The course An Introduction to Design through Making provides a hands-on introduction to maker education. Course modules can be found at the link below:
This strand explores how TinkerCAD can be used to replicate three-dimensional LEGO models designed in the previous module.
This is the model I am attempting to replicate.
I am planning on using TinkerCAD to re-design the model, combining multiple bricks into single shapes that snap together. To do this, I am going to deconstruct the LEGO model into the following key components:
To create the leg of a Crested Crane, I began by creating the body of a 1 x 1 brick. However, instead of making it 9.6mm tall like a standard brick, I made it 50mm tall.
Then, I added the stud to the top and the void to the base. This allowed it to snap onto bricks above and below it.
I have found that the square holes in the 1x1 bricks do not grip the studs of the brick below them as tightly as I would like. I will need to experiment with the tolerances to improve this.
To make the African Buffalo’s leg, I designed a custom 2*1 brick structure. I adjusted the height to 38.4 mm from the standard 9.6 mm. I then added a pair of top studs extending 1.7 mm higher, bringing the total height to 40.1 mm.
Finally, to ensure secure interlocking with standard pieces, I integrated a central 3.2 mm diameter clutch pin between the studs, enabling the component to snap firmly onto both upper and lower bricks.
The body of my LEGO crane is two studs wide and composed of mostly rectangles and sloped bricks. To get the design as close to the LEGO model as possible, I first had to create a sloped brick shape. I did this by combining two rectangles and a wedge from the Basic Shapes in TinkerCAD, adjusting their dimensions to match the brick body – I did not add studs – and then merging them together.
Once I had the sloped brick, I duplicated it and stacked it to get the shape of the back and the belly of the bird. For the belly, I duplicated the sloped brick and then used the mirror tool to flip it upside down. Then, with general shape of the body complete, I filled in the empty space with rectangular blocks.
In order for my legs to fit more comfortably on the body, I widened the body to be three studs thick (24mm) once the shapes were all merged.
I also added holes where I will attach the wings. I am experimenting with round holes here instead of square ones. They have a diameter of 5mm, while the studs have a diameter of 4.8mm. I have found that when printed at these dimensions, 3D printed pieces seem to snap together much more cleanly. I have also increased the depth of the holes to 4mm.
For now, I am still using square holes for the studs from the legs, but I have decreased their size by .1mm so I can compare the fit there to the fit in the round holes.
I created the wing with two wedges, placing the second on the diagonal surface of the first. Once I had adjusted the dimensions to find a general shape I liked, I merged the two pieces.
I then rotated and aligned the wing against the body of the crane and adjusted it’s overall size and rotation.
To add the studs, I duplicated the holes in the body of the crane and converted them to solids. I then resized each solid to measure 4.8mm in diameter.
To create the wing for the opposite side of the crane, I simply duplicated and mirrored the first wing.
Once printed, the wings snapped into the body without any problems.
After designing and 3D printing the four custom 2*1 interlocking brick legs with an integrated clutch pin for structural stability, the initial assembly was completed. The four legs were successfully snapped into a rectangular, open-center frame, establishing a sturdy base.
In the latest step, the build has moved upward. Two custom-designed, sloped flank bricks have been mounted onto the sides of the base. These pieces feature a smooth, tapered outer slope to mimic the natural contour of a buffalo’s body, while keeping the standard stud system on top. This setup leaves a central channel open, preparing the model for its spine, neck, and head assemblies.
The design of my LEGO buffalo relies on Sangala Studio’s seamless library of inherent LEGO shapes. After pulling the perfectly proportioned brick templates directly from Sangala Studio, I imported them into TinkerCAD for final assembly.
At the base, I used an 8*3 LEGO rectangular brick with its top studs removed, keeping only the bottom sockets intact so the legs can snap directly underneath.
Stacked on top of this base brick are two sections:
A 6*3 rectangular brick adjacent to a 2*3 slope brick (with studs and sockets removed from both).
Directly above the 63 brick, I added a 6*3 slope brick, also stripped of studs and sockets
To capture the distinct hump of the buffalo’s crest, I placed a half-sphere at the top. After arranging these components in TinkerCAD, I grouped and merged them to form one unified body section. I then duplicated this shape and used the mirror tool to flip it horizontally. For attachment, my buffalo legs feature a 2*2 slope brick shape (4 studs) at the top. These snap into the bottom sockets of the base 8*3 rectangle.
I designed and 3D printed a block-based cape buffalo entirely using Sangala Studio. The whole model is built out of simple rectangular blocks, wedges, and cylinders — with each body part shaped as its own group of shapes before being combined into a single solid piece for printing.
I started with the legs, which are just straight rectangular blocks with an angled wedge cut into the top so each one seats cleanly against the underside of the body at the correct angle. Four of these were made in total.
The body was the most involved part of the build. I layered a series of angled and rectangular blocks on top of each other to form the sloped back, chest, and haunches before grouping them. I built this up gradually and checked it from a few different angles as I went to make sure the proportions read as a buffalo’s torso rather than just a stack of blocks.
the three angled views of the multicolored body shape — here, in sequence, to show how the torso looks from different sides as it was being assembled.)
For the horn, I used a stacked-disc tapering strategy instead of a single cone. Working from the object panel, I built it from 10 discs, each with the same depth (1.56 plates), but with diameters shrinking from 11.8 mm at the base down to 4.5 mm at the tip for a smooth taper. I incremented each disc’s Base value by that same 1.56-plate step (0, 1.56, 3.13… up to 14.0) so they stacked directly on top of one another into a continuous solid, and nudged the X/Y position slightly with each disc (X: ~84→90 mm, Y: ~133→146 mm) to give the horn a natural curve rather than a straight taper. The 10 discs were then grouped into a single horn part before combining with the rest of the model.
The tail uses a similar stacking technique, but with flat discs instead of a continuous spiral — each disc offset slightly from the one below it to create a curled taper, finished with a small block detail on top.
The head was built as a separate module, with a projecting square block for the ear or side detail and small cylindrical cutouts for the eyes and facial features, keeping it consistent with the same blocky style as the rest of the body.
Once every part was shaped the way I wanted, I selected the shapes that made up each section and used the Combine/Group function in Sangala Studio to merge them into single solid components — legs, body, head, trunk, and tail — so each part would print as one clean piece instead of a pile of loose, separate shapes. After grouping, I exported the design and sent it to the printer, and the finished piece came out matching the model almost exactly, with the spiral horn and stacked tail translating well into print. I added stick-on eyes afterward for a bit of extra character.
