct the light forward through the opening instead of just illuminating the brick itself.
Yeah, I think the aesthetic would be significantly improved if he spray painted the interior of the yellow cubes black and put an angled mirror.