Monday, June 27, 2016

A Lego Spinning Wheel

The final iteration of my lego spinning wheel. (Version 3)
When I discovered that Lego had a spinning wheel in their Sleeping Beauty set, I was very excited.  Wahoo a spinning wheel!  Unfortunately, there were two problems.  This is part of the Lego friends set and the minifigures aren't compatible with other Lego items.  Not only do they have breasts, but their feet are too big and they are rounder than the typical mini figures.  Technically you can play with them together, but they are built so differently it feels like a completely different toy.

A lego "Friend" and my Lego Chemist's reaction.

I'm not here to rant about the Friends series, I'm here to talk about how I built my lego spinning wheel out of (mostly) parts that you can find in the pick-a-brick store.  Why do I need to build my own?  I'm not opposed to purchasing Lego Friends items (I like their little animals), but the Sleeping Beauty Set was discontinued from the Lego website.


With Legos from Keith's collection, and the Sleeping Beauty Bedroom instructions, I decided to take a crack at replicating the spinning wheel.  There was one problem, this cone shaped piece.  This is the "spindle" from the movie that Aurora would prick her finger on and fall into an enchanted sleep.  I'm not sure what this is supposed to correspond to on an actual antique spinning wheel, I haven't seen anything like it on all of the wheel pictures I've looked like.  I have a drop spindle but that isn't sharp.

Version 1:


I got pretty close right away.   Instead of the gold spindle (horn) I used a short 1x3 piece, two taps and a "Round Brick 1" to look like a bobbin of yarn.  I borrowed a wheel from my Lego Flower Wagon but hoped that I could find something in pick a brick.  If I left my flower cart without a wheel then I could only use a tire like shown below.  


This really wasn't too bad for my first pass.  I wanted to see if I could do better with color matching from the pick-a-brick store.  I don't like the placement of where the yarn bobbin is located, but I plan to adjust this when I get other options.
 

Anyway, there is this pointy unicorn horn looking thing in the official lego set, there is no way I could replicate that piece.  I looked at all kinds of claws, horns, spyglasses and anything that could look like a horn.  I ordered a bunch and patiently waited for them to arrive.

Version 2 - Now that I've purchased bricks, I can make the lego spinning wheel in the same handedness as the original kit (versus the mirror image that is Version 1).  For the spindle, I used a "Stick Ø3.2 2Mm W. Knob And Tube" and a


I wish that I could have found the wheel and other parts all in brown.  However I was limited based on what existed in the pick-a-brick color options.   

Version 3

I played around with the taps and "yarn" a bit until I got an arrangement that I liked.  I added an extra 1x1 plate to raise up the tap and have it at a diagonal.  This will give a place for the yarn to wrap around the bobbin as you're spinning.


This version feels the most accurate and has been sitting on my window sill ever since I built it.  (Sorry Flower Wagon, I need your wheel!)  

Part List:
  • "Stick Ø3.2 2Mm W. Knob And Tube" (BLACK)
  • "Star Symbol Star W. Tube And Hole Ø1.5" (GOLD)
  • "Nose Cone Small 1x1" (RED. BROWN)
  • "Palisade Brick 1X2" (RED. BROWN)
  • "Round Brick 1x1" (MEDIUM AZUR)
  • "Right Plate 2x4 W/Angle" (DK. ST. GREY)
  • "Bearing Element 2X2, Single" (MED. ST-GREY)
  • "Plate 1x2" (RED. BROWN)
  • 3x - "Plate 1x1" (RED. BROWN)
  • 2x - "Tap Ø4.9/6.4" (MED. St-GREY)
  • Wheel "4489" from the Lego Flower Wagon.  (Nothing like it in the pick-a-brick store.)  
If I were to order pick a bricks again, I'd order one Plate 1x4 and only one Plate 1x1 in the Red Brown color.  


What would you change about this Lego Spinning wheel?  I considered wrapping real yarn around the "bobbin" but wanted this to be 100% constructed out of legos.  I know that this spinning wheel will end up in the Lab/Zoo that I want to build out of all of my little vignettes.