I have to tell you guys I’ve been so excited to share this build. Building a MOC doesn’t come easy to me, like it does Mr. Family Brick and for many in our LUG. I see these amazing builds they and my husband hammer out in a few hours, while I’m still struggling with the idea for weeks… and to be honest, it’s a bit intimidating. So motorizing the LEGO Christmas Tree was a really big deal for me.
About the LEGO Christmas Tree Set
Released in 2019, The LEGO Christmas Tree was a gift with purchase. The build has movement in the form of a train scene that rotates around the base of the tree when you turn the top cone of the build. That rotation is what I motorized.
In anticipation of this post, I wrote a review of the LEGO Christmas Tree set as it comes. I also shared how I had integrated the Game of Bricks light kit. Then it was time to do some work with LEGO Technic.
Solving the Motorizing Dilemma
The builds in the LEGO Technic line generally don’t call my attention. However, the motion aspect of the builds is interesting, but I always shied away from them. To be honest, they feel more like “boy” builds. Bad programming I’m still trying to break.
So I bucked up and did my research, since I am a STEM-lovin’ gal. ;)
Before all that though, I studied the tree build and realized the train plate is not really attached to the underlying structure. It’s only attached to the core of the tree build.
If you remember from the tree build review, the core of the tree is a stack of 2×2 round bricks attached to a long Technic pole.
The pin that runs through the center is attached to the cone at the top of the tree and the center hole of the octagonal plate at the bottom. Everything else above and below that train plate is just decoration and stationary.
With that in mind, I began looking at ideas on how to rotate the plate.
Rotating the Train Plate
Fortunately, I found a video created by YouTuber LegoTEG Creations showing how to make a simple LEGO turntable. From that, I was able to modify their concept to fit the LEGO Christmas Tree build.
As you can see from the photo above (and in their video), they used a Technic turntable piece to handle the rotation of the turntable. I’ve only seen these come in Technic sets, but we found one in a bulk lot we purchased who knows when.
From underneath, using pins to connect the turntable to the Technic bricks keeps the motion stable. From the top, using Technic beams and pins allowed me to position an axel hole in line with the long Technic pole in the center of the build.
Using a motor for the automation and a spiral LEGO worm gear allowed for the motor to automate the turning action of the turntable brick.
Once I tested my build with the surrounding bricks, I was good to go with this section of the build. There does seem to be some sort of friction going on at one point of the turn. Although I determined the cause is not due to bumping against any adjacent bricks, I was unable to determine what it was exactly.
Regardless, I am pretty happy with how the automation turned out.
Hiding the Power Functions
I’ve mentioned we’ve been working this year to modify our winter village build from using simple baseplates to MILS baseplates. Mr. Family Brick has been working on the conversion while I’ve been busy sorting brick. Once I got the build motorized, he took care of adding the MILS standard to help cover the motor and moving pieces in the build.
From that point, it was smooth sailing, rebuilding the Christmas tree and adding the lights back on. I also added the additional scenes around it, like the Santa photo shoot and the waiting line so the kids can see the moving train and the tree lit up close.
My last goal with the build was to hide all the power functions related pieces. The first thing I did was build the ticket booth above the motor. This is why we have a bit of a bridge happening there on the plate.
The next thing to hide was the power function switch. Over where I positioned Santa’s chair, you’ll notice a collection of toys to his right. When you look at the video, you’ll see I built the rocket ship above the push button for the switch. This way, we can push the rocket to turn on the motor to rotate the train around the tree.
Overall, I’m super happy with the build and how it turned out.