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Lay Your Hands All Over This Cyclopean LEGO NES Controller

To make sure that his fingers don’t jostle each other while using a regular NES controller, a geek built a giant one out of LEGO bricks. On top of that, the controller is fully functional.

Julius von Brunk (if that is even his real name!), probably better known on the Interwebs as Baron von Brunk, is an ambitious LEGO master craftsman, to say the least. His YouTube profile includes a far longer, slightly NSFW self-characterization. While his creation is not the largest NES controller in the world (that record holder needs to be stepped-on to function), it still gets extra points for being made out of LEGO building blocks.

The giant LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System controller is the Baron‘s largest such creation to date, measuring not less than 5 feet. Besides bricks, plates and tiles, the LEGO craftsman also used Technic shock absorbers. The latter were used for ensuring that the buttons are functional. When they are pressed, the large plastic buttons make contact with momentary pushbuttons from Radio Shack, which in turn are connected and soldered to the circuitry of a real gaming controller. Talk about over dimensioning things!

The NES games featured in the following video are:

• Chip & Dale’s Rescue Rangers
• Contra
• Dr. Mario
• R.C. Pro Am
• Super Mario Bros. 3
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Arcade Game
• Tetris

Unfortunately, the games were not played on a NES video game console. Instead, the gargantuan controller uses an USB controller and plugs into a computer running an NES emulator. Given the exaggerated dimensions of this device, it is rather obvious that using it for playing games can prove to be tedious. Sometimes, it is very difficult to press multiple buttons at the same time, so games that imply prompt reactions should be avoided, really.

Additional images and details are available on The Baron’s Facebook, Instructables and DeviantArt pages. On a side note… Have you noticed that Pink Floyd The Wall poster that adorns The Baron’s wall? That particular detail made me look at this LEGO geek with an even greater admiration. I’ll just pretend I didn’t see those smaller posters with bared abs females that sit next to it. It will be interesting to see what other LEGO gadgets will be made in the future by the Baron, though.

If you liked this post, please check the world’s largest NES controller and the world’s smallest NES controller. Coincidence or not, the latter is made out of LEGO bricks, too!