Welcome back to the 10K Club, Ben Alder, a.k.a. benlouisa! Proud husband and father Ben is back with another family-themed build. Inspired by his love of family days out with children, Ben has fittingly created a FARM LIFE. Do you agree with Ben that a playable farm is a good idea? Let us know here!
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
Ben Alder.
- Where are you from?
I’m from Suffolk, England.
- How old are you?
I’m 37.
- What hobbies do you have?
I have two young children, so a lot of hobbies are shared with them. We love family days out exploring the countryside, visiting farms and zoos, taking our dog on walks, and of course, we all love LEGO bricks.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
Yes, I have both a Twitter and Instagram profile on which I share a lot of LEGO-related posts.
- 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 love to create Lego MOCs and find it is a great way to relax, as well as an activity we like to do as a family. One of my all time favourite MOCs I have made is Tigger's house from Winnie the Pooh. It was such fun making it so that I could expand the 100 Acre Wood for my family to enjoy.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
From a very young age, I remember sitting for hours with my parents building and creating all kinds of magical things. My love for the tiny brick was rekindled about 8 years ago when my first child was born and now it's me sitting for hours with my two children building our own magical things. I just love watching my children building and seeing how their minds work to make something completely different each time. My wife has now even got hooked on LEGO building too, so it’s a perfect way for us to all spend time together and relax.
- 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.
LEGO building for me is a way to relax and something that we can do as a family together as both of my children and also my wife love it! There aren’t many days that go by that we are not designing, building or playing with some form of LEGO brick.Being involved in the LEGO community has also allowed me to meet some amazing people, that without the LEGO hobby, I probably never would have.
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
This is a really hard question as I love so many. One close to my heart is the Castle theme as it was one that I had as a child. However, the Elves theme was amazing and filled with so much magic.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
There are so many! I love the Elves theme, however, if I had to just pick one set it would have to be the Parisian Restaurant as this was the first set my wife purchased for me so will always be something very close to my heart. The detail on it is just amazing!
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
For this one I asked my children what they would say was my favourite and they both said “A brick separator”. Over the past few years every time we have purchased a new set or a bundle they always look for the brick separators for me (my youngest calls them an unseperator) as I got very excited when I first got a green one!
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
There are loads I would love to mention but my number one is Matthew Ashton. I love his energy and passion for LEGO design which certainly shows in his creations. Of the fan designers, Ivan Guerrero certainly stands out as he has made some incredible MOC’s.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
Not really, I am part of a number of Facebook groups, which I love seeing people's creations on. I also really love Instagram as my news feed is just full of LEGO-related posts and MOCs.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
My interest in this has mainly come from my young children. We love spending days out at farms and it was then that I realised that LEGO had not made a detailed playable farm which appeals to both adults and children. Most of the LEGO builds that I make are hugely inspired by my children, the things they love and the places that we go as a family.
- 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?
I had been thinking about building a farm for several months before I began, and visiting various local farms gave me a lot of inspiration.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
Making the roof was certainly the most challenging part and getting it to curve and join at the odd angles.
- 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?
It was about a month to design it, but I had been thinking about it and planning it in my head for a while before this. I was really surprised as it reached 10,000 really quickly. I wasn’t expecting it to take off as quickly as it did!
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
It took just under 3 months which I was amazed at. The feeling of getting to 10K is just incredible. It was very exciting as I watched the last few votes coming in with some friends and we were all refreshing the page just waiting for the special moment.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
It’s made using approximately 1,400 LEGO parts .
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
My favourite part is the little truck and I’ve made it so the rear crate folds out so that animals can easily be loaded in.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
It was made using Bricklink Studio .
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
I rendered some images that I wanted to use on Bricklink Studio and then edited them in Photoshop. Then, using Bricklink Studio part creator, I was able to add the “Stickers” to the parts.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
My main advice is to make sure that the main photo is a good clear image of your build. This is the one thing that everyone will see and is what will sell your build.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
My main advertising was in LEGO Facebook groups. We did make some leaflets too which my kids loved delivering. I think they were hoping it would take longer to get to 10,000 so they could deliver more!
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
I love the Retro Arcade by If You Build It. I especially love the mini arcade machines in it!
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
I think the platform is great as it gives normal people like me an opportunity to demonstrate their building and designing skills, and share them with other people who love LEGO building too. I also love the fact that it gives the chance for ideas that The LEGO Group haven’t explored before, to become reality. I would certainly say build what you enjoy and are passionate about, and hopefully, this will then come out in your build. However, above all, have fun as that is what LEGO building is all about.
- 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?
Yes I am sure that I will submit more ideas, and I have a few ideas I am playing with - but I haven’t got anything else ready at the moment.
