To be frank, I'm not a fan of bikes . But LEGO set 31114: Superbike caught my eyes due to its color scheme. Azure blue is currently my favorite LEGO color so far...
... and the curved and wedge parts from the set in such color made this set a must-buy. To prevent myself from changing my mind, I decided not to peek at its parts list before making the purchase.
To my surprise.... I was really delighted to discover tons of small and useful parts suitable for building Transformers, even though this set do not come with ball joints at all! Well, it's time for me to apply my "no ball joints, no problem!" credo!
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
Without ball joints... I started by experimenting with LEGO parts provided from the set to create hinges for the pelvis, a crucial starting point. Below are 2 variants that I came up with back then, posted in my instagram (instagram.com/alanyuppie78)
One of latest LEGO part I discovered from the set was this (below), allowing me to build the much needed joints for my bots.
My initial idea was yet another jet plane, but I think I had made many Transformers with such alternate mode. So I gave that a pass.
The detachable cannon/gun was the final touches I put to this creation.
The most challenging part of this project was building the robot head. Without ball joints, I must formulate a design that allow the head to swivel to either side. I ended up achieving something much, much better and eye-pleasing too!
TRANSFORMATION\
Note how the arms were pegged to the leg via one stud on the light gray 1 x 4 tile with studs on both ends, securing the alt mode.
ROBOT MODE
Building Instructions in the form of a video tutorial , is located at the bottom of this page.
Legs
The head not just can swivel to the left and right, but tilt to the front and back as well!
A LIL CONFESSION!
The pelvic joint design despite providing a good range of articulations, were not as strong as ball joints. So more animated poses like below tend to cause him to topple over after a few seconds! This is compounded by the weight of the back kibbles. Setting him up for photo shoot proved to be a challenge for me!
He's lucky to be able have a gun to hold! This is a rarity in most of my LEGO Transformers made from official sets.
BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS
Building Instructions in the form of a video tutorial , is located at the bottom of this page.
Before you get started, please sort your parts according to the photos below.
Arms
Legs
Body
The Rest
VIDEO TUTORIAL
Thank you for following my video tutorial!
- More free building instructions (mostly from official LEGO sets)
Awesome build. Are you planning on making a transformer out of the marvel iron man sakarian hulkbuster set since it's alternative build is a racecar?
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a fine set ! Yep! Planning to get and make a TF out of it by year end.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete