I finally finished setting up my claw game in my room. I know the base that’s its sitting on is a little weird, but I’m all about things working without complications.

I had this claw game sitting on a box for about a year now, and I though that it deserved better, after all of the hard work I put into it. This is my 3^rd version of the claw games I have built. My first one turned into a big pile of scrap after the rail that the left and right movement section rides on collapsed when it tried to pick up a tennis ball. What I did about this was I doubled the layer of Lego that spanned the 18 inches from left to right. This still wasn’t enough strength and the claw game completely collapsed under the weight. I was pissed and I gave up on the project for a while.

My goal the beginning of this was to have a working claw game and I didn’t have that yet, so after a month or so I continued to work on it. I fixed the heap and that was my 2^nd version. My 2^nd had a triple layer of bricks spanning the 18 inches. That made it stable enough that I didn’t have to worry about it collapsing anymore. This is where my second version when through hell. For this to be a working claw game I had to program the two RCX’s (the two big yellow things that are facing each other in the first picture) so they know what motors to move when the joystick is moved in a certain direction. The only computer at the time that could run the software was the computer we had in our guest bedroom. The claw game was so big, and it took up a lot of space in there. My dad didn’t like it there so he said I should move it into the basement, but I refused since it was very fragile at the time. So he picks up the platform that it was sitting on and takes it downstairs himself. Unfortunately, he slipped going down the steps because he wasn’t watching where he was going, and he threw it into the air to catch himself on the railing. My creation tumbled onto the floor from 10 feet in the air. It hit the ground with a huge bang; it sounded like a grandfather clock falling over. I was so angry with my dad for moving it, and it was completely destroyed. I might as well start all over again, and that’s what I did.

My 3^rd and final version (the version that you see in picture 1) was my last version. This one featured a pattern for the 4 massive studs that kept the whole thing up and a four way claw (picture 2). This is very different from my other claws that where just pincers. This design gave the whole thing a better feel and better chance of winning something. Finally with my last version, I wrote a program that made it fully workable. In addition, this is my only version that had prizes; this is what makes any claw game complete and attractive to those who want to waste time on winning the useless items. The entire thing worked flawlessly; on my luckiest day with it, one try after another. Usually something always goes wrong; it’s mostly the wire that gives power to the motor that makes the claw open and close. It gets in the way of the claw, the claw closes on it, and the entire claw is turned upside-down, which makes the game unusable. If it gets severe enough, it will derail and fall to ground thus destroying it. That’s only happened once so far, but from then on I always have a hand on the power button when I’m playing with it. But other than that it works most of the time. One more note, this version is not one of the scam ones that you find everywhere; the ones where when you drop the claw and it goes over your object it lifts up again and closes it at the same time; that’s how you don’t win anything. But mine closes then lifts up your prize, and drops it in the bucket. Here’s a video of it in action!

This is my best Lego creation yet and I’ll take requests for other ideas that people have. Just contact me at tony971993@sbcgobal.net, but please, no spam or ridiculous ideas like a life size go cart or a car crusher. Thanks!

 

Anthony AKA SiniSter