[MOC] Fiesta Balloon

[RoxYourBlox]

Fiesta Balloon soars above Lego city!

To contribute to Eurobricks' airship collaboration at Brickworld Virtual Halloween 2020, I swapped the color palette of Harley's Balloon with rainbow colors spiraling around to emulate the more vibrant patchwork pattern you might typically see in the sky. Its name refers to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which I would someday like to attend after our pandemic is over.

 

 

Stunningly hollow thanks to a dome technique refined over 10 years, the balloon can rest on its gondola or float from a technic beam installed at the apex. My previous technic balloon skeleton has been strengthened with #24121 11x11 quarter technic gear racks to beef up stability and allow access inside the top or bottom hemispheres by removing the equatorial plates. An optional reversible handle can be mounted inside the hole at the top to carry or hang it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JintaiZ]

Simply amazing!  I love all the bright colors.

Edited January 2, 2021 by JintaiZ

[WesternOutlaw]

Wow!  What an ingenious design.  Nicely done.

[peedeejay]

The inside is almost sexier than the outside! ;-)

Great build!

[NewTown]

Wow! Very cool and ingenious.

[makoy]

Really amazed how the technic connections can hold the whole MOC. Great work!

[EVE]

Beautiful solution to a tricky geometrical problem!

[Aanchir]

Lovely job! If I had any complaint, it'd be that the transition between some of the colors can be a bit abrupt compared to the smoother transition from Bright Red to Bright Orange to Bright Yellow to Bright Yellowish Green. But I understand that's probably an unavoidable consequence of which colors the wedge plates you needed were available in.

You did an amazing job reinforcing the structure also! It really feels like the level of quality I'd expect from a set, not just from a MOC! The hanging/carrying handle is a particularly delightful feature, and seeing your photos, I can't help but think how awesome it'd be to hang it from some kind of mechanism that would allow it to slowly ascend and descend!

[Klaus-Dieter]

That's an excellenz ballon, RoxYourBlox!

I'm really surprised that a Ballon can be built only with bricks and without any cloth. Plus the "colorfullness" is great, too.

[koalayummies]

Incredible build and construction! At a glace it looks like it could be fragile but then seeing the interior structure its incredibly strong and robust. Amazing geometry with the Technic frame and the exterior rainbow color is a blast. Absolutely fantastic!

[BrickChampsCOM]

Wow, great construction. And the final result looks fantastic!

[RoxYourBlox]

@peedeejay @NewTown @makoy @EVE @BrickChampsCOM Thank you!

On 11/9/2020 at 11:57 AM, Aanchir said:

Lovely job! If I had any complaint, it'd be that the transition between some of the colors can be a bit abrupt compared to the smoother transition from Bright Red to Bright Orange to Bright Yellow to Bright Yellowish Green. But I understand that's probably an unavoidable consequence of which colors the wedge plates you needed were available in.

You did an amazing job reinforcing the structure also! It really feels like the level of quality I'd expect from a set, not just from a MOC! The hanging/carrying handle is a particularly delightful feature, and seeing your photos, I can't help but think how awesome it'd be to hang it from some kind of mechanism that would allow it to slowly ascend and descend!

Thanks! Yes, the colors were constrained to the assortment of wedge plates and round tiles available in bright colors. There is room for expanding it into a larger MOC when my imagination is ready to tell me what's next.

On 11/10/2020 at 7:30 PM, Klaus-Dieter said:

That's an excellenz ballon, RoxYourBlox!

I'm really surprised that a Ballon can be built only with bricks and without any cloth. Plus the "colorfullness" is great, too.

Thank you! Yeah, that's interesting; I suppose if Lego produced something like this, they could print large cloth ovals that stretch over the frame.

On 11/11/2020 at 11:07 PM, koalayummies said:

Incredible build and construction! At a glace it looks like it could be fragile but then seeing the interior structure its incredibly strong and robust. Amazing geometry with the Technic frame and the exterior rainbow color is a blast. Absolutely fantastic!

I admit it is not quite as rock solid as I'd hoped, and some of the color shell might break off if the entire balloon tipped over. But with normal play you can lift it up and move it wherever, no problem.

 

[jam8280]

Excellent build and presentation! Will be studying the structural solution carefully.

[Loslyn]

Great structure, and beautifully shot photos!