It was fast for sure, but I actually ordered Sand Green…
Amazon Delivered My New LEGO
Monthly Archives: March 2022
The Planet Sign Has Letters!
After playing around for several days, I finally worked out how to get the iconic lettering around the Planet globe at the top of the building! There’s a few more images below and if you’re interested in the stats for the whole thing here it is: As it stands there are 5,894 LEGO parts (not including Superman shown below), which means it’s gonna be too expensive for anyone except Jeff Bezos to actually build in the real world, and the total time I’ve tracked so far is about 325.0 hours!
Daily Planet Update!
I started working on instruction generation for my Daily Planet model because even though I hoped to be able to squeeze the globe rotation motor into the green dome at the top I suspected it wouldn’t be possible while making the dome strong enough to support the globe. It looks like that’s probably true, but to be certain I’m going to build the dome and globe out of real bricks (and I’m trying to convince my wife it’s the only responsible thing to do).
There’s a screenshot below of the design tool I use, BrickLink Studio if you’re interested. It does have a steep learning curve (at least for complex projects), but it’s incredible to be able to design something like this on a computer.
MILS Plates!
I’ve been planning to start using MILS plates for my modulars for a while and it turns out there’s a few different schools of thought. In the end, I decided to go with color coded corners (for easy identification at shows and such) rather than solid colored 2x2x1 bricks, along with the usual technic brick connectors on each side of the corners. Another minor deviation from the usual MILS plate that I decided to adopt was adding small arches on each side to allow threading wires for motors and lights and so on. As you can see it’s Superman approved!
Dark or Light?
As I’ve been building the Daily Planet model I’ve struggled with my original tan with white accents and the more I look at it, it just seems too monochromatic, so I quickly did a render using tan with dark tan accents, along with white around the roof line and gold around the clock at the top. And now I’m wondering what folks think about it? If you have an opinion, I’d love to hear it.
Daily Planet Update!
Here’s some new renders of my Daily Planet LEGO model. The globe on top is still a “sketch”, but I did re-work the clock at the top to it’s (mostly) final form and I put some of the detailing there as well. Overall, I’m absolutely thrilled especially since this is my first modular (or any other) design, in fact I was so happy with it that I couldn’t resist photoshopping LEGO Superman into a few of the images for fun. There’s a few more images below.
In case you’re wondering it currently weighs in at 5,511 pieces and I’ve spent about 270 hours (yes, that’s 6.75 full-time work weeks) since I started the design about 5 months ago.
New Daily Planet Renders!
When I started designing my model of the Daily Planet I originally have office windows running all the way to the top, but I was curious what a clock would look like instead, and after playing around with it for a bit, I decided to go for it and created this version above, I’m curious what folks think of the change. Here’s a before and after look:
Here’s a few other images of it:
Overall, I’m quite pleased with how it looks although because none of the detail work is done, it does look rather monochromatic and plain, but I intend to add tons of external detailing like ivy, masonry bricks, and of course a pretty roofline.
I also picked up a couple of Power Up hubs, lights, and motors that I plan to use to make the Planet globe (to which I hope to add the iconic “Daily Planet” lettering) turn and have Superman flying around it.
LEGO Daily Planet: Jimmy’s Darkroom
Every great photographer needs a great darkroom. Or a good darkroom. Or really just a converted closet next to the stairs with a photo safety light. I had a small space next to the stairs on the second floor of the LEGO Daily Planet model I’m designing and one of the things on my wishlist is a darkroom for Jimmy Olsen. It includes two sinks, and a safety light. When I rebuild the second floor in the real model I’ll need a way to hang photos to dry as well. Below is what the darkroom looks like in place next to the stairs.
I’d love to hear thought and ideas anybody has for the model.
A Shared Desk for Lois & Clark
I wanted to create a shared desk for Lois and Clark in the LEGO Daily Planet I’m designing. In particular, our family is very fond of the Smallville portrayals of the characters by Erica Durance and Tom Welling, and I wanted to recreate the messy, chaotic nature of Lois’ desk including stacks of papers, food, and crumpled papers near the waste bin. I contrasted her desk with the stark neatness of Clark’s.
More LEGO Daily Planet!
Here’s a new set of renders of my Daily Planet LEGO compatible modular with the extra floor added that I mentioned in my last Daily Planet post. I’m estimating that the design is about 20% complete. I’m pretty happy with the shape of the building overall, but all of the external greebling is left to do, as well as internal details like office gear, computers, and so on. I’d love to hear your ideas and comments!
Things of Little Importance 