This Product Idea set will transport you to the futuristic world of Gundam, filled with giant robots! Read all about legotruman's LEGO GUNDAM submission here.
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
My name is Truman Cheng.
- Where are you from?
I’m from Hong Kong.
- How old are you?
I am 29. I’ll be hitting my 30s soon, but you’re never too old for LEGO!
- What do you study or do for a living?
I did Biomedical Engineering in college and got my PhD. I am now doing medical robotics research, mostly hardware designs, coding, and a lot of paperwork.
- What hobbies do you have?
Building LEGO and Gunpla model kits. Painting. Learning random science and history stuff on YouTube and Wikipedia. Watching nature documentaries.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
I post many of my LEGO creations on my Instagram, @legotruman.
- 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?
I have happy memories of the Starry Night project. Not only was it a dream project that I had a lot of fun designing, but it also became a real set through the Ideas platform and has been enjoyed by many LEGO fans.
I was able to pay tribute to one of my favorite artists, Vincent van Gogh, with this project. While he didn’t get the love and respect he deserved during his lifetime, people around the world are now celebrating his work, passion, and complete dedication to art.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
I have been a Lego fan since I was a kid, with a red bucket of bricks that encouraged free play and creativity. My older brother and I used to make toys for ourselves.
I also loved the Deep Reef Refuge set (6441). For younger LEGO fans, it is similar to the later Ocean and Diver themed City sets but is for “older” folks like me. As a child, playing with it felt like having real ocean adventures. I remember being fully immersed in imagined of deep-sea missions and marine animal encounters.
While video games and graphics are mind-blowing nowadays, I wish more children could have those make-believe moments in their childhood, enjoying adventures with the simplest of tools and objects. I believe these are critical to one’s creative development when growing up.
- What does the LEGO hobby mean to you? How does it fit into your life? E.g. build, display, meetups, play the games or 'just' watch the cartoons.
To me, LEGO is more than a toy. It is similar to painting – I can express myself and create characters and sculptures from my imagination. It’s a very relaxing experience, where I can forget about the troubles of daily life and get lost in my own imagination.
It’s also like a puzzle game, because there are rules and “math” to how bricks can be connected, and so there are “creative limitations” too.
In this way, LEGO is a unique synthesis of artistic expression and puzzle-solving.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
I love LEGO as a building and assembly toy, so it’s no surprise I also love Gunpla, which shares some similarity as a buildable toy/model kit. Gunpla are more involved in terms of the parts customization and painting skills required. There are special molded parts for Gunpla, designed only for a single purpose, instead of universal and freely assembled parts like LEGO. While looking similar on the surface, LEGO and Gunpla have very different design philosophies at their core.
Despite this, there is a wonderful world and lore behind the Gundam franchise, and I really hope LEGO fans can also enjoy and appreciate this world. I made this project to bring the amazing world of Gundam to all LEGO fans.
- 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?
The building process took a few weeks. To be honest, I was less skillful with LEGO MOCs when I built this model a few years ago, so it took longer to design than it should have and the final result could look better, in terms of body proportions and details.
I made this model a while ago, and did not upload it to Ideas for some time. I have a friend who is also a Gundam and LEGO fan and had made his own LEGO Gundam project. I didn’t want to upload the project at the same time as his and compete for the same fan base. Waited one or two years, then submitted my model while there were no other projects proposing a similar idea.
- What special challenges or frustrations did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
I remember having the biggest challenge with the proportions of different body parts. Sometimes I would make the legs and torso and be quite happy with how they looked, but then I put them together and realized the size didn’t work. I had to re-do parts of the body quite a few times before getting them to look good enough when put together to form a giant robot.
- If you could talk to yourself before you started on this project, what would you tell him/her? What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
When building LEGO Mechs and giant robots, start with a core frame or skeleton. What were you thinking, making individual body parts separately?
- 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?
I was not skilled in making MOCs, so it took longer than I would care to admit.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
I am super excited that there is a chance LEGO fans might get a real Gundam set and be introduced to the amazing world of Gundam.
Gundam fans and Gunpla players could also be introduced to the amazing world of LEGO building as well. The possibilities go way beyond giant robots!
- What is your favorite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
I am happiest with the torso, skirt armor, and beam rifle. I do think the other parts could be improved, specially the legs.
