great ball contraption top

Never before has watching balls be moved around been so satisfying.

Japan Brickfest 2016 was recently held in Kobe as a celebration of all things LEGO. There were workshops for kids, entire civilizations built out of LEGOs, and even recreations of favorite movie scenes in plastic brick form:

▼ Here’s the House of Blue Leaves scene
from Kill Bill reimagined using LEGOs.

But what stole the show for most people was a multi-person project: “the great ball contraption.” Four LEGO masters (one of whom is Akiyuki, whose amazing work we’ve seen before) collaborated by building their own sections separately and then bringing them together for this event.

The result is truly a sight to behold. You can view it here, or scroll down for some highlights.

▼ Even at the first part, where the little basket balls and soccer balls get
passed from one rotating cup to another, I’m already in over my head.

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▼ From there the balls are brought up by a spinning Archimedes screw…

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▼ …passed from fork to fork…

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▼…sorted and then shot into a basketball hoop…

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▼ …and then just, you know, go for a quick spin around the solar system.

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…and that’s not even a quarter of the way through! Those balls are all going on a long journey, but where will they end up? Watch the video to find out.

In the meantime, if you want to see more machines that are way too complex for what they’re trying to accomplish, you should check out this show called Pitagora Suicchi.

Source: YouTube/akiyuky via AOL News Japan
Images: YouTube/akiyuky