Here is my entry into round 3 of the MOC Olympics, a Rube Goldberg machine. Fun.
About this creation
Raphael Heusser vs Heath Flor
Rube Goldberg: Rube Goldberg machines are impossibly complex machines that perform exceedingly simple tasks. Build us your version of a Rube Goldberg machine and show us how it works. You do not HAVE to have a video of the machine working (but it would REALLY help) and NO deductions will be made if you don't have one. If you don't (which is TOTALLY fine), then we suggest step by step pictures of your machine at each phase of movement. And this part kinda goes without saying but... the machine MUST work.
You can find my worthy opponent's entry HERE
You can find the Moc Olympics homepage HERE
Here it is in all its glory:
Yes, she really works! It took about 50+ tries to get this to work enough to call it a day. The dry runs went well, but as soon as I started recording it was one disaster after another. I drained my battery on my camera, my tablet, and most of the memory on my phone before we finally captured this bit. Those eye rolls of my wife are real by this point. LMAO
Some keen eyes may notice a stoppage at :15....and then it mysteriously restarts. I have no comment. :P I swear it works, but to get it all to work at once while filming was going to be nothing short of a miracle.
Unfortunately there were a ton of mishaps, but one in particular had me raging....after I slammed my hands on the counter after a false start, the dominoes tumbled down and the rest of the machine took over and prematurely poured the whisky....I was furious. Needless to say, it took quite a few times to get this right.
When the categories were announced we were on vacation in California for LEGOland. I was trying to figure out WTF I was going to do when my step son said "You should make it pour you some whisky, since you drink it all the time." Kids say the darnedest things.
The machine starts off with a ball being rolled down these 4 ramps...
Which lands on this feeder ramp....
Which triggers the mummy to swing across....
Where he nudges another ball down this ramp....
Onto another ramp, which trips a trigger and releases the wheel....
Which hits the ghost dominoes.....
Which in turn triggers the catapult. This pulls a stop on the cool machine I can't think of the name for....
The ball rolls down the rails and drops on the trigger holding Dracula...
He tumbles onto a switch that releases the car.....
Which races off the counter and snatches the stop between the bottle and glass. Gravity takes over from there, and then I drink my whisky. ;)
The machine was a challenge to do for sure. I don't foresee anymore LEGO Rube Goldberg machines in the future. However, it has definitely spurred some interest in the family to possibly create another one out of different materials. We'll see.
Good luck to Raphael and the other contestants! And thanks a LOT judges. :/ LMFAO!
Heath,
Having done this with a class full of 3rd and 4th graders, I KNOW how difficult it is to get everything to work! That being said, I could watch this video 100 times for that eye roll alone.
~Dave
Actually had to build one of these for a class of mine (which, like this one, was built out of Lego). Fun stuff, but definitely challenging. Nice work!
Hahaha, very clever construction for a drunken pirate ;oP I'm surprised that after over 50 tries there was still booze left in your house. The Halloween theme is a nice touch, but I'm shocked: Have you never heard of VVS? It's dangerous.
Hahaha absolutely brilliant – you deserve a drink after all that hard work. It is good to see that my wife is not the only one who rolls her eyes at our obsession/hobby. Good luck and make mine a double.
Quoting Stuart Delahay
I'm glad you got the video working mate, genius stuff! I told you i didn't want this category and I was looking forward to seeing what you did and i'm not disappointed. I wonder if that bottle was more full earlier and you had to 'adjust' the level to ensure a good pour? Great that you themed it too. Great job, well done and good luck!
LMFAO no way mate! What I did was purchase two minis, drained the first one into my gullet and refilled it with water for all of my trials. When it came down to the real deal I replaced it with the other bottle full of the good stuff. I used a block (box of tissue. :P) as a safety while setting up so it would accidentally go off. When it did accidentally go off, I carefully refilled the bottle because I wasn't near a store which sold minis, and I had a drink in me already. ;)
Thanks everyone for the kind comments! Hopefully it will be enough to get me through.....though it's tough to beat a rube goldberg worn as a hat! LOL
After seeing your video I have a couple things to say. First off, where's your peg-leg and hook? I expected you to look like your fig man! Okay, minor details. More importantly you come out to SoCal, go to Legoland and you don't dont even stop by to say "hey mate, where's the schnapps?" Well maybe you don't drink schnapps. All right that's enough yankin' your crank for now but it would of been good to meet you in person since you were so close by. Maybe next time. Any hooch, great build you got here. Tell you what, get that contraption to pour me one and we'll call it even partner!
Amazing building! The Halloween touch is very great and you had a really good idea with the booth! What job! I can imagine how it can be difficult to film the all thing but the video is well done! Best of luck with your judges!
I'm glad you got the video working mate, genius stuff! I told you i didn't want this category and I was looking forward to seeing what you did and i'm not disappointed. I wonder if that bottle was more full earlier and you had to 'adjust' the level to ensure a good pour? Great that you themed it too. Great job, well done and good luck!
Quoting Brick Savage
Nice invention and I love the Halloween feel to it. Are you passing out Glenlivet to trick-or-treaters this year? If so I'm stopping at your house.
LOL Yeah right! Balvenie 12 yr double wood baby! Too bad no one ever comes to the door....guess it's all mine...muwahahahahaha!
Wow, this is great! Of course it had to pour whisky :) Rather than pouring the beer into a cup, you should have lain on the ground and have it pour straight into your mouth :) I really want to try building something like this now.
At first, I thought, "Of course it has to do with booze," but then I saw the video and how it all came together, and then I was thinking, "Well of course! There is no better way for this man to have his booze!" Rube Goldburg Machine? More like Rum Gulp-Bourbon Machine. XD
Hee, hee... if I had made a bet on what you would come up with, I would have won a few bucks! Anyhoo, this is great. Nice Halloween touch too! Cheers and may Lady Luck Look upon you with favor! :)
