I mentioned earlier that some of the tools we’d talk about in this chapter are made from LEGO, but that must mean some are not. The ones that are not might be things you already own; you just haven’t put them to use in LEGO building yet.
An example is a simple ruler. You may wish to measure part of your model, in real terms, inches or centimeters, especially if you are dealing with building something to a particular scale. We talked about scale at length in Chapter 3, so this next example should be easy to follow.
Suppose you are building a model of your favorite die cast metal car. You’ve measured the wheels on the real car and they are almost exactly one-half the size of the smallest wheels you have in your LEGO collection. So you can build a LEGO model, using those wheels and based on that car, so it is twice the scale of the die cast car. (You know from further discussion of scale in Chapter 5 that this is a 2:1 scale model.) That means that everything you put on the car (roof, hood, doors, and so on) should also be twice as long and wide as the real thing. By using just an ordinary ruler, you achieve the result you are hoping for. Once again, tools don’t have to be complicated to be extremely effective.
A basic protractor (Figure 13-18) may also be handy from time to time, especially when you are trying to replicate things like large, arched structures or the roof of a building. (I talked about creating simulated arches using inverted slopes, near the end of Chapter 3.) If you are able to find a picture of the thing you are building, or if you can take one of your own, you can then use the photo as a reference document. Hold the protractor up to the arch or shape you want to re-create to find out the angle at which it curves or rises. Then, as you build the LEGO version, use the protractor again to see that your angles match those of the building that is the inspiration.
Both the ruler and the protractor aren’t really so much tools that you use to build the model as they are devices you use to transfer measurements and ideas from the original source material to your own work.
If you’re building a really large model involving a lot of 2xN bricks (perhaps a castle or a tall tower) you may want to think about getting a non-marking rubber mallet. These are available at hardware or home improvement stores and probably have an off-white colored head. That head is important; it’s the part you don’t want to be leaving marks on your bricks. You will want to stay away from the black rubber mallets for this reason. To use this tool, simply set the bricks down in the way they are to be connected. Give them enough of a downward push with your fingers so that you know that the studs are matched up. Then gently (keyword = gently) tap them into place with the mallet. This isn’t so much a technique that will improve your building skills as it is one that might save some skin from being worn off your fingertips during long construction sessions.
