The latest 10K Club Interview takes us into the micro-verse! Meet Riley, a.k.a. Brick Science16476, and their LEGO Microscope project. Inspired by their love for science! Show your support, and find out more below.
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
Riley Scott (Brick Science)
- Where are you from?
Colorado USA
- How old are you?
I am 20 years old!
- What do you study or do for a living?
I am a full-time Content Creator. I mainly upload videos on my channel Brick Science, where I make videos about my LEGO Experiments and Inventions. Anything from “Building a LEGO City, so I can FLOOD IT!” to” Surviving Using ONLY LEGO TOOLS!” You can find it all on Brick Science!
- What hobbies do you have?
Obviously I love building LEGO… but I also enjoy playing video games, listening to music, brainstorming cool project ideas, drawing, and reading Spider-Man comics!
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
I share my LEGO adventures on all 3 of these platforms! You can check out my YouTube Channel here: https:// www.youtube.com/@Brick_Science My Instagram here: instagram.com/brickscience_official/? hl=en and my TikTok here: tiktok.com/@brick_science
- 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?
We built a Life-Size LEGO ROOM using around 100,000 bricks for a video, it has a bed, desk, night stand and even a fishbowl. I’m super proud of that build. I also built a GIANT LEGO Ender Dragon, that had like an 8 ft. wing span and used about 10,000 parts
- How, and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
When I was like 8 years old, my good friend gave me a HUGE bucket of LEGO pieces (after hearing me ask my parents for some LEGO the week before at our church.) And I just started building and inventing stuff. I wasn’t Particularly good when I started out. But I was having fun, and honing my craft. Now, I get to build LEGO every week as my real job, and inspire others to build
- 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.
No, it’s literally my life. I love it because it’s the easiest medium to work with for me. I can prototype my ideas out of LEGO, and since it’s all part of a system, there’s a certain challenge involved. You can’t just 3D print the perfect shape, you have to craft it and experiment to get it to work.
- What is your favorite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
’ve always LOVED LEGO Atlantis, as those were some of my first sets I got to build. My building style is based off of realism. As most of my builds are made to be usable and life-size. Whatever parts work to make the shape or feature I want basically
- What is your favorite official LEGO set ever? Why?
I really liked the 6857 Dynamic Duo Funhouse Escape set from LEGO DC Superheroes. I just enjoyed that it had traps and features you could play around with. And since then I’ve really liked LEGO sets with hidden features and mechanisms I could use
- What is your favorite LEGO element? Why?
The Jumper Plate, for sure. It’s SO USEFUL when it comes to building. It’s kind of like a “Cheat Code” for the LEGO System that lets you build in between the studs.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
A big part of my inspiration and techniques came from Nick Brick (a very talented LEGO replica builder in the community) He started using wedge plates and mixed joints to build LEGO helmets. Once I saw that technique, I couldn’t “lego” of it. And I probably took it too far, building wayyyy too many wearable LEGO builds.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO-related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
Not really, most of my inspiration comes from real life ideas and stuff.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
When I designed this set, I was actually making a video “I Designed 3 LEGO Sets in 24 Hours…” and I wanted to build some science themed sets. I thought a LEGO microscope with ACTUAL Play Features would be really cool. So I started designing it.
- 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?
When I designed this set, I was actually making a video “I Designed 3 LEGO Sets in 24 Hours…” and I wanted to build some science themed sets. I thought a LEGO microscope with ACTUAL Play Features would be really cool. So I started designing it.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The most difficult part was creating an arm shape that would be strong enough to hold it upright. And fitting in all the features into such a small space. The Stage adjuster also doubles as a power button. So if you put it all the way down, It hits the battery box and switches on the power functions lights.
- 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 took 6-8 hours to complete. The hardest part was filling out the frame and getting the angles to look accurate. Then it took 6 months to hit 10,000 supporters
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes, and how long did it take?
It was really cool! Just knowing that 10,000 people wanted to support my idea, and potentially buy it as a real set, was surreal.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
The LEGO Microscope model contains 868 Pieces.
- What is your favorite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
My favorite part is the working magnifier. Using a clear 2 x 2 round boat stud piece, it gives a very small magnification. You can totally see it through the eyepiece lens, and it’s super cool, I accomplished that using ONLY LEGO.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them, or where did you get them?
I made a custom sticker for the “bacteria” slide that goes under the microscope. I designed this in Photoshop then printed it on regular paper. I also put a piece of clear packing tape on top to give it the “shiny” sticker look that the official LEGO stickers have.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
Go with something YOU would actually want to buy in stores. And whether or not it hits 10,000 supporters, have FUN actually designing it!
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
I promoted it to my audience on YouTube in the “I Designed 3 LEGO Sets in 24 Hours…” video. And I think it hit 1,000 supporters in around a day or so. There were 2 other LEGO Ideas projects in that video that also quickly gained support. But this one was by far my favorite, and the audience seemed to agree
- What is your favorite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own, of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
There was a Mechanical Flip Clock By Sariels Bricks and Pets that I thought was really cool! I feel like the mechanical aspects to that model were very intriguing.
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?The fact that, ANYONE can be a LEGO designer. Whether your idea hits 10,000 supporters or not. You designed something cool. And if it does become a LEGO set, you can definitely have something cool to tell your friends. :)
- 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?I think it would be fun to make another similar video where I design more LEGO sets next year, and see how they do. I had a lot of fun designing this LEGO Microscope, and I really hope it gets to the next phase!
By
BrickSon