Welcome to today's 10K Club Interview! Today we introduce Kyle Fernald, a.k.a. NerdyLegoist and his fantastic idea SATISFACTORY CONSTRUCTOR. Those familiar with the game on which this is based will need no further introduction, but for the uninitiated, you can find out more about Kyle's passion project here!
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
My name is Kyle Fernald.
- Where are you from?
Austin, Texas, USA.
- How old are you?
I’m 33-years-old.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I work as a programmer and a software architect.
- What hobbies do you have?
My passion is in playing board games with my family. But on the side, I’ll build LEGO sets (of course) and play video games with my brothers, hence the “Satisfactory Constructor” model which tries to blend several of my favourite things together.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
As a kid, LEGO bricks were always our go-to toy, building custom robots, elaborate buildings with secret entrances, and Pokemon from our massive tub of brick, so most of my LEGO memories are from endlessly digging and trying to find the “right” one. We would search for pieces more than actually build but I never seemed to mind. Eventually, I migrated into the original LEGO Mindstorms when I became interested in robotics and programming.
- 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 enjoy building the occasional set from the Architecture series and the Art series (I have the extended Iron Man frame hanging over my couch). But now that my son is getting old enough, building his LEGO train or playing the LEGO video games together are some of his favourite pastimes. It’s a unique feeling to be able to build something random and watch his face light up as he tries to figure out how it works. Something as simple as building a garage for his toy car that then becomes his favourite place to store all his “treasures”.
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
My current favourite theme is the wall art hangings, particularly Iron Man and Darth Vader. They appeal to some of my craft hobbies as a kid, like cross-stitching, but they also make unique display pieces when complete
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
I’d have to say the large LEGO Hogwarts. Not only am I a Harry Potter fan, but the amount of detail in the set from all of the movies was astounding. We built it over the course of several weeks of family nights and I was amazed at all of the easter eggs and minor details they included. You can tell a Harry Potter fan had the greatest job in the world while designing it.
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
LEGO gears and rods. As a kid I was always trying to build something functional, be it a robot, a mechanical hand, or clocks.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
The model comes from a PC game called “Satisfactory”, where you’re tasked with building both factory production lines and infrastructure, along with the beautiful buildings in which to house them. The game is currently one of my favourites and my engineering brothers and I have played through it a few times together. It’s a very “satisfying” mix of exploration, problem-solving, and creativity but also contains very detailed, dare I say. beautiful factory machines like the “Constructor”. My brothers and I were in the middle of our second playthrough of the game when I was watching the animations of the Constructor and thought to myself: it would be cool to have one in real life. Having just finished the LEGO Nintendo console set, I was looking for a new project and decided to take a stab at designing it in LEGO form.
- 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 started as a hobby over the course of 3 months, as something to keep me busy during some hard personal times. For research, I would load up the game and take screenshots of every angle of the “Constructor”, and then constantly reference the screenshots while trying to recreate the model as accurately as possible. I started with the conveyor hole entrances to settle on a scale I was happy with, and then built outward from there. When I was happy with it in Bricklink, I ordered the pieces and test-built it to ensure it was all feasible, going back to the drawing board in a few spots.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The most difficult part was the scaffolding that holds up the “floating” walkway. Trying to design it in a way that was as true to the game as possible but also being stable. To be honest I’m still not happy with it.
- 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?
It took about 3 months of casual work to design it, most of which was simply playing around with different ideas for parts of it. Then it only took a little under that same amount of time to achieve the 10k votes.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
It only took about 2 months to achieve support. I submitted it just for fun and honestly didn’t expect it to receive much attention as it was the first set I’ve ever submitted. I was blown away by the level of support and enthusiasm from the game’s community!
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
The model is just over 1500 bricks.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
I like the look of ‘greebling’ that I first saw in the LEGO Hogwarts cliffs, and which many recent LEGO Ideas sets have perfected. I made my very first attempt at it on the groundwork around the Constructor.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
I used Bricklink Studio for the building and rendering, and then followed up with a test build with actual bricks.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
I used just a few prints for some text on the sides of the Constructor. I used Inkscape to draw them out, and then Bricklink’s part-designer tool to integrate them onto the bricks.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
Make a design that you care about and love, because chances are others will feel the same way. Try to pay attention to details and notice what makes your model truly jive with those who love the context. Show it to others who will give you honest feedback as you’re toying with ideas - if it excites them, then you know you’re on the right track.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
The only advertising I did was to post to the game’s community on Reddit, mostly because I thought it was cool and was proud of it. The game’s community was very supportive, and the Satisfactory developers themselves took notice and showcased it in their regular community highlights videos.
