Lego Portal Turret

These are the instructions for my popular design of a laser turret from Portal. It's all Lego; you won't need any other materials to make this nice display piece.

Here are the parts you'll need. You may have some, most, or all of these in your own collection; if not, you can get them from Bricklink.com (or Lego's Pick-A-Brick , but they tend to be much more expensive, if somewhat easier). Part names may be different between Bricklink and Pick-A-Brick.

No. Color             LDraw no.     BL no.          Part name
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4    Black              48729.dat       48729b        Bar 1.5L with Clip
2    Dark-Gray      44728.dat       44728          Bracket 1 x 2 - 2 x 2
2    Dark-Gray      4733.dat         4733             Brick 1 x 1 with Studs on Four Sides (color doesn't matter)
2    White              4733.dat         4733             Brick 1 x 1 with Studs on Four Sides
2    Black              47905.dat       47905           Brick 1 x 1 with Studs on Two Opposite Sides (can be Dark-Gray)
2    Black              4593.dat         4593              Hinge Control Stick
3    Black              3820.dat         983                Minifig Hand
1    Black              4497.dat         4497              Minifig Spear
2    Dark-Gray      30162.dat      30162            Minifig Tool Binoculars Town
2    Black              4006.dat         4006              Minifig Tool Spanner/Screwdriver
2    White              3024.dat         3024              Plate 1 x 1
8    Dark-Gray      4073.dat         4073              Plate 1 x 1 Round (color doesn't matter)
1    Trans-Red     4073.dat         4073              Plate 1 x 1 Round
2    Black               4085c.dat      4085               Plate 1 x 1 with Clip Vertical Type 3
2    Dark-Gray       4085c.dat      4085              Plate 1 x 1 with Clip Vertical Type 3 (type 4 is even better)
2    White               3023.dat        3023              Plate 1 x 2
2    Black               3794.dat        3794              Plate 1 x 2 with 1 Stud
4    White               3710.dat        3710              Plate 1 x 4
4    White               3460.dat        3460              Plate 1 x 8
2    White               3021.dat        3021              Plate 2 x 3
4    White               50746.dat      54200           Slope Brick 31 1 x 1 x 2/3
2    White               3048.dat        3048              Slope Brick 45 1 x 2 Triple
22  White               50950.dat      50950           Slope Brick Curved 3 x 1
5    White               61678.dat      61678           Slope Brick Curved 4 x 1
4    Black               4599.dat         4599              Tap 1 x 1
2    Black               41677.dat      41677            Technic Beam 2 x 0.5 Liftarm
2    White               6541.dat        6541               Technic Brick 1 x 1 with Hole
2    Light-Gray       4274.dat        4274               Technic Pin 1/2
1    Black               6558.dat         6558               Technic Pin Long with Friction and Slot
1    Light-Gray      4697b.dat       4696               Technic Pneumatic T Piece - Type II
4    White              3069b.dat       3069               Tile 1 x 2 with Groove


An Excel sheet of the parts with links and more information is attached.

Onto the build! I'll add hints down here for the Lego-illiterate. ;)

Yes, the tiles are supposed to swing back and forth loosely here. They will be secured later.

Unlike the previous step's bricks, these have studs (the knobby things) on all four vertical sides -- they are often called "travis bricks". This step ties the whole assembly thus far into one piece.

None of the non-white pieces' colors here matter much; they won't be very visible.

Notice that you do the same thing on the other side.

This connection may be a little loose; using newer clips or gently squeezing the clips before attaching the brackets can help.

The 1x1 slopes are called "cheese slopes", one of my favorite parts.

This one can be a bit tricky; the bases of the sticks, when put in together, should stick tight in the red plate.

Fit the previous assembly in the 1/2-plate gap that goes around the body. Try to fit the balls of the lever handles in the gap in the middle; this may take several tries. Once they're in, gently squeeze the body to slightly shrink the gap, to hold the eye in place.

Did you get the eye in? Great!

The tap's top can move around a bit within the slope, making for some nice angles.

Depending on the parts you have, you may have to pull the hands out of your minifigs' arms. It's okay, they won't mind.

Once you've adjusted the legs to your liking, congratulations! You now have your very own Portal turret. I recommend using it only as a display trinket; it won't hold up to much play.

These instructions were built in LDraw/MLCad, then screencapped in LDView and edited in Photoshop Elements.

Oh, right. You're wondering how I achieved the laser in my photograph? Don't worry, your turret won't actually kill you.

Materials needed for laser effect:
Laser light (warning: don't shine in anyone's eyes, etc.)
Misting humidifier or something else that creates a mist or fog

Step 1: Shine laser into turret's eye (it's okay, he can't be blinded)

Step 2: Fog up the area with the humidifier to make the laser visible

Step 3: Take picture


Here's my setup:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ltdemartinet/4653056529/in/photostream/