Every so often a LEGO technique comes along that makes me stare at a perfectly ordinary part and think, wait, it can do that? Kooky Bricks has pulled exactly that trick with the curved Technic gear rack, better known in AFOL circles as the banana gear. Part 24121 is already handy for big curves, but here the magic is hiding in the groove.
The idea is wonderfully simple once you see it: LEGO window inserts fit into that groove. Sandwich a row of those inserts between two curved gears, and suddenly you have a smooth curved window section that looks like it was designed for retro-futuristic diners, glassy office towers, spaceports, or anywhere else your minifigs need panoramic views and questionable rent.
What I love is how clean the technique feels. It is not just a clever connection for cleverness’ sake. The gears give the window its curve, the inserts provide the glass, and the repeated geometry turns a bunch of small rectangular panes into one convincing architectural sweep. That is the good stuff: a part doing structural work, visual work, and nerdy-brain-tingle work all at once.
Kooky Bricks points out two especially tasty uses. Link enough of the curved sections together and you can build a full 360-degree window, like the one used in their Space Diner model. Stack them vertically and you are suddenly in curved office-building territory, with the sort of smooth facade that usually requires a lot more compromise in LEGO form.
It is a tutorial more than a finished MOC, sure, but this is exactly the kind of small technique post I end up bookmarking and mentally filing under future troublemaking. Banana gear? More like architectural fruit salad. Sorry. I had to.
Build by Kooky Bricks on Flickr.
