This is a result of our experimentation with Bristle Blocks. Taikon (Takeshi) tubes sometimes fit too loosely on the needles of the brush blocks and fall off. But in general, decorating blocks with tubes and fasteners is very interesting.
Building straws, also known as building tubes, are a popular type of construction set with unique possibilities. They allow you to create silhouettes and contours of different objects and animals. All crafts from these sets can bend and move, so kids can actually play with their creations.
Instead of blocks, these sets have flexible plastic tubes, that look and act like soft cocktail straws. They can bend in any way and hold any position you want. The tubes usually attach to each other with special plastic connectors. The connectors can look and work differently in the different sets, but there are always many ways the straws can connect. The most common version is hard pins that go inside the straw’s hollow end, fixing it in place. Some connectors of this type have only one or two pins, some may have eight or ten. They also can have different forms, like sharp corners or straight rods. However, this connection type usually means that you can connect the straws only with their ends, and never with their middles.
These Takeshi straws have great building potential, but, sadly, they can’t hold their shape under pressure (unlike, say, block towers that can hold something on their top). The straws’ building possibilities also depend on how long they are.
Tatiana, thank you for your work! It means that my ideas didn’t went unnoticed! It also works very well with the cardboard or plastic plates like Ello!
It was interesting to experiment with 🙂 Although we have not progressed further than people figures, we have built many different ones, with braids, guitars, earrings… But the Bristle Blocks aren’t compartible with Ello, as I already wrote, the plates are too thick, they slip out of the teeth. Maybe it will work with the plates of thin cardboard, but this no longer will be Ello. And one more thing – we played with the original Bristle Blocks construction set, it’s parts are larger and the teeth are thicker than ones in the knock-off brands, so it probably won’t work with Taikon.
The patenting of the new building set took a longer time than I expected – the work at scholls and clubs swallowed all my time. And the company is sleeping. Now I’m returning to the projects and absorbing your experience (cube blocks like parts in the Bristle Blocks sets, a platform base with lots of pins – I’m thinking of making it for tubes and insertable plastic panels). I wish you good luck in experimenting. There are archives and links on LEGO I also can post.
Thistle blocks are relatively compatible with Taikon if the tubes are put on through a needle, but you can’t make “eyes”. And the tubes hold quite well.
Thanks for the info! Will there be photos?
Yeah, we need to sort it and send it 🙂
And I will look forward to the photos! After all, my project is like a child for me, I’m worried about it…
And we will wait for new products from you. Taikon is so popular now that new sets wouldn’t hurt)))