Halloween 2016
October 31, 2016
Our Christmas Card
DECEMBER 25, 2014
Below is the front and back of the card our family sent out this year. Merry Christmas to all!
Card Front
Card Back
HENRY'S ELBOW
I have spent the last couple months working on a children's book named "Henry's Elbow". It's based on the experiences we had a couple years ago when our son (Henry) broke his elbow. When we looked for a good kids book to help him understand the experience we found nothing. So, we decided to create our own book. Here are a couple pictures from the interior. The book can be purchased on Amazon
ADD POWER FUNCTIONS TO 10235
WINTER VILLAGE MARKET CAROUSEL
JANUARY 2, 2014
In the Fall off 2009, LEGO produced the Grand Carousel (10196). It is a gorgeous set, and quite grand relative to other town/city sets of the time. Its base measures 48 x 48, dwarfing The Fire Brigade (10197)
When this year's Winter Village set (10235 Winter Village Market) was announced it was exciting to see that its centerpiece would be a smaller-sized merry-go-round. As detailed as that of 10196, but more compact. It, along with original minifigs and other structures, really made the set a must have (see HispaBrick's great overview of the set here). Note: the first Winter Village set was coincidentally released in the Fall of 2009 too! Ah, a good year.
However, I still wanted more. The 10196 was powered: a must, I thought, for any merry-go-round. So, my goal was to add the same functionality to the Winter Village Market's carousel. I found a few discussions about how to do this on the Web, but most of the solutions were complicated. So, I did a little research on motors and gears, finding a fantastic overview here.
As it turns out, adding power was relatively simple. All you need are a few basic technic elements, a small power functions motor and a battery box.
The original structure was ingenious with it's spinning bucket game,
but like I said, I needed power!
Why, what have we here?
The full assembly.
The next to last image above has our carousel operator friend along with the sound brick from the 10196 set. If you have never experienced the catchy tune you have to check it out. It can be heard on the video below.
Plate County's latest attraction!
