A Gift Idea for the Toddler Motor Head

LEGOs have to be one of the most versatile building tools ever created. With pieces of every color shape and size, the possibilities are truly unlimited. A fact that once again has been proven with the introduction of an air powered Lego built engine.

Responsible for this interesting little creation is Nicjanso, the same brilliant mind who pieced together (pun intended) the LEGO Mindstorm V8. Their sales center, LPE Power, are currently selling an inline 3 cylinder and inline 4 cylinder version. They have also promised us a V6 and V8 version as soon as the company builds some business.

Both engines run on the Scotch Yoke mechanism, which uses a slider to convert linear motion into rotational motion or vica versa. Such a design provides the highest amount of available torque while keeping size to a minimum.

The inline-4 can wind up to 2000rpm, with the inline-3 providing 600rpm more. Of course, these aren't going to power anything except LEGO cars and trucks but still, I would have loved to have a handful of these a few years back.

LPE Power