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⚡ Lego Technic · Coding · Circuits · 3D Printing · Bikes

COLTON'SMad Lab

Build huge.Crash.Fix it.Build bigger.

My workshop on the internet: gearboxes, crawlers, games, circuits and printed parts — plus everything that broke along the way and how I fixed it.

⚙ See my builds 🔧 Now building
Sparky, the Mad Lab robot assistant, wearing an orange-visor helmet

SPARKY: Lab assistant reporting! Today's job: handing Colton gears for the crawler.

FIG.1 CHAINRING DRIVE v2 TECHNIC 16T COG
NOW BUILDING

4WD Technic Crawler

Off-road crawler on Power Functions motors. Status: Building

  • ✔ Suspension
  • ✔ Locking differentials
  • ✔ 4-speed shifter
  • ✔ Power Functions motors
  • ◻ Gear reduction
  • ◻ Stiffer frame
NEXT STEPAdd gear reduction & stiffen the frame.
Open the build log →
4WD CRAWLER · SIDE VIEW DIFF PF MOTORS · LOCKING DIFFS · 4-SPEED

// Latest Builds

Every build gets a log: what I tried, what broke, and the fix.

Cartoon of the TEST Toast-O-Matic 3000: a cardboard robot with googly eyes launching a slice of toast, with a rubber chicken antenna and a THIS IS A TEST bannerBUILD #TEST

TEST Toast-O-Matic 3000

Done

TEST ONLY: a pretend cardboard robot that launches toast.

🧪 TEST PROJECT, NOT REAL
  • Mechanisms
TEST cartoon of the Acorn-Sorter 9000: a cereal-box ramp with stacked popsicle-stick bumps launching acorns over small, medium and chonky cupsBUILD #TEST

TEST Acorn-Sorter 9000

Done

TEST ONLY: a cardboard ramp that sorts acorns into small, medium and "chonky" cups.

🧪 TEST PROJECT, NOT REAL🤖 test by Squirrel
  • Mechanisms
BUILD #06 4WD CRAWLER · SIDE VIEW DIFF PF MOTORS · LOCKING DIFFS · 4-SPEED

4WD Technic Crawler

Building

Off-road crawler with suspension, locking diffs and a 4-speed shifter.

  • Lego Engineering
  • Motors
  • Mechanisms
BUILD #05 UNO R4 220Ω

Arduino LED Lab

Building

Uno R4 lessons — on lesson 4: safe resistor values for LEDs.

  • Electronics
  • Coding
  • Arduino
BUILD #04 123456

6-Speed Technic Gearbox

Building

Six gears, one shifter. Rebuilding it after the instructions went missing.

  • Lego Engineering
  • Mechanisms
BUILD #03 LEAN-TO-STEER · 3 WHEELS 3D-PRINTED (sketch — not built)

Electric 3-Wheel Scooter

Idea

Lean-to-steer, 3D-printed brackets, handlebar throttle.

⚠ GROWN-UP BUILD: BIG BATTERIES
  • 3D Printing
  • Tinkercad
  • Electronics
  • Bikes
BUILD #02 if y < -170 → respawn

Puppy Catch (Scratch game)

Done

A puppy catches a falling squirrel, tennis ball and taco.

  • Coding
  • Scratch
BUILD #01 COIN →LEVER →DISPENSE

Coin-Op Lego Soda Machine

Scrapped

Coin pushes a lever that unlocks the dispenser.

  • Lego Engineering
  • Mechanisms
BUILD #??

Project coming soon

🔒 Locked

Something new is waiting on the workbench.

BUILD #??

Project coming soon

🔒 Locked

Something new is waiting on the workbench.

BUILD #??

Project coming soon

🔒 Locked

Something new is waiting on the workbench.

// Skill Meters

Lego EngineeringLVL 9 · Gear Wizard
Gearboxes, diffs, suspension, shifters.
CodingLVL 5 · Block Boss
Scratch games now, Arduino code next.
ElectronicsLVL 3 · Spark Starter
LEDs, resistors and the Uno R4.
3D PrintingLVL 6 · Layer Lord
Tinkercad designs + the printers.

* Fun levels made up by the lab. Every crash = +1 XP.

// Badges Earned

  • GearheadBuilt gearboxes, diffs & shifters
  • CoderShipped a real Scratch game
  • Circuit RookieLit an LED the safe way (resistor!)
  • Printer ProDesigns in Tinkercad, prints layer by layer
  • Crash SurvivorCrashed it, fixed it, built it bigger
Scrap HeapBuilds I scrapped — and what I learned.
Idea VaultWild ideas I haven't built (yet).