Pharaohs, priests, gods and a whole lot of mystery… Journey back thousands of years with this monumental build - ANCIENT EGYPTIAN TEMPLE by GJC15344. If you're loving this project, be sure to let the creator know in the comments down below!
ABOUT YOURSELF
- What do you study or do for a living?
I studied Ancient History and later Heritage Studies in Amsterdam. Currently, I work for local government in the heritage and monuments department. It’s my job to design and execute policies to protect all of our lovely monuments.
- What hobbies do you have?
I like to go to the gym, play the piano and, of course, design LEGO® sets! Furthermore, I enjoy listening to music and reading about history. From time to time, I also try to visit museums or music festivals.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
I would like to invite everyone to check out my LEGO Ideas page (GJC15344). This is where I upload the builds that I am most proud of.
- Have you created any LEGO MOCs (my own creations) that you’re particularly proud of? What is it, why are you proud of it and do you have a photo of it?
My Egyptian Temple idea, which just reached 10K votes, is one of my favorite creations. I think it’s a rather unique creation. Other than that, I really like my Narnia Diorama. As a child I was an enormous Narnia fan, and I have always dreamt of a LEGO Narnia set that could bring alive my childhood memories. I am also particularly proud of my Wolfpack Lair, which I think has turned out really well. All sets and images can be found on my page.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
As a child, I would basically play with LEGO every day. I mostly designed castles and created fantasy armies to recreate something like Middle Earth, but with my own twist. Frankly, my love for LEGO bricks has never really vanished. When I discovered the LEGO digital building applications, my passion for creating with bricks resurged.
- What does the LEGO hobby mean to you? How does it fit into your life? E.g. build, display, meetups, play the games or 'just' watch the cartoons.
For me, the LEGO hobby is that feeling when you hold the box of your favorite, most anticipated set. You open the box and order the bags and then the real fun begins! It is the perfect way to spend a holiday or Sunday. I like to display some of my sets and rotate between them.
- What is your favorite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
The LEGO Lord of the Rings line has got to be my favorite. Though I own only one set from this line, it is the perfect theme for me. It combines fantasy, castles and, of course, Lord of the Rings – all things I love!
- What is your favorite official LEGO set ever? Why?
This is a difficult question. I own the Medieval Blacksmith, and, in terms of detail and overall looks, this might be one of the best ones, in my opinion. To be fair, I am still hoping that someday LEGO will release a massive Minas Tirith set. That would be my favorite set ever, without a doubt!
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from? 
As an ancient historian, anything historical, classical or ancient interests me. I have always found ancient Egypt has this mysterious and other worldly feel to it. Their half-animal gods and their hieroglyphic scripture adorn their beautiful works of architecture, culminating in such a unique and recognizable material culture. Furthermore, I have always felt that LEGO sets referring to ancient Egypt did not always live up to that beautiful architecture. Therefore, I tried to come up with a model that could capture the architecture, art and culture of Ancient Egypt.
- How long did the process of making the project take and what did you have to research? What kind of prep, research and design phases did you go through to produce your creation?
It is hard to say exactly how long everything took, but certainly more than 40 hours. I started by looking at images of Egyptian temples and reading about them. Then I decided that I wanted to build the frontal gate (or ‘pylon’) of such a temple, as I think this is the most recognizable part.
- What special challenges or frustrations did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The biggest challenge was designing the slope on the building. Both towers slightly incline inward, and it is quite difficult to implement this very slight inclination on two or more sides that connect at a 90-degree angle. But, in the end, I think I came up with a feasible solution!
- How long did it take to complete the model? Did you finish it fairly quickly, or did it take a long time? And how did the build time compare to the time you spent promoting your Product Idea to reach 10,000 supporters?
Promoting takes an awful lot of time to be honest - and I must admit, I prefer the building and designing! Fortunately, the promoting does not per se consume as much time as the build. I also like to come back to my build and redesign some aspects. This means that the build is never fully done and always feels like a work in progress. Of course, I am very fond of its current state, but I can always think of something that could be designed in several other ways. Long story short: the fun of LEGO is that any creation can be refined or altered infinitely, so I can work on it for as long as I like!
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
The process took a few days short of 2 years! I must say, I lost hope at one point, but I am so grateful that it reached 10K in the end. It’s such a wonderful feeling!
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
Just over 2000.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
I used Studio. I used to build in LEGO Digital Designer, but Studio is simply much more complete in terms of part availability. It also allows me to render images quite nicely.
By
JacobM366