Tipper Ends: Eero Okkonen's Aurora Sievert & Hurricane III

Yesterday, Eero Okkonen examined in great detail the history and geometry of the 'Tipper End Family' of LEGO® pieces, especially Vehicle, Tipper End Flat with Pins (Design ID 3145) and Vehicle, Tipper End Sloped (3436). Today he reveals this never-before-published model he built in February using tipper ends, but first he takes us through earlier models where he utilised these unusual parts that were introduced five decades ago.  

Previous Builds

A more mathematical approach to tipper ends is a new and exciting world to me, but I’ve used them few times before, mostly as armour shells or clothing, something akin to Constraction shells.



The first build I found in my archives is from December 2015 and uses both the original flat 3145 and sloped 3436.

Although its use is a bit obsolete in some respects, the sloped tipper end looks good with the Constraction shell on the leg. The model is called Moon Mayhem and was built for a contest run by my LUG in Finland, Palikkatakomo.

The second archive piece is called Adela, originally published in May 2016.

Sloped 3436 is used as the hem of the skirt; a bit stiff for a piece of clothing, especially on the right, but at least it suggests that the dress is of thin material. This one is still intact in my parent’s house.

The third model is another character build, this time from August 2017. Sloped 3436 is used subtly as shoulder pads. The thinness of the piece is luxurious!

This model is still intact too, but not on display because irresponsible leg construction makes it almost impossible to stay standing. The model’s name is Lumière.

The final archive model is from October 2018.

It uses both the classic 3145 and sloped 3436 to form the armoured miniskirt along with the more recent Brick, Round 1 x 1 d. 90 Degree Elbow - No Stud - Type 2 - Axle Holes (25214), a.k.a. that piece-that-looks-more-like-macaroni-than-the-actual-macaroni-brick. The build is still intact.

The New Build: Aurora Sievert and Hurricane III

I’ve been doing a series of large-scale speeder bikes and their riders since last spring. The first model in this line, Kiirus Ögonblick and Carp Speeder, was originally intended for the LEGO® Speeder Bike contest but I missed the deadline. However, I found the speeders to be interesting elements to design alongside characters, bringing new possibilities for posing and photographing. The fourth speeder of the series, Delfte Solflare and Azure Mayfly, was published as a part of New Elementary’s Parts Festival last January.

This new creation is the fifth. It diverged from the line of motorbike-like speeders, being inspired by air pirate speeders in Hayao Miyazaki’s Laputa, Castle in Sky with the driver hanging by a strap behind the engine. I wanted to continue with unique designs and made some sketches of a vessel that was basically a seat with wings and engines sticking out from it.

READ MORE: Further creations by Eero Okkonen

This idea suggested a wide yet short shape. I wanted to continue using bright colours, and yellow was common, vibrant, and not used in any of my speeders yet. I usually begin my building by gathering some weird pieces, essentially seed parts, and experimenting with them. This time these were octagonal Aquazone pipes, Fabuland car roofs and, yes, Tipper End pieces.

With another retired element, Brick Modified 2 x 4 x 2 with Holes on Sides (6061), I made half a irregular dodecagon to form a sturdy bade for the vessel. Its sides do not fall into the regular ‘stud grid’, so the seat is centred by connecting the sides with long Technic axles and sliding the seat connectors to their positions. The dodecagonal shape also made it possible to position the pedals sturdily in a dynamic 60° angle, which is quite natural for the figure (this is the first speeder where the driver was built first). The tipper ends function as the air intakes of the speeder – by coincidence, in a somewhat similar fashion to Monkie Kid’s Cloud Jet!

READ MORE: Inthert uses new 4x2 wedge plates from the Sith TIE Fighter to create his original LEGO Star Wars models

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