Without question, the coolest toy I ever had was my Legos. From the time I was three until about age 14 or 15, I loved those colorful, interconnecting blocks. I graduated from the basic interconnecting bricks to the expert sets, with joints and gears. The auto chassis was my favorite; I once took a chunk out of a hallway wall during a series of demolition exercises in which I would test my acumen to reassemble the car after smashing it by wheeling it off a staircase. I got a lesson in the joy of Spackle for that one. Long after outgrowing the stuff, I've cast an envious eye as the Legos have gotten even more sophisticated with their entry into
the world of robotics.
So it didn't take too much for me to be impressed by
these Lego ballparks, some of them replicas of existing stadiums. By far the winner in terms of innovation and sophistication is
this fully functional model of Milwaukee's Miller Park, complete with a motorized, retractable roof. Given that I've been to the park several times with my Milwaukee-native wife and my in-laws, this one hits close to home. Built by Milwaukee School of Engineering student Tim Kaebisch, the model is three feet tall and contains 99.9% Legos, with a bit of string and twist ties making up the rest. Kaebisch has
his own page devoted to the model, showing previous phases of construction, photographing
the current model from numerous angles, and showing
the roof in action.
Kaebisch's attention to detail is amazing, as he's constructed
Bernie Brewer's slide, the
TGIFridays, the
press box and control rooms, even the
HVAC system room. The damn thing comes with everything but
crazy tailgaters,
racing sausages, a Lego Bob Uecker and a bratwurst with Stadium Sauce. Wow.
Labels: Brewers
