MOC: Black Forest Cuckoo Clock with gears

[tatertots]

I've been chipping away at this on the last few months. The gears are working smoothly now and the presentation is coming together. Hope you like it! Building notes and thoughts on the build below.

Gears in the back of the clock are turned using a wooden barrel on the left side (just out of view). When you turn the barrel it rotates both displays on the front of the clock. In trying to compress everything the cuckoo doesn't come all the way inside and it tracks a little to the left and right (check the video in folder set). The bird is connected to a 6 long bar using a headlight brick on one end and an axle and pin connector on the other. As the gear (laid horizontally at the top) turns around it drives the 6L bar in and out of the window. The axle and pin connector at the very top hang to help guide the bar. I had to leave the guide loose so that it doesn't jam like the piston on the Emerald Night set.

The alternating tiles on the roof are pretty solid. Each tile is basically clicked in with one stud. In the video below, now the golden windscreens are gone. Every once-in-a-while the studs on the wings would catch the windscreen. To capture a smooth video sequence I pulled the windscreens.

Here's a short clip of the bird going in and out:

http://www.flickr.co...in/photostream/

I put the picture below in for two reasons. First, I used a bunch of half-pins on the horizontal disc/arch that sticks out in front. I also use one with the bat. Great technique for changing the direction of bricks. The second reason I put this up is b/c it captures many of the little things I was playing with in-terms of the story/texture of the model. In thinking about the forest and mountains where many of these clocks are made, I wanted to capture as many human interactions with the forest and mountains that I could. Animals, cutting wood, mountaineering, bread-wine-and-cheese in the alps all felt right. I played with a sceene that told the story of little-red-riding hood but I like this one a bit better in the end.

If you build one of these on your own, this was one of the really fun parts of the build - what finishing elements would you choose to convey a story or theme? Hope you're inspired and can't wait to see your cuckoo!!

And finally, a crosscut view of the pinecone at the bottom:

Edited April 13, 2013 by Rufus
Indexed

[LEGO Guy Bri]

That is a fantastic display piece tatertots! It's beautiful, I'd love to have one. Very well done

[Redhead1982]

That's amazing work! The idea itself is great (and unusual), however, the build is even more so great. I like the details (the black bird, owl, bread and chalices). The roof looks amazing with overlaying tiles - how stable is that? All in all, congratulations on the build!

[tatertots]

The tiled rood is surprisingly tight!

[lightningtiger]

Impressive creation 'tatertots'.....wonderful detailing and interesting weights too !

Brick On 'tatertots' !

[Wedge09]

Really nice work :thumbup: Very well detailed and perfect color scheme

[daisy]

This is gorgeous. I really like the pinecone weights.

[DarthBrickus]

Amazing. You should consider submitting this to cuusoo!

[Rick]

That's a very original and well-executed MOC.

I have replaced the image in the first post with a 800 x 600 pixel version (the maximum size allowed for embedded images on EB). Also, I think this MOC fits better in the Special Themes forum, so I've moved it.

[tatertots]

Thanks Rick!

[Rufus]

That clock is a thing of beauty!

If you have the time, I'd suggest posting some of the alternative pictures separately, and maybe add a comment or two on the features. If you did that, it'd be frontpage-worthy.

[tatertots]

I'll sit down and beef it up a bit. Thanks for the encouragement Rufus!

[tatertots]

Not sure how I missed it while I was putting it together, but here's another cool working cuckoo clock: http://www.eurobrick...56098&hl=cuckoo

Edited March 6, 2013 by tatertots

[Cara]

Oh that takes me back. It looks great! Hope to see a video of it working in the future.

[tatertots]

Finally got this up on the LEGO ideas page. If you like the model, I'd love to have your support

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/87036

[Blondie-Wan]

That's just fantastic. I've just gone and become your 151st supporter. Best of luck!

[keiththelegokid]

I live in Germany and I am always seeing these things , and I am greatly impressed by the detail to the real thing!

[tatertots]

I've added power functions to the cuckoo! After reading through the feedback on the LEGO ideas webpage (https://ideas.lego.com/projects/87036) I figured I needed to get this thing telling time!

• The gears are now hooked up to a clock arm with the ability to add power functions (see video).
  
• One turn of the barrel now turns a hand on the clock face one minute.
  
• 60 turns of the barrel will drive the hand around the clock for one full rotation
  
• The cuckoo is geared to come out when the hand hits the bottom and the top of the hour (12:00, 12:30, 1:00, 1:30. etc).
  

Thanks for the support!

Video of the cuckoo with power functions:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/43138245@N07/16104358967/