Our first collaboration of the review period! Meet Mind the Brick (Maria Kalaoglou) and Patgeo (George Patelis) and their wonderful LEGOLAND CENTRAL STATION! They've even added a touch of home to their design! Let us know your favourite part!
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
Mind the Brick: Maria Kalaoglou.
Patgeo: George Patelis.
- Where are you from?
Mind the Brick: Athens, Greece.
Patgeo: Kavala, Greece.
- How old are you?
Mind the Brick: 43.
Patgeo: 37.
- What do you study or do for a living?
Mind the Brick: I studied Jewellery Design & Making and I currently work as Freelance Designer and Maker.
Patgeo: I studied economics and currently I work in our family business, as an accountant and business consultant.
- What hobbies do you have?
Mind the Brick: I draw, paint, watch movies and obviously build and collect LEGO sets.
Patgeo: I like walking in nature at every opportunity given, watching movies, playing video games and of course building with LEGO bricks.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
Mind the Brick: I share my builds mostly on my facebook and on Instagram.
Patgeo: I usually post my builds on my Flickr and on Instagram.
- 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?
Mind the Brick: The MOCS that I’m particularly proud of are my two African-style Adorned masks which won the LEGO Ideas “Create Art to be Enjoyed by All” competition and are currently exhibited in the Billund Campus.
Patgeo: I have three MOCs of which I am proud and for different reasons. The first one is the starship Destiny from the Stargate Universe series franchise which was the first MOC that I was dedicated to building as it took me about 5 years to complete. The second one, which is in LEGO Architecture Style, is the building of the Hellenic Parliament, located in Athens. Finally, the third one is a functional model of the Japanese JR800 Bullet Train, also known as “Sakura” Shinkansen.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
Mind the Brick: It all started when I was about 6 or 7 years old when my neighbours and close friends got their first LEGO sets. We used to play together after school and they initiated me into the world of the Brick! That is when I first started MOCing and creating my own ideas. (They are still accusing me of ”wrecking” their LEGO sets.
Patgeo: As I can recall, my parents bought me and my brother some Duplo and LEGO System sets during our early childhood. Βut I remember the New Year’s Eve of 1992, when my grandparents brought me as a gift the 6352 Cargo Master Crane. At first, I was sceptical about the set, as it was quite small, but after I built it, I kept playing with it all the time! After that, I was asking my parents specifically for LEGO presents.
- 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.
Mind the Brick: I want to quote one of my favourite female artists Louise Josephine Bourgeois whose mantra was; “I Do, I Undo, I Redo” which I find similar to the LEGO motto; “Rebuild the world”. LEGO building for me is a way to get in touch with the child hidden within me, a way to decompress, a way to have fun, a way to communicate with other AFOLs and so much more.
Patgeo: The LEGO hobby for me, is a way to escape from everyday life and get in touch with my creative side. Even if it is for a minimum amount of time, I like to relax and express myself through my LEGO creations.
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
Mind the Brick: After my Dark Ages, I started buying Τechnic models. I was intrigued by the way everything was assembled together. My favorite LEGO themes currently are Icons and Ideas which have mainly inspired my recent MOCS and Ideas submissions. But in general, I collect many different LEGO themes.
Patgeo: Personally, I am not a fan of one particular LEGO theme. I love trains of course, but I also like castles, architecture sets and space. Depending on my mood or the things around me that inspire me, I will choose my next creation and I will adapt my building style to that specific build.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
Mind the Brick: I really can’t choose, they are too many... But emotionally I would have to say the 42055: Bucket Wheel Excavator as this is the first set I built when I emerged from my dark ages.
Patgeo: I really have a lot of sets that I love, but the 10194: Emerald Night was the set that brought me out of my dark ages. So it holds a special place in my heart.
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
Mind the Brick: I particularly love the 1x1 modified brick with studs on 2 sides. I use it a lot on my builds, as it enables me to create 3D textures and effects.
Patgeo: For me, it’s the masonry brick 1x2. I really love the wall texture that gives in my buildings, and I try to use it every time when possible.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
Mind the Brick: There are many fan designers that I look up to, this list is long! My dearest friend Delusion Brick with whom I’ve shared many Lego Ideas moments. My friend Patgeo whom I admire for his persistence. Our LEGO Rlug ambassador GunmanBricks who was the first to encourage me to upload my designs on the LEGO Ideas platform and a superb “free” MOC designer. My dearest Brickester who I met through the platform and I look to for advice and guidance sometimes! And last but not least Bricky_Brick and Brick Dangerous
Patgeo: I agree with Maria. There are a lot of LEGO designers that I look up to for different reasons. My dearest friend and our Lego Rlug ambassador Gunman is one of them, as I like his unique medieval building style and creativity in the use of bricks. I also look up to my dear friend Mind the Brick. She has a straightforward way of thinking and expressing herself through her creations. That was one of the reasons that we decided to team up and submit our idea. Also, there is Delusion Brick, Bricky_Brick, Brickester and last but not least Jason Allemann aka JK Brickwork43451 whose moving creations inspire me a lot.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO-related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
Mind the Brick: I would say Bricklink and Brickset. The first is to check for bricks I need and the second to read news about LEGO sets.
Patgeo: I usually visit Bricklink in order to check for available pieces to buy for my creations, and Brickset to check for new set information and reviews.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
We both are huge fans of trains and the railway. Seeing that the LEGO Group has released such beautiful train sets over the years, we couldn't help but notice that it is not the same case with train station sets. Our goal was to fill that gap and at the same time have fun building something we both loved! Consequently “The LEGOLAND Central Station” Idea was born!
- 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 of making our project was long enough. We had both done some research on our own before deciding to team up. It was months before submitting, that we started putting our creative minds together. The actual designing process of the model started in mid-November and finished just at the begging of the New Year. We came up with countless variations and consequently exchanged multiple Studio files, before ending up with the final design, which was submitted to the LEGO Ideas platform.
Our main research focused on old, yet magnificent and imposing European Train Stations. Every time we had to design a new area of the build, we went back to our research in order to get the best outcome.
We researched again, and again, and again…. But it was all worth it in the end!
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
Each area of the LEGOLAND Central Station that we created had its unique challenges. We wanted to add columns for the main entrance, as a tribute to the unique architecture of the ancient buildings of our country. That created a problem on its own, as we had to find a way to integrate the windows into the facade of the building. Everything had to blend in with the rest of the elements of the structure and not look out of place. Also, the tickets counter was a tricky build, but we managed to pull it out splendidly!
- 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?
Mind the Brick: I believe we were both sceptical regarding, how a collaboration between the two of us could work out. Especially given the fact that we live many km apart and our only communication was through Viber - but it worked!
Patgeo: I would tell myself to believe in both of us and that the result would be even better than we both had imagined!
- 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?
From the beginning of the designing phase, until the time our model was ready to be uploaded to the LEGO Ideas platform, it took us about two months of hard working hours, even during the holiday season. In retrospect, we realized that, proportionally, it took us a bit longer to design our model than it took to reach 10,000 supporters.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
In order to achieve the 10,000 milestone, it took our project only 46 days, which was unbelievably fast for both of us! We were thrilled!
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
We used 2,999 LEGO Bricks.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
Mind the Brick: My favourite sections are the roofs and all the details here and there, which were designed in order to give life to our epic build.
Patgeo: From the outside of our building, I really liked how the main entrance came out, as well as the train platform canopy and on the interior; I adore the ticket counter.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
We used Studio. The finished model was rendered in Studio and slightly modified in Photoshop (lighting and backgrounds).
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
For the ones we designed, we used Illustrator and Part Designer which we then exported in Studio. The rest were found in Studio and Mecabricks.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
Mind the Brick: Keep on building my LEGO friends and do not give up!
Patgeo: Believe in yourself and follow your original idea to the end!
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
We created small updates and videos of stories trying to show the playability of our set which we shared on the LEGO Ideas platform as well as various social media.
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
Mind the Brick: My favourite set by far is Voltron!
Patgeo: Mine is the Apollo 11 Saturn-V!
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
Mind the Brick: It is a simple and friendly platform. I would tell them to go for it!
Patgeo: It’s easy to use, but you have to carefully read all the guidelines in order to avoid your submission being rejected. I would also tell everyone who has an idea that believes in it, to go for it no matter the outcome!
- 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?
Mind the Brick: A personal project and perhaps another collaboration Product Idea is in the pipeline.
Patgeo: Most probably I will, at some point in the future. I think it depends on the idea that I will come up with. If I believe in it, I will definitely do it!
