🚗 Tiny Roller: step-by-step build

Tiny Roller, completed model

Your very first rolling car — only 13 pieces!

Every great engineer started with a wheel. Thousands of years ago somebody put a round thing on a stick and the world started rolling! Today it is your turn. With one beam, two axles and four wheels you will build the tiniest car ever. And because every car needs a driver, it even gets a flag that stands up tall.

  • Level 1 of 5 (super easy)
  • About 5 minutes
  • 6 steps, 13 parts
  • Powered by: Push
  • Series: Starter Builds

What you will learn

  • Beams & Holes: Beams are the bones of every Technic model.
  • Axles: An axle is a cross-shaped rod — anything on it turns together.
  • Axles & Wheels: A wheel on an axle turns dragging into rolling.
  • Pins: Grippy or Smooth: Pins join beams together — some hold tight, some let things swing.

Parts you need

  • 1 × Beam 7
  • 2 × Axle 6
  • 4 × Small white wheel
  • 4 × Half bush
  • 1 × Black pin (grippy)
  • 1 × Beam 3

Steps

  1. Find the long 7-hole beam. Stand it on its edge so you can look through the holes.
  2. Slide an axle through the first hole and another through the last hole.
  3. Push a wheel onto each axle on this side.
  4. Turn it round and push the other two wheels on.
  5. Add a half bush on every axle end so the wheels cannot fall off.
  6. Push a black grippy pin into the middle hole of the long beam. Press the short red beam onto it by its end hole so it stands straight up. The grippy pin holds it tight. It is a flag!

Play time

Give it a gentle push across the table and watch it roll. How far can it go?

Build next

  • 🌀 Coasting Wheel Bench: Spin a retained tabletop wheel gently, then measure how it slows down. (level 2 of 5, about 15 minutes, 8 steps)
  • ⭕ Rim Distance Bench: Two unequal wheels share one shaft: equal turns, unequal rim travel. (level 2 of 5, about 15 minutes, 9 steps)
  • 📐 Crank Orbit Bench: Trace a crank pin’s circle and compare its one-axis travel at equal angle steps. (level 2 of 5, about 15 minutes, 10 steps)
  • 🛒 Push Buggy: A sturdy buggy with a push bar held up by super-strong triangles. (level 2 of 5, about 15 minutes, 12 steps)
  • Pull-back Racer🏁 Pull-back Racer: Pull it back, let it go — ZOOM! A racer with a spring for an engine. (level 2 of 5, about 12 minutes, 10 steps)