Sound the alarm! Daniel Van Zonneveld, a.k.a. poVoq, is back with another entry into the 10K Club. Fans of the Castle theme rejoice; today we present CASTLE OF BRICKWOOD FOREST. A fantastic build inspired by Daniel's love of building castles. Find out more about his project here!
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
My name is Daniel Van Zonneveld.
- Where are you from?
I’m from France.
- How old are you?
I’m 38-years-old.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I work for a French Bible publisher.
- What hobbies do you have?
I’m very passionate about the Bible, I like to play music, and of course, build with LEGO bricks.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
flickr.
- 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?
Of course, I’m particularly proud of my project “Castle in the Forest”. It all started here on the LEGO Ideas platform. And thanks to the Bricklink Designer Program this MOC has become an official set. But even more than that, the feedback of the AFOL community was very positive. The success of this MOC was just mind-blowing.
Secondly, I’d also like to mention another MOC I’ve called “The Blessed House”. I’m very proud of that model because it was my first attempt to create an alternative model of an official set. In the end I was able to reuse over 2900 parts - that’s over 90% of all the elements of the original model. I was also able to create the instructions for this MOC and they can be found on the internet for free to download.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
My interest in LEGO building goes almost as far back as I can remember in my childhood. I can still remember the first sets I got.
- 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.
For me, LEGO building is a way to create something unique. The possibilities are endless because there are just so many different parts and colours.
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
I like all the historic themes but my favourite theme has always been Castle. Castles always have very interesting designs and they also have all kinds of clever defensive mechanisms.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
If I don’t consider the Castle in the Forest, my favourite set would be the Barracuda Bay. It’s really impressive in many ways: its size, the details and the building techniques. I really like the possibility to change from the island version to the boat version.
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
There are just too many, but if I pick one of them I would have to say the 1x2 brick with the masonry profile. I use it in all my castle builds and in many other constructions.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
Besides some popular English channels on YouTube, I follow the LEGO news in French on www.hothbricks.com and the channel “Brickmitri” on YouTube.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
I’m interested in making my castles better and better. I wanted to give this project another chance and made some improvements to the previous version.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
After I had promised to add a drawbridge, I realised it wasn’t so easy. The drawbridge had to go up to the throne room level at the height of 6 bricks. I had to choose the right size for the length of the drawbridge. I would have preferred to add some more landscape at the front to be able to reduce the angle when the drawbridge is down, but I had to save some parts for the chariot.
- 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?
At first, I only had it in mind to create a drawbridge. But in the end, I worked on this project for several weeks because my imagination never stops.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
It’s the 3rd project for me that has made it this far and it’s still a magic moment. It took just a little less than 2 months.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
The final count was 3000 parts.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
I love the round towers. The round tower with the spiral staircase inside is definitely the most complex and was most interesting to build.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
I used stud.io to build and render the model.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
I created all the printed parts with Partdesigner.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
Take a look at all the successful projects and try to figure out why they succeeded. Once you have your idea, you need to take your time to make it as good as you possibly can.
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
Zoo By kodlovag, I think this set could become a very interesting set.
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
The possibility of a LEGO fan creating something that can become a real set is very attractive.
Take your time to fix every issue. It has to be perfect in every way. Building techniques, colour scheme, presentation… Study MOCs and always learn how you can improve your skills.
- Do you have plans to submit any other Product Ideas in the future? If yes, can you give us a hint of what that might be?
I don’t plan to submit another product idea this year. I have some other big projects in mind I really have to finish first. But I hope to come back because I still have a lot of ideas.
