Happy Friday, and welcome to the newest member of the 10K Club, Disney Recreation a.k.a. Antoine Huguerre. On his first attempt at submitting an Idea, Antoine was successful! The Wild West Mine is certainly worthy of the 10K Club, bursting with detail which helps bring his vision to life. Leave your congratulations to Antoine in the comments!
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
Antoine Huguerre
- Where are you from?
Dreux, France.
- How old are you?
29-years-old.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I work as a train driver, for the French railway company SNCF.
- What hobbies do you have?
Building and creating LEGO MOCs/sets and visiting theme parks! The Disney universe, too.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
Facebook: Disney Recreation
Instagram: disneyrecreation
- 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?
I have created a replica of the Big Thunder Mountain ride from Disneyland Paris which is my childhood and favourite ride! I worked on it for one year and it is about 15000 parts. I have also extended the Disney Train and Station from the set 71044.I just finish creating the ride Alice’s Curious Labyrinth from Disneyland Paris on Stud.io. Now I’m waiting for the parts from bricklink.
My next project is the replica of Phantom Manor from Disneyland Paris too.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
It started when I received the set Patriot Jet for Christmas when I was 6.
- What is the LEGO hobby to you? What does it mean to you? How does it fit in your life? E.g. build, display, meetups, play the games or 'just' watch the cartoons.
First, it’s leisure. I prefer to create and build my own MOCs to bring to exhibitions with my LUG in France.
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
My favourite LEGO theme is Harry Potter. I love this universe, the movies, and the sets reproduce perfectly the movies’ sceneries.
I still prefer creating MOCs based on the Disneyland Paris theme park, because it reminds me of my childhood. I enjoy Disney and rides, which provides inspiration for various kind of MOCs.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
The LEGO Ideas Tree House was really pleasant to build. The nature spirit is captured well in LEGO form, and the tree looks strong and elegant. It's a French idea, by the way!
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
If a Minifigure is an element, I choose the Alice in Wonderland Minifig’ which is from one of my favourite movies.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
None. I don’t know the LEGO designers by name.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
I often visit the French website Hothbricks and watch Brickmitri’s YouTube channel and Twitch.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
I enjoy the Western LEGO sets, but the last ones were released a long time ago
- How long was the process of making the project did, and what did you have to research as well. What kind of prep, research and design phases did you go through to produce your creation?
I spent one week on the software stud.io to create it.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The most difficult thing was building digitally. It was the first time I used this software because I don’t have the parts. Moreover, it was hard to build a model not too big, with a limited number of parts
- If you could talk to yourself before you started on this project, what would you tell him? What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
I would tell myself to be patient and take time to think about every detail to avoid any further necessary revisions. Now I know stud.io better and how it works, which allows me to be more efficient.
- 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?
I worked on it several hours a day for one week. In my opinion. for my first time on stud.io it was fairly quick. In terms of the promotion, it took a long time to gather the 10k. I didn’t believe I would gather 10k supporters for my first project.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
It takes about 20 months, and at the end I wasn’t expected that, but the last 2000 supports came faster.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
1464 bricks, according to stud.io.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
Some details like the cow skeleton, the crossties under the railroad and, finally, the mini-steam locomotive using roller coaster parts and scale.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
Stud.io from bricklink.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
None.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
Create something you like yourself and an original idea that has not been released as a set in the past. Have a playset which is functional for kids and pleasant to admire for adults.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
Promote it on my Instagram and Facebook account for LEGO MOCs. Moreover, I talk about this project during exhibitions.
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
The tree house is my favourite LEGO Ideas set. I think that Steampunk and Western projects on LEGO Ideas are still overlooked.
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
Creating your own MOC and having a chance for it to be released as a real LEGO set.
I would tell them to do what they want, build their LEGO dream in a set; be patient; try other ideas if it doesn’t reach the 10k, and don’t wait if you have an idea - another person may upload the same.
- Do you have plans to submit any other Product Ideas in the future? If yes, can you give us a hint of what that might be?
I think I will try another original idea, but I won't discuss it now; I think that you will see it on the website soon!
