Straight out of a Dr. Seuss book, complete with The Grinch and his infamous sleigh. It's DR. SEUSS'S THE GRINCH by BenBuilds!
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
Ben Spoerlein.
- Where are you from?
Chicago, Illinois, USA.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
I’m consistently blown away by the official LEGO sets designed by Justin Ramsden and Mike Psiaki.
As an obsessive fan of the RMS Titanic, you could not have asked for a better designer than Mike – the official Titanic set is simply jaw-dropping. I just wish I were as gifted in the fine art of LEGO mathematics as he is.
Justin’s designs are consistently eye-catching and inventive. His sets for Spring Lantern Festival, Hogwarts Castle, Sanctum Sanctorum, and Avengers Tower are perfection.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
I have been a fan of Dr. Seuss’s books since I was a kid, and it’s somewhat shocking to me that the LEGO Group has not yet made any sets inspired by his world-famous body of work. In particular, I would argue that The Grinch is his most celebrated and enduring character. While there have been several adaptations of the book in the 60+ years since its first publication, I wanted to hone-in on the source material, so my set’s design is based upon the distinctive Seussian style seen in the original book rather than any of the other films.
- How long did the process of making the project take and what did you have to research? What kind of prep, research and design phases did you go through to produce your creation?
Before kicking off the project, I made sure to re-read the original book and took screenshots of some of the key artwork of the unique Whoville houses and the Grinch’s infamous sleigh. I also made note of the most memorable aspects of the story, things that simply had to be included. For example, the Whohash, and the reindeer horn on top of the head of the Grinch’s dog, Max.
I first began designing the project using Bricklink Studio in late summer of 2020. However, I became frustrated attempting to emulate the distinctive round roof for the Whoville home and ended up abandoning the project until early autumn in 2023. I then persevered and ultimately found a roof design I was pleased with.
- What special challenges or frustrations did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
Aside from the challenges I mentioned previously with the round roof, it was important to me to incorporate unique play features into the set, so the design could truly be enjoyed – I wanted families to be able to recreate the key story beats from the book with the set. So, I created two unique, interactive features: the chimney and the sleigh.
The book describes how the Grinch becomes stuck in the chimney “for a moment or two,” so in addition to allowing the Grinch to physically go down the chimney, I added a play feature whereby he can get stuck midway. You’re able to see him halfway down the chimney via a clear panel. You can then simply pull out a tiled assembly attached to rails and send the Grinch tumbling out through the fireplace. Admittedly, this concept is similar to a play feature from the official Santa’s Visit (10293) set, but in my defense, I originally conceived of it in 2020 prior to that set being revealed.
The overstuffed sleigh is an iconic visual from the book and plays an indispensable role in the story. Since I want owners of the set to be able to recreate the book’s narrative, I took pains to design the sleigh so that it can be easily opened and the Grinch’s stolen gifts could be stashed inside. Of course, the sleigh can then be re-opened to return the gifts to Cindy Lou Who.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
It was extremely gratifying to see the outpouring of support for this project, and I was delighted to reach 10K quite quickly. It took only about two and a half months.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
The model contains about 1,400 pieces. I approached this design as if I were designing a real LEGO set and I purposely sought to keep the piece count within the same range as the annual Winter Village sets. If this design is lucky enough to become an official set, my hope is it can be priced affordably to be enjoyed by as many people as possible, as a fun family building experience!
- What is your favorite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
I love to incorporate “Easter eggs” within my own LEGO city, so naturally I tried to include many references to Dr. Seuss’s other notable works within this set. In addition to The Grinch-inspired inclusions of Whohash and roast beast, you will also find reference to Green Eggs and Ham within the refrigerator and above the fireplace is a pair of blue socks, from Fox with Socks.
Under the tree is a toy duck, which bears a suspicious resemblance to the LEGO Group’s famous wooden duck. Also under the tree is a toy version of the RMS Titanic, which was just a fun inclusion for myself, as a Titanic nerd (also note that smoke is correctly coming out of only three of the four funnels).
On the floor above, I reference three Seuss books: an art poster on the wall inspired by the cover of Oh, the Places You’ll Go, the hat from The Cat in the Hat, and a small potted plant that resembles a Truffula tree from The Lorax.
