Imagine Creativity

Building Builders Up Group Builds Leave a Comment

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National LEGO day is meant for people to come together and celebrate the joy of building. What better way to do that than to build together? Windy City LUG (LEGO user group) recently did just that with their group build, Imagine Creativity. The model, which artfully shows the endless possibilities of the brick, was created for the LEGO store in Schaumburg, Il.

Like many group builds, the hardest part of this build was coming up with the idea. Knowing that the build would be displayed at a LEGO store, the group felt it was important that the final result represent the entire LUG and appeal to a wide range of people. The final idea is a figure at a desk, ruminating on possible things to build. Each of the figure’s ideas is built by different WCL members on an individual cloud platform.

The modular design was key, not only because the pandemic kept members from physically building together, but also because they wanted the build to showcase the talent, inspiration, and style of individual members. 

After the main concept was decided, the next challenge was establishing the format. It wasn’t just an aesthetic choice to have the idea clouds be the same throughout. A simple structure with common pieces was needed so that each member could quickly build a cloud and then focus on their personal section.

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With the theme and format settled, it was time to get building. There was no shortage  of inspiration. Gary’s space-themed contribution was inspired by the classic space sets that got him into LEGO as a kid. He based his build around a single part, a thruster, which proved to be a fun challenge. Ben, also looked back to his favorite classic theme and built a dragon and castle display. For him, the trickiest part was finding the right piece for the flagpole.
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Will and Dana, who were able to collaborate on their build, looked toward nature and constructed their favorite forest creatures. The scale proved to be a bit difficult but they managed to fit everything into the predefined space.
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A classic arcade hall and pirate ship add to the eclectic feel.
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At the center of the build is a miniland figure who is the character in the piece and the source of the ideas. Casey, who has extensive experience building in the miniland scale, quickly called dibs on that part of the project. The choice to use grayscale and to make the figure neutral in every way was informed by the desire to showcase the ideas themselves.

Melanie, whose love of baking and miniature building inspired her to create a kitchen scene, thought the final result hit exactly the right note. “It was a great display of group unity as well as individual building styles. I love how it came together!”