Behind-The-Build: Good vs. Evil

Aaron Newman March 27, 2020

In Episode 8 of LEGO Masters, “Good vs. Evil” (3/26/2020), each team picked two minifigures from LEGO’s Collectible Minifigure Series 19, and turn them into either a team of superheroes or a squad of supervillains! The characters we picked would serve as the inspiration behind a secret hideout build. On top of this individual assignment, each “hero” team got partnered with a “villain” team and both teams were asked to collaborate on an epic battle scene together!

As such, to fit the parameters of the challenge, our build for this week actually comprised of four distinct models: a superhero headquarters disguised inside a Tech Center building; two individual vehicles (one for each of our heroes), and a joint battle scene between our pair of superheroes and fellow team Tyler and Amy’s pair of supervillains.

Despite presenting polished models that were up to our usual standards—a nice change after our Storybook build, which had turned out a bit messy—Christian and my competition also brought forth some amazing work this challenge. Unfortunately, this ultimately meant that “Good vs. Evil” turned out to be our final episode of LEGO Masters. In this highly competitive week, Christian and I placed in the bottom two and were, subsequently, chosen by the Brickmasters to be eliminated.

Read on for my special dissection of our models’ process, design choices, and more!

Behind-The-Build: Storybook Challenge

Aaron Newman March 20, 2020

In Episode 7 of LEGO Masters, “Storybook” (3/18/2020), all the teams were presented with an identical, Mad Lib-style story, the blanks of which had been filled in creatively by a group of kids. For the challenge, each team had to present their own recreation of this zany tale involving a “book chicken,” a “horse that can do gymnastics,” a “Taker-Waker,” and more.

For our model, Christian and I chose to build the interior of the Taker-Waker’s house, which the storybook specified as being messy and full of stolen toys. This setting choice, however, turned out to be a bad one. Our decision to build an enclosed structure literally boxed us in, and guided us towards manifesting a more realistic interpretation of the “Land of Koo Koo Magic” than other teams. Unfortunately, this stylistic direction left the Brickmasters cold. On top of this, since we took the story at face value, we intentionally built a cluttered house… but ended up with an unintentionally messy-looking build.

Ultimately, our entry for the storybook challenge landed us in the bottom two teams for the first time. Although Christian and I weren’t eliminated, this was still my least favorite build of the season. Read on for my special dissection of this model’s process, design choices, and more.

Behind-The-Build: Arch & Truss Bridge

Aaron Newman March 13, 2020

For Episode 6 of LEGO Masters, “Need for Speed/Super Bridge” (3/12/2020), Christian and I created the “Arch & Truss” bridge, a double-support structure built to span a 6’ (183cm) gap and hold as much weight as possible.

This 7-hour challenge put teams’ engineering expertise to the test. With so little time to work and a blatantly quantitative assessment at the challenge’s end, there was very little room for error in this challenge. Every choice we made could be the one that catapulted us to victory… or else sent us to the bottom. The stakes were high even without the Golden Brick being up for grabs once more!

Read on for my special dissection of this model’s process, design choices, and more.

Behind-The-Build: Attack on Sustainable City

Aaron Newman March 6, 2020

For Episode 5 of LEGO Masters, “Mega City Block” (3/4/2020), Christian and I created “Attack on Sustainable City,” an environmentally-minded city block under threat by an enormous pollution monster.

This build—which was divided into a 14 hour first part and a 4-hour second part—was a huge emotional roller coaster for me. As we wheeled our build into the gallery during the final two minutes of part one, our table hit a brick on the floor, sending a shock wave up the tall tower and toppling five of its fourteen stories. This catastrophic collapse felt like the lowest of lows… until we got an extremely lucky twist!

In part two of the challenge, during which we were instructed to put our city blocks “under attack,” Christian and I managed to both rebuild our fallen tower and create an iconic monster of which we were quite proud. Our finished model definitely made its mark; it turned out to be the tallest building of all.

“Attack on Sustainable City” landed us in the top two teams for this week. Read on for my special dissection of this model’s process, design choices, and more.

Behind-The-Build: Heartbreak of the Dragon Prince

Aaron Newman February 27, 2020

For Episode 3 of LEGO Masters, “Movie Genres” (2/26/2020), Christian and I created “Heartbreak of the Dragon Prince,” a fantasy romance with a thrilling conclusion!

In our final build, the Dragon Prince and his princess are threatened by a pair of nefarious necromancer brothers, who have summoned an army of skeletons to attack the castle. In the blockbuster moment we captured, the Dragon Prince—chained by wicked magic—has managed to delay the horde of skeletons with fire, but cannot prevent one of the necromancers from pushing his love from the top of the tower. Will he be able to save her from a deadly drop?

Read on for my special dissection of this 13-hour model’s process, design choices, and more.

Behind-The-Build: Beneath the Surface

Aaron Newman February 21, 2020

In the winter of 2020, my friend Christian Cowgill and I appeared in the first American season of LEGO Masters, a reality-style building competition show. For Episode 3 of the series, “Cut in Half” (2/19/2020), Christian and I created “Beneath the Surface,” a epic underwater vignette built on the side of a halved antique diving helmet.

Read on for my special dissection of this 12-hour model’s process, design choices, and more!

Behind-The-Build: Catastrophe at the Crescent

Aaron Newman February 14, 2020

In the winter of 2020, my friend Christian Cowgill and I appeared in the first American season of LEGO Masters, a reality-style building competition show. For Episode 2 of the series, “Space Smash” (2/12/2020), Christian and I built Catastrophe at the Crescent, an unorthodox space station designed to be blown up by real-life explosives.

Read on for my special dissection of this model’s process, design choices, and more!

Behind-The-Build: Spaceland

Aaron Newman February 7, 2020

In the winter of 2020, my friend Christian Cowgill and I appeared in the first American season of LEGO Masters, a reality-style building competition show. For Episode 1 of the series, “Dream Park Theme Park” (2/5/2020), Christian and I assembled Spaceland, a retro-space themed amusement park complete with a spinning UFO swings ride, a crashed-alien-spaceship-turned-café, a modern visitor center, a laser-gun shooting gallery, intergalactic storefronts, and an enormous, motorized Ferris wheel… all built in just 15 hours

Read on for my special dissection of Spaceland. This model became the winning build in its week, earning Christian and me the coveted Golden Brick!