Please welcome Manuel Becchiati (aka Ing-Manuel) and his pickup truck GMC - BLUE CHIP 100 [1957]. An American classic Pickup produced by General Motors Truck Company (GMC) from 1955 to1959. Manuel likes the American design of these cars and the interest comes from TV shows, but he will tell you about it himself. Help us congratulate him and learn more about his creation.
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
Manuel Becchiati
- Where are you from?
Adria (Rovigo) Italy [Adria is the city that gave its name to the Adriatic Sea].
- How old are you?
39 years
- What do you do for a living?
I am a Mechanical Engineer and I design agricultural machines.
- What hobbies do you have?
I build LEGO sets, I design simple robots and I ride around Italy with my Vespa.
- Have you created any LEGO MOCs (my own creations) that you’re particularly proud of? What is it, why are you proud it and do you have a photo of it?
At the moment I am only proud of the Virtual Model GMC Blue Chip 100.
- How and when did your interest for LEGO products come about?
Since I was a child.
- What is LEGO for you? What does it mean for you? How does it fit in your life? E.g. build, display, meetups, play the games.. or 'just' watch the cartoons.
LEGO for me is a happy and coloured way to express yourself: imagining, creating, building new products.
- 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 favourite LEGO themes are CREATOR and TECHNIC. CREATOR because it represents how close you can get to the real model, using the bricks. It has inspired the GMC Pick-Up style. TECHNIC because being a Mechanical Engineer, I love the mechanisms and movements.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set? Why?
My favourite official LEGO set is the Liebherr R 9800 Excavator. I love this great model because its design is very cool, it's big, and the movements driven by a smartphone are the top!
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
My favourite LEGO element is the 29120 LEGO Slope, Curved 2x1. This is my favourite because with these bricks it is possible to create a lot of "extremity car surfaces" without angle.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
I love the American vintage vehicles. For me, and I think for a European guy (girl), a vintage pick-up is a cool vehicle, a cool mix of vintage car and truck. My interest in this particular model comes from TV shows like Salt Lake Garage, Iron Garage, Wheeler Dealers.
- How long was the process of making the project did, 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 the project was long about 4 months. I had to look for several images of GMC pick-ups to study the shape and the correct colour to represent this great "Truck" with LEGO bricks.
For the Model, I used LEGO Digital Designer software. To correctly show the two pick-ups (with Ing-Manuel mode), I made a lot of renderings with a lot of colour combinations.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The most difficult part to recreate was the front of the pick-up and the cabin. In a particular way, the challenge was: how to better represent the hood and the lateral shape of the truck.
- 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 me 4 months to complete the model. I spent no time promoting my Product Idea because I have "only" a LinkedIn profile.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
For about two weeks I felt very happy and proud of my GMC!!
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
Approximately 2375 Bricks.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
My favourite building technique or part/section that I have incorporated into my project is the use of LEGO bars with LEGO plate 1x1 with U clip.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
To build my digital model I used LEGO Digital Designer, to render it I used Studio.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
I got the stickers by editing some photos.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
It's important to focus on:
- Subject of the project;
- Presentation of the model.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
I didn’t have any method to advertise and attract support to my Product Idea.
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
My favourite LEGO Ideas product is Voltron.
I think that Fiat 500 F project has been overlooked.
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
If you want to upload a project, this one you have to like it and it has to be very very cool!
- 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?
Yes, I have plans to submit other Product Ideas in the future.
The next will have more than four wheels.
By
Kamila9