Author Topic: I am building the Taj Mahal out of LEGO (Read 5693 times)

Howard Alan Treesong · « **on:** October 29, 2008, 04:16:16 AM »

As previously mentioned on EB, I bought the Biggest LEGO Set Ever Made^TM, the Taj Mahal. It arrived today and I started building it.

It's 6000 pieces and takes about 20 hours to build, so I thought I would photoblog the process for you guys.

Unboxing - the instructions are divided into three books (base + minarets, central building, and central spire).

First wall done! Six of these make up the base.

Halfway home ... each wall segment takes about 45 minutes to make.

Base complete! Whew. This was about 4.5 hours of work. The iPhone is there for scale - this thing is going to be MASSIVE when it's finally built.

My workspace/living room. I can't have any company until I finish building this, which is a pretty good impetus to keep momentum on the project.

Tieno · « **Reply #1 on:** October 29, 2008, 04:21:59 AM »

Cool, keep it up! Makes me want to play with lego. As I kid it probably was my favorite 'toy', I just built things I came up with.

EvilBoris · « **Reply #2 on:** October 29, 2008, 04:24:07 AM »

I'm going to kick it down when you're asleep.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

keep up the good work

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Vizzys · « **Reply #3 on:** October 29, 2008, 04:25:36 AM »

i had a bigass container of legos as a kid

probably would have loved this

TVC15 · « **Reply #4 on:** October 29, 2008, 04:39:20 AM »

Why would you ever want kids, Kosma? You seem like a sort of libertine. Kids kill freedom and end lives.

Bildi · « **Reply #5 on:** October 29, 2008, 07:27:05 AM »

This is going to be an awesome thread.

Bloodwake · « **Reply #6 on:** October 29, 2008, 11:25:22 AM »

Damn, this makes me want to get a shitload of Legos and build huge buildings.

I had a friend when I was a child who was OBSESSED with Legos. He had millions of them and he literally had a Lego base that encompassed his entire room. Like every dresser he had was covered with the same continuous Lego building. If only I had a digital camera back then. It was pretty amazing.

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #7 on:** October 29, 2008, 12:41:52 PM »

Quote from: Groo on October 29, 2008, 11:36:28 AM

I'm disappointed a regular Lego set like this is using blatantly TECHNIC LEGO pieces in its construction.

Actually, it's pretty clever - it only uses them as connectors, so that the base can be easily broken up into pieces and moved. It would be nearly impossible to move this thing without it buckling, otherwise, so I'll allow it in this case. Overall it's extremely "real LEGO pieces" - very few (if any) goofy custom bits,

patrickula · « **Reply #8 on:** October 29, 2008, 12:52:53 PM »

This is cool. If I have a kid we're totally playing with Legos.

disgruntled_jojo · « **Reply #9 on:** October 29, 2008, 03:27:40 PM »

Yes, this thread is full of potential WIN

Continue the photoblogging plz

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #10 on:** October 29, 2008, 03:40:16 PM »

Awesome!

Place a PS3 next to it when you're done so we can see how big it really is.

Madrun Badrun · « **Reply #11 on:** October 29, 2008, 03:54:20 PM »

Quote from: Groo on October 29, 2008, 11:36:28 AM

I'm disappointed a regular Lego set like this is using blatantly TECHNIC LEGO pieces in its construction.

Those connecting pieces have been around since I was a kid, before the Technic label.

xnikki118x · « **Reply #12 on:** October 29, 2008, 05:14:11 PM »

Quote from: Kosma on October 29, 2008, 04:34:36 AM

Cant wait to play Lego with my kids oneday, keep us posted. That set is huge, are there any more of those big ones???

I feel the same way about getting LEGOs for my kids.

They are so awesome.

Bildi · « **Reply #13 on:** October 29, 2008, 05:38:04 PM »

I agree LEGO for kids is awesome, but why are all you guys waiting until you have kids to get some LEGO? Buy some now!

Madrun Badrun · « **Reply #14 on:** October 29, 2008, 08:13:15 PM »

Quote from: Genghis Cohen on October 29, 2008, 07:34:15 PM

I should buy some legos and play with them by myself since i'm never having children

I'd rather get stuck with a kid than a pony.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

A child is more fun to ride

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drew · « **Reply #15 on:** October 29, 2008, 08:49:35 PM »

i couldn't even make the pirate ship when i was a kid. lol.

drew · « **Reply #16 on:** October 29, 2008, 08:55:04 PM »

:'(

at least i got a cool little dingy out of it!

Madrun Badrun · « **Reply #17 on:** October 29, 2008, 09:50:32 PM »

Quote from: Groo on October 29, 2008, 09:44:23 PM

Quote from: Father_Mike on October 29, 2008, 03:54:20 PM
Quote from: Groo on October 29, 2008, 11:36:28 AM
I'm disappointed a regular Lego set like this is using blatantly TECHNIC LEGO pieces in its construction.

Those connecting pieces have been around since I was a kid, before the Technic label.

Really? Even before the Car Chassis?

I remember I got that pneumatic set too and it didn't work very well for me
I always ran out of batteries for the motors. Then I got a transformer station and sat and played with just the motors for a looooong time, feeling the vibration.

I looked it up, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_Technic and apparently I know nothing. I was thinking Bionicle

Anyhow those pieces were very common in the basic lego sets of my day.

BlackMage · « **Reply #18 on:** October 29, 2008, 10:09:08 PM »

when you finish i want to come over and step on it

muckhole · « **Reply #19 on:** October 29, 2008, 10:37:03 PM »

I never had Lego as a kid, but I made up for it by systematically taking apart every motorized toy I ever recieved to see how they "worked".

I never could get them back together, though. :'(

Bildi · « **Reply #20 on:** October 29, 2008, 10:57:25 PM »

Quote from: Groo on October 29, 2008, 10:23:13 PM

This was my first ever Technic Lego. I was ecstatic when I finished it! The gearbox was so hard to put together for me. I think my parents totally ignored the age requirements or something.

I used to drool over that car in the catalogs when I was a kid. I never got it or the subsequent cars, but I got the forumla 1 car a few years ago. Only downside is that it doesn't have a gearbox which would have been awesome.

I found a youtube vid of it - note the Knight Rider music which frankly is fucking genius.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[youtube=425,350]uVuequPx5gc[/youtube]

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Brehvolution · « **Reply #21 on:** October 29, 2008, 11:30:56 PM »

I want a pic of the new projector setup too.

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #22 on:** October 30, 2008, 03:01:58 AM »

Minarets

These were pretty easy to knock out. Probably 15 minutes each.

They have a cool internal structure to give them stability. The crossbeams are connected all the way up through the center of the spire.

Completed minaret.

All four minarets, placed on the base.

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #23 on:** October 30, 2008, 03:10:37 AM »

Central Spire - Base

The central spire is one of the most amazing things I've ever built out of LEGO. It looks rounded and it's ROCK FUCKING SOLID. I took a lot of pics here because I think LEGO nerds will eat this up.

The core is basically crossed scaffolding. Note the outward facing tan pieces.

WTF did they have me make all these tiny pieces?

Oh, they chain together!

...and curve into a wall

Note that the "empty" pieces of the chain are filled in once attached to the scaffolding. also note that the second tier has been added.

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #24 on:** October 30, 2008, 03:12:36 AM »

Patel, do you have any other huge LEGO sets?

drozmight · « **Reply #25 on:** October 30, 2008, 03:13:05 AM »

Awesome, I loved Lego and Erector Set when I was a kid. Good times!

Oblivion · « **Reply #26 on:** October 30, 2008, 03:14:10 AM »

I look forward to Patel's next thread when he attempts to conquer Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #27 on:** October 30, 2008, 03:16:57 AM »

Central Spire - Spire

The wall pieces of the spire are formed by careful gradiation. 10-stud, 8-stud, 6-stud, 4-stud, 2-stud...layer upon layer.

Two wall pieces attached to the base. note that they are rotated 90 degrees and put on "sideways."

Four wall pieces attached to the base. Note how the curve continues nicely even though the adjacent wall pieces are at right angles to each other.

Four additional, smaller wall pieces complete the spire. Top it off with the point, and wow!

Bildi · « **Reply #28 on:** October 30, 2008, 03:21:20 AM »

Kick-ass pics Patel.

I love seeing LEGO built by someone so systematic and neat - it's truly a beautiful thing. :'(

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #29 on:** October 30, 2008, 03:25:31 AM »

Central Wall

Ugh, this is going to take forever. Building this took like 45 minutes. I have to make three more of these wall pieces tomorrow, then four of the central corner pieces. This is dumb. Who looks at the back of the building! Anyway...

The windows are really nice - they're made out of 1-studs and have a pattern running through them. From a normal viewing distance, this gives them a cool frosted appearance.

The wall pieces use some clever tricks to get a cool, seamless pattern. Note the "syncopated" 2-to-1 bricks along the base of the window line, and the tans with outwardly facing studs along the wall.

The finished wall piece has a nice blue line running through the bottom, two windows, and a flush filigree running around the edge.

Here's where I stopped for the night. Finshing up these central wall pieces is going to take at least all of tomorrow and possibly part of the weekend. I probably won't update again until the central building has been completed.

Vizzys · « **Reply #30 on:** October 30, 2008, 03:51:21 AM »

good work so far

Tieno · « **Reply #31 on:** October 30, 2008, 05:44:21 AM »

When I was a kid I didn't really build the 'planned' buildings, I just had a bunch 'real' legos (the fundamentals), came up with something and then built it. Often I built elaborate garages for the few toy cars I had. Do they still sell the basic blocks or are they all just custom sets?

Beezy · « **Reply #32 on:** October 30, 2008, 07:44:22 AM »

This motherfucker is gonna make me ask for Legos on Christmas. $:-\$

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #33 on:** October 31, 2008, 02:49:31 AM »

Central Wall - continued

Tonight's building session felt like grinding. The side segments of the central wall actually took longer to make as I continued - it became harder and harder to find those last remaining pieces. While the first segment took me 45 minutes to make, the last one took close to an hour.

After finishing those four side segments, moving on to the corners was a breath of fresh air.

The first floor of the corner segment.

Completed corner segment. This was fun to build and a lot faster than the side segments, because it doesn't have the outwardly facing filigree. The cylinder columns are a nice touch - they hide the "break" in the blue line.

The windows look gorgeous in the light - the model is actually designed with a hollow structure so you can place a lamp inside of it.

But at what cost?

Each corner piece has six windows. Each window consists of 12 1-stud clear bricks, stacked in two rows of six. And there are four corner pieces, so ... 4 * 6 * 12 = 288 1-stud bricks I have to stack. My poor, poor fingertips.

Tonight's progress. I stopped after one corner segment.

I went ahead and assembled one corner (and balanced the spire on the other two side wall segments). It's starting to come together!

Beezy · « **Reply #34 on:** October 31, 2008, 02:54:04 AM »

looking good

brawndolicious · « **Reply #35 on:** October 31, 2008, 03:43:00 AM »

it looks like you might actually finish before the end of the week. if it has a hollow center for a light source, you should put a candle in there. even if there's a way to get a power cable out, it would look so much more awesome.

Bildi · « **Reply #36 on:** October 31, 2008, 07:38:41 AM »

Quote from: Synthesizer Patel on October 31, 2008, 02:49:31 AM

And there are four corner pieces, so ... 4 * 6 * 12 = 288 1-stud bricks I have to stack. My poor, poor fingertips.

Imagine if you made a mistake and had to pull them all apart again.

muckhole · « **Reply #37 on:** November 01, 2008, 01:24:36 PM »

Here's a stupid question from a non-lego-er. WHat do you do with it when it's done, Patel? Set it up somewhere in the house for display? Or do you just take it apart after a bit and put it away?

Quote from: Oblivion on October 30, 2008, 03:14:10 AM

I look forward to Patel's next thread when he attempts to conquer Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Madrun Badrun · « **Reply #38 on:** November 01, 2008, 01:30:43 PM »

Quote from: muckhole on November 01, 2008, 01:24:36 PM

Here's a stupid question from a non-lego-er. WHat do you do with it when it's done, Patel? Set it up somewhere in the house for display? Or do you just take it apart after a bit and put it away?

Quote from: Oblivion on October 30, 2008, 03:14:10 AM
I look forward to Patel's next thread when he attempts to conquer Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Oblivion.

Ya Patel what are you going to do with it after it's done? You should get a glass cover for it. I had some starwars lego sets on display for a few years in my room as a kid and those fuckers got dusty as hell and were hard to keep looking nice.

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #39 on:** November 01, 2008, 03:19:30 PM »

Quote from: Father_Mike on November 01, 2008, 01:30:43 PM

Ya Patel what are you going to do with it after it's done? You should get a glass cover for it. I had some starwars lego sets on display for a few years in my room as a kid and those fuckers got dusty as hell and were hard to keep looking nice.

I'm fortunate enough to work at a super nerdy game company, so I can display it in my office pretty easily. I wouldn't keep it around the house.

Positive Touch · « **Reply #40 on:** November 01, 2008, 03:28:59 PM »

good god those pics make me so giddy that i'm starting to feel lightheaded. i'm gonna raid my parent's basement the next time i see them.

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #41 on:** November 01, 2008, 08:02:23 PM »

Central Building

All four corners done! Four corners + four wall pieces = central building perimeter.

Some crazy-ass Technic shit for this supporting framework.

This is how walls become a building.

And a ceiling.

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #42 on:** November 01, 2008, 08:04:40 PM »

OCD

x16

x32

So boring. $:-\$

Oh yeah.

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #43 on:** November 01, 2008, 08:06:33 PM »

Central Spires

These are tiny, but extremely complex, in order to get a "curve" in such a small shape.

A spire.

Spires attached! The central building is complete!

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #44 on:** November 01, 2008, 08:10:16 PM »

The Taj Mahal

It's done! It's done! Overall, building this was an extremely rewarding LEGO experience. There were a few repetitive parts: the tiny "fence" pieces along the outer edge, the windows in the central building, and the central walls in general. But there were also some incredible feats of LEGO engineering, such as the "flush" patterns running through the central walls and the mind-blowing central spire. In the end, it's very satisfying to have built something as gorgeous as the Taj Mahal out of REAL LEGO, without falling back on any custom pieces. This set is standard LEGO through-and-through. It is also going to scare the bejeezus out of people when they see it at the office on Monday.

I'll take some more pics tomorrow night once I get an internal light source. Thanks to everyone for your comments and support!

Madrun Badrun · « **Reply #45 on:** November 01, 2008, 08:13:34 PM »

That's so fucking cool.

laesperanzapaz · « **Reply #46 on:** November 01, 2008, 08:19:46 PM »

hmmm, spending so much time and energy on building a LEGO monument

does'not really pass my cost-benefit analysis, but hey congrats

Madrun Badrun · « **Reply #47 on:** November 01, 2008, 08:22:48 PM »

Quote from: laesperanzapaz on November 01, 2008, 08:19:46 PM

hmmm, spending so much time and energy on building a LEGO monument

does'not really pass my cost-benefit analysis, but hey congrats

It's only a worthy deed for you if a prostitute dies in the process, right hooker killer. What Filth!

Bildi · « **Reply #48 on:** November 01, 2008, 08:44:42 PM »

WOWOWOWOW.

I can't wait to see it with the light inside. Just please don't turn 6,000 pieces into one big melted piece. $:-\$

muckhole · « **Reply #49 on:** November 02, 2008, 12:57:02 PM »

That's amazing Patel.

You said you're going to display it at work, how hard is it to move something that size around without anything coming apart? Or do you just take it in chunks?

Beezy · « **Reply #50 on:** November 02, 2008, 01:15:24 PM »

pilonv1 · « **Reply #51 on:** November 02, 2008, 07:37:44 PM »

I am so jealous. People at work go to see lego all the time and bring back stuff. Usually it's a small piece of Star Wars or City Lego.

I want them to bring back one of these for me

http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=10143

http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=10179

5000 pieces

I love Lego, me and my best friend put together some Batman Begins stuff for his birthday a year ago, it ruled.

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #52 on:** November 02, 2008, 09:21:41 PM »

Here's what it looks like with a lamp inside:

It's not as washed out/overpowering as my cheap digicam makes it look. It's a really nice yellow glow. Thanks IKEA!

I've broken it up into three boxes and am going to take it into work and reconstruct it tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #53 on:** November 02, 2008, 09:31:46 PM »

the light makes it look verry awesome

pilonv1 · « **Reply #54 on:** November 02, 2008, 11:38:26 PM »

holy fuck

http://www.evilbore.com/forum/index.php?topic=26054.50

Fresh Prince · « **Reply #55 on:** November 02, 2008, 11:55:00 PM »

The lamp makes it

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Author Topic: I am building the Taj Mahal out of LEGO (Read 5693 times)