Mini Orrery of the Inner Solar System

Hello my fellow LEGO fans,

after submitting my contest entry on April 11, that grew out of a personal passion for astronomy, engineering and the Classic Space theme, I never expected to be amongst the 15 amazing finalists and make so many fans happy along the way. My joy grew even more after I saw that a functioning tiny orrery, made out of Technic elements, was included in the new LEGO Friends Olivia's Space Academy set 41713. How cool is that?

Even though my submission shows a rendering made in Studio, it was important to me that the model could actually be assembled with existing LEGO elements and function as intended, so I built the prototype out of my spare pieces and successfully tested it. Also, the anti-clockwise rotation of the crank handle had to translate into the correct anti-clockwise rotation direction of the Sun, planets and our Moon. The only recolors seen in the renderings are the two half-spheres for the Sun in Flame Yellowish Orange and the air tanks & helmet of the Classic Space minifigure in Medium Lilac, which is more of an add-on and could be any other color.

Thanks so much to everyone who thought this idea stands a chance, left me heartwarming comments or already voted for this model! Please help spread the word for my Mini Orrery to come closer to reality and cast a vote until June 2.

Here is an HD version of my video showing the planet model in motion with an attached Power Functions M-motor.