A Giant, 3D-Printed, Skateboarding LEGO Minifig That Leans to Steer

LEGO is, quite possibly, the most iconic and well-loved series of toys in history. Just about every person reading this likely has fond memories of playing with LEGO as a kid, and that’s also probably responsible for many of you becoming makers when you got older. That love of LEGO and making is what motivated YouTuber James Bruton to build his giant, 3D-printed, skateboarding LEGO minifig that actually leans to steer the skateboard.

All of the mechanical parts for this project, including the huge LEGO minifig itself, were 3D-printed on a Lulzbot TAZ printer. The minifig was modeled after Emmet Brickowski, who is the main character from The Lego Movie, complete with the red Kragle cap stuck to his back. All of the electronics are housed within the minifig and the skateboard, which is driven by brushless DC motors. Those electronics are pretty straightforward, and Bruton used a pretty standard electric RC car setup.

The main exception is the steering, which is helped along by making the Emmet minifig lean with servos at his waist. That also required a slightly more complex differential system for controlling exactly how fast the wheels are spinning while in a turn, which is monitored and adjusted by an Arduino. A couple of revisions were necessary to improve performance, like moving the battery from Emmet’s torso to his leg to lower the overall center of gravity. But Bruton was able to get it working well, and the result is the coolest RC car you’ll ever see at a skate park.