Congratulations to Brad and Kevin Hehmeyer, the authors of a collaborative project - SpaceX Starship and Super Heavy (BFR)! Please welcome these two LEGO enthusiasts to the 10k Club!
- Who are you?
Brad & Kevin Hehmeyer
- Where are you from?
We are from Plain City, Ohio.
- How old are you?
Brad is 40-years old. Kevin is 35-years young.
- What do you do for a living?
Brad is an auditor. Kevin is a YouTuber.
- What hobbies do you have?
Brad enjoys spending time with his wife and two kids, watching sports, and cycling.
Kevin enjoys spending time with his wife and 2 dogs, watching movies, and powered paragliding.
- 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?
A few years back, Kevin built the SpaceX Falcon Heavy. He's proud of it because it was his first LEGO Ideas submission, and the first SpaceX proposal to ever reach 10,000 supporters.
- How and when did your interest for LEGO come about?
Both of us have enjoyed LEGO for as long as we can remember. However, growing up we never built the boxed sets and always opted to build our own designs.
- 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.
To us, LEGO is the freedom to materialize creative ideas in your mind. For us, LEGO means engineering with fewer rules.
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
Space, aviation, and pirate ships have always been our favorite LEGO themes.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
Brad's favorite LEGO set is the 1989 Black Seas Barracuda Pirate Ship.
Kevin's favorite LEGO set is the Saturn V.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
Kevin has been following SpaceX's development of their Mars rocket before it was ever called Starship. After his Falcon Heavy model went to the LEGO review board, Brad suggested we give Starship (then called BFR) a go.
- 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?
It took several months to build this model, designing as we went along. The research was difficult. Since the rocket is still being developed and tested by SpaceX, new design changes were constantly being implemented. In fact, the day after we finished building our MOC, SpaceX changed the rocket's material from carbon fiber to stainless steel. So we had to paint our white skin pieces silver.
- What special challenges or frustrations did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The most challenging parts to recreate were by far the 1st stage engine compartment and Starship's nose cone. Securing several dozen "engine bells" into only a 4-inch diameter took some real brainstorming and many redesigns. We felt we got pretty lucky with the nose. It was something we were nervous to tackle because an ugly nose can ruin the entire build. Luckily it only took us a couple of tries to get right.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
It felt really good to have all the support. To know that the love for space exploration is as strong as ever is inspiring.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
~2,300
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
Definitely the engine compartment. It took more elegant engineering than anything we've previously done.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas Product Idea?
Build what you're really passionate about and everything else will fall into place.
By
Kamila9