New builders are always showing their faces but few start of with as high quality MOCs as Kevin Wu, known as Kev.the.Builder on Flickr. He started with castle on four 48x48 baseplates and hasn't looked back since. Kevin joined InnovaLUG not long ago so we took the chance of asking him a few questions about his LEGO experience!



How long ago did you start building? What first exposed you to LEGO bricks and what made you decide to join the online community?
I received my first LEGO set, 4096: Micro Wheels, when I was three years old. It was my only set for the next couple years, and I probably exhausted every possible combination of those 207 little pieces. I would get a new set twice a year, on my birthday and on Christmas. From these sets, my collection grew steadily but was still relatively small.



I have a few photos of MOCs from before I discovered Bricklink and the online community. Here’s a medieval town hall, which used up all my grey bricks at the time, almost all from the 10223 Kingdoms Joust set. The quality is noticeably lower than my recent creations, but I made do with my limited collection.



I discovered the online community in 2016 and began scrolling through Flickr in awe of the thousands of jaw dropping MOCs. It wasn’t until the summer of 2017 when I decided to make some Bricklink orders and beef up my LEGO collection. Summer 2017 also happened to coincide with my sixteenth birthday, so I started working as a lifeguard to fund my expensive hobby. Here’s my first MOC I posted on Flickr. Castle was always my go-to theme, so, inspired by InnovaLUG builders and the Guilds of Historica on Eurobricks, I built Eryos Castle!



What is it about these plastic bricks that makes you enjoy building?
Simply the idea that a pile of pieces can come together to form something unique and detailed still amazes me, even after years into this hobby.

If you had to characterize your building style with one word, what would it be?
Ahh, that’s a tough one. I’ll cop out and say “castle” for now, but this could change as I expand my horizons in the future.

Do you have a favorite LEGO color?
Probably bright green. A bright green tree can always freshen up a landscape!



What’s a good estimate for how long it takes you to build an average sized creation?
It varies so greatly that I don’t think I can give an average. Really depends on how many times I mess up, to be honest. For example, I did my “Fortress of St. Jocosa” MOC in about two weeks of on and off building, but my “Le Cheval Vert” MOC took four times as long, even though it uses considerably less pieces. The former I built in one go; the latter I built and rebuilt many times before reaching the final design.
We'll be seeing Le Cheval Vert later on: for now, here's a look at the Fortress of St. Jocosa!



What part of building offers the greatest challenge for you?
Coming up with what to build is so hard! But it’s not for a lack of ideas. Quite the opposite. There are so many possibilities that I often hesitate to start building, saying to myself “maybe I’d rather build that instead.” Especially as a student, time is short, so choosing a direction to start can be difficult.

Could you walk us through your usual building process? Do you start with a story, an image, a seed part, a technique? Do you find inspiration in other MOCs? What comes first, the landscape, the minifigures, or the buildings?
I’m constantly looking through Flickr, so other MOCs give me inspiration for sure, although normally no particular creation spurs me to start building. I normally don’t plan out creations too much before diving into the landscape. The buildings come after, and I often change my original plans for the buildings after seeing how the landscape turns out. As I write this, I have a completed landscape on my build table, but I don’t know exactly what’s going on top yet!





Thanks for letting us have a glimpse at your collection - your organization system is a LEGO builder's dream!

What are some special techniques that you find yourself constantly coming back to?
I’ve used the roof technique that debuted on my medieval town hall quite a few times. It’s not too complicated of a design, but it fit well on most buildings I’ve built so far. It helps that I own a lot of those black 1x2 cheese slopes from Pick-a-Brick.



What’s your personal favorite of all your creations so far? What motivated you to build this creation? How long did it take you? What makes it so special?
My favorite is “Le Cheval Vert,” which took about two months and a few Bricklink orders. I love ships, but they aren’t too common in the community. I’m quite proud of the shaping of the hull and the sails, which I made by drawing the Guilds of Historica logo on craft foam. It is probably the only creation that I plan on keeping intact indefinitely.



As it happens, one of my favorites of your builds is also your ship Le Cheval Vert. So I have a few more questions for you about it - how complicated were those sloping sides? And what inspired you to add an interior?
Glad to hear that it’s your favorite as well! The sloping sides weren’t too complicated in the end, but the process of figuring out the final design was. I started with simple straight sides at first, then tried a variety of methods to angle them, including clips, Bionicle joints, and friction. In the end, I settled on hinge bricks and tall slopes for the plates to rest on, with many cheese slopes to cover the small gap at the bottom edge. I tried to make the sides as thin as possible (just three plates thick) so I could add an interior.



The sides of the bow were far more complicated than the sides of the body, using a single Bionicle ball joint to slant them properly. The main issue was trying to figure out a smooth transition to the bowsprit while leaving no gaps in the hull. My inspiration for all my interiors are InnovaLUG’s very own Isaac and John Snyder, who’s inclusion of interiors in their builds is surely well known.

It happens to all of us: there’s a creation that seems just perfect to us, but it hardly seems to get any attention! What’s a creation of yours that fits that description?
For the third question in a row, I think the answer must be my ship! But then again, I could answer with any of my creations, since I am relatively new and lesser known within the community.

It’s almost impossible to pick one of all the amazing builds by other talented LEGO builders out there as a favorite but do pick one of your favorites for us and tell us why you like it so much!
Cool, let me scroll through my Flickr faves!
With the theme of shipbuilding, I’m going to go with The Spirit of Lenfald by Flickr user aardwolf_83. It’s one of the best ships out there, from the shaping of the hull to the incredibly detailed rigging. That it only has 68 faves is a crime. Go fave it!



I know you’ve participated in quite a few contests what is it about them that inspires you most? Competition, categories, prizes?
Prizes are great, because who doesn’t like free LEGO? But the main motivation is everyone else’s creations. Some of the best creations I’ve seen are contest entries, and the plethora of quality builds posted in a short time inspires me to take part in the festivities.

Have you been able to participate in collaborations with other builders? If so, what sets that experience apart from building solo?
Well, InnovaLUG just did Space Spheres, and I built three planets for that. It wasn’t a typical collaboration where we met up and put it all together. However, seeing all our planets edited together topped off a satisfying experience.



I met you at BW Chicago a couple of years ago, so I know you’ve been to at least one LEGO convention. Have you made it to others? What do you enjoy about the convention experience?
I haven’t made it to others, but I can say that Brickworld Chicago is worth it for sure. What could be better than four days of building, making new friends, and just seeing breathtaking MOCs in real life? I believe InnovaLUG is planning a trip to Brickworld 2020, so catch me there for sure! In addition, I’m attending the University of Chicago starting next fall, so hopefully I will be able to go every year in the future.

Are you able to meet with any other LEGO fans in real life frequently, or are your interactions mostly online?
Mostly online. I would love to meet up regularly, but everyone is so far...

Have you been able to make friendships through the LEGO hobby? What’s special to you about meeting with a fellow fan?
I met a lot of people at Brickworld Chicago 2018, including many InnovaLUG members. Meeting other builders was so refreshing because the none of the people I normally meet at school, at work, or wherever are LEGO fans. None of my friends prior to joining the online LEGO community were LEGO enthusiasts, so the opportunity to bond over a common hobby is very valuable to me.

Do you have other hobbies you’d like to tell us about? Are you ever able to tie these into your LEGO hobby?
Yeah for sure! Music, for one. I play the cello, guitar, and ukulele, and I also like listening to hip-hop (mostly 1990’s and early 2000’s) to pick apart rhymes and messages packed within the lyrics. My favorite artists are Nas, Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco, and Kanye. I also enjoy solving contest math problems, reading biographies, and skateboarding. I never played soccer on a team (I was a year-round swimmer) but I keep up with the top European leagues. And to answer the second part, not really :D

What field are you studying/plan to study in? Do you think your LEGO building skills will be able to help you in this area?
The major I applied for at UChicago was statistics/economics, so I don’t think LEGO building will assist me directlyHowever, I do believe LEGO building contributes to problem solving and creative ability in general, which will help in any field.

I know you recently built a micro scale Polynesia display for a school project. What’s different about building a MOC for school?



As you can probably tell, they are far less detailed than my typical MOCs. This is partially because I simply spend less time on them (usually just one day, compared to multiple weeks), but I also just don’t have the same motivation to build to the best of my ability when it comes to school. I try to meet the requirements and that’s pretty much it. Still, a bad MOC in my eyes somehow still manages to wow the teacher!



And we’ll close with the big question: what do your family and friends think about your LEGO hobby? Are they secretly hoping you’ll grow out of it like mine were or are you the coolest kid on the block?
My parents like the idea of my hobby, but not the price. On the conditions that I don’t let LEGO consume other aspects of my life, like school, it’s all good. As for my friends, some are more interested than others, but none of them find it uncool. Even among random kids at school, I’ve never been ridiculed for playing with a “kids’ toy.” For context, my high school had three thousand kids and I carried around this backpack.



I think the key with any hobby is just to embrace it. After I presented my Polynesia project in class, my friend said “Kevin, how do you not get made fun of?” Well, I’ve always been proud of my hobby, mentioning it whenever I meet new people and whenever teachers ask, “Say your name and one fact about yourself.” I just think LEGO is really cool, regardless of age. And it is!

Thanks Kevin, it was fun to hear about your experiences as a builder! Looking forward to more castle MOCs from you and wherever else your bricks take you!