LEGO SET 10363 - Alternate build | Leonardo da Vinci's Flying Machine

April 28, 2025

LEGO building really takes flight when you set aside the instructions and ask, “What else can these parts become?” With the blend of gears, beams, pulleys, propeller blades, and flexible connectors in this collection, you have everything you need to engineer a host of fresh creations. Here are a few directions to spark your imagination:

1. Clockwork Contraptions
Repurpose the gears and axles into a wind-up music box or animated display. Build a mini carousel that spins to reveal tiny scenes, or craft a cam-driven automaton with moving limbs—watch your figure wave or nod as you turn the crank.

2. Alternative Flying Machines
Forget wings—design a flapping-wing ornithopter armed with hinged panels and elastic bands for lifelike motion. Or switch to rotary flight: use the propeller blades and rubber-band drive to build a coaxial rotorcraft or a hand-launched shuttle that glides on stiff string lines.

3. Mechanical Beasts & Robots
Combine beams and connector pegs into skeletal frames for robotic creatures. Create a six-legged walker that shuffles when you wind it up, or a piston-powered bird with crankshaft-style “muscles” that flap its wings. Bold angles and exposed gears give your mechs an industrial edge.

4. Workshop Tools & Gadgets
Turn pulleys and liftarms into a tabletop crane or hoist—perfect for loading micro-crates or assembling other small builds. Alternatively, fashion a tension-powered catapult or a spring-loaded drawbridge using hinge bricks and string, bringing medieval mechanics into your workshop.

5. Kinetic Sculptures & Art
Lean into smooth rotation and oscillation: build a wind-powered fan array or a rotating sculpture that catches a gentle breeze. Use curved beams and string to craft a hanging mobile, where balanced gears and weights create hypnotic, ever-changing patterns.

6. Nautical Innovator
Swap out aerial themes for seafaring designs: turn the propeller into a paddlewheel for a tiny steamboat, or rig up a hand-cranked capstan to raise and lower an anchor. The set’s beams and plates become hull frames and deck supports, ready for mini-voyages.

Every gear, beam, and pulley in this set is an open invitation to rethink function and form. By mixing drive trains, experimenting with motion, and blending mechanical principles, you’ll discover that these parts are far more than just one model—they’re the foundation for a universe of engineering adventures. Grab your pieces, wind up your curiosity, and see where your creativity soars next!

MOC - 10363 Leonardo's ship