A new week, a new 10K Club Member. Let's give a warm welcome to Adrien, a.k.a. Slekk024 and his breathtaking SIKORSKY S-70I FIREHAWK CAL FIRE EDITION. Adrien has a passion for relief trades and emergency workers. Being so moved by the wildfires in California 2018, Adrien set about creating a tribute to the brave people who fight the fires. SHow some support for Adrien's idea down below!
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
My name is Adrien Pecquet.
- Where are you from?
I'm French and I live in Germany.
- How old are you?
I’m an 37-years-old.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I work as a culinary chef.
- What hobbies do you have?
I have many passions such as aeronautics, IT, relief trades - such as firefighters or emergency workers. I am also passionate about nature, I have a preference for the tiny world, the marvellous world of insects.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
No, I don’t have a personal LEGO portfolio website.
- 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?
Almost all of my added projects on LEGO Ideas have been made for real. I am particularly proud of my tiny world MOC with the giant centipede, the mantis, the ants and all the decorations around them.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
As far as I can remember, I've always had LEGO bricks. Every birthday, every Christmas I received LEGO presents – and when I managed to convince my parents to buy me some in the store!
- 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.Lego is my most important hobby and the hobby that I prefer most spending time with. When I have some time for myself, I spend it in Studio and when my project is finished, I order the necessary parts and I build it then for real.
- 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 loved the "Exploriens", "Ice Planet 2002", LEGO System Space UFO, Pirates and Knights collections. These collections oriented me towards science fiction and the somewhat wild side found in my creations.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
I love the Exploriens Android Base. It's sentimental for me, as it was the first real big set I had.
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
I really like the bracket pieces, as they allow you to give more shapes to the creations.
- 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 so many great creators. The ones I admire most are Mitsuru Nikaido or Seb_E.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO-related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
I follow the news via AFOL facebook and other social media pages.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
I grew up in Paris but spent all my vacations in the south of France. Every summer, huge fires ravage the south of France. And too many times I had to witness this sad spectacle where brave men risk their lives to save people and forests. In 2018, California was plagued by the biggest and deadliest series of wildfires it has ever seen. One fire particularly caught my eye, the campfire. More than 600 km2 of forest was devoured by the flames, the city was wiped off the map and many people died in the fire. The Calfires did everything possible to save as many people as possible and stop the progress of the fire. The incessant sweeping of planes and helicopters combined with ground units made it possible to extinguish the fire after more than 15 days of fierce combat. After this event, which marked me a lot, I decided to pay homage to those firefighters in my own way.
- 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 about 4 years, as I was just beginning to work with Studio and Gimp at the time.The preparation phase basically was happening when I read a lot about the fire and the work that firefighters do, risking their lives and trying to save human beings, nature and animals. After deciding to pay tribute to these relentless and heroic efforts and having an idea about the overall picture of the LEGO set in mind, I directly started the research about all technical aspects of the helicopter to make it as realistic as possible. After this research phase, I started the design phase and created the Idea on LEGO Ideas.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The part that was a real challenge for me was the front end of the aircraft, the rounded shape of the cockpit windows which gives the Firehawk its unique character. I spent hours and hours on it, analyzing the problem from different angles to end up with the solution as it looks today.
- 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 myself that from all mistakes, you will learn something - because from your mistakes, the most successful projects will be created.
- 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 spent many many hours. In total it took me 4 years to finish my project and 2 years to promote it. These 2 years of the promotion were quite challenging psychologically, due to a lot of excitement, stress to reach the milestones and uncertainty if the project was going to make it.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
It was an incredible feeling of joy and happiness, and of course also relief, when shortly before the end of the deadline the project reached 10,000 votes. And I was proud, that after 2 years of fierce struggle against time, we did it!
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
My project has approximately 3000 pieces.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
Trees; I love building LEGO trees!
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
I use Studio and Gimp software.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
I made my stickers myself on the PC.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
An interesting project that reaches a large audience, a very good presentation of the project, good promotion and a very big stroke of luck.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
I tried to target the groups of people who could be affected by and interested in my project (aeronautics, firefighters, AFOLs, media).Following my various advertising campaigns, I was contacted by Sikorsky (Lockheed Martin Corporation) who subsequently supported me a lot to get the 10K.
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
I'm a big fan of designer Mitsuru Nikaido, I love his way of doing it, and I think his style is really epic.
- 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 it’s great that everyone can show creativity and that we can see so many various ideas being built in LEGO form.Now if I have any advice for people who want to upload an idea, I would say take your time before publishing it, make a nice presentation, nice photos and videos. Above all, if it doesn't work don't be discouraged. Sometimes it takes a lot of time trying to be successful.
- 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?
For sure I will continue to publish more Product Ideas, most likely about my passions such as aeronautics, nature and more.My next project idea is about something green, something Californian and something Rock ”n” roll.
