Gluing Plastic LEGO onto MDF!!!.

[Mreagleeyes]

You read that right.Need your help guys.

I've just moved into a new place with the girlfriend and we are both designers and are looking for some new wall art to go up on the walls.

The plan is to create a large 1143mm x 1905mm LEGO piece of wall art. We are looking to create a silhouette of our dog 'Kaiser' using the round 1x1 Bricks and the 5 x 3 Gray Baseplate to hold it all together.

I would like to create something like this, sorry about the size.

Using this picture after I have cut the silhouette out of 'Kaiser'.

I would like to mount this all onto a 19mm board of MDF.
So the question is. What is the best way to mount the boards?. I could do some very small screwing in some corners but a little worried that may affect the size and then not allow the proper fitting of the 'Round' bricks. Or do I just glue the whole lot down?.

It's going to be a bit pricey so don't want to pipper this one up, but you only live once and I think (hope) it will look great.

Any thoughts guys?.

 

[chippy1970]

Contact adhesive might do the trick for gluing the plastic to the MDF.

 

[special bone]

I'd suggest using Poly-eurethane glue directly on to the boards.
If you use smaller plates onto the top of the blocks, it will hold them in place while the glue sets.

 

[wobblycogs]

For gluing the lego (sacrilege ) to the MDF I'd probably just reach for my trusty silicon gun. While doing our house up I've found it to be invaluable for sticking just about anything to everything. You might like to rough up the back of the lego sheet before applying the silicon but I'm pretty confident that wouldn't even be necessary. Just apply lines up and down the back of the lego sheet with 20mm or so between them and push firmly into place on the MDF.

 

[Smudger]

Double sided tape?

Liqui Poly sticks Lego bricks together.

I know that because my sons used to suck the heads off of Lego people and I had to go through their nappies to find them, and then stick them on so that it wouldn't happen again, after suitable decontamination...

Which was ridiculous behaviour for 24-year olds...

 

[jimi43]

You've been watching James May haven't you!

I'd use a hot glue gun. Then if you don't like it you can heat it up again..take it apart and build a tractor!

:wink:

Cheers

Jim

 

[Kalimna]

Epoxy resin.
Glues anything to anything

Cheers,
Adam

 

[petermillard]

^ +1. Or grab adhesive (Gripfill, Pinkgrip) or mirrorfix.

When you get the backing board cut, get an extra one done and use this to flatten everything out while the adhesive sets.

Cheers, Pete.

 

[StevieB]

Gripfill, although it may be a bit thick for your application.

Just a thought - have you any idea of the weight of a piece of MDF that size at 19mm thick. You are proposing to hang an 8x4 sheet on the wall from your measurements (1143mm x 1905mm), which is going to take an awful lot more to hang than a nail and piece of string. You might want to look at going down to 6mm MDF. I would have though lego to cover that surface area was also quite expensive?

Steve

 

[Boatfixer]

I wouldn't advise epoxy for plastics - I use it daily and have a number of plastic clamps which I use just because they don't get stuck to the job! A top tip if using epoxy is to cover anything you don't want attached (clamping blocks etc.) with parcel tape as this will never stick to epoxy. I would think either hot melt glue or that pink grip stuff that comes in a tube but remember to key the boards with some 80 grit first.

 

[wobblycogs]

I notice that you have been on the Lego site to get the images for the bricks you are going to buy. Since you will be wanting probably thousands of exactly those bricks I suggest you give Lego a ring and see if they will do a bulk deal otherwise at 5p a brick it's going to cost an absolute fortune.

I also can't believe that I'm the only one that would like to see the finished article.

 

[Mreagleeyes]

Many thanks all. I knew I could rely on you guys to come up with the answer.

The cost is going to be enormous but it's all relative. The boards will be about £140 plus the MDF and the Round bricks at 5p each will not be cheap. I have emailed LEGO and asked what they could do for me but as of yet no reply.

The girlfriend has done the figures and is now asking if it needs to be so big, she would be happy with a 15" X 30" picture of some flowers. This was stopped instantly by me. if your going to do it then do it right.

I was originally going to try and copy a sculpture like the ones that Nathan Sawaya has created but the email I got from him stated that I would need approximatly 30,000 4x2 bricks to make a full scale human figure, must be nice to be sponsored by LEGO, and seeing as this is a first attempt thought I would try some art first and see how we go.
30,000 4x2 at 14p each = £4,200.

Nathan Sawaya web site. http://brickartist.com/

 

[Mreagleeyes]

30,000 4x2 at 14p each = £4,200.
£420, that's better.

 

[NickWelford]

30,000 4x2 at 14p each = £4,200.
£420, that's better.

Think you were right the first time - £4200

 

[jimi43]

Speak to James...there are a few going free in Surrey I believe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEYWT0RbPrc

:wink:

Jim

 

[Kalimna]

Re: epoxy and plastics.
Whilst I certainly can't vouch for all plastics and all epoxies, when gluing a Parker ink cartridge to the end of a polyethylene (I think it's PE, has that almost greasy feel) syringe (erm, a bit odd, but it's a homemade device for flushing my fountain pens), then the only adhesive I got to glue both surfaces was normal Araldite. Not the quick setting stuff either. So perhaps a particular preparation is called for.
Though maybe a good piece of advice would be to get some scrap MDF and some Lego bricks and try out 5-6 different glues (epoxies, PU, contact, Cascamite) and see which takes more effort to remove.
Not especially scientific, but good for a BOTEC anyway.
Having said that, and perhaps someone with MDF experience could answer, is the MDF more likely to fail in it's internal laminations (ok, I don't think they are strictly laminations, but you see what I mean) than on the external face glue line?

Cheers,
Adam

 

[Mreagleeyes]

Re: epoxy and plastics.
Whilst I certainly can't vouch for all plastics and all epoxies, when gluing a Parker ink cartridge to the end of a polyethylene (I think it's PE, has that almost greasy feel) syringe (erm, a bit odd, but it's a homemade device for flushing my fountain pens), then the only adhesive I got to glue both surfaces was normal Araldite. Not the quick setting stuff either. So perhaps a particular preparation is called for.
Though maybe a good piece of advice would be to get some scrap MDF and some Lego bricks and try out 5-6 different glues (epoxies, PU, contact, Cascamite) and see which takes more effort to remove.
Not especially scientific, but good for a BOTEC anyway.
Having said that, and perhaps someone with MDF experience could answer, is the MDF more likely to fail in it's internal laminations (ok, I don't think they are strictly laminations, but you see what I mean) than on the external face glue line?

Cheers,
Adam

Exactly what I will do. Ordered a Gray Baseplate today and will do some test glue pieces and see what happens.
I'm not overly concerned by the weight of the pieces affecting things too much. There not all that heavy and I'll be using some M10 Plated Rawlbolts to hold it up.

Thanks

 

[Benchwayze]

Are you fitting the Lego pieces to Lego sheets, or gluing them straight onto the MDF? You could screw through parts that are going to be coverd by the Lego tiles.

If you want to glue, I think you would do much better with Sundeala board. Very lightweight, and stable, and is made from reconstituted newsprint. Various thicknesses. Used mostly for Model Railway bases.

http://www.sundeala.co.uk/

Used a lot for watercolour boards, and resists stretching paper a treat.

HTH

John

 

[milkman]

!!! This will look really cool so i hope you can do it and post pix.

From memory nothing really sticks to Lego. Not as bad as those Airfix nylon plastic soldiers but still.

That said it was always a pipper to get plasticine out of the brick so:

Once you have the design perfect fill the bricks with grip fill and screw self tappers into them from the back of the board. The screws should grip the gripfill which ought to stay in the bricks quite well. Stick/screw the board to your backing and hey presto.

Suggest boot sales and such like, mybe you'll be able to bag old lego there?

 

[Smudger]

A liquid modelling cement called Liqui Poly sticks Lego to Lego. Failing that (and I'm not sure it's still available), carbon tetrachloride?
Mek-Pak might work, available from Eileen's Emporium