[MOC] Hogwarts Moving Staircase

[Sebeus I]

My very first creation in the Harry Potter universe.

The moving staircase on itself wasn't much of a challenge. The moving balustrades were. Note that the port one already starts sliding inside the wall before the staircase begins moving. Additionally the starboard balustrade will only come out after the staircase began moving. (What? I'm used to building ships, don't staircases have port and starboard sides too?). All this is driven by a single mechanical system and I can tell you, this required a considerable amount of patience. I don't think I've ever experienced frustrations of this magnitude when building a lego creation before. You see, in the beginning, after a lot of fine tuning, it worked very smoothly. But as I finished it and wanted to start filming, the mechanism jammed all the time. Turns out the staircase was too heavy, which resulted in too much stress on the drive chain. I removed one step at a time until it worked again.

The internals, for the interested, although there's not that much to see I'm afraid.

Initially there was a corridor behind the door, with a width of 4 studs. But as the mechanism began jammed a lot when nearing completion, I had to remove it in order to supervise the mechanism below.

I intend to expand this scene, I have learned a lot from this build and I'm sure I can overcome the limitations I came across. However, as this means I'll have to completely start over again, It won't be for the very near future. For the next version I want more platforms, so the staircase will actually lead somewhere. Those platforms should of course have moving balustrades of their own. As I see myself bringing this to exhibition events It would make sense to motorise the system so I can make it run continuously. And then maybe adding some other animations, such as moving portraits. It's all possible, I just need to learn how to do it  .

 

 

[Vilhelm22]

Gotta say it - excellent work here.  And just the addition of Nearly Headless Nick coming out of the painting is excellent!  I suggest you try adding a motor - with expansion upon this model plus motors you could have multiple staircases moving at the same time!  

[brick3up2across]

This turned out incredible. All the gearing looks very complicated though, so I don’t blame you for taking a break from building more. As @Vilhelm22 said, having it motorized would make it seem even more magical. Can’t wait to see more as you expand it.

[jimmynick]

Incredible, just like in the movies! Not only is the mechanism itself superb but the set dressing is "realistic" too - love Nearly Headless Nick coming out of the wall!

[badchriss]

Oh wow, this is some amazing work. The part with the moving balustrades that go in and out of the wall is definitely some handy craftsmanship.

[karmajay]

Great job with the mechanics. That is definitely something I'm not practiced in either!

[leafan]

You've done a great job recreating one of the most magical parts of the movie. Well done.

[Jerry McGlade]

So cool! 

Edited May 27, 2020 by Jerry McGlade

[GeoBrick]

Clever.
Looking forward to see it live in a couple years.

[Sebeus I]

8 hours ago, GeoBrick said:

Clever.
Looking forward to see it live in a couple years.

That sounds sceptic... I do hope the Covid measures won't last that long .

Edited May 29, 2020 by Sebeus I

[marvinblue]

This is insanely well done!! Fantastic job, would love to see it motorised.

[blackdeathgr]

A nice by-project of yours, Sebeus! We all know that LEGO creations are always better with movement. Now that you did your part for Harry Potter universe, start building ships again!!!!! 

Edited May 30, 2020 by blackdeathgr

[Roebuck]

Impressive! Well done

[GeoBrick]

On 5/29/2020 at 9:29 PM, Sebeus I said:

That sounds sceptic... I do hope the Covid measures won't last that long .

Oh, I'm sorry.
Its just I'm a real slow builder myself, and since you wrote 'not in the near future' I understood it would take a while before you would have a showcase expansion for this. 

[Sebeus I]

23 hours ago, blackdeathgr said:

A nice by-project of yours, Sebeus! We all know that LEGO creations are always better with movement. Now that you did your part for Harry Potter universe, start building ships again!!!!! 

Hahaha, as a matter in fact I do have no less than 6 WIP ships lying about, some of them are pretty old now. Unfortunately I don't see myself finishing them. I'm not so much into ships nowadays. Although there is one of these 6 that might get some attention on a good day...

7 hours ago, GeoBrick said:

Oh, I'm sorry.
Its just I'm a real slow builder myself, and since you wrote 'not in the near future' I understood it would take a while before you would have a showcase expansion for this. 

Oh I see. I meant to bring this set-up to the first coming event, whenever that is. The expanded version is for next year at the earliest.

[Redroe]

The moving balustrades are just the ticket. Would be phenomenal to see a matching set at the top. Do port and starboard switch sides depending on whether you're going up or down stairs?

[OccamsRazor]

Wow!

 

Could you post a video of the gear mechanism working (i.e. showing the back of the build while you turn the wheel)? I can't figure out how the moving balustrades work!

[Rob0]

Fantastic stuff! I love how seamless the balustrades integrate into the staircase, and the collection of living portraits really finish the whole thing.

[Tariq j]

This is brilliant. The mechanism you’ve used is genius!

[Omega X]

Absolutely incredible! I can only imagine the time, patience and ingenuity it took to pull this off!