Paradigm Shift

A great line from an old Dilbert:

That grinding sound you hear is my paradigm shifting without the clutch.

That describes how I still feel about building fighty little robots!

My 10 year old got it right away and is surpasing me in his ability to design.

I on the other hand can’t seem to let go of bricks…

Chassis

I’ve been putting it off, but really I want to tinker with the Mechaton rules.

For the consummate rules tweaker, this ground is just too fertile to ignore!

So, I’ll keep it simple to start.  One of the first things that occurred to me was an alternate “chassis”.

The official rules mandate a 2 dice / 4 attachment arrangement…let’s call that a “normal chassis“.

From there it is not so great a jump to imagine two additional configurations:  a 1 die / 2 attachment “light chassis” and a 3 dice / 6 attachment “heavy chassis“.

I have a feeling this is probably a pretty common variant others have tried.  Anyone have any thoughts on this?

BrickForge

I haven’t had to place an order with BrickLink yet because we have so many pieces from all the years of collecting sets.

However, I’m wondering for those of you who have…have you ever ordered custom pieces like those from BrickForge?

I am a purist and won’t even touch a MegaBlock, however these custom pieces look very useful.

Anyone have any experience with them?

BrickForge :: Nightstick

9-Long

If you had never played a wargame in your life,  I imagine when you got to the section of the Mechaton rules that talks about a “9-long ruler”,  you might be a little confused.

The rules assume you are capable of abstract thought and because of this they don’t really spell out the measuring system per se.

However, the illustration in “The Filed Guide” section clears up any misunderstandings.

For posterity, here’s a pic of the “9-long ruler” implemented.

Record Sheets

I’m liking record sheets. Some may not want or need them, but it is a no-brainer to me that you have to have ‘em.

There’s a couple of different takes on putting one together.

So far I’m liking Yokiboy’s and The Raven’s, but I can’t help but feel there is a better option.

I’m not a graphic artist, but I’m gonna try my hand at one soon…