An Interview with Jason de Vries – the designer of the Dragon called Snakehorns the Swamp Lurker.

Interview conducted by Rachel de Vries

Where do you live?  Rolleston, New Zealand

What is the first LEGO set you ever owned? Michael Mouse and his new car.  Fabuland set number 328, from 1979.  And I still own it as a complete set.

What do you like to collect when it comes to LEGO?  Technic sets – I own somewhere around 200+ sets (no doubles).  I also like the Ideas range and Modular buildings.  I would love to one day own the entire Technic range and full Modular collection.

How long have you been building MOCs (My Own Creations)? Technically all my life – When I was a child I loved making my own creations with my childhood collection (as do most children).  As an adult since 2015 and it all started because my wife challenged me to a build-off to make a church scene and I ended up going overboard and built a Guildhall with a chapel that I displayed at The Christchurch Brick Show (CBS) in 2015.  After that, I got serious in MOC building and built some little animals, MECs, a large Tree, and the list could go on and on – and that was just 2015!

How did Snakehorns come about? Snakehorns is ideally is what I wanted to do with the first dragon I made for the 2016 CBS.  But I didn’t feel I had the technical ability and confidence to make a moving dragon.  For the 2018 show, I built a mechanical owl that had simple wing movement.   In June 2019 I built a copy of the Owl skeleton and then started adding the extra mechanisms to get the sweeping wing.  From there I added the neck movement, and over the next several days I added the jaw movement and rotating flame in the mouth. The name of the dragon came about as I wanted a horn.  So using the LEGO horn parts and tried out various ends to the horn and ended up with the Ninjago snake (element number 98136).      

What was the hardest part of the build?    There are 2 parts to the build which tested me.  The primary one was the mechanism for the jaw.  I spent a lot of time on this part.  I found it hard to keep it looking clean while functioning well.  I tried gears on the inside and outside (settling with the inside version with the drive shaft running through the neck).  The gearbox at the back of the head ended up running the jaw and flame.  It was also tricky synchronizing the jaw so they didn’t smash into each other and went up and down at the correct time.  It took lots of trial, error, and patience, changing around the gears, the stroke length of the steering arm, and where that was placed in the jaw to make it work.  Um, it probably took an entire 2 evenings’ work to sort this out.   The other challenging part of the build was the legs.  I was using the Technic rotation joints (part number 4425/4424) to articulate the shape of the legs.  But with 2 of those units in each joint, it was still not strong enough.  Inside these disks, I used different technic connectors to stiffen the joints.  The other aspect of the build that is worth mentioning is that as I built I had to consider how to make it modular – meaning building it so I can take it apart easily to travel with it.

What was the most exciting or fun part of the build?  Aside from the absolute satisfaction of getting all the mechanisms working, while I was putting the black base plates on for the skin, I had to use snot bricks and brackets against the technic subframe, changing the stud directions while enhancing the strength of the model while still making it modular, I was amazed at how the LEGO system worked SO well together.

What were your favorite and most unique parts use in Snakehorns?  The use of catapults for the toes (part number 88289).

Please tell us some facts about Snakehorns. I went through 5 different wing versions before I settled on the final choice.  I tried using Elves dragon wings (they ended up too heavy). I tried vinyl wings from the Ninjago Ultra Dragon (they just didn’t look right). Finally, I settled on a custom-cut fabric wing panel.

Snakehorns is Modular – The dragon can break down into the following sections so that I can pack it up for travel (specifically to put in a suitcase to take to Skaerbaek Fan weekend, Denmark.  There is the main body and neck, every leg and tail is removable, each wing comes off (is attached by 2 ball join pins and an axle with stop)

All movement (that is 2 movements on each wing, the swivelling of the neck, articulation of the jaw, and the rotation of the flame) comes from a single technic Power Function XL motor. There are 2 power packs in the model.  One is to power the movements and the other is the power the lights behind the eyes.

How many hours/weeks did it take to build?  Over a 5 week period a good 50 ish hours.

How many parts do you think could be in the model? Jeepers I don’t know! I guess 2000+ parts.

How much does it weigh? 4kg

What are it’s dimensions? Width: 750mm.  Length: 800mm (with tail out straight) Height: 600mm

Is there anything else you want us to know about Snakehorns?  I enjoyed creating the eggs that are under the dragon along with using 5 LEGO themes (Ninjago, Starwars, Classic Space, Moana, and Friends) to create a scene at the feet of Snakehorns.

What do you see yourself building next? Ooooh, I don’t actually know, I feel this might stick around for a while because of the work I have put into it.  I am hoping to be inspired by my trip to Denmark later this month for a future build.  See more MOCs by Jason and Rachel on our gallery.  

♥♥YOUTUBE:  Check out Snakehorn the swam Lurker at this Youtube link. ♥♥

A Visit to the LEGO Company Museum and Vault

Experienced by Jason & Rachel de Vries.  Written by Rachel de Vries, September 2019

“It’s nice to have dreams, but seeing them come true is even better.” (Author Unknown).  These were the words on a poster that I spotted at a local shop in Billund, Denmark.  I felt that this really summed up exactly what Jason and I had just experienced.

At 9.50 am this morning Jason was nervously pacing around in excitement and anticipation on a street in Billund as we waited to meet someone who would take us on a tour of the LEGO Company Vault.  This vault is something that we had heard about, heard people talk about visiting it, and seen it mentioned on various LEGO documentaries, and somehow a visit to this vault had ended up on Jason’s bucket list.  And why should it not be on there – he is after all one of the biggest fans of LEGO that I know (and I have met my fair share of fans now!).

At 10 am we are greeted by Niels (who admitted to FB stalking us prior to our meeting so he knew who we were and who to look out for).  Niels has been working for the LEGO Company for 6 years now, working on designing Star Wars sets.  It felt such an honour to meet someone who has talent enough to be selected by LEGO to design sets that are sold all around the world.  And what a wow person he is that he was willing to take time out of his day to meet us….travellers from NZ, who just desperately wanted to see and feel the history of the LEGO Company.

The first thing we are shown is a cabinet of old tools that were originally used by Ole (the man behind the LEGO Company) when he made his wooden toys.  This was immediately something that connected with Jason – who by trade makes furniture and recognised these tools as the equipment he had seen his own grandfather use.

We are then shown into an area that started the tour of the history of the LEGO company that would eventually lead to the vault.  Now I must quickly note that when we were told we would see the vault, I thought we would be shown down a dark hallway and then wait while a fancy door was unlocked…instead what we experienced was way more!  This first area is set in the original house of Ole.  In here was a cabinet dedicated to the infamous Duck toy, plus other cabinets of many other wooden creations by Ole, photographs of the factory, information on the toys, on Ole, on how he made items, plus more.  I was blown away by seeing the number of wooden toys he designed – what we photographed was only a small portion of what we saw.

I really enjoyed seeing the information on the fires that the LEGO Company experienced as it is such a reminder to never give up.  A reminder that even those who are now ‘big shots’, all started somewhere and that sometimes that journey is not easy.  Good things come to those who wait.

As we moved on from here we are shown the first moulding press.  We saw the patent document and moulds of the patented designs.  We got to see the original building system and the first sets made. More information and images on this era of the company.  A cool fact that stood out to me was what the company did with the decommissioned moulds – they were buried into the concrete foundations of the factory so that no one could copy them back then.  They later changed this due to environmental concerns and they sent the moulds to local steelworks for disposal.

After taking all this in – and there was so much to take in, to read, to look at, that I feel we could have spent 4 hours there and still not read it all – we were taken ‘backstage’ as the curator told us.  At the bottom of some stairs, some rather non-ominous doors were opened and there we were in the vault.  We looked down the room to see a great line of specially designed moving units all with a year stamp on them.  We are asked ‘Well, here you are, what would you like to see?’  It didn’t take long before Jason is off to the furthest end to open up cabinets from the ’90s and earlier – checking out the space sets, the technic sets (that went something like, “got that, wanted that one big time, got that one, oooo don’t have that one…”).  As we moved deeper into the cabinets Jason found 2 sets that meant a lot to him – his first LEGO set ever and first LEGO Technic set ever owned.

Now I know Jason had told me this before but I had forgotten the story – and how cool it was to hear this again – Jason rather excitedly picked up a box and laughed as he told of how his grandmother had encouraged him to order this particular set because she knew just how much he wanted it, which he did.  Sometime later his parents received the call to say the set had arrived.  Jason then had to explain to his parents why he had ordered it (now can you just picture that scene of an 11-year-old kid trying to explain this situation to possibly upset parents – it makes me giggle a bit thinking about that!).  They agreed to get it for him and then Jason mowed lawns for several months to pay it back.  Shall I just note that Jason was given the instruction books but had to wait until it was paid off to receive the LEGO bricks!

As we talked with the curator we learned cool facts such as they started actively archiving sets in the 1990s and what we got to see was a collection that has been put together since 2005. After this, we headed back upstairs to the gallery and further explored the narration of the history of LEGO.   We saw snippets of information on the management of LEGO, checked out old sets, new and everything in between.  Saw their documentation on how the LEGO Company is working to make their bricks sustainable.  Checked out the Star Wars area (there are 7 designers in this area and each got to select 3 models to put on display!) where we took a photo of our tour guide, Niels, with a set he designed.

There is so much more to add to what we experienced but it could turn into a lengthy essay!  What I will say is, if you are a fan of LEGO or history, and should you get the opportunity to visit Billund, make sure you somehow find a way to visit this informative and well-put-together LEGO gallery of the history of their company.

With this bucket list item ticked off, I will first wait for Jason to come down from cloud 9, and then I look forward to figuring out what is the next bucket list item we will work on together to make a reality.

Read more about Jason and Rachel here.

Where do I buy LEGO® from?

When you know the answers to these questions, please be prepared for the following to happen:

1. You will be forever grateful for the new buying avenues opened to you, and your LEGO collection and building repertoire will expand significantly.
2. Your bank accounts will never forgive you (unless you are excellent at budgeting, then this will not be a problem).

Of course, I must first mention our own House of Bricks services and what we sell. We have a small shop on our website with all kinds of LEGO animals and items there. If you come along to any number of our events, you will find us with our exciting ‘Design A Figure’ service – this is where you get to sift through 6000+ parts to make and collect Minifigure parts and accessories. Since operating this service from 2015, we have become so well-loved, people have queued up to 30 minutes at our big events.

That aside now, let’s get to the point – when you live in New Zealand, where do you go to buy LEGO?  To answer this, I will break it down into the following four categories

1. New, current market LEGO® sets
2. Old, no longer in production LEGO® sets
3. New and used LEGO® parts (including replacement parts for missing pieces)
4. Other items

Where in New Zealand can you buy new, current-market LEGO sets?

There are many options for both physical and online shopping options. These stores receive LEGO stock roughly 3-12 weeks after a set is released by the LEGO company, which can vary dramatically. At House of Bricks, we have a preferred local store where we know the manager well and ask them to put our top-of-the-list sets requests aside for us. So be nice, be loyal, and you never know what your local toy shop will do for you. The top stores with the most extensive range of LEGO® set available are the following:

1. Toyco
2. Toyworld
3. The Warehouse
4. Farmers

Other smaller retailers include Countdown (for a minimal range of LEGO polybags and tiny boxed sets), Paper Plus, Whitcoulls, and various small locally owned toy stores. If you are keen on looking at the full range of LEGO sets and getting your hands on the sets the moment they are released, then the place to go is:

1. LEGO.com(NOTE: make sure you are on the NZ site – click on the flag that says, ‘change region’ and select New Zealand from the list)
2. The LEGO® Store at Westfield, Newmarket.

Where do I buy old, no longer-produced LEGO sets from?

Our go-to place for this is – on this site, simply enter the set number you are after (if you do not know this number, head to Brickset and search for the set), and you can almost access any set ever released. Here are some other options (please note the first three do come with a risk of stumbling across scams or getting inferior quality/uncared for sets)

1. Trade Me
2. eBay
3. FB Marketplace (for a trusted Buy Sell page, head to MFOL Buy Sell and Trade NZ)
4. Brickstore(they sell both old and new sets
5. Brick shows – MANY LEGO shows (known as Brick shows) happen all around NZ, and often there are sellers at these shows with old sets. If they don’t have the set you are after, ask them – you never know how they might be able to help you.

Where can I buy just LEGO® pieces from?

If you want to shop for LEGO pieces physically, then head to Auckland, visit the LEGO® Certified store at Westfield Newmarket, and experience buying from their Pick a Brick wall. There is a limited number, around 40 pieces to select from, and they change periodically.

Shopping online for just LEGO pieces gives you a much wider range. We have two preferred sites to visit as we have found them to be the most reliable.

1. Our webshop!  Check out our online store for parts, animals, and plants
2. Bricklink– This is our top spot to head to. You type in a part name (i.e., 2×4 brick) or part number (i.e., 3001, which is the number for the 2×4 brick and can be found on the back of most pieces of LEGO). It will bring up all the Bricklink stores in the world where you can purchase this part. All you need to do is decide which store has the best price for the number of parts you need. We will write up a whole separate blog on Bricklink as there is so much to know about it.
3. lego.com is a great site to visit for parts that you would like to guarantee are new. We also use this site to compare with Bricklink to ensure that we are not overpaying there. There are two areas to visit on LEGO.com:
   1. Pick a Brick(find this under ‘Shop by’ – ‘Bricks’ – Pick a Brick). This area is great for all your basic parts needs – bricks, plates, basic flower and plant elements, plus a few other fun parts.
   2. The Replacement partsarea found under ‘Support’ on the menu, then click ‘replacement parts’ – ‘buy bricks’. To use this area, you need to know one of the following two pieces of information: the part number you would like (such as 3001 for a 2×4 brick, 69060 for a Reindeer) OR the set number that the part appears in. If you enter a part number, it will bring up all the colours ever produced for that part and then show which pieces you can buy. If you enter the set number, a list will be produced of all the parts in that set. This tool is helpful if you lose a part to a set or the dog chews a piece, and you want to replace it.
4. You can go to different places for just LEGO parts, including Trade Me, eBay, Facebook marketplace, Brickowl, and the occasional specialised seller that might have a physical or online store. If you want a trusted FB buy/sell page, head to MFOL Buy, sell and trade NZ. CAUTION: please tread carefully and beware of deals that sound too good to be true – they are most likely a scam, they do exist, so please be careful.

What other items are available to buy that will work well with my LEGO?

There are many other services available to enhance your LEGO experience. Here are just a few ideas:

1. Rics Bricks– this business will custom print LEGO for you, has custom printed Minifigures, and so much more.
2. Lighting for your sets – there are no NZ stores that I am aware of, but Light My Bricks and Lightailing are the most popular online destinations.
3. Chroming of your parts could include a store overseas called Custom Bricks.

I hope this information has been helpful to you. Enjoy exploring the links provided, and please leave a comment if you know of other great places to purchase LEGO and related items. We will explore your suggestions and add them to the article for everyone to read about if we can.