|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
After some emails and phone conversations it was decided that I would construct a large 'LEGO knight' which would fit thematically into a MindFest contest centered around 'quests' and Camelot and such.
Thus began my quest to build an oversized replica of the classic LEGO knight mini-figure (a photo of the 1.75 inch tall mini-figure may be viewed in the upper right corner of my FAQ page).
My plan was to construct a model at my home in Alabama before flying up to Massachusetts to build the final one (with the Media Lab's bricks). This scenario worked fine except for one small thing: giant LEGO models do not travel well. Even with my LEGO knight partially disassembled and tucked into my carry-on duffel bag, it did not exactly survive the plane flight to the North East.
When I arrived in Cambridge on 20 October 1999, my plastic companion's head and left arm had been pulverized, and his shield had not done much better.
Despite this minor setback, I still had a large portion of my prototype from which to take reference.
And it's not like I would have a shortage of pieces at the Media Lab... it is one of the LEGO heavens in the world. Bins upon bins of colored bricks... many of which the average LEGO user will rarely see, and if he or she does, surely never in this quantity.
Anyway, over the course of the next two days I rebuilt The LEGO knight for MIT as well as a large obelisk which sheathed a LEGO sword for another contest.
Click on the thumbnail pictures in the right margin to view large photos from this most recent LEGO adventure.
The LEGO knight is a 16x oversize of the original mini-figure (he's a 'maxi-figure', I guess?). My giant model holds a battle-axe instead of a sword, partly because we already had another LEGO sword for the other contest, and partly because the axe stabilized the model better.
Oh, and before I forget, I must thank Rick Borovoy and Suzanne Rich as well as the rest of the dedicated Media Lab folks whom made my visit quite enjoyable (with or without the tens of thousands of LEGO bricks lying about). And congratulations to young Alex who was the lucky MindFest attendee who won the contest and got to go home with a LEGO sculpture nearly as tall as he.