Back in 2018 I'd created a digital Lego model "The Professor's Invention For Peeling Potatoes" based on one of William Heath Robinson's designs. You can see it here on the Lego Idea's site and I've also blogged a little bit about it here Animating The Professor's Invention (Part 1) and here Animating the Professor's Invention (Part 2). I was pleasantly surprised when I was contacted earlier this year by Heath Robinson Museum based in Pinner, West London asking if I could build the model so they could feature it as one of their exhibits! I happily agreed to create the model out of real Lego, but I was then faced with the challenge of how I might actually do it! A few trips to Bricklink found all the parts that I needed, but I knew that the actual build would be tricky as the digital models can be more "forgiving" when it comes to the placement of elements like the rubber bands. Plus, as I discovered the rubber bands change the physical structure of the model quite a lot. There were also a number of changes and adjustments that I needed to ensure that the Lego model actually worked!
The series of images below, show the progress of the model from the original illustration, through the digital designs and early physical models, to the final model.
