Ankylosaurus MOC Tutorial: 420-Piece Build With Movable Tail Club
Here is the short version: this ankylosaurus MOC uses about 420 parts, stands 12 cm tall and measures 28 cm from nose to club, and takes roughly 1.5 hours to build. The frame stays rigid and the tail club actually moves, which makes it one of the most impressive pieces a dinosaur fan can put in a display case. brickplan.cn hosts the full instructions, and even a first-time builder can finish it in one sitting.
A Quick Ankylosaurus Primer: Why It Looks Like That
The ankylosaurus was the Cretaceous period's living tank. It was covered in bony plates and spikes, and its signature weapon was the heavy club at the end of its tail, which in life weighed tens of kilograms. Its back armor was made of many interlocking polygonal scales stacked in overlapping layers like plate armor. When you build an MOC, nail these three features, a low wide body, the tail club, and the back scales, and you are halfway to a convincing model.
Step 1: Build the Chassis and Legs
Start by laying out a base that is 8 studs wide and 22 studs long using long bricks, then reinforce it with plates so it will not twist. The four legs use 2x2 cylinder bricks as joints; set the front and back legs at different heights to suggest a walking pose. Remember to leave a reinforcing beam inside the belly area, so the model will not sag later when the heavy back armor goes on.
Step 2: Create the Back Armor Plates
The back is the heart of this build. Alternate 1x2 slope bricks with wedge plates to lay out two rows of scale ridges, then fill the gaps between them with 1x1 curved bricks to form a turtle-shell-like dome. This step uses about 120 parts, making it the most parts-hungry section of the whole ankylosaurus, but the payoff is immediate.
Step 3: Install the Tail Club
The club is made from two 1x2 bricks with holes clamping a 2x2 round plate, connected to the end of the tail with a technic pin so it can swing up and down. The tail shaft is strung together with 3 ball joints, which keeps it flexible while still holding a pose. Once it is on, give the club a light push and it will rebound like a pendulum, which makes the model genuinely fun to handle.
Step 4: Head and Finishing Details
Build the head from slope bricks into a flat triangular shape, add two 1x1 round plates for eyes, and angle the mouth slightly upward. Finish by dotting a few silver studs along the edges of the back to suggest bony spikes, then use black plates for the toes. When everything is in place, check that each joint is snug and adjust the tail angle. Your ankylosaurus is done.
The full MOC takes about 1.5 hours of actual building time and around 420 parts, of which roughly 60 are specialized pieces (curved bricks, wedge plates, and technic pins). If you want to replicate it, you can download the free instructions directly at brickplan.cn, and the parts list exports in one click, so hunting down pieces by number is painless.
FAQ
Q: How do you build an ankylosaurus MOC?
A: Start with the chassis and legs to lock in the overall frame, then build the back scale ridges, install the tail club, and finish with the head and details. The brickplan.cn instructions are numbered by step, so following along takes about 1.5 hours.
Q: How many parts do I need?
A: Around 420 parts for the whole ankylosaurus. Standard bricks make up most of that, with about 60 specialized pieces, mainly slope bricks, curved bricks and technic pins. The instructions include a parts list, so you can gather pieces from it or buy a matching set.
Q: Is it suitable for beginners?
A: Yes. There are no complicated linkages in the structure, and you only need two basic skills, pushing in technic pins and stacking bricks. Follow the instructions step by step and a first-time MOC builder can finish in about 1.5 hours.
Q: Does the tail club move?
A: Yes. The club is attached with a technic pin and swings up and down about 30 degrees, and the ball joints in the tail shaft let you change its direction. That gives posed shots far more impact than a fixed model, and it works well both for play and display.
Q: Where can I download the instructions?
A: Search for the ankylosaurus MOC on brickplan.cn to download the PDF free of charge. It includes step-by-step diagrams and a parts list, supports online preview, and opens on both desktop and mobile.