Introducing to the 10K Club, our newest member: SJsWorkshop and his brilliant TASKMASTER! Fans of the show need no introduction to this iconic house, featuring a ton of easter eggs from the series. Can you spot any?
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Where are you from?
The UK.
- How old are you?
17.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I am in secondary school, studying English literature, Maths and Music.
- What hobbies do you have?
As well as LEGO building, I also enjoy other creative hobbies such as writing and music. I spend a lot of time writing songs and composing film scores.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
My LEGO Ideas profile is where you’ll find most of my builds - but there are a few extra MOCs on my Instagram.
- 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 built a pirate chameleon recently that I now use as my profile picture. I loved the challenge of creating organic shapes throughout the build, and was particularly proud of the technique I came up with for the eye. I also built a set of garden gnomes for a contest here on LEGO Ideas - I love their personality and was very pleased with how they turned out.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
Since I was very young I have been steadily accumulating sets and adding to my collection. The first set I remember building was the LEGO City Airport: 7894, which I still own today. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I started building MOCs, but since then I have been an even more avid fan and eager participant in the community.
- 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.
For me, the LEGO community is what makes the hobby feel so special. Online or at conventions, sharing MOCs with fellow builders is the best experience. I also love the official sets too! Waiting for and building the latest releases always blows me away as I see each awesome detail the designer has come up with.
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
Personally, LEGO Ideas will always be my favourite theme. The amount of variety and creativity is outstanding. It builds (no pun intended) on the idea of community because each set comes designed and nominated by fans.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
A difficult question! I absolutely love minifigure scale sets that are packed with detail. Ninjago City Gardens (71741) and Pirates of Barracuda Bay (21322) are both up there!
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
The humble LEGO minifigure - I love the personality that the graphic designers manage to capture in each one, and they are a core to the imagination and storytelling of every build. Having said that, I have found that all the various food pieces are perfect for adding detail to builds - my chameleon model is a prime example!
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
I love the work of Justin Ramsden - his larger-scale sets such as Welcome to Apocalypseburg (70840) and Hogwarts Castle (71043) are full of personality and details that I admire so much.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO-related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
The brothers brick have a great archive of some amazing MOCS, and I have found it to be a great source of inspiration.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
Since I joined LEGO Ideas, I’ve wanted to do a Taskmaster project. For so long, it was a prohibited IP and I would check regularly just in case it was ever approved. In January when I saw it was now allowed I got building straight away! The show is now popular worldwide, with international versions, a board game and organised fan events.
- How long was the process of making the project, 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?
To research the project I found the floor plan of the actual house online. I then simplified it slightly and built a base in lego form to get an idea of scale, before moving to design it online. Each time I added something new to the set, I would build a physical ‘draft’ version of it, always making sure it was at the suitable scale, before then building it properly on mecabricks.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The circular windows on the front face of the house were a particular challenge, as the initial versions were all way too big. I ended up using a technique found in the Downtown Diner (10260) that ended up looking perfect.
- If you could talk to yourself before you started on this project, what would you tell them? What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
I would have told myself about the custom print feature on mecabricks! I only found this when doing the first update, and it allowed me to make much more accurate representations of key details such as the task envelopes and minifigure faces. The fact that the original images use recoloured Hogwarts letters for tasks has always bugged me, because they don’t quite look like they do in the show.
- 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?
The model itself was built over a very intense period of about 3 days. I was isolated and spent a weekend doing almost nothing else! Prior to this, I had been planning it for a while and the rendering of all the images took a further week to complete.
The time I spent promoting it was much, much more! The video I made took one month to render! As the newest series aired in the UK, I also spent one night a week designing promotional builds based on the new episode.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
It was incredible! From submission, it took about 5 months, and on the morning it hit 10k, all that time felt worth it!
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
The set is approximately 2,700 pieces.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
I particularly like the rounded shaping of the caravan, the compact phone box design, and the techniques used to create interior details such as the sofa or bookshelf. The slightly frustrating thing is that since I first built it in January, I feel I have improved at building so much that there is now lots I can see that I would do differently!
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
I used Mecabricks to build it and then rendered it using blender.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
I designed all the custom prints using an online photo editor and the mecabricks custom part tool.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
Build something you are passionate about, whether that is an original idea or based on a third-party IP. This will give you the drive to make it the best you can, and also help you find the motivation to promote it, which is also very important. Sharing the project as much as possible online, and finding new and original ways to promote it is extremely helpful.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
I used social media as a key source of attracting supporters for this particular model. The fanbase online is massive and without their help sharing the project and spreading the word I would never have reached 10K so quickly. Thank you, all of you!
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
I have loved so many, including Pirates of Barracuda Bay (21322) and Bag End by saabfan (which was sadly not approved), but I think my favourite product idea to date is the Medieval Blacksmith (21325).
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
The platform is great because the product ideas have almost no limits when it comes to what they can be; if it can be imagined, it can be built! I love seeing the never-ending creativity in the community. Every day I see a new build that blows me away. If you’re new to the platform, I found that participating in contests and activities first helped me build my skills before I felt ready to submit a product idea. But if you have an idea you are passionate about - go for it!
- 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?Absolutely - I am currently working through a list of ideas I have, all of which will eventually be published here as product ideas. There’s some more classic British comedy, but also some sets not based on IP that I am particularly excited about! Currently my Parks and Recreation set is a product idea I am particularly pleased with!
