LEGO
®
DESIGNER
WhenIwasyoungIlovedtoplaywithLEGO
®
bricks
IrememberthatmyfirstsetwastheFireTruck
Aftergettingmytwosonsmyinterestwasrekindled
andweenjoyedbuildingLEGOmodelstogether
EspeciallytheSuperHeroessetsareafavoriteof
mysonsOurstorageroomhasbeenturnedintoa
LEGOroomfortheboysDon’taskmywife…
FishinghasalwaysbeenmyhobbyFromfishingin
theCaribbeanwhereIlivedforawhiletofishingin
HollandSoyoucouldsaythatmyinterestinfishing
andmyjobasanarchitecturaldraughtsmancame
togetherinthismodel
Inspirationisveryimportantandsowasfindinga
themethatcouldhelpdevelopthemodelIgotmy
initialinspirationfromtheLEGOChristmashouses
andseavillagesIstartedbydoingsomesketching
onpaperthencreatedamoodboardtodetermine
thedetailsandcolorschemesEspeciallytheuseof
therightcolorswasimportantinmydesign
AftersubmittingthemodelonLEGOIdeaspeople
commentedandaskedabouttheinsideofthe
buildingThiswasthemomentwhereIdecided
Icouldreallygetcreativedesigningsomething
specialforinsideItwasalotoffunAnditalsogot
methinkingthatthebuildingcouldhaveaseasonal
designwithdifferentfacesforthewinterandsummer
Itturnedouttobeafairlycomplicatedmodeland
ittooksometimetodesigntheinitialhouseand
dotheadjustmentsItprobablytookmeacouple
ofmonthstogetitcompletelyasIwantedittobe
Itonlytooksixweeksforthemodeltoreachthe
votesonLEGOIdeaswhichwasveryexciting
Itwasalotoffuntoreadthecommentsandseethat
peoplewerereallyinterestedinmymodel
Mytipforpeoplewhoareconsideringuploading
anideaistojustdoit!Useyourcreativityandhave
funEventhesimplermodelsgetlotsofvotesAnd
youneverknowwhatmighthappen!
Whenyoustartoutthefunpartistheideathatyour
modelmightbechosentobedevelopedasaLEGO
setButaftersubmittingmymodelontheplatform
thewaitingthecommentsfromotherLEGOIdeas
communitymembersandcheckingouthowyour
modelisdoingareallveryexcitingItallmakesyou
wanttocheckregularlyonhowthingsaregoingbut
alsotoseewhatothercooldesignsareuploaded
totheplatform
Mytaskistomakesurethatthemodellivesupto
LEGO
®
qualityItcanbequitechallengingasIhave
torespectsomeoneelse’sdesignbutatthesame
timealteritsoitfitsourguidelinesAsaLEGO
designerIhavetobeawareofthemanyrulesand
restrictionsthatafandesignerlikeRobertdoesn’t
havetoworryaboutThiscouldbesmallthingslike
changingelementsthatarenolongeravailableor
biggerstufflikechangingmeasurementsbuilding
techniquesorevenwholesectionsofabuild
ItriedtostayverytruetotheoriginaldesignThat’s
whatgotvotesandiswhatthepeoplewant
Ididn’twanttochangemuchoftheoriginallookand
therewasnoreasontodosoAsforthebuildthough
probablynotasinglebrickwasleftuntouched
Ittookquiteawhiletofine-tunethemeasurements
sothatallthewallscouldbebuiltwithonlyxx
andxbricksThismeanttheycouldinterlockand
becoveredwithsandgreentilesatthesametime
Alsothetilessimulatingboardsontheoutsideshould
ideallylockthebricksunderneathTherearemany
waystodothisbutonlyonereallyworks
Evenwithallthesestructuralchangesyouwould
probablybehardpressedtofindanymajordifferences
betweenthewinningdesignandtheactualproduct
Itwasthereforeeasyformetodiscussthenecessary
adjustmentswithRobert
Itwasgreattobeabletobringbackcertainelements
liketheseagullanduseotherslikethelobsterthat
wereonlypreviouslyavailableinothersetsWealso
havetwonewprintsandastickersheetIthinkwe
didagreatjobdecidingwhatshouldbeprintedand
whatcouldbeasticker–andthemodeldoesn’t
losemuchofitsappealifthestickersaren’tapplied
Itwasactuallymewhosuggestedthename“Anton’s
BaitShop”He’smysonandeventhoughhe’sonly
sevenmonthsoldrightnowsomedayhe’llbeold
enoughtobuildthesetandtounderstandthejoke
RobertBontenbal
Fan designer
AdamGrabowski
LEGO designer