We leap from the aeronautical world of the last few 10K Club interviews to something more grounded, as we catch up with this week's 10K Club member, Kevin Feeser a.k.a. KevinTreeHouse. Kevin is responsible for the charming and highly detailed Treehouse that caught people's attention in late 2017. It didn't take long to convince 10,000 fans, as the final supporter milestone was reached in less than 4 months!
Help us congratulate Kevin, in the comments below, on joining the exclusive LEGO Ideas 10K Club and for sharing his story with us!
About Yourself
- Where are you from?
I live in North-East of France, in the Lorraine region.
- How old are you?
37 years old.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I own a hairdressing salon and I'm a hairdresser.
- What hobbies do you have?
I like architecture, construction and modelling. I love decoration and creating different universes, especially related to nature.
- How and when did your interest for LEGO come about?
Since I was a kid, my older brother received LEGO (space) sets for Christmas and birthdays. I was excited about it and I wanted it too.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set? Why?
LEGO Creator 10257 Carousel. I’ve always been fascinated by vintage carousels due to their elegant shapes and childhood memories. I particularly appreciate the technical aspect of the construction (creating a round structure with square elements).
-
What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
It is the wood print tile element. (6177892) It helps create a real ‘shack’ effect. I love to work with nature and waste elements, so it is really my universe.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
RobenAnne (fan designer), he made the Old Fishing Store. I like his work for the waste construction effect with smooth elements.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
Pinterest mostly.
About Your Project
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
I’m passionate about nature, wildlife and wooden constructions and I was inspired by childhood dreams and travel. The idea emerged during an unusual weekend with friends in treehouses, such as Robinson Crusoe.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
My challenges were the shacks’ robustness. Integrating a lot of details in a small area (the shacks), and trying to get a round shape for the whole project, including the bridges and stairs between each hut. The shape of the roofs were also challenging. In a general way, making it more real and minifigure scale was challenging too. The trunk was the most difficult, because it had to be resistant enough to support three shacks while using the least number of elements possible!
^ Kevin makes adjustments to his tree making it possible to see the underlying LEGO Technic foundation.
- How long did it take to complete the model?
It took me about 2 months (about 300 hours). I remodelled the whole project 6 times (trunk, shacks, roofs, leaves …) to build my final creation. When I finally found the right way and technical method to do so, the project was quiet easy to finish.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
When I saw that I reach the magic 10,000 votes in less than 4 months, I was proud of this achievement, and really happy about the success of my project. Even if I always believed in my creation, I didn't expect it to reach the 10,000 votes so quickly.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
2,600 bricks (approximately).
About LEGO Ideas
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
Be creative. Before creating something, everyone should look at what already exists. A lot of projects based on space and (modular) houses already exist. Unfortunately, I find, there is a lack of creativity.
Be inspired. Put together a portfolio of real things (photos, drawings, etc.), and make your own drawing about the idea you have in your mind.
Be prepared. Source the right elements, visit the LEGO Pick-a-Brick website and try to think about the elements you need, the colors you want, the numbers of pieces, etc!
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas project (besides your own of course)?
The Old Fishing Store - 21310!
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
The explanation video that welcomes us to the website is really fun and well made.
Take good pictures, and carefully read the LEGO Ideas rules. In my opinion, a lot of projects don’t always follow the rules. From my own experience, I misread the rules and I had to remodel the whole project to get less than 3,000 bricks.
By
hasanjensen