On the weekend of November 24 & 25th I was fortunate enough to be invited to take part in Lego’s Brick Factor competition, which was held to find a Master Builder for Canada’s first Legoland Discovery Center in Toronto!
I was part of Group 4 on the first day of competition, one of just under 200 competitors. The theme of Round 1 was “animals”. The first thought that popped into my head was a parrot, but after seeing a fantastic parrot created by another competitor I opted to go for small and cute, and decided on a chick. We had 20 minutes for Round 1, which goes by very fast. Also, while their is a full range of colours to use, the types of pieces are very limited and sizes, making things even more challenging. I had some time left and decided to make a magnet to go along with my chick,. My “Brick Chick Magnet” showed of my personality too!
I was fortunate enought to make it into the top 50, and the theme for Round 2 was “Sports”. I wanted to do an obscure sport that no one else would do, so I decided on the greatest sport in the world, the Caber Toss. I had 30 minutes to complete my bearded Scottish caber tosser and his mound of grass. I dubbed him “Angus” In the dying minutes of the round I attempted to make his name, but could only finish “Angu”.
Angu brought me luck, and I was the last name called for the top 25, and was asked to come back early Sunday morning. Round 3 that morning was 45 minutes long, and the them was “Around The House”. I decided on an old style rotary phone, but not just any phone, the Batphone! I finished the Batphone and had time to build another piece, so a fellow competitor had given me the idea to build the statue that sat on the desk that Adam West could flip the head up, and press the button to open the entrance to the Batcave! With time still left, I managed to also build Batman’s stapler and Batman’s pen cup and pen!
Unfortunately I did not make into the top 12. The competition was fierce, but friendly and fun throughout. I had a blast, and a job working for Lego may still be in my future! Many thanks to all the great people I met, and a big thanks to the judges for inviting me! Had the time of my life!
