2019 Parts Fest #2: Kev's Robots

UK-based builder Kevin Levell is back and, as with many other Parts Festival creations, these ideas are spawned from those amazing LEGO® Batman accessory packs. Many of you readers have expressed frustration that these are unavailable from Bricks & Pieces, because they are 'locked' to the Batman license. It seems there might be good news on the way about this – part 50018 is now listed on B&P, although out of stock – so we will keep you updated.

I very often like to build in a freeform, directionless, even Zen-like way. Part of the delight of a Parts Festival for me is the opportunity to experiment with new parts in that exact way. I very rarely have a clear idea of what I want to do, I normally just tinker, putting things together in abstract ways, in regimented or geometric ways, until something 'speaks' to me. Often, multiples of the same part are a particularly effective way to do this, and this is a further delight of a Parts Festival.

Little Robot

In the course of my experimenting, I thought it would be nice to try to build something using exclusively the elements from multipack Mini Accessory, No. 11 (6266977|50018).

Lots of things that look like they would create interesting visual detail in a large build are easy to produce with these parts.  Producing something coherent as a standalone model was much more challenging. I failed to produce something within the self-imposed restriction but it was an interesting journey nonetheless. I tried a few different things, but couldn’t quite get what I was after with just one pack.

I was also tempted to add other parts and I eventually gave in, piled on into my greeble parts to spawn a little robot.

Robert Walker and Robert Wheeler

Way back in 2017 when I first contributed to a New Elementary Parts Festival (The Nexogon), I showed Tim a model I had been tinkering with - a robot head. I put it away unfinished for a combination of reasons. This particular exploration of Mini Accessory, No. 10 in Silver Metallic/ Flat Silver (6266155|40598) and Mini Accessory, No. 11 also in Silver Metallic (6266977|50018) prompted me to dig that unfinished model out.

I'd built another robot head using the Batman accessories bags and I had a few ideas in progress that looked vaguely skeletal. So it was 'just' a case of expanding these heads, to create two bodies to go with them.

Here we have Robert Walker.

And here, Robert Wheeler.  I realised that I was playing heavily to nostalgic sci-fi influences that the average man-child of my generation will most probably all share with me: Johnny Number Five, C-3PO (without his coverings) and the Terminator – Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 aka T-800 aka Arnold Schwarzenegger!

READ MORE: Tim Goddard created some bots too

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