ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Who are you?
Grant: Hey everyone, my name is Grant Imler, but known on LEGO Ideas as Power of Fusion.
Jacob: Hello, I’m Jacob Twerski, known as @BangtanBricks on Instagram and LEGO Ideas.
- Where are you from?
Grant: Texas (Yeehaw!)Jacob: New York
- How old are you?
Grant: We’re both 23! (Jacob is older by 4 months)
- What do you study or do for a living?
Grant: I studied Media Arts in college and am currently trying my hand at being an entrepreneur!Jacob: I work part time locally as a DSP and I write Science fiction Books, but I can’t say I’ve made a living off my books.
- What hobbies do you have?
Grant: Oh, so many. I love playing piano, building LEGO, watching anime, and all things Kpop. Watching Kpop videos is one of my favorite things to do. At Christmas, I program the Christmas lights on our house to Kpop music! I’ve been playing piano for about 13 years now and building LEGO for 18.Jacob: I watch Kpop music videos and listen to Kpop in general, and then I digitally build sets based on my favorites. While I build I listen to audiobooks of sci-fi and fantasy series and sometimes, I make sets based on those too! I also build official Lego sets to learn cool new techniques. I also like sketching and I am writing two books currently.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
Grant: Sadly, no. I love making MOCs sometimes but I don’t post photos often. I should really start doing that.Jacob: You can find me on Instagram - @bangtanbricks is my username there. I intend to keep posting my creations there.
- 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?
Grant: Yes! One, in particular, is the logo from a popular anime called ‘Fairy Tail’. It took me seven days to make and I'm so proud of how it turned out. Every time I look at it I think, “I can’t believe I made that.” I was also able to give a copy of the MOC to Gen Fukunaga, the CEO of the anime English-dubbing company ‘Funimation’, which they now display at their headquarters in Flower Mound, TX! (Photos 1-4 in order on Google Drive folder)
Jacob: Here is a photo of my latest MOC of the White Tower from the Wheel of Time series! (Image 5 in the Google Drive folder)
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
Grant: It all started on Christmas morning, 2005. My parents got me my first bucket of LEGO from a garage sale. It was by far, the best Christmas present I’ve ever received. Ever since, I fell in love with LEGO and it’s become more than just a brand to me, it’s a part of who I am.Jacob: Since I was young my family had a collection of Star Wars and Harry Potter Lego sets, and I used to build and play with my brothers all the time. When the Harry Potter theme was brought back in 2018, my interest in the Lego brick reignited in my adult life and one thing led to another.
- 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.
Grant: LEGO, to me, is a lot of things. Along with a way to express my imagination, it also provides a way for me to improve as a person. Any time I interact with LEGO; whether it’s building, going to a convention, or watching Ninjago, it always brings out the best qualities in me and makes me want to grow as an individual. I’ve always loved that about LEGO.Jacob: To me, Lego has always been a medium. As a child, I got to create my favorite movie scenes with the sets and would get to rebuild them and create my own stories. It's why I'm a published writer today! As an adult, I can build sets digitally and upload them for everyone to see. I work on Lego either physically or virtually, for at least two hours every day. I also have loved the Ninjago show (and sets) since it first aired. And I love the online community. There's always a new and creative MOC around the corner for everyone to be wowed by!
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
Grant: My favorite LEGO theme is Ninjago, without a doubt. I distinctly remember when Ninjago sets first came out and I thought “Ninja’s and skeletons? That doesn’t make sense!” But then I watched the two episode premiere with my dad and sister one Saturday morning and…let’s just say it was love at first sight. One character whose words mean a lot to me is Sensei Wu. I have many of his quotes written down by hand and I truly try to live by his statement to the Ninja, “Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today.”Jacob: My favorite theme used to be Harry Potter because that's what got my family into the Lego hobby when I was a kid. In 2018 the theme brought me back in as an adult. I do take inspiration from both the Lego Friends theme and the Harry Potter theme to try and make my builds compact. I like a structure that is smaller than a modular but with all the details and play features packed in.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
Grant: It was released recently this year, the BTS (21339) Dynamite set. I’ve been a fan of Kpop for 4 years now and LEGO for five times that. So, you can imagine my excitement when I found out that two of my biggest passions were going to come together. Then when it came out and I got the opportunity to build it; the minifigures, the stage, and overall feel of the set pushed it over the edge to become my favorite LEGO set of all time. It’s what inspired me to create the BLACKPINK set with Jacob (BangtanBricks)!Jacob: 70620, Ninjago City from 2017. It’s a massive set based on an amazing movie/show with a five-story tall city layout with architectural cues that tell a story of modernization through an Asian-inspired retro sci-fi aesthetic mixed with a beautiful display and thrilling build experience. Oh, and it's a modular so there are more sets to connect with it.
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?*
Grant: My favorite LEGO element recently would have to be the torso piece. I just love how many cool outfits you can give a minifigure because of it.Jacob: The crystal piece from power miners. It's just so beautiful and unique. And in yellow it works as french fries.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
Grant: The first one that comes to mind has to be Ryan McNaught, A.K.A. Brickman. My parents and I have loved watching him on LEGO Masters Australia and he has become someone I really look up to. He has such a great way of giving constructive criticism for a LEGO build and his approach to detail and storytelling when building is something I look up to.Jacob: It's too hard to pick just one! They're all so amazing! But if I had to pick one it’d be James May who I got to meet through the BTS set. He once said “All killer, no filler,” and that stuck with me. His design’s ability to “do more with less” is something I strive for. His models have good display value and tons of play features and require minimal parts.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO-related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
Grant: Definitely Brickset. I have loved it since I was 9 years old and I still visit it all the time. One of my favorite features of the website is being able to view the sets from a specific year or theme.Jacob: New Elementary is great for finding new ways to attach parts and I like visiting Jay’s Brick Blog for detailed posts about new LEGO sets.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
Grant: The BTS Dynamite set (21339) and my love for BLACKPINK! I’ve adored Kpop and LEGO for many years, and seeing how beautifully they could come together in the BTS Dynamite set made me eager to combine my love of LEGO and BLACKPINK to create the BLACKPINK LEGO set. I knew Jacob (BangtanBricks) was the perfect person to ask. I messaged him right away and the rest was history!Jacob: One day shortly after set 21339 was revealed Grant messaged me on Instagram and I was blown away with his vision and immediately got to work with him on the project.
- 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?
Grant: The whole process itself took around a week, and it was really fun. We spent a long time studying the music video and looking for every angle of each movie set we could find. We also wanted to make sure we included everything that fellow BLINKs (The name of BLACKPINK’s fans) would want to have in the LEGO set. Jacob was the master builder while I mainly focused on direction and artwork.Jacob: Grant was the BLACKPINK expert and I have built up a skill at virtual Lego building. The build only took two days but I can't say for sure how many hours. We initially had two ideas for the model, one based on the music video and one based on life sized icons. We settled on basically doing both using the “update” feature of the ideas platform.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
Grant: Creating their outfits in LEGO form was a challenge. The girl’s outfits in How You Like That aren’t too straightforward, so it took a lot of time to figure out the best way to design them onto their legs and torso. I had a blast working on it though. It was a skill I never knew I had until I started working on it! I’m still shocked at how well they turned out. (Images 6-7 in Google Drive)Jacob: The lightstick was tricky. I wanted it to have a lot of structural integrity and not just be a facade. I spent many hours coming up with a technic skeleton for the inside of it mixed with brackets and regular bricks to give it a sturdy core interlocked with the exterior,
- 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?
Grant: I would give anything to be able to tell my kid self that I would create a LEGO set that could become real. This entire experience has been surreal and nothing short of a dream come true.
- 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?
Grant: Everything happened fairly quickly. We built the set in about a week, then it took 33 days to reach 10K. We were thrilled but not surprised that the set hit 10K so fast because as BLINKs we know how much fans love BLACKPINK!'
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
Grant: It was awesome. I was in the mall when it happened. I just kept refreshing my phone and once I saw 9,999 supporters, I knew my life was about to change. I clicked refresh one final time and then proceeded to dance in excitement in the middle of the mall.Jacob: It felt like winning the lottery…again!
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
Jacob: 876 wonderful pieces!
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
Jacob: designing the lightstick’s internal structure taught me so much and I love it for that.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
Jacob: Stud.io (Bricklink stud.io)
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
Grant: I used the software 'paint.net' to draw BLACKPINK’s outfits. Every pixel is colored by hand!
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
Grant: It should be a set that you’re passionate about and that you know others will be passionate about, too. Then, know where to find the mainstream group of people who want to see the set become a reality.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
Grant: Social media was a huge asset. Places like Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram helped tremendously to reach BLINKs around the world to unite and give BLACKPINK the chance to have their own LEGO set.
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
Grant: You might be able to guess it by now haha - it’s the 21339 BTS Dynamite set! I’ll never forget the joy of finding out it got picked. And I would love it if LEGO would choose the Naruto set or an Avatar: The Last Airbender set. Both of those are so great with such huge, passionate fan bases. I think they would really do well.Jacob: 21318 Treehouse is one of the best Lego sets ever in general. I really wish one of the Stargate sets would get picked.
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
Jacob: I love that it invites AFOLs to share their passion through the Lego medium. I advise people with ideas to go for it and never stop trying!
- Do you have plans to submit any other Product Ideas in the future? If yes, can you give us a hint what that might be?
Jacob: We have so many more things planned together. Grant is a visionary and I want to make models of all those visions. Here’s a hint at the next one: The prominent colors will be Medium pink, Medium Azure, and hints of pearl silver.
By
Hani2