We're sticking around in the UK this week as we introduce yet another Englishman whose project hit the 10,000 supporter mark. Please say hi to Terry Fisher, a.k.a Dadandlad, whose love for classic cars led to the Landrover 4 x 4 project and it's numerous iterations. Terry and his family went on quite the wild journey as they promoted their project. Read on to find out more about their adventures!
Help us congratulate Terry on becoming a part of the exclusive LEGO Ideas 10K Club!
About Yourself
- Where are you from?
I am from near Chester, England.
- How old are you?
I am 49, along with my son who has helped with the build and my wife who carried out all our social media and booked shows for us to attend.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I work in engineering as a Senior Instrument Mechanic.
- What hobbies do you have?
I am interested in photography as well as LEGO, an interest I share with my son. I also like classic cars.
- How and when did your interest for LEGO come about?
I was interested in LEGO as a child. I used to build along with my two brothers from a big box of mixed LEGO bricks that I still have (no sets as it was all second hand), so I have always designed things from scratch.
The interest died off, but then my son got the bug initially just building the sets or modifying them. This got me interested again, starting with building a scale model of our house and an extension I wanted to have built to show the builders. From this, it led my son and me to one day dismantling his models with the intent to clean them. Instead, with a big box of LEGO bricks in front of me and all the new elements now available I could not resist going back to my childhood and decided to build a V8 engine. My son wanted in on the act - after all it was his LEGO - wanting to build a vehicle to place the engine in.
After thinking what vehicle it could go in, we realised there was no Land Rover. Once built, we decided to put it on LEGO Ideas and see what response we would get. We have continued with updates and also built our LEGO garage that also gets lots of attention at the shows.
^ The garage that was added later includes a handy lift and enough space for two cars
- What is your favourite official LEGO set? Why?
I would have said the 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van, as I had received it as a Christmas present from my son, which I proudly displayed in the window of our house. Interestingly, after building the Land Rover with a white roof, using the camper van for scale, I noticed how faded it became. This turned out to be a great talking point at shows as it made the camper look really authentic. I also now like the 21307 Caterham Seven 620R as I had a real one, in yellow/black just like the set, which I built after leaving school. The exception being that it had an older style engine (guess what I will be doing to my LEGO Caterham.
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
Having started building with LEGO bricks as a child with a limited number of elements back then, I would say the 1X2 Brick is my favourite as you can build just about anything from it (I love to build buildings from them which include our garage for the Land Rover).
One of the more recent elements would be the hinge base and top as you can create some interesting shapes/angles with these.
^ Terry gives Bear Grylls the tour of his Landrover 4x4 at a recent Land Rover event
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
I was not aware of any official LEGO designers’ names until I entered this process, so I will instead say Thomas Poulsom (who created the LEGO Birds set) because it is him that inspired us when he appeared on The Secret World of LEGO.
Carl Greatrix was also an inspiration as his models are just amazing and inspire us to go even further. We have met him at shows and he is a great guy and always has fantastic models to show off. I am looking forward to Christmas to build his Caterham Seven 620R as my wife got it (signed as well) for me for Christmas.
^ A smaller LEGO version of the already smaller LEGO version of the London Tower Bridge and new Land Rovers
- Is there one or more particular LEGO related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
There are a number of sites we visit to get our LEGO bricks from, as they are not available in the Pick A Brick. These include:
- Bricklink
- BrickowlI also love to see what others are up to on various Flickr LEGO pages.
My wife has also pointed out a few great creations on the various Facebook LEGO group pages that she posted about our project on.
About Your Project
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
Me and my son have an interest in classic cars and, having built a V8 engine, the Land Rover 4 x 4 was on the list of vehicles identified to build to put it in. Then we came up with the idea for uploading it to LEGO Ideas, realising the LEGO Group don’t make a 4X4 in the Creator range.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
I don’t know if it was the most difficult part to recreate but the back bumper with the signature Land Rover mud flaps had its challenges but it was very rewarding when achieved in both the original design and the final design.
- How long did it take to complete the model?
It took the school summer holiday to build the model using my sons LEGO collection (it originally was multi-coloured and I wish we still had that original one). It then took a further few weeks compiling and obtaining the bricks in the colours you see on Lego Ideas. Since then we have made quite a few alterations following feedback from shows we attended, as we wanted to get it just right. With a Land Rover there is always something you want to modify!
^ Dadandlad's Landrover was taken on tour to help promote it
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
The feeling when we hit the 10,000 supporter mark was magical. I was late for work as it was in the morning and we were all watching it get to the 10,000 votes. I had to wait in a bit longer than I should just to see it get there before I left for work. The whole family were buzzing. Then to see the comments coming in from people on social media and forums was really good.
It took us just over 1 year to get there and although it has taken over our lives we have thoroughly enjoyed it and seen a whole new world that LEGO has
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
Originally, we used between 1,000 and 1,100 LEGO bricks but have since modified the design with what we have picked up from Land Rover enthusiasts and LEGO enthusiasts and now have it down to around 800.
About LEGO Ideas
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
I would say that the model not only has be something that would appeal to others but it also has to be something that you have a real passion for that would hopefully come out in the model and help with all the hard work to get it to 10,000 supporters.
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas project (besides your own of course)?
Carl's Caterham Seven 620R, as the first time I saw it on LEGO Ideas we just thought WOW.
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
The attraction is that there is a chance (although small) of your idea becoming a reality. For me this is the chance to walk into a LEGO shop with my son and say we did that together. A lasting memory of time we spent together and as I tell everyone - something money can’t buy.
Tips I would give are be prepared for some hard work, but hopefully it will open up a different world of LEGO that you may not have been aware of as it did for us.
We went to various LEGO/Land Rover shows over the past year and it was really good for people to see the models in real life as they said it was good to see them close up and see what they can do. Children (big and small) just wanted to open the doors, bonnet, take the roof off, etc. That is what LEGO is all about. It has been a great family project for us, as the three of us attended most of the shows together (except when school/work got in the way!). My son even took the Land Rover into school and talked about it during an assembly. It has given him much more confidence being involved in this together.
By
hasanjensen