tension Archives - EverydayBricks

A Floating Island — A Lego Tensegrity Build

This Floating Island is a Lego Tensegrity Sculpture built by LaughingJelly. This scene would fit in perfectly with Ninjago. The floating island is carefully balanced over a serene lake. The optical effect is actually created with a system of tension. The three Lego ropes / strings are holding the island up. In order to get the length just right the designer has hidden a technic pin inside the rocks, and has coiled the center string until the effect works. It can hold a surprisingly large amount of bricks / weight, but any sort of horizontal pressure will cause everything to fall over. The sheer amount of grass and vegetation makes the scene look like a hidden garden. And, the whole thing has been built on top of a detailed base. A detail that a lot of designers skip over.

You can find more info about this Floating Island Lego MOC over here: https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/haqug2/i_made_a_japanese_floating_island_it_took_weeks/

A lot more Lego Tensegrity builds can be found on EveryDayBricks over here: http://everydaybricks.com/tag/tensegrity/

Getting Lost In The Upside Down – A Lego Stranger Things Tensegrity Build

Lucas, Eleven, Dustin, and Mike are on a quest to save Will from the Demogorgon and the Upside Down. This Lego Stranger Things Tensegrity build is the creation of Richard Jones. The weightless appearance of the Upside Down fits perfectly, and it really looks like Will is in a place he cannot escape. They found the perfect theme for this optical illusion. Tensegrity builds are increasingly popular, and each new one shared is more elaborate than the last. The secret is that the Lego chains are under tension, and are holding up everything above the tree with physics. A delicate balance that can be knocked over at the slightest bump. This Lego Stranger Things MOC is so well done it almost looks like an official Lego release. And, it should be.

Getting Lost In The Upside Down - A Lego Stranger Things Tensegrity Build - Alternate

You can find other photos and information about this Lego Stranger Things Tensegrity Build over here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gasdoc/49825919647/

Great Scott! A Lego Back To The Future Tensegrity Build

Emmet Brown would approve of combining Lego and Tensegrity Sculptures. The concept of a system of tension that can support itself, while not actually interacting with itself is a neat idea. They often create optical illusions where heavy things can appear to be floating. This Lego Delorean is perfectly balanced and is ultimately being help up by just three strings. There have been some basic versions of this trick, but lately they have been more and more complicated/themed. This Lego Back To The Future Tensegrity build is the creation of hachiroku24. The theming is great. The base depicts part of a road, and the unpaved shoulder on the side. With Marty on a brick built hoverboard. He is connected to one of the stings, which is a clever way to make him look like he is really hovering. In the end this is a perfect way to display a Lego Back to the Future 2 themed Delorean.

You can find this “Tensegrity Delorean” over here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/hachiroku24/49806179978/

A neat bonus is that hachiroku24 has provided video instructions on how to build this yourself. Showing how the support structure is built, and even showing how to balance everything at the end. Check out the video below, or over here: https://youtu.be/9HjtvKjwe0k