Lets Build LEGO Hexagons! 

5:40 The reason its illegal is not so much that the connection itself puts stress on the pieces, its because the technic holes are ever so slightly higher than system snot bricks: it was a workaround for the lego stud indentation clashing with the technic hole's tunnel if it was any lower. If you connected snot brick 87087 to technic brick 6541, the technic brick would be slightly higher, out of system and thus, illegal. The connection you made is totally fine and I'm like, 99% sure LEGO would be fine with that. They make connections like that all the time! :)

Please do this with pentagons, I'm working on a moc and trying to make one as small as possible and it's some of the toughest brickwork I've done. Tbh different shapes as a series would be cool

I was just thinking about this! I've been trying to recreate minifig scale Doctor Who tardis consoles lately and until you're limited to such a ridiculously small aize you just don't know how much of a chore it is

I would stabilize the shape (especially for the one built with hinges), by just making a "diagonal" that's twice as long (hinge point to hinge point) as the sides (hinge point to hinge point). To fully stabilize it you'll have to include at least 2 different diagonals. This will also often automatically give you studs in the exact center. Another strategy would be to combine two techniques that give you hinge points at different distances from the center. For example the one at 1:24 with the hinges at 13:01. As long as you get a "close enough to 120°" angle, you can build three units, each with two faces with that fixed angle. And then you can just connect them with hinges or other freely articulating connections in the remaining 3 points, which effectively forms a triangle and will be fully stable, though probably a bit more elastic than incorporating diagonals.

Anwe's taking the Lego community by storm with these videos!

The only time a technic brick connected to a SNOT brick is when they are both connected to a plate, since the hole on a technic brick is like a millimeter higher, so it adds stress. The connection you did I don't think it illegal, but I could be wrong.

studs in technic holes is perfectly legal as long as you only do one at a time, and the only reason doing more than one stud across is illegal is because theres a slightly different spacing for technic than system. but your method is both legal and incredibly clever. I've recently been improving the design of the centaur alternate build from the dreamzzz z-blob mech, and used the stud in technic hole technique to hold on the hands as it allows more friction than regular pins

i guess you could use triple axle connectors (10288/57585/smth like that) for finding the center with bar-and-Uclip-based designs? Dunno the math behind it tho

Hexagons are the 1 type of plate I wish Lego made.

It might be a cool follow up to do like a floor for the hexagons, like how could you make a plate surface in the shape of a hexagon.

If you want a stronger connection point, use axles :D Use plates with a hole in them, then a round piece with a cross to keep the axles tight, then you have the whole bottom as an attachment point and can shift your hexagon tower exactly how you want it along the axles :)

hexagons are the bestagons!

69984 or 64566 (open stud version), 1 by 2, 3, 4, or 5 technic round plates, and then whatever you want, gives centers for hexagons easily and can form the basic structure if you don't mind all the mass held onto a single axle. Then build with brackets or whatever around the round plates. (I don't recommend using the built-in clips on the hexagon parts though, since those tend to weaken over time but it's an option too.)

An easy brickbuild hexagon would be with just six 4 stud bars (meaning length 3) connected at the ends (maybe the newer 2by1 with rounded corners is needed). This gives a long "diagonal" of 7 studs (meaning length 6). This makes finding the center very easy and maybe allows for good base connection. Also scalable to any other side length making the main diagonal twice as long as the sides

The math going on is cool too. An equilateral triangle has three 60° vertices. A hexagon has six 120° vertices. But when you create it in this fashion, each piece has two 60° parts on either side. octagons that are equilateral have 135° angles which seems counterintuitive but it's basically 180 minus 45 . 45 is the interior angle ( as if cut into a pie, and 135 is the exterior angle. Interior angles always add to 360° . When you split a triangle like a pie, you get interior angles of 120° and a hexagon cut like a pie yields 60° interior angles. A 100 sided polygon would have interior angles of 3.6° and exterior angles of 176.4. I believe the relationship has to do with sine, cosine, and complementary angles. Something Euclid found thousands of years ago. And it amazes me when life presents us with math in surprise ways. As a kid in school, some kids wondered: how will I use this? and why should I learn it? We learn to fight personal ignorance, and we use it so stuff doesn't suck, right? Here you are using incredibly interesting math with a child's toy. And you are either aware and attempting not to confuse or unaware because it's not super important. It's only interesting to nerds like me who know tiny bits about almost everything, while not being expert at anything. The mind opens and wisdom creeps its way in.

Hexagons are the bestagons!!!

So, the last thing I wanted to say is that this technique might be good for a telescope or telescoping cylindroid. Perhaps a docking interface or something. Also they could be stacked into a space ship or space station corridor. A really nice submersible, a hyperbaric chamber, or a rocket or grain silo. Basically the methods used for cylinder shapes as with the Apollo 5 and Artemis Rocket aren't great if you like interior space. So. Get inspired. I was certainly! Obviously.

I think the illegality is actually in plugging both sides. Puts too much total stress on the pieces. Tiago Catarino (i think is his name) has videos on what techniques are considered illegal.

10:30 if youre fine with a brickwork pattern, 1x6 tiles/plates can still span two units thanks to the 1x2 connection points. then you can spiral all the way up and create one slightly more solid post

I have a suggestion: what you absolutely need to do.... is keep up the great work! Your videos are very neat and show many fascinating techniques! Thanks for making these!

Nice video! Though when you show a design that you found somewhere as opposed to coming up with yourself, i think it would be cool if you gave credit to the original creator of it, as well as providing a link to a relevant post/website/whatever when applicable.

Try using the cheese wedges flush to the outside, to fill in the corners.

Got various ideas... This would be good for my Unicron build. Warp nacelles made quick and easy with hexagons. Better shape to make Big O or Giant Robo limbs.

Now I want to think about a hexagonal pagoda... Brilliant stuff, Chris. Really appreciated.

Hexagons? Here's something for your interesting pieces collection: 69984 (Technic, Plate Rotor 6 Blade with Clip Ends Connected (Water Wheel) - Solid Studs) Or 64566 with open studs 😉

7:15 sci fi shipping container! These will be such useful techniques for me, where I primarily sci-fi. And hexagons are VERY sci-fi!

I like to design lego rocket models, so this video is extremely helpful! thanks!

This one was really great! Lots of potential here

I don't have the necessary pieces at hand unfortunately but I'm dying to try to make the clip version in both 4 and 6 studs sizes and try putting the smaller one inside the larger one. I might just be imagining this it totally looks like you could do that and layer the onto each other.

I would LOVE to see a hex standard as an alternative to MILS!

cool mat!

I used to make hexagons with hinge plates by building and connecting 6 equilateral triangles. That removes the play, if that's an issue for particular applications.

You can also do a Hexagon by using old fashioned slopes and bricks on their side. I want hexes to build a hex based board game with Lego. Slopes 3039 and 3660.

I think your expertise could be clutch in the 3d printing community wrt tolerances.

No way this is exactly what I need!!

Connecting technic brick to a non-technic brick with stud on the side is illegal for another reason - technic hole is located a bit higher than a corresponding stud. There's a great pdf floating around the internet that explains it in more details. Generally speaking, connecting a stud to a pinhole is not itself illegal, it's all about nuances

Hexagonal obelisk when?

Six sided obelisk when? :D

Now do triangles, pentagons, and tetrahedrons!

The most challenging thing is to make a hexagon that's 3 in width

Try make a compact rotar shape, from the 13b rotary engine. Also I love your videos keep it up man

I wonder how much harder a pentagon would be!

BEST SHAPE TIME!!!!!

Oh c’mon; hexes tessellate! Lego modular terrain?!! Missed opportunity 😛

The second technique, with the 2-by-4 or 2-by-8 plates on the outside, made me think of Daleks - but doing those properly would be at least obelisk-level difficult, I’d imagine!

8:18 LEGO churro?

Oh my word, I have SO MUCH to contribute to this conversation… my big MOC project this year has been creating a Settlers of Catan game board in Lego, that is as close in aesthetic to the original as possible. Had huge success and made some awesome hexagonal and 120* angle discoveries… how can I easily share some pictures with you?

This might be a lot harder, but I’d love to see if it’s possible to make a hexagonal grid, game board style like a catan or civ map! Ideally with some plate surface to build on top of in the middle of each, could make for the base of an awesome board game MOC. Great techniques btw, loving these build experimentation videos!

i spent tons of time trying to make a hexagonal floor platform for maybe the single build i’m most proud of and i used 30022 in sequence with gaps connected with 1x1 technic bricks only on the ends and tiled off between. it’s probably the best combo of “doesn’t have a lot of play” and “looks good as an exposed surface”

I once saw a technique for a hexagon that used 6 30022s, connecting the anti-studs on the angled outside sections to each other with 6L thin Technic liftarms. Not scalable downwards, but should be good if you wanna go big and save on parts!

could you do a mini-hexagon that's half the height with 3 1x1 double SNOT bricks? it would be much less stable, but you could stack two of _those_ to make one that's the same height but _more_ stable

The technique of hinge->some number of plates->plate 1 stud wider for polygonal joints seems like it could be extended to create joints of lots of different angles, with a bit of geometry to figure out the ratios.

Good job with the content! Really enjoying the channel so far. I havent touched legos since i was a child, but these videos bring back the same joy! :)

Explore ways to connect these hexagonal constructions. Seems like simple ones like the type of couch you might find in a hotel lobby might look cool. But bigger things like hexagon shaped pools, statues and stuff one might see in a roundabout are possible too.

Would it be possible to link up the first Hexagons from each side using cylinders and axles? Cylinder on both sides holding an axle, using a 1x2 axle cross or pinhole brick to secure to a base?

Any method you can use to get an equilateral triangle can probably be extrapolated into a hexagon by building six of them together. Triangles are sturdier by their nature, and you always get some kind of a defined center on their shared corner.

7:54 Would using a bar piece through the travis bricks also make it stronger? Maybe using an antenna piece could also make the anti-stud protrude further to make it easier to place on plates.

LEGO Catan when?

What about this hexagon? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-U0-lTwQrmJY.html

8:17 small thing you missed out on here: You can rotate/offset them if put together like this!

Discord was a good idea! Much better communication on there

Alright, now make it into an hexagonal obelisk!

according to some diagrams i found online, that second technique with the yellow bricks is essentially made of isosceles triangles with an outer side length of 10 "lego units" and a radial side length of √(8.5²+5²)≈9.862 units. pretty darn close!

Try to make a tapered lighthouse

You actually can connect those big hexagons to base if you put round 2x2 brick/plates and put some spokes inside hexagon (probably would need to do 2-3 layers of those, each at 60 degree angle) that go around both sides of said central axle (and maybe another 2x2 round brick next to it to prevent it from rotating, you actually can lock it variety of angles if it's big enough).

I really wanted to see you stack then all in a hexagonal cone-like shape

Now can you combine ideas to make a hexagonal obelisk

Doing it with 3 dubblesided connected by a rod thru the white pieces would be unarguably legal, stronger and more compact.

You should do a mega project trying to make an allmost perfect Truncated icosahedron

Having the first hexagon only attached to a base on one side seems flimsy. I think with certain technic pieces you could make it more secure.

Best shape for aesthetics, great video idea

Now how do you combine this with the tapered sides of the obelisk?!?! haha

with that first method - can you stack them internally? swap out the 2x4 plate in the medium one with the 2x2-2x4 hexagon?

I really want to see pentagons

Thank you!

Icosahedron.

Do they tile the plane?