If the inner child comes up and you do not have your good old toys on hand, you can build your own virtual models on LEGO's website. You must download a program called LDD (Lego Digital Designer), the current version is 4. It is free to download and use. It is available for both Windows and MAC OSX, but not all PowerMac. The program requires 1 GB hard disk space, but the file to downloaded is only 120 MB. It requires you have an OpenGL driver installed.
Once you have created a free account on the website and installed the program you are ready to go. There are three groups of designs to choose from.
In DESIGN by ME have free access to any existing Lego bricks and some only existing as virtual blocks. Once you have built a model from your imagination, you can upload it to the Lego website or order it in their web shop. If you want to purchase it you must remove or modify blocks that can not be bought.
In Mindstorms, you can either modify an existing model or build one from scratch. Here is also the possibility of uploading.
In CREATOR you choose an existing Lego construction sets and then have the opportunity to build with bricks found in the selected kit.
It is possible to save your model as a file on your hard disk. You can also make a snapshot in the model viewer and save it as an image.
Right mouse button has a slightly unusual feature compared to Windows. When you hold the button you can rotate the model. At first it seemed odd to use the right mouse button to rotate with, but after a while it appeared that it is practical as you often have to rotate the model to better see where to place new bricks. it is not quite easy to build a 3D model on a flat screen but with a little practice it can be done.
It is possible to order a box of bricks to use for your model, building instructions, and your own design on the box lid. Normal delivery time is 21 days. Lego is not cheap toys and the same applies here. But is gives you a chance to create a unique gift or use it as a nice addition to your display shelf. But as mentioned before, the program is of course free and you can certainly get many hours of fun.
In DESIGN by ME have free access to any existing Lego bricks and some only existing as virtual blocks. Once you have built a model from your imagination, you can upload it to the Lego website or order it in their web shop. If you want to purchase it you must remove or modify blocks that can not be bought.
In Mindstorms, you can either modify an existing model or build one from scratch. Here is also the possibility of uploading.
In CREATOR you choose an existing Lego construction sets and then have the opportunity to build with bricks found in the selected kit.
It is possible to save your model as a file on your hard disk. You can also make a snapshot in the model viewer and save it as an image.
It is possible to order a box of bricks to use for your model, building instructions, and your own design on the box lid. Normal delivery time is 21 days. Lego is not cheap toys and the same applies here. But is gives you a chance to create a unique gift or use it as a nice addition to your display shelf. But as mentioned before, the program is of course free and you can certainly get many hours of fun.
You can download the program for free from the Lego website:
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