Welcome back to another 10K Club Interview! Today we meet Brian Steffensen Vestergaard, aka, @Piraten and his fantastic THE CROWN - A PIECE OF HISTORY project. Brian's interest in history inspired this glittering jewel of an Idea - you can let us know how much you love it down below in the comments!
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
Brian Steffensen Vestergaard.
- Where are you from?
Kolding, Denmark.
- How old are you?
40 years old by certificate.
- What do you study or do for a living?
Background in construction and currently appraiser for an insurance company.
- What hobbies do you have?
LEGO building, family & friends, ice hockey and nature.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
No.
- 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?
The Crown, of course. Besides that, all of my pirate MOCs. In LEGO Masters, Michael and I had to build a signature building from the northern part of Denmark. We chose to build a well-known lighthouse and that was the most fun build I have ever made.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
My interest in LEGO bricks started as a child. I was about 7 years old when the Pirates theme was launched and it really caught my interest, especially because of all the play features.
- 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.
My LEGO hobby really means a lot to me. I have a nostalgic feeling about it because it takes me back to fond childhood memories. I enjoy building sets to discover new techniques, as well as MOCs for display. Especially Skærbæk Fan Weekend is something out of the ordinary, where fans from all over the world join for networking and to display their amazing builds. I have LEGO friends from many countries and I really appreciate having these connections in the community.
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
The Pirates theme is my favourite, which is also the theme I had as a child. Many of my MOCs are clearly inspired by it, like “The Fortress” or “The Imperial Guards Trading Outpost”, also to be found on IDEAS.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
6276. All of it. The raised baseplate. The minifigs. Such an inspiration in many ways.
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
Earlier it was the 1x2 plate, but that has changed. The Erlinger/Headlight brick is my new favourite brick and there are still so many bricks to discover, and how to use them.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
Niels Milan of course. If only he knew what he has meant to kids around the world. Pirate, Castle, Space. Markus R. is just amazing in the way he challenges the limits of the bricks.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO-related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
Byggepladen.dk, Eurobricks.com and LEGO Entusiasterne group on Facebook.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
I have always had a huge interest in history. The time from 1600-1870 was always more exciting because of the crazy ways of living. Kings, wars, pirates, big ships, adventures, scientific discoveries, the US Civil war, Danish war with the battle of Dybbøl Mølle, and of course, the history of the Royal Crown and regalia. Every kingdom has Crown Jewels. The Danish, the British, the French, the Swedish - you name it. The kind of jewels that could be part of a huge pirate treasure will always have interest!I wanted to create something different from my normal pirate MOCs, just to prove to myself that I was able to make something out of my comfort zone.
- 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?
The process time from start to finish was 6 weeks. I started out by looking at photos of the crown of Christian V and decided that it was the way to go. I wanted to create a piece that spoke widely to people. Not only fans of the pirates or castle themes, but also people who are not normally interested in LEGO sets. For example; royalists, historically interested people, or maybe even Disney fans dreaming of being a prince or a princess.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The blue centre part of the crown was the most difficult. SNOT technique and bent hoses all over the place. To ensure that the hoses had a uniform shape around the crown, they were placed in a wooden form with nails in it. There they stayed for 24 hours to be sure they were firm enough.
- 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 advise myself to start in better time.
- 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?
The total build time was 50 hours. The effort and time spent on promoting my project exceeded the build time by far.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
It took almost 2 years to reach the 10.000 votes. I did not use as much time on the promotion of The Crown as I did on my Fortress project. I promoted it on the Skærbæk Fan Weekend and reached 5.000 votes during that weekend. Then I promoted it heavily to reach 10.000 and all my AFOL friends helped a lot on Instagram and Facebook. Amazing community right!?
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
Approximately 2000 of which 750 are trans-clear gems.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
The new hose bending.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
I used Bricklink Studio in the beginning of the process.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
Create a project that you believe in. If you don’t believe in it, other people won't either.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
Instagram and Facebook, post post post post.
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
The Globe is my favourite. I think Ralf Langer’s “Land Ahoy” is the most overlooked project.
- 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?
No, not at the time being.
