A new week, a new 10K Club Member. Let's give a warm welcome to Annabelle, a.k.a. ColonelAttentiveCandy and her project, JIM HENSON'S LABYRINTH - ESCHER ROOM. Inspired by the iconic 80's movie and artwork of the titular artist, Annabelle has created a remarkable and unique set. Let us know what you think!
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
Hi! I’m Annabelle aka ColonelAttentiveCandy! You can also call me ColonelCandy.
- Where are you from?
Ontario, Canada.
- How old are you?
I’m an 18-year-old AFOL.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I’m a home-schooled student.
- What hobbies do you have?
Reading, drawing, painting, crafting and about everything artistic, both traditional and virtual. Oh, and building with LEGO bricks!
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
I’m mainly using Flickr as my portfolio, but I’m also posting my MOCs on Twitter and 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’m having a hard time choosing my favourite MOC. Here are some of my favourites:
There’s my “Mr. Monk Is The Real OCD” MOC about the MONK TV show, but I’ll talk about that later…
My “Cloud City” is one of the MOCs I am most proud of. I love micro-scale builds, it is the techniques used in such models that inspired me to build it. I’m very happy with the techniques I used in this MOC, particularly how I used the Technic axles both as supports and rain. I’m proud of how I was able to integrate everything so smoothly together.
There’s my “Violet Potted Plant”, I love this one so much. I never expected to be able to do something so delicate with such pieces.
And there’s also “Ribbit”, my adorable little frog, which I had lots of fun building. When I was younger I always wanted to build myself a LEGO frog. I think I was 11 when I first started building Ribbit. It’s a creation very dear to me!
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
I’ve been a LEGO enthusiast all my life! I had Duplo since I was born then LEGO sets. And I still have my full LEGO collection today! And it’s growing!
- 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.
Recently, it has been my predilection hobby. LEGO bricks are a unique form of art, allowing creativity to go wild. It’s also an excellent form of mindfulness as it used both sides of the brain.I have a huge collection of bricks and I also love to build digitally. I build MOCs and display them both at home and online. I have finished most of the LEGO video games and watched both parts of The LEGO Movie. I also have some LEGO table games and a collection of LEGO magazines.
To sum up: I love LEGO bricks! - What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
I think Classic must be my favourite theme… but I’m not sure. There are so many good ones, like Friends and Creator. I really love the simple yet clever builds of the Classic. There’s something very inspiring in the way that the same simple bricks and a spark of imagination can be turned into something totally different each time.I’m still not sure what my style is all about, I love experimenting with new techniques and pieces. For the moment it’s more of an adaptive style. It really depends on the project.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
Ferris Wheel (4957-1). It’s a long-time favourite of mine — the main model is moving, has lots of little characters, a nice colour scheme and is very easily displayable. An amazing set!
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
Slopes are not a single element, but they are my favourite bricks. I love the way these pieces, used in smaller models, give the Classic look that I love. And, in bigger models, they efficiently give an elegant and refined shape in a very compact way. Very polyvalent pieces! But there’s also the frog… so cute and simple… this one is my signature brick. If I had to pick a single element, it would be the frog.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
No, I don’t think so. But JonasKramm — although they are neither a fan designer nor an official designer, their works are of great inspiration to me. They are putting so much energy and life into their builds and I admire their talent. Keep up the good work!
- Is there one or more particular LEGO-related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
Tips and Bricks. They are deconstructing some of the best techniques ever. I learned a lot from them. It is very cool to see how a single-use piece can be used in all kinds of MOCs, just like any generic piece.There’s also BrickLink. I visit this site very often to uncover details about particular pieces. Such details as which set can I find the piece in or in which colours it exists.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
Labyrinth is a movie that fascinates me. What I like the most about it is that Sarah, a bookworm just like me, is transported into the universe of her favourite book, it is something that really makes me dream. But there’s so much more! The puppets — or should I say Muppets? — are so realistic that you really have the feeling that they belong to our world. The marvellous fantasy world that this movie offers is something previously unachieved and, even today, incomparable.
The movie abounds of magical places but the Escher room is, by far, the most impressive one. I wanted to recreate the dazzling and mind-boggling essence of the room, be able to bring it to life and play in it. I also wanted to challenge myself with something crazy, big, and impressive. I think the Escher Room is a perfect example of craziness! But my interest in The Muppeteer’s creations started way before that — thanks to Sesame Street, Sid the Science Kid and Dinosaur Train!
- 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?
It took me about 2 months to prepare, build and render. I did a lot of research to really capture the spirit of Labyrinth. I learned many facts while watching behind the scenes, it helped me understand why things are the way they are in the world of Jim Henson. I watched the movie an incredible number of times, trying to catch every detail, every little thing that makes Labyrinth the masterpiece that it is. I wanted to make sure that everything was just right. To apply the final touches to the design, I got my hands on the 4K remastered version — for research purposes only, of course.
One of the interesting discoveries I made while researching Labyrinth is that it’s not the only movie that was inspired by M.C. Escher. Think about a scene with staircases, impossible gravities or parallel universes… The moving stairs of Hogwarts in Harry Potter? Escher. Doctor Strange’s mirror dimension? Escher! Doctor Who’s Castrovalva? Escher again! The choice of blue and red pills in The Matrix?! Escher, always and always Escher! All of these, and many, many more, have been created based on the work of Escher. I didn’t know before how much I love this artist!
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The stairs were the biggest challenge. They are going up and down, left and right, and people can walk on both sides… To do that, I had to move away from what LEGO building is all about: building with bricks on top of each other.The minifigures’ faces were a challenge too, from the “That’s not fair!” expression of Sarah to the 2-coloured eyes of Jareth. Finding the right balance between the movie’s aesthetics and the beloved LEGO style was quite a hard thing to do.
- 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 tell the other me to make sure to render all her pictures with a transparent background instead of having to start rendering all over again each time she wants a new composition!
- 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 think 2 months is a fairly quick building time for such a big project… It took me over 15 months, to get to the magic 10K. I promoted my project almost every day since the moment I posted. It was a long journey, but it was well worth it!
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
The truth is that the count turned to 10000 at the exact moment that I learned that my dear dog was going to die. Even today it is hard for me to realize that I achieved the goal. I know my replies have been a bit dry to most of you when you came to congratulate me, I wanted to tell you how much your feedback meant to me, but the words were just impossible to reach.So I’m telling you today: Thank you for supporting me in the first biggest project of my life, it means the world to me!
Even though I didn’t fully realize my achievement yet, the most beautiful part of the journey to me, the one that I cherish the most, is all the feedback and especially all the comments I had along the way. It was really a joyful journey. I loved waking up each morning to discover a new number of supporters and a bunch of comments just waiting to be read. What a wonderful way to start the day!It took me 464 days from the day I summited to the day I reached the last milestone.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
The final version has 2996 bricks.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
I’m particularly proud of the illegal technique I used to make the double-sided stairs. The technique consists of taking a half Technic pin, pushing the pin side into the understud of a brick, and then securing a plate on the stud side of the half Technic pin. The best thing about this technique is that it does not put stress on any part and it stays in place strongly. Because I never saw this technique anywhere else, I hereby dub it the “Escher technique”. Credit for this technique goes to my little brother, who gave me his consent to use it. (Thanks!)
But my favourite design would be Ludo. He is so cute and memorable; I really enjoy how I captured his sweetness.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
I used Bricklink’s Stud.io.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
I designed all my stickers and decals for printed parts in Inkscape. I used Stud.io’s extension, Part Designer, to apply them. The only sticker I did not make myself is the logo of Labyrinth on the back of my set.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
Be yourself! The best projects are the ones in which you can see the passion of the designer.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
The social media I used are Twitter, Instagram and Flickr. I also contacted Blocks Mag who kindly showcased my project in their magazine. Beyond the Bricks contacted me and offered to interview me, which I did with great pleasure. I also joined a few LEGO Discord servers where everyone has been very kind and helpful. My family also supported me all along the way. Thanks!I had the best results with Twitter. My modus operandi was to reply to Tweets of people talking about Labyrinth, M.C. Escher, David Bowie, George Lucas, Jim Henson, the Muppets… the list goes on. I introduced them to my project that way. They were always thrilled to know they were able to help make a LEGO set come to life and even more because it was a topic dear to them! Many people shared my project of their own initiative, I am very grateful for all the help I received.
I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City, and I could never have done it without your help.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 think The Oraculum Temple, by @OrientExpress24, have been overlooked by many LEGO fans, it’s a gorgeous project that I think is worthy of getting its 10K. Jurassic Farm, by @yop1172, must be my favourite idea. Sadly, just like the Oraculum, it did not get the needed support.
As for projects that had the needed support but were overlooked and not approved for production, I immediately think of Asterix and Obelix by @ZetoVinve GP. His project was so well designed and executed; It would have been one of the best LEGO sets of all time.
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
The Ideas platform is a wonderful place full of creativity. On Ideas, anyone can be the LEGO builder that they always dreamed to be.
If you are thinking of uploading a project idea, make sure that you have a good presentation, something that captures the essence of the movie/game/TV show/etc. that you have recreated. This also applies to non-IP-based projects. Your presentation needs to talk for itself, and make people feel in a parallel world or era.
- 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’m not planning to present another Product Idea for the moment, I will instead focus on promoting my Mr. Monk Is The Real OCD”Idea. It’s a reproduction of the living-room of the great detective Adrian Monk, a build as obsessive as Monk himself!
Meanwhile, I’m also working on smaller MOCs. Some of them may be future activity entries but most of them will be posted on social media… stay tuned!
