Cloudbuster
Created by AndySlater and came 1st in our our Moving Parts Competition.
My cloudbuster was inspired by the machine on the cover of Kate Bush's Cloudbusting album but if you really want to know what it is, do a Google search on "Wilhelm Reich" and "Orgone".
The model evolved as I worked on it and the finished item bears only a passing resemblance to my first Lego prototype and the idea I had in mind at the start. It still has a handful of Lego Technic at its core to provide the movement required by the comp criteria and it can rotate though about 320 degrees (the oil can on the steps gets in the way of one of the control panels), while the shooters/collectors can elevate (by turning the ships wheel on the front), from just below horizontal to just short of vertical. The first of the supporting images below gives some indication of the range of movement.
In addition to the Lego Parts, I used a few Hirst Arts blocks for the base, balsa wood for the platforms, and the plastic parts from window anchors (big screw things) for the shooters/collectors. For detailing I used parts from a dismantled CD player, some 1:76 scale tank kits, and various other items from my bits box that I can't put names to.
The professor is from Copplestone Castings however I removed his right hand (which was holding a gun), and created a new one holding a pipe. The robots are scratch built using a Lego part, an LED, some beads and a guitar string. The monkey is from Black Scorpion Miniatures.
As you can see from the last of the supporting images, it really works!!!
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View other entries in the Moving Parts Competition.
View other competition entries by AndySlater.
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