It would definitely be cool to have the mask as a single piece, even if it doesn’t look any different. The current version relies on press-fitting the 1L liftarms in place, and then trying different pin combinations before the optimal mask-holding strength is achieved.
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This has taken entirely too long, but I finally made the final push for completing the instructions. The .pdf instructions, as well as the stud.io model, can be accessed by clicking the image below:
Thanks to @FuzzMuffins for the Toa Bomonga text on the cover page.
Due to some last-minute modifications, the model now contains 4609 pieces, up from the 4600 of the version I initially shared.
Also, I’m finally happy with the custom metallic green I made, so I rerendered the mask power demo with the better colour:
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For the mask, couldn’t you use the head of the toa terrain crawler?
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It’s a bit small:
I had forgotten about that piece until halfway through the design, at which point I was in too deep to start at a smaller scale.
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at least now you’d just have to paint the mask instead of printing it out
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Can you make a large version of this mask for those who would want that mask on him Perp3tual's Bomonga's Mask of Growth by Rothanak - Thingiverse
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Titan of Earth
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UCS Bomonga isn’t real and can’t hurt you…
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So, did anyone actually tried to build this masterpiece irl?
I’m kinda thinking about doing it myself, but first I need to buy like 4k pieces and my major fear is that it won’t be able to sustain its own weight (and 4k pieces ain’t cheap).
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That’s definitely a valid concern; I’d hate for you to buy all those parts only for Bomonga to not be able to stand because I underdesigned his joints. It might be a good idea to just buy the parts for the joints themselves and get a feel for their strength first; I’ve never actually tested any of this with real parts.
In the event that you buy some (or all) of the parts and something isn’t up to scratch, I’ll do my best to work with you to figure out something that works.
I should also note that I’m currently in the middle of redesigning some of the joints, but I have no timeline on when, or even if, that will be completed. The redesign is focussing on replacing the axle-based joints; the knees, elbows, hips, and shoulders currently put a lot of torque and shear on regular Technic axles, and I’d like to replace them with balljoint-reinforced turntables.
Here’s some progress pictures of what I’m going for:
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I figure I should probably give an update here. While my last post suggested that the joint upgrade might still be a while out, I ended up getting sucked in over the last couple of weeks and the upgrades are actually mostly complete. I’m going to hold off on in-depth pictures until I’ve cleaned up the build, but I’ll give a brief summary. Most importantly, the thighs and the upper arms have been completely rebuilt from the original version:
(Also note the new shaping on the shoulder armour)
As mentioned in my previous post, there were two things I wanted to address:
- Convert as many joints as possible to turntables
- Strengthen the joints with ball joints
The focus was on the knees, hips, elbows, and shoulders, but I was pleasantly surprised to also figure out an entirely new ankle. The only remaining axle-based joints are the “nodding” motion of the neck and the fingers (obviously); everything else is turntables. The new joint strengths, as well as comparisons to the originals, are as follows
Shoulder:
4 ball joints → 14.933 ball joints
Elbow:
3 ball joints → 12 ball joints + 13.667 pins
Knee:
3 ball joints + 2 pistons → 11.2 ball joints + 2 pistons
Ankle (front/back)
4 ball joints + 4 pistons → 26.6 ball joints
Ankle (side-to-side)
4 ball joints → 14.933 ball joints + 9.333 pins
Now for the bad news:
The new hip design relies heavily on a 5L “flip-flop” liftarm, but the piece doesn’t actually exist; there are 7L, 11L, and 15L flip-flop variants, but no 5L.
I currently see three paths forwards from here:
- Work out a new design that only uses existing parts
- Wait for Lego to make a 5L flip-flop liftarm
- Cut 7L flip-flops down to 5L
None of the options are great, but I’m personally hoping that Lego will make the new mold before anyone tries to build this in real life.
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