Lego Challenge #25: Redesigning the Lego system – Introducing TomBlox
This is my 25th Challenge, I’m almost done! Now that I’ve built a lot of models and familiarized myself with many of the common bricks and techniques, I wanted to see if there are different choices I would make if given the opportunity to redesign the Lego system from scratch.

Relative proportions of common Lego bricks reveal quirky proportions such as the 5 to 6 ratio of width to height.
I had a couple specific goals to improve on the Lego brick:
- Bricks should be cubes. The 5 to 6 ratio of width and height of the basic brick feels arbitrary, as does the decision to make the thickness of one brick equal 3 plates. (Note: Learn more about these proportions in my 18th challenge.)
- Brick size helps build models to scale. The Lego brick is not a useful fraction of the Inch or Centimeter. My bricks would be a sensible size for scale model building.
- Brick design encourages more offset building techniques. Normal Lego bricks can only be attached on the top or bottom at 1-stud intervals. My bricks will allow more 1/2 stud interval connections for advance building techniques.
Sketching ideas
I was pretty sure that my bricks would be a little smaller than normal Lego bricks, and I wanted to eliminate the need for “hollow” studded bricks for offset attachments underneath a brick and to attach accessories such as flag poles. I was also pretty sure that a brick would be 2 plates thick instead of three. This gives me 1/2 brick fine details in vertical direction via plates, and 1/2 brick details in horizontal using offset construction.
I drew up a simpler fractional unit for my blocks – everything is measured in 1/4 increments. brick walls would be 1/4 brick thick, studs and plates would be 1/2 brick across. Since I needed an easy way to describe my new brick design, I decided to refer to them as “TomBlox”.
Designing TomBlox!
I felt pretty good about the basic design. I imagined building a similar selection of components to those in the Lego system, but based on my new proportions. In the initial design, I sketched out plans for plates, tiles, offsets, SNOT bricks, and sloped pieces. After doing some quick drawings on paper, I downloaded and installed Sketch up a very easy to use 3d modeling app which I’ve used in the past to prototype home improvement projects before building them.
After re-learning the app interface (it had been a few years…), I was up and running in the system. I decided to make each brick 1cm in each dimension because I wanted to eventually print the bricks in a 3d printer and they are still relatively low resolution making fine details difficult. After about an hour, I had created 3d models of the 8 most common bricks in my new system.
One of my main goals was to redesign the underside of common bricks sized 1×2 or larger. In Lego bricks, they use a small tube in-between where the studs connect. This doesn’t allow bricks to attach at 1/2 brick intervals unless the brick being attached has a “hollow” stud which is the exception not the rule in the Lego universe. I didn’t feel like hollow studs are needed in a building system, so I came up with a notched approach instead. (Internet discussions suggest that hollow studded Lego bricks are rare because hollow studs don’t showcase the iconic “LEGO” name as well.)
Prototyping TomBlox!
Since I have access to a MakerBot 3d Printer at work, it was only natural to print out a set of TomBlox and see how well they work. After fighting with the machine, I was able to start printing my first blox. (Apparently, MakerBot works more reliably if you copy your 3d model to a SD card, rather than printing attached to a PC.) I started with just three blox which I printed in a clear plastic material. For the next set, I printed 5 blox in a black material which I think looked better (and was easier to photograph.)
Unfortunately, the bricks were EXTREMELY tough to snap together right out of the printer. The 3d printed object is a little thicker than in the computer model, so the stud required a ton of force to connect to another brick. With some muscle and patience, I was able to snap the 1×1 bricks together. The 1×2 bricks were even stiffer, so I had to use a cordless drill at home to remove some plastic, helping the bricks snap into the underside of other bricks.
The precision of the 3d printer wasn’t sufficient to create anything like a Lego quality brick, but once cleaned up, it was clear that my prototype brick design is a viable alternative to the standard Lego brick design. I was also happy to see that my design for offset capable brick undersides works well in practice.
- Photo showing that TomBlox prototypes are exactly 1cm wide.
- Simple composition using all of my TomBlox. Unfortunately, they don’t attach nearly as well as Lego bricks due to imperfections in the 3d printing process.
- TomBlox and Lego brick side-by-side comparison. TomBlox is slightly larger, with proportionally smaller studs.
Conclusion
My 3d printed bricks are far from perfect, but it was fun to be able to create a rapid proof of concept. I also confirmed my instinct that 1cm bricks would feel a bit too big. I still think 1/2cm blocks would be good, resulting in bricks somewhere between the size of Lego and Nanoblocks, while still simplifying the math to build scale models. I do think my proposed TomBlox system would better meet the needs of my style of construction, but I will stick with Lego’s excellent quality bricks even if I have to live with the quirks.
In completing the project, I did think of at least one reason why the Lego system bricks don’t use these proportions – my bricks would use a lot more plastic to manufacture since the hollow section is smaller.
project time: 2 hours in SketchUp, 1 hour to 3d print bricks, another hour to clean the printouts with cordless drill, exacto and sandpaper.
To see more discussions about TomBlox, check out the following two forum discussions:
http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/12941/my-attempt-to-redesign-the-lego-brick-and-lego-system-to-make-it-better
http://www.brickpicker.com/forum/index.php/topic/6740-my-attempt-to-redesign-the-lego-brick-and-lego-system-to-make-it-better/
It turns out that Lego created the “Modulex” line of bricks in the 60’s as an legitimate architectural modeling tool. Those bricks used the same proportions which I suggest – 1/2 cm cubic blocks, with 2 plates tall per brick.
Some Modulex resources I’ve found:
1) A great photo colllection of Lego-style models built using Modulex bricks (they came in a great variety of colors.) http://www.flickriver.com/photos/35385165@N05/tags/modulex/
2) A detailed paper about the history of Modulex bricks. http://minibricksmadness.com/2011/05/18/paper-about-the-history-of-modulex/
Great article, linked to it from New Elementary, as well as your comment on using extra plastic due to thicker wall sections I think you would also run into trouble with the ratio of wall section to part size, possibly causing the part to warp. Look at the wall thickness of a standard 2×4.
Also Technic “Studless” system is square cross section on the beam instead of 5/6 and 2 plate thicknesses.
Looks like nanoblocks has either thought of the same thing or has taken your idea! They use square profile blocks in their new Nanoblocks+ range.
https://www.toolbox-lifelog.com/2014/09/blog-post_27.html