tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post1541562257467688339..comments2024-03-27T08:37:54.894+00:00Comments on New Elementary: LEGO® parts, sets and techniques: LEGO® review: 40450 Amelia Earhart TributeAdminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05188856208086872634noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-49930476590677484932023-03-04T17:31:34.124+00:002023-03-04T17:31:34.124+00:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.aslamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00391210721366594316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-59864093271319283872021-03-04T03:04:42.840+00:002021-03-04T03:04:42.840+00:00@jimmythefly:
http://justonespark.us/wonder-july-...@jimmythefly:<br /><br />http://justonespark.us/wonder-july-four-twenty-seven/<br /><br />Hah! Found it! It's Earhart poking up through the dorsal cockpit hatch of a Lockheed Vega. To your point, it may not be this specific plane, as the distinctive gold trim is also absent, but it says "Lockheed 'Vega'" on the side, and the cockpit windshield design is identical, but there's no cowling.<br /><br />And yeah, I'm fully aware of scale issues with minifigs and cars. I've designed a lot of 6-wide vehicles, nearly always with seating for two (excluding, obviously, Pixar Cars cars and the occasional single-seater Batmobile). 6-wide is the bare minimum to pull off side-by-side seating, but unless you want the entire car to look a bit runty, a 4-door sedan can end up being upwards of 20 feet long, based on minifigs being 6 feet tall. Or consider the Ideas Ecto-1, which translates to about 10 feet wide and over 30 feet long! That's an ambulance that looks like a hearse the size of a school bus.<br /><br />I've long said that you can either build it to look accurate, or build it to look good, and you have to figure out where in the middle makes you happiest. For me with cars, I've only designed five things that are 8-wide, which are Lightning McQueen, Holley Shiftwell, the cargo box on a straight truck, a semi trailer that still has no cab to tow it, and a vintage Routemaster double-decker bus. But that does raise an interesting possibility. This is scaled to the minifig's height. If someone were to instead scale it to the minifig's width (which is essentially what you're doing when you make a 6-wide car), it might be possible to seat seven minifigs inside of it, and even incorporate the cockpit hatch. And it wouldn't look like a toy on a layout near 6-wide cars.Purple Davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-78031457049082555032021-03-03T03:42:15.212+00:002021-03-03T03:42:15.212+00:00PS you're spot on about the scale, it's on...PS you're spot on about the scale, it's one of the really tricky things with Lego for sure, that and the limits of brick wall thickness. Here's a nice pic of the real Ford GT40 with some guys standing around it. <br />https://i.pinimg.com/originals/84/7e/67/847e67df9f1e0aadf6abcae0cfb0d2ce.jpg<br /><br />Now compare to the Speed Champions GT40, where the tire comes up to the minifig's sternum!jimmytheflyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10060952522546330342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-83429578328361278982021-03-03T03:35:37.842+00:002021-03-03T03:35:37.842+00:00Regarding the cowling, the NACA cowling increased ...Regarding the cowling, the NACA cowling increased speed/efficiency of the planes it was applied to by a large percentage, for the Vega it went from 165 to 190 mph top speed. Perhaps the pic you saw was an earlier Vega from before they added the cowl? <br />https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4219/Chapter1.html<br /><br />I'm 99.9% certain the pilots seat was accessible from the main cabin -take a look at this 360 view and you can see the doorway;<br />https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/inside-cockpit-amelia-earharts-vega<br /><br />This particular Vega 5B seems to only have one window on each side of the fuselage, the rest were filled in or covered. This photo shows the right side, a few photos earlier shows the left.<br />https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruthann/2411165614/in/photostream/<br />jimmytheflyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10060952522546330342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-64599149466606272902021-03-03T03:04:33.573+00:002021-03-03T03:04:33.573+00:00Here are a few notes to add about the plane. I wa...Here are a few notes to add about the plane. I was in the "smaller than minifig-scale" camp, just because it clearly does not look like it could possibly fit one minifig, much less seven. Then I did the math. The real plane is 4.6 times as long as the height of a 6' tall person. The model is 4.6 times as long as the height of a bald minifig (excluding the stud). It really is minifig-scale...at least in terms of height. But minifigs with their hands at their sides are more than half as wide as they are tall, which most certainly does not describe Earhart. If you picture a real person shrunk down to the same height, it's probably a bit cramped but certainly possible.<br /><br />The major design issues are, of course, the landing gear (there are no wheels in the fairings, and no tailskid), and the windshield/windows. For the scale, the fairings look very accurate, but there's just no way to include a wheel in that design. Unfortunately, even that "convenient" anti-stud isn't any use, as it's slightly oversized, but no so oversized that I've been able to find any wheel-shaped parts that can be jammed up inside. The cockpit windscreen is half the width of the model, but looks like it should be at least 3/4 the width, and maybe even wider. There should be additional panes tucked right under the leading edge of the wing, and there should be a large pane directly overhead (at least two photos of Earhart show that this hinges open, and I get the impression that this is actually how the pilot enters the cockpit). Additionally, there should be windows running down the fuselage for the passengers to see out through (this one seems like it would have been easy enough to fix with the inclusion of two more stickers). I also ran across one photo that suggests she removed the engine cowling at some point, possible to eliminate unnecessary weight in preparation for either her trans-Atlantic or trans-continental flight, but most of the photos do show the cowling still in place.<br /><br />People questioned why they were doing an Amelia Earhart set this year. It so happens that January marked the 100th anniversary of her first flying lesson, and this summer will mark the 100th anniversaries of both earning her pilot's license and buying her first plane (not the Vega). She sold the Vega off before attempting to circumnavigate the globe, because she felt she needed a larger plane (certainly it would have been difficult to coordinate with her navigator if he was forced to sit in the main cabin).<br /><br />The way the model is being displayed has a real-world basis, but not for this Vega. The real plane is parked in the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum with the wheels on the floor and the tailskid resting on a block so the plane sits closer to level. But there are many so-called "monument planes", where a retired aircraft will be mounted in a similar manner for public viewing. The only thing is, I'm not sure they'd do that with an aircraft in this style. I've only personally witnessed it with modern jet fighters, and wonder if doing so with a plane of this style where the wings are mounted up front and above the cabin would put too much torque on the wings in high winds.<br /><br />Anyways, really looking forward to this. Between this and the Vintage Car, they haven't really given us much of a post-Christmas breather.Purple Davenoreply@blogger.com