Improving LEGO presentation
I enjoy building LEGO models. The challenge with that enjoyment, is that once it’s done, I need to display it somewhere. And, my models have recently consumed the last of my shelf-space. Now everything looks cluttered and some of them get their pieces knocked off – it’s just not a great situation.
I’ve mounted one of my models on the wall (a small space shuttle) by drilling a hole in one of its bottom plates. This works fine for that model, since it’s flat, but I have a few that aren’t flat-bottomed. I also wanted it to be a bit nicer than just flat on the wall.
In the end, my requirements for a mounting solution are pretty simple:
- No permanent modification of the model (if possible). If modification is required, it should be minimally invasive. This also means no glue.
- The model isn’t flat against the wall. This isn’t very space efficient and it doesn’t look nice for every model.
- No more shelves I have a few that are okay but it’s too easy for them to collect dust and they turn into a landing zone for other things. – no floor shelves, wall-mounted shelves, or floating shelves.
Of course, this means a quick search of thingiverse where I found a few good candidates. My favorite, by far, was this Adjustable Lego Wall Mount by barryk388. I like that it’s basically an arm with a pivoting head that attaches with a brick and he included a few different length arms.
After downloading, slicing, and then printing it – the brick didn’t fit! The studs were just a smidge too big and out of alignment. Thankfully, I remembered seeing a video from CHEP which is below, about slicer settings for dimensionally accurate prints.
Using a pair of calipers I could measure both the non-fitting print and then a real brick, to compare the stud dimensions. My failed print was 0.16mm too large. After adjusting my horizontal expansion in Cura by half that, the part fit perfectly.
Now after printing a few more copies of the adjusted version, I’ll be able to get my models off my book cases and up onto the walls. As an added bonus, since they’re adjustable, I can have the X-Wing chasing the Tie Fighter down the wall. Might even need to get an A-Wing to join in on the fun.