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How to Make a LEGO Ball

LEGO's studded square-edge bricks are probably a familiar toy among many childhood memories, and can be transformed into just about anything you might desire. While it may seem strange to build a LEGO sphere out of plastic square bricks, it's actually quite simple to build a ball. The trick is offsetting the bricks correctly so that they form a nearly round shape. When complete, the sphere itself looks impressive in a solid color--with a little extra planning, you could make a really cool soccer ball.

Things You'll Need

LEGO base plate
LEGO bricks

Instructions

- 1
  Build a circular disc out of the LEGO bricks to the desired diameter of your ball, starting on the left side of the base plate. A 6 inch ball is a good starting point. Start near the edge, and place wide bricks to make a five stud long side. At the top and bottom, offset another two-stud wide brick by one brick to the right. Repeat that pattern once more. This creates an arc which represents one-fourth of the sphere's circumference. Attach more bricks to duplicate that curve all the way around, then fill the circle in.
  
  This ring will become the middle of the ball itself. Be sure to use mostly large pieces, as you will need to make a solid hemisphere and later remove this piece from the plate. To see what this ring should look like, look at the pattern on the Brillig website for a rough idea, and apply that design to whatever diameter you're using.
- 2
  Build another disc on top of the first disc. Make this disc the same diameter, but the curved edges should be a stud shorter than the row below. Again, see the diagram for more information.
- 3
  Repeat Step 2 again, making another ring that's about the same size, but more contoured than the row below it.
- 4
  Add a few more layers, each of which is a stud smaller on all sides than the row below it. For the 6 inch ball, make three more layers.
- 5
  Add the topmost layer, making it two studs smaller on all sides than the top-most layer. You should have a hemisphere shape on the plate now.
- 6
  Pull the hemisphere off of the plate carefully, making sure all of the pieces come off with it. You can do this best by flipping the model upside down and gently bending and pulling the plate off.
- 7
  Build another hemisphere using Steps 1 through 5 in reverse. Begin with what was the top layer, and grow outward until your final layer is the same diameter as your first hemisphere. Follow the contours of the original hemisphere. For additional information on this technique, watch the segment on YouTube for Building a LEGO Sphere.
- 8
  Remove the second hemisphere from the plate.
- 9
  Line up the two hemispheres so that the largest layers fit together, and press the top half of the hemisphere into place. This should form a round ball.

Construction Toys