After creating my LED Lego Octopus, I decided to put a SteamPunk theme on my next one. This Lego Octopus is similar to my last one but I was able to streamline the wiring process a bit. I also added Lego Technic gears and 18k gold paint to give it the SteamPunk aesthetic. I used orange LED lights this time instead of the RGB LEDs.

Items Needed:

Lego Octopus 6086 Brick Owl
2 - 3mm LEDs (Orange) eBay
2032 Battery eBay
2032 Battery Holder eBay
2 - 3648 Lego Technic Gears Brick Owl
1 - 43093 Axle to Pin connector Brick Owl
1 - 2780 Pin Brick Owl
Necklace of your choice

Tools Needed:

Rotary Tool (Drill or Dremel)
3mm Drill Bit
X-acto Knife
Soldering Iron
Solder
Gold Spray
Copper Spray
Glue (E-6000)

This is a remix of my previous project - Lego Octopus LED Light.
I will be posting more of these as I perfect my process.
These will also be for sale in my Etsy store - Toast Arts.

Step 1: Gutting Your Lego Octopus

Cleaning your Octopus will prepare it for the lighting and soldering steps. This is a necessary step that can be a bit painful because you are actually cutting a Lego up. I got over it quickly and the Octopus didn't scream, whatsoever.

Remove the rim as shown in photo #1 with a sharp blade.
Now remove the parts inside the body, including the cylinder and walls.
Using you drill and 3mm bit, drill out the "eye" holes, being very careful to not drill outside of the dot. *These are not the actual eyes of the Octopus, the actual "eyes" are on the side of its head. I used these dots for obvious reasons.
Your Octopus is now ready for the lights.
Check to be sure your 3mm LED fits into the eye socket.

Step 2: Giving Sight to Your Lego Octopus

In this step we will build the lighting assembly. This part takes a little patience as you will want the parts to fit well when you snap it in.

Place your bulbs into each hole and push them as far as you can into the eye socket. Make sure they are pushed in at the same depth.
Your bulbs have two wires - a negative (short), and a positive (long). Make sure both negative wires are at the top of the head and the negative are at the bottom. (Photo #1)
Bend the wires just equal to the surface of the back of your Octopus.
Wrap the negative (short) wires together and then wrap the positive wires to themselves.
The wires should be right at the surface. This allows them to connect to the battery holder when it is glued to your Octopus.
Pull your LEDs out and they will hold their shape.
Identify the positive (+) and negative (-) poles on your battery holder. The 2032 battery fits into the holder with the positive side up. The large extruding piece of plastic on the holder contains the positive (+) pole.
Now let's solder the wires to the corresponding pins. (+) to (+) and (-) to (-).
Now that everything works and fits nicely into place, let's paint him. I sprayed several layers of18k gold paint allowing for drying between applications. I did three coats.
Since you pre-shaped your wires, your whole light assembly will slide right in to your gutted Octopus.
Glue the battery holder to the Octopus with just a couple of dabs. It should hold itself together pretty well.
Attach a necklace and you are set to amaze friends and influence others.

Remember to test your bulbs often throughout this process, you will want to be sure the have not been damaged.

Removing and replacing the battery acts as the on/off switch. You can add a switch if you like and I plan to add one to my next build. Stay tuned for that one.

Step 3: Lego SteamPunk Octopus in Action

My local Burning Man community is putting on their annual Decompression party called: SteamPunk Gypsy Oasis. I designed the ticket and volunteered to run the gate. Good times.

I'll post photos here soon.