I built this statue of Astro Nomical, a Salesforce character from their Trailhead software, for Salesforce’s TrailheadX 2021 (TDX21) virtual event. This piece was designed to scale with my Salesforce sculpture from last year’s event, TDX20, which was a statue of Codey the Bear. This year’s model, which is nearly 16” (40cm+) tall and consists of over 3,000 bricks, was a formidable undertaking mostly because of timing; just like last year’s piece, I had to complete my design and source the necessary bricks for it against an extremely tight deadline, which was a live-build of the final model for a virtual event.

My recreation of Astro intentionally emulates my LEGO Codey in terms of its design, composition, and techniques; as such, many aspects of the process were ones with which I’d already had experience. However, this project posed some new opportunities for growth, too. For example, Astro’s base includes a lighting element, the which I had to integrate with a LEGO-built infrastructure. The model also features custom decals, modified LEGO bricks, and a pretty dynamic pose.

I feel that LEGO-built Astro pays appropriate homage to my first TrailheadX live build model; in doing so, it reinforces a set style for my burgeoning Salesforce character series. But I also feel that this model advances my character-building format into new territory and breaks ground of its own, which makes me even prouder of the finished result!

Read on to learn more about the conception, construction, and design of this custom statue.