TECHNIQUES: JAMES PEGRUM

ROUND AND ROUND WE GO

James Pegrum is inspired by locomotive history to explore three different approaches to creating the difficult shape of cylinders

Words and Photography: James Pegrum

When I heard the theme for this issue was trains and planes, I was a tad stumped for ideas, as I haven’t built many of either over the years. I spent the next couple of days thinking it over and decided to build Stephenson’s Rocket, a steam locomotive built in Newcastle in 1829. Part of that research time was spent online looking at other people’s models for inspirational techniques and it has to be said that there are some excellent builds out there and that the techniques we look at in this article are largely based on other people’s work. I am going to show you a variety of ways of making cylinders, a key feature when it comes to steam engines and consider some of the positives and negatives associated with each technique.

STUDS FACING UP

PICS 1-7 - Naturally, for most of us when we look at a LEGO part, we do so with the stud facing upwards and so we’re going to start with a ‘studs up’ technique, using slopes to mimic a cylinder’s circular form. There’s a good number of slopes in the LEGO System and they are referred to by the angle of their slope, the main ones being 45°, 33° and 75°. These all come in an inverted style too, which makes them perfect for this task. As the cylinder of the engine is relatively small, I used one angle only: the 45°. If you wanted to make the cylinder bigger, then the other slopes come in handy. Starting with inverted slopes, I ran these back to back in a row. I then placed three layers of plate connecting the inverted slopes, building up the sides of the cylinder. The last layer consisted of regular slopes run along the top.

POSITIVE:

• Simple to build • Easy to make connections to the rest of the model elements

NEGATIVE:

• Lack of curves on the cylinder • Hiding studs with tiles would mean the creation of an extra layer 1

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STUDS NOT ON TOP

PIC 8 - Those of you who have read a number of my articles will not be surprised to see this technique, a favourite of mine! This time, I used curved slopes and opted for part 6091, the ‘modified brick 1x2x11/3 with curved top’ (although you can experiment with the many curved slopes available). I joined two of these parts together, forming a roughly semicircular shape. That is the easy part. The next step is joining them together, which can be achieved in many ways but here are two suggestions.

PIC 9 - Firstly you can use SNOT bricks, which are bricks with studs on one, two or four faces. The thinner section with the SNOT bricks forms the core of the cylinder.

PICS 10-11 - The second option, which creates a tighter form as shown in pic 10, is to use some 1x1 plates modified with part 4081b, the ‘clip light’, shown in black in pic 11. The protruding circular section of a clip light is the same thickness as a plate and has a stud connection on both sides, allowing two parts to be connected with the studs facing different ways. The challenge with this technique is to allow room for the unconnected 1x1 square plate section of the clip light to ‘float’ in.

POSITIVE:

• Curved slopes form rounder circles than regular slopes • Ease of connection using SNOT bricks • Ease of covering up studs

NEGATIVE:

• Not perfectly round • Clip light connection is more challenging to integrate 9

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TECHNIC TREADS

PICS 12-14 - The last technique uses a Technic element: the link tread. There are a number available, which unhelpfully in BrickLink don’t have any distinction other than the part number. The part that needs to be used for this technique is part 3873, which is about four studs long. An interesting feature of this part is that it can be fixed to the pins on the underside of a plate or tile. I formed a circle using 13 link treads connected together in a loop and then connected long tiles to the links, making the cylinder.

POSITIVE:

• A more realistic cylindrical shape is formed • No studs on show

NEGATIVE:

• Connections are more complicated • The cylinder is fragile

ALTOGETHER NOW

For my final build, I went with the last technique as I wanted a good, rounded cylinder and no studs showing. Using brick, plate and a hinge brick, I made my connections to the rest of the build, which required some delicate work and a number of rebuilds of the cylinders. To make a connection downwards, I had to replace one 1x8 tile I had used to make the cylinder with a 1x6 tile, allowing a brick to fit in (see pic 14). To close the cylinder off at the ends, I fixed a round 4x4 plate using SNOT bricks. Off the round plate, I built the funnel and firebox.

The techniques I’ve looked at to make this cylinder aren’t overly complicated and have varying levels of positives and negatives but always remember, simplicity can often do the job. The Rocket was ground-breaking technology when it was built and trains have been developing ever since. Similarly, techniques in LEGO building can be developed, changed and made their own by each builder. 12

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