The LEGO Technic Idea Book: Wheeled Wonders

by Yoshihito Isogawa

October 2010, 144 pp.

ISBN-13:

978-1-59327-278-4

Full Color

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The LEGO® Technic Idea Book: Wheeled Wonders is a collection of hundreds of mechanisms for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other vehicles that you can build based on their pictures alone. Each project uses color-coded pieces and is photographed from multiple angles, making it easy to see how the models are assembled without the need for step-by-step instructions. Every model illustrates a different principle, concept, or mechanism that will inspire your own original creations. You're encouraged to use these elements as building blocks to create your own masterpieces. The Technic models in Wheeled Wonders spin or move things, drag race, haul heavy gear, bump off walls, wind up and go, and much more. You'll discover how to build differential gears, implement steering and suspension, and design clutch and transmission systems to use in your own vehicles. This visual guide, the second in the three-volume LEGO Technic Idea Book series, is the brainchild of master builder Yoshihito Isogawa of Tokyo, Japan. Each title is filled with photos of Isogawa's unique models, all of which are designed to fire the imaginations of LEGO builders young and old. Imagine. Create. Invent. Now, what will you build? NOTE: The LEGO Technic Idea Book series uses parts from various Technic sets. If you don't have some of the pieces shown in a particular model, experiment by substituting your own parts or visit the author's website for a list of the special parts used in the book.

Check Out Some "Wheeled Wonders" in Action!

Check out the other books in the series!

Simple Machines

Fantastic Contraptions

Author Bio

Yoshihito Isogawa is a LEGO luminary with 42 years of building experience. He began writing computer manuals while at the Tokyo University of Science and founded Isogawa Studio, Inc. soon after. He has twice won the grand prize in the Japan Manual Contest held by the Japan Technical Communicators Association and he has won outstanding performance awards many times. He currently lives in Tokyo.

Table of contents

Part 1

Motorcars
Various tires
Tire size, torque, and speed of rotation
Simple motorcars

Cars That Spin Something
Push the car, and something spins
Motorcars that spin something

Cars That Move Something
Nonmotorized cars that move something
Motorcars that move something
A motorcar that lifts its tires

Part 2

Differential Gears
What is a differential gear?
Let's examine the differential gear
Each wheel moves a different distance in one turn
Building differential gears

Steering
Steering without motors
A three-wheeler that zigs and zags
Moving straight when going forward; turning when going backward
A car with a lot of gears and mechanisms that zigs and zags
A front-wheel drive car

Suspension
Rubber band suspensions
Spring suspensions
A graceful suspension
Suspension for a heavy car
Suspension for a 4WD car

Part 3

Combining Vehicles with Different Bases
Putting one motorcar on one of four bases
Two cars x four bases = eight cars
One car, four combinations
Another car, four combinations
A base for making a car with big wheels
A base for making a suspension car
A base for a four-legged walker
Creating electricity by turning a motor
A base for turning on lights

Reversing After Bumping a Wall
Going forward and backward
A switch changes the rotational direction
Going forward and backward (electric)

Using Pullback and Windup Springs
A pullback spring
A pullback car
More pullback cars
Spinning a propeller with a pullback spring
Non-pullback springs
A windup spring-powered four-legged walker
A windup spring-powered two-legged walker
A spring unlocked by dropping the car
A pendulum and a spring

Part 4

Transmissions
A two-speed transmission
Three-speed transmission cars
A three-speed transmission
A large-scale transmission
A four-speed transmission
Changing the speed by changing the motor's rotational direction
A transmission with two motors and a differential gear
Shifting gears smoothly

Cool cars
A handcar/pump car
An off-road vehicle
Executing a J-turn
A car that runs without falling off a table
A car that moves like an inchworm

Reviews

"These are an invaluable set of books to have as a reference to build mechanisms."
—BrickJournal (Read More)

"I can emphatically state that no self-respecting LEGO fan should exclude this series from their library."
—Bricks in my Pocket (Read More)

"These are excellent books showing a lot of great ideas for LEGO mechanisms. Even if you're an experienced builder, there are surely some ideas in here you've never seen."
—Brickpile (Read More)

"What I like about these cool little models is that they can be used to teach various science concepts such as gearing, Newton's Laws, and Potential & Kinetic energy—to name a few."
—The Robotic Realm (Read More)

"For anyone who loves Lego, prototypes in Lego, or loves mechanical assemblies, these books are definitely required viewing, and we're not sure how we lived without them for so long."
—Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories (Read More)