Building A Torso For My 2ft Tall Lego Mech!

What's up LEGO builders, just when you thought I'd forgot, it's time for another episode of building my 2 foot tall mech in LEGO. This is a secret project belonging to the HADF military faction on the planet Kofera, and I knew I needed this week to be a big one, so I booked extra time to build, hoping that'll yield us some impressive results. This mech is already over halfway to its height goal, and if you believe it'll reach 2 feet tall, don't forget to open fire on that like button, and let's get building. It's been over a month since the previous mech update, so to recap, I got both legs done to the point where I can move on to the next segment of the machine. I think they're looking real good, but are still missing a crucial element, the hip joint. This entire area had to be left open until I figured out how the legs were going to connect to the hips, but I think I finally have a solution, so it's time to fill this spot in. How funny is it to think that when starting this project, I had the delusional belief that this behemoth would have some working limbs and joints. I'm now realizing this thing is going to weigh more than that family feast from Panda Express I devoured in secret last week when finished, so building movable joints that can support that much weight is entering a realm of mock building that I'm not even close to yet. At this point, I just want to create something that can support itself. For how small the pieces are, Lego creations get heavy fast, and this is the first time I'm trying to build something this big without a support like a rock wall or stand underneath. This chunk securely connects inside the upper leg and forms the connection point for the hips, and once that's in, I just need to reattach the exterior slopes and panels making up the top of the leg. I still have to deal with the rest of the exposed inner thigh though, that's a piece of cake at this point, because all I need to do is build a couple of panels and slap them in place. I say piece of cake because unlike the outer panels, these are going to be relatively smooth. No fancy details or texture because I need a flat space to attach the actual hip joint. This particular panel has a square hole in the middle allowing it to attach to the leg but leave an opening for that 4x6 Technic brick I put in earlier which protrudes out of the leg just a little bit. The second panel will have more detail because it sits lower down over the knee joint. There's no actual joint here, but I'm placing some large dark green dishes on either side of the knee so it looks like there's one and provides more mechanical elements to the build. And now the panels can be affixed in place via headlight bricks to the leg. Now comes the part I've been really nervous about, the actual hip area. The legs were honestly pretty easy to build, they're mostly self-contained and up to this point only need to hold themselves up, which isn't much weight. But now it's time to build arguably the most important part of the mech structurally speaking. The hips need three solid connection points for both of the legs and the torso. They have to securely connect to each leg and span the gap between the two with little to no support all while holding the torso and arms steady. Oh, and the hips have to be absolutely massive because I had the bright idea to make this thing two feet tall. It really makes me understand the importance of my own hips and that I should probably be taking better care of them. As a result, I've been avoiding building these hips as long as I can, but now it's time to bite the bullet and figure this out. No surprise here, but I browsed some Warhammer 40k titans as inspiration because one thing I really like about their hip construction is the simplicity. It's really just two ball joints protected by armor. So with that in mind, I'm starting to build the frame, which will be built in three sections that stack on top of each other with the topmost being comprised of a bunch of inverted slopes and tile. My plan is that this one will sit atop the other two sections and using the inverted slopes extend out and over the top of the hip joints creating a smooth base that is wide enough for the torso to sit on. Then once it's all finished, I can cover the basic frame in beautiful armor. I'm starting to see the vision for what this will look like and I'm both pleased and surprised, but now it's time to build the armored panels. I think the easiest way to do that is to design two large shield-like panels that have a single connection point to the hip area. That way if I need to remove them to make adjustments, I can do so with ease. This will be the rear panel and as such, it won't be very big. Just enough to cover the hip section and a little of the joints. Stuff like this can be more fun, but stressful to build. Because this is an external plate, I get to add the final details and designs that are always fun to make, but it's also stressful for that same reason. Now I actually have to figure out what the final design looks like. I've been using a lot of dark green tile, especially the shield ones as highlights, which so far seems to be working quite well. The frontal plate is going to be a different matter though. It needs to be much more prominent since most attacks directed at this mech will come from the front, so that side of the hips will be a vital area to protect. I built this base out of inverted slope which formed the back side of the panel. The front is going to utilize all different kinds of slopes forming a massive shield. I employed the use of medium to large slopes to craft the overall shape and curve of the panel, adding some dark green highlights and a small flag dangling at the bottom. This use of large slopes matches how I built the legs, so will help keep the design language consistent across this massive build. While building this panel, I stumbled upon a couple of dark bluish gray wings and had the idea to build some kind of crest or emblem to adorn the mech. I love the idea of including stuff like that on sci-fi war machines, and I added a couple of swords to make it even better. The actual hip joints will be formed using these massive multi-toothed wheels. I knew I wanted some kind of round piece to make up the actual joints, and as soon as I saw these in my bin of wheels, I knew I had to try everything I could to make them work. They look so mechanical and are the perfect color for the build. However, they weren't very cooperative when it came to forming a hip joint that could connect to both the legs and the hips at just the right angle, but after much trial and error, I got something that I think just might work. Outside of trying to get the large wheels to work as joints, the hip section was surprisingly easy to build. All I really needed to do was create a structurally sound frame, then encase it in armored panels. Those are doing the heavy lifting aesthetically speaking, shaping the hip area and molding around the interlocking wheels providing protection. The front panel is a sight to behold. It's like a massive shield, protecting the mech with all the different slopes providing texture and perceived density needed for frontal armor. The emblem turned out great, especially considering the whole idea came about just because I saw the wings in a bin and thought they would look cool on the mock. Each mech of this size has its own unique emblem representing its nature and characteristics, though I'm still deciding on what this one means. To be honest, getting the hip section done and attached to the legs was my main focus for this week, so I wasn't thinking about or planning on getting too much of the torso done as well, but I was in for a big surprise. I want to build the torso as its own structure that can be removed from the hips, so I need to start by building a good base for that. I also had this fun idea to build a couple of massive pistons that will run the entire length of the torso and in theory be used to help move the shoulders and arms, since I'm always looking to add as many mechanical elements as possible. But before I build those, I want to start making a frame to help hold them in place. I learned my lesson while building Lantern Industries and I'm spending more time making sure the frame and exterior panels are stronger and connect together more securely. The large pistons will be constructed out of 2x2 and 4x4 round brick with a 4x4 cone transitioning from one type of brick to the next. The problem is, I have two sections that both have studs on the ends so they can't properly connect unless I use two round tiles, one with a hole in the middle and the other a stud. Connecting them gives me a piece with anti-studs on both sides, allowing me to finish the piston. Each one goes into a little alcove of sorts built into the sides of the torso, then I stacked a bunch of inverted slopes along the sides to protect and partially cover them. Those stacks of slopes aren't mighty wobbly though, so now it's time to build a technic catwalk that can bridge the gap between each of the pistons and lock all those stacks of slope in place. This will also further establish the frame of the torso. My goal right now is to create the strongest frame possible and not worry about how I make it pretty until it's all finished and I'm building the exterior. Sounds simple I know, but my brain loves to worry about crossing bridges that can't be crossed until I get to them. I do need to think about how I want the mech torso to be shaped though. I want the front to protrude outwards so it doesn't look too flat and as such it's time for more technic. The other nice thing about that is it cuts down on the amount of pieces needed. One technic brick is the equivalent to many regular bricks and plates, so they'll create a much lighter frame meaning less weight bearing down on the hips. These beams will lean out at an angle and connect back to the frame via black 6x8 hollow technic brick. I am a little curious as to how I'm going to cover this frame when the time comes, so I built a couple of experimental panels out of wedge plate to see if this is a potential option. Let me know in the comments what you think of the build so far. Amazingly, I still have time to build so I figured why not start on the head slash cockpit. Even before finishing the first leg, I knew this piece would have to form the bottom of the cockpit. I lined the bottom with inverted slopes to thicken the base and help it better transition into the chest area. Unfortunately, that's kind of where my inspiration ends. I know I want this head to have some form of large windshield forming more of a cab than an actual face. At least now that the head's started I can experiment with different windshield pieces and other designs. Even with all my ambitions and plans for building this week, I was not expecting to get this much of the torso done. In the spirit of keeping this MOC as modular as possible, the torso and hips were built as two separate components. The torso has a 4x4 chunk of brick on the bottom that slides into a hole on top of the hips using the weight of the torso to keep itself in place. There are also a couple of studs dotting the smooth surface of the hips that will help lock the edges of the torso in place. Even though the frame isn't done, this should give you a good idea of what the torso will look like. It's a V shape with the arms sitting up above the large pistons on the sides, with the rear angling in the opposite direction working as a counterbalance. It's not all sunshine and rainbows though. The load-bearing capabilities of the hips are causing me some concern. Right now they can easily hold up the torso, and using weights I found they can also support at least 5 pounds or 2.2 kilograms, however, the hips do start to buckle a little. What I find interesting is that the buckling happens because of the feet. You can see when pressure is applied up top, the feet start to slide apart, threatening to topple the legs and separate the hip joints, but if I can get them to stay in place, that should increase the load-bearing capacity. I think it was in episode 1 of this series, someone suggested attaching rubber wheels under the feet to provide stability, and I think this could help prevent them from sliding under the weight of the finished mech, but that's a theory I'll have to test next time. This was never meant to be a full-on building series, but somehow it has not only turned into that, but one of my favorite ones. I find myself looking forward to getting to work on each update and see more of this colossus come together. Next time I'm going to start working on the smaller secondary and tertiary weapon systems that will adorn this walking arsenal. I'm also going to reveal more about the Hungry One who prompted this whole HADF secret project and what kinds of horrors he might have heading towards the planet of Kofera and its inhabitants. That's a wrap for this video and I will catch you all next time, but until then, happy building.