The latest 10K Club Interview visits ancient Egypt! Meet Marco, a.k.a. ilPas, and their Great Temple of Abu Simbel - With Secret Treasure project. Inspired by their love for history! Show your support, and find out more below.
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
Marco Pas, ilPas here on Ideas.
- Where are you from?
Vicenza, Italy.
- How old are you?
36.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I work in the graphic industry.
- What hobbies do you have?
LEGO, of course! I am also a big fan of ancient history and Eastern philosophy, and I have been practicing martial arts for about 15 years. In my spare time I enjoy movies, TV series, cosplay and video games.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
I share my builds on my Flickr page.
- 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?
Definitely my Aztec Sun Stone, actually submitted here on LEGO Ideas. The design is based on an actual Aztec artifact, currently housed at the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City. Rebuilding it with Lego bricks was a real challenge, mostly because of its circular patterns and the amount of detail to put in. I worked on it for about six months, until I was happy with the result. This MOC has really improved my design skills, and I am particularly proud of it.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
Basically, I grew up with Lego bricks, it's been my favourite hobby for as long as I can remember. As has happened to many, after a period of pause the interest in Lego came back alive recently. In my case it happened about three years ago, when my wife gifted me the fantastic 10274 Ecto-1 set for Christmas. After that, many other new sets were added to my collection. In addition, it was love at first sight with Studio, and I immediately started experimenting and designing digital MOCs.
- 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.
I consider myself still at the beginning of this new phase with Lego bricks, for now I am just building, experimenting and designing, but I have already met some great people in the AFOL communities, so I think my involvement in this bricked-world will continue to increase exponentially with time!
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
Definitely castles, pirates and adventures, that's all I played when I was a kid. These themes helped me orient my first new projects to something historical and artistic, without forgetting the adventurous side!
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
The one that renewed my passion for Lego, the 10274 Ecto-1.
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
Without a doubt the modified 1x1 brick, with headlight (4070). It is one of the pieces I use most often to enhance my builds, a real game-changer on many occasions!
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
Really difficult question, they are all outstanding and their works are great sources of inspiration. If I had to choose one I would say Mike Psiaki, each of his sets is full of awesome details and very clever mechanisms. I really like how he manages to use each piece in completely new ways.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO-related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
In addition to the official Lego sites, I find Rebrickable very inspiring, especially for the alternate build MOCS.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
As I said before, I am an ancient history fan, and Egypt has always fascinated me a lot. So I decided to follow in Johnny Thunder's footsteps and recreate my own version of one of the most famous temples of antiquity.
But there is another very good reason why I chose to build this very monument: the Abu Simbel temple was relocated in the late 1960s to save it from the rising waters of Lake Nasser (a dam was built). The relocation was done by literally cutting the temple into blocks and rebuilding it higher up, just as if it were a giant Lego set!
So what better subject for a new official set?
- 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 project took me a few months, not having much free time I chose to proceed without hurry. I used many photos of the real temple as reference, to find the right proportions and angles.
I chose to start the build from one of the pharaohs, to get the level of detail I wanted. Once the 4 statues were made, I built the rest of the temple keeping the proportion, and putting in some details such as the interior chamber and the bas-relief on the back.
In the end I chose to add the 2 minifigures of Ramesses and Nefertari and a small puzzle to find Ramesses' secret treasure. It doesn't exist in the real temple but hey, it's a Lego set!
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The whole process was really fun, from finding the photos to trying to make the best of the set with a few extra additions.
Only one thing gave me a lot to think about: the choice of colors.
The real temple is completely monochromatic, being carved from a single rock wall, and that's how I chose to render it in the end. But I did numerous tests to see if there was a possibility of making it a bit less “flat”, perhaps using the 2 different shades of tan we have available, or making the bas-relief on the back more colorful. None of the trials fully convinced me, so I preferred to keep its original shade.
I would be very curious to see what approach the Lego designers would take in this regard!
- 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?
For me, building with Lego bricks is like a big problem solving exercise. You know where you want to go, but you have to find a way to do it. I learned a lot with this project, and I really had fun doing it.
So if I had to give one suggestion to myself before I started, it would just be: Start and enjoy every moment to the end, it will be so much fun!
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
The project took just under a year and a half to reach 10,000 supporters. I didn't do much promotion about it, I shared it at the beginning and when I added the minifigures and improved the build, so I was very happy with the result!
Reaching the finish line was really magical, also because it was my very first project here on Ideas. In the days that followed many friends wrote to congratulate me, it was a beautiful moment!
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
I really like display sets, so I tried to take care of the details as much as possible. But my favorite part in any set are the hidden secrets, doors that open revealing something new, and everything you can't see at first glance. These are definitely my favorite parts in my design as well.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
I used LEGO Bricklink Studio.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
I based the minifigures' clothes on some ancient paintings depicting Ramesses and Nefertari. I made the png files using Illustrator and Photoshop, and imported them with Part Designer.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
Simply: build what you like and enjoy. Learn from experienced designers and never stop experimenting. All this will carry over into your project, and improve it in every way!
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
I shared the build on various social media asking for opinions/feedback, and possibly support.
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
There are many builds that deserve to reach the finish line, scrolling through the new projects on the site is always a great source of inspiration. As a lover of ancient Egypt, I must point out GJC15344's excellent build, the "Ancient Egyptian Temple"
He is now close to 10,000 and the build is fantastic, let's give him our support!
Editors Note: This project has now received 10,000 suporters so a huge congratulations to GJC15344!
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
The platform gives you the opportunity to become a fan designer... what do you need to add? it would be a dream come true!
To those who are thinking of taking part in this beautiful challenge, I can tell you to read the rules carefully, put your best effort into the build and believe in your project!
- 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 have a couple of ideas in my head for future projects, one still with a historical theme, and one with a greater focus on playability. We'll see what comes out of them!