LEGO Design Quirks, Flaws, and Whimsical Surprises
"Bloody hell, where's the DOOR?"
Do Lego designers ever make mistakes?
In building our first three kits, we were just awed and amazed at the clever design, the sturdy buildings, the ingenious solutions to construction challenges.
If one of the owl turrets fell off, we just blamed our own clumsiness. The big tree in Medieval Marketplace would fall apart if you breathed on it. (We considered glue in both cases.) But "Only God can make a tree." So no big deal.
In the Hogwarts Azkaban set, however, we were surprised when we couldn't get the pendulum-clock-gate mechanism to work. We thought it was just our fault for being amateurs, or because we bought the set used. We thought maybe the windup mechanism was worn out. But we tested it separately and it worked just fine. The problems lay elsewhere (see below). Ultimately, we were able to modify most of them such that we got our money's worth out of this unique and expensive collectible.
Later on, we found other little anomalies that might have been handled better. In each, we were able to make a little modification that fixed the problem. Details follow.
In building our first three kits, we were just awed and amazed at the clever design, the sturdy buildings, the ingenious solutions to construction challenges.
If one of the owl turrets fell off, we just blamed our own clumsiness. The big tree in Medieval Marketplace would fall apart if you breathed on it. (We considered glue in both cases.) But "Only God can make a tree." So no big deal.
In the Hogwarts Azkaban set, however, we were surprised when we couldn't get the pendulum-clock-gate mechanism to work. We thought it was just our fault for being amateurs, or because we bought the set used. We thought maybe the windup mechanism was worn out. But we tested it separately and it worked just fine. The problems lay elsewhere (see below). Ultimately, we were able to modify most of them such that we got our money's worth out of this unique and expensive collectible.
Later on, we found other little anomalies that might have been handled better. In each, we were able to make a little modification that fixed the problem. Details follow.
Hogwarts Express (4841): There is no door for the passengers to enter! They must depend on divine intervention -- you, their Creator -- to put them in through the roof which is removable.
This is Lego's usual "playability" mode, but it does make for somewhat odd-looking doorless passenger car.
One cannot "fix" this, so I would call it a design quirk, like other oddities connected to the Lego "playability" mode.
Famous LEGO design quirk: Whimsical items and mini-figs often lurk unseen in the interiors of fully enclosed buildings. You have to remove the roof or the floor(s) above for "playability," or just to SEE the items! Charming quirk. Example: a mini-fig man in the Emporium is trying on pants -- behind a black curtain. You can't even see him when the second floor is removed. The Danes seem to love planting these little surprises! (Even more appear in the Pet store: read on.) Architecture: Brandenburg Gate I disliked the hokey statuary on top of the original so I modified it to better suit the profile of the overall structure. |
Jewel case in the Emporium, first floor. I think the colorful jewels here were meant to be seen, but if you follow the instructions they are not visible from the usual angle of view. I lowered them in the case.
Oven door in Fire Brigade. If you follow the instructions, it will hit the offset windowsill when open. (I had a kitchen like that once.)
I moved the sink into that corner instead - and made some other changes while I was in there.
In the apartment above the Pet Store, we see a similar arrange-ment: the oven now sits away from the window.
CASTLE: The prison in the corner has a big chain and lock, but I doubt it would contain anyone for very long.
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Hogwarts 4757, Prisoner of Azkaban. There were 2 or 3 problems with this gizmo:
a gear wheel kept falling out of place and not engaging; the pendulum prevented the motor wheel from rotating; and the gate would often get stuck on its way down. I think at least one was an early design flaw, as we have seen overhead gates and doors move much more smoothly in recent Lego models (Castle and Fire Brigade).
To make a long story short, I shortened the pendulum piece, then disconnected it from the wheel mechanism above. I let it extend high enough that the wheel hits it with a click when it comes around, but it no longer obstructs the wheel.
As for the gear wheel slipping down next to the wall, I just hold it in place (via a red piece) when setting and winding the wheel. It now works MOST of the time. |
In the Pet Store, a pleasant surprise: I find myself building some kind of retractable stairs and I am wondering why.
The dog is already installed in his glass cage on the first floor. Later I go in to change his position, and now I see why the stairway is retractable.
If it had been built in permanently, I would
not be able to access the animal cage at all. Thank you, Lego designers, for thinking ahead on this one! P.S. Notice that the dog is looking at a giant carp as large as himself, in the aquarium across from him. Meanwhile the cat in the other cage plays with a gray curved object. It is the tail of a rat out in the alley, extending through a mouse hole built in by these wacky designers. |
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