LEGO Creations for All Ages - Lakeside Ohio · Base built first, 2007-2009 Prototype of fielt build...

LEGO Creations for All Ages

Paul M.L. Janssen

Lakeside Association, July 22 2011

Overview

Part 1: History of the LEGO company

Part 2: The adult LEGO fan

Part 3: Art and Science of LEGO

Part 4: Creations by and for all ages

Part 5: LEGO Ohio Stadium

Denmark Founded in Billund, 1916 (not named Lego till 1934)

by Ole Kirk Christiansen

Main Product Line:

1916-1932: Furniture

1932-1960: Wooden Toys

1949-1958: Plastic Pre-bricks

1958-current: System Bricks

Part 1: History of the Company

1916 Ole Kirk Christiansen purchased an existing wood-working shop that had been in business since 1895. He primarily focused on houses and furniture. In order to aid in designing full-sized product, he constructed miniature sized items such as step-ladders and ironing boards. These miniature creations prompted him to start manufacturing wooden toys.

Pull-along LEGO duck, 1935

Pull-along LEGO train, 1935

Part 1: History

1924 His young sons burned down his shop. He rebuilt his shop, now larger, and expanded his business. The great depression hit, and it is said government persuasion made him move primarily into toy production as a full-time focus.

1932 Ole Kirk Christiansen, master carpenter and joiner, establishes his business in the village of Billund, Denmark. His firm manufactures stepladders, ironing boards, stools and wooden toys. His son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, starts working in the business at the age of 12.

Part 1: History

1934 The company and its products now adopt the name LEGO, formed from the Danish words "LEg GOdt" ("play well"). Later, it is realized that in Latin the word means "I put together”. The firm has 6-7 employees. Ole Kirk places the following motto on the workshop wall: "Only the best is good enough".

Early versions of

the LEGO logo

Part 1: History

1942 The LEGO factory burns to the ground (again), however, the production of wooden toys is quickly resumed.

1947 The LEGO Group is the first in Denmark to buy a plastic injection-moulding machine for toy production. The machine costs 30,000 Danish Crowns. By comparison, the revenue of the firm this year is 450,000 Danish Crowns.

1949 The LEGO Automatic Binding Brick with four and eight studs.

Part 1: History

1955 After further developing the LEGO Bricks, the company launches the revolutionary "LEGO System of Play". The first real export of LEGO begins. First country is Sweden. Godfred Kirk Christiansen demonstrates the new product at a toy fair in Nuremberg, Germany. Reactions are not positive…...

1960 The wooden toy warehouse is destroyed by fire. Production of wooden toys is discontinued entirely. App. 450 employees in Billund. LEGO Finland and LEGO Nederland established.

1958 The current “system” brick is finalized, and is virtually the same as we have today.

Part 1: History

1961 The LEGO Group invents the wheel! It is marketed in the following year. The range comprises 50 sets, 15 vehicles and various loose elements. Sales start in the US and Canada via a license agreement with Samsonite Corp. LEGO Italy established.

1968 LEGOLAND® Billund opens its gates on 7th June and attracts 625,000 visitors in its first season, 3000 on the opening day. The first computer in LEGO Group - an NCR 390 for pay administration. The machine cost 85,000 Danish Crowns.

1965 LEGO produces its first train set.

Part 1: History

Part 1: History

1978 LEGOLAND mini figures with movable arms and legs.

1990 The LEGO Group is now one of the world's 10 largest toy manufacturers - the only one in Europe (the others are American and Japanese). The magic barrier - one million visitors in a single year - is broken for the first time at LEGOLAND Billund on 4th September.

1979 The founder’s Grandson, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen takes over as CEO

1984 The first LEGO Technic Computer controlled products are released

Part 1: History

Pre- 1978

Although the LEGO group heavily markets their product as a

kids toy, they increasingly recognize that there is a rapidly

growing market to sell to adults, both as collectors and users

of their products.

Since the mid 1990’s, an explosion of Adult activity can be

Found regarding LEGO.

Part 2: The Adult LEGO Fan

Adults have been playing with LEGO bricks since they

were invented.

LEGO employees have build large creations for the company

For several decades.

Adult creations were mainly build for the parks and stores,

and occasionally for paying clients



Legoland Billund, Mount Rushmore


Legoland Billund, Kennedy Space Center


Legoland Billund, various park creations

AFOL (Adult Fan Of Lego)

There are many types of involvement with Lego by adults:

•Bonding/playing with (own) kids

•Collectors

•Builders

•Social Involvement

•Teaching

•Lego Robotics

•Artists

Wide-spread use and speed of the internet played a

major role in the evolvement of the AFOL community


1992: First “major” grouping RTL (rec.toys.lego) 1998: LUGNET (www.lugnet.com) Major Community hub, discussion posts, set-database, group-boards


1998: BrickShelf (www.brickshelf.com) Online Posting of Pictures of MOC’s (My Own Creation)


http://www.brickshelf.com/

2000: BrickLink (www.bricklink.com) Online selling of individual bricks and sets


1998: Peeron (www.peeron.com) Online database of individual bricks and sets


http://www.peeron.com/

Initially 15 adult fans acting as Ambassador: * Promote LEGO within the community * Promote the AFOLs inside the LEGO company Providing feedback, suggestions for sets, help in designing, attending meetings


In collaborations with the LEGO Group, several FANs have

turned the hobby into an actual job, making various creations

for paying clients.

Heartfelt, by Nathan Sawaya, Feb 2009


Adult Lego User Clubs LUG: Lego Users Group LTC: Lego Train Club

1995: 2 clubs in the USA 2000: 7 clubs in the USA 2005: 38 clubs in the USA 2011: 60+ clubs in the USA

Founded in 2003: Central Ohio Lego Train Club Members: 2003: 7 2004: 12 2005: 15 2008: 22 2011: 36

Local:


www.coltc.org

Annual AFOL conventions BrickFest, BrickWorld

Initially ~30 participants,

Now over 500 attendees, and 10K+ public visitors


Part 3: The Art and Science of LEGO

Many ways to approach a building project,

three main aspects are important, often not compatible:

Artistic

•Shape

•Color

•Emotion

•Interpretation

Scientific

•Scale

•Size

•Construction

•Function

Economic

•Cost

•Space

•Storage

•Availability

Slopes/Bricks

Bricks


Single Element

Plates

Plates 3D


Building techniques

Plates

Bricks


Applications

Characteristics

If you “nail” the critical element,

the rest is much less important

Examples:

Elephant

Cow

Statue of Liberty

People



Scale, Size, Emotion, Interpretation, Cost, Construction


Scale, Cost

Exact Scaling

Requires research, math, and measuring

Requires finding the hardest-to-do part first

Examples:

Skyscraper

House

Car

Person


Huntington Bank

Building, Columbus, OH


Borden, LeVeque, Huntington, Verne-Riffe


Surroundings to scale

Same Examples:

Skyscraper

House

Car

Person

Requires environment and surroundings

Purpose

Economical factors


Scaling

Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV)

6-wide 2-wide


Nathan Sawaya, “Yellow”


Emotion

Nathan Sawaya, “Blue”


Interpretation (construction or destruction?)

Stephen Colbert, by Nathan Sawaya



Scaling: Microscale


Creations by LEGO fans, young and old

•Computer or Bricks

•Built by 1 person or by a group

•Artistic or Functional

•Small or Big


Hiawatha Steam Engine, Benn Coifman


Statehouse, Columbus Ohio, Paul Janssen


“Miracle on the Hudson”, Ken Osbon


Millyard Project, NELUG


USS Harry Truman, Malle Hawking


Working Pinball Machine, Gerrit Bronsveld & Martijn Boogaarts


Tressel Bridge, Jeramy Spurgeon


Angel Sculpture (replica), David Winkler


Steam Locomotive, Cale Leiphart


Yankee Stadium, Sean Kenney


Abston Church, Amy Hughes


Medieval Townhall, Paul Janssen


Castle, Steve DeCreamer


Mosaics, Eric Harshbarger Song of the Angels

Mona Lisa


Victorian Mansion, Mike Doyle


“Jamocklaquat”, Eric Sophie


Beauty and the Beast, Vincent Cheung


Han Solo “Carbonite”, Nathan Sawaya


Church, Paul Janssen


Swans, Billy Lynch


St. Louis Gateway Arch, Paul Janssen


Happy Meal, Janey Gunning

Part 5: Ohio Stadium

Initial plans developed in 2004

Collecting and saving bricks since 2004

Base built first, 2007-2009

Prototype of fielt build in 2008

First stadium brick in place, May 2009

Last stadium brick in place, Jan 2010

Total elements, when filled just over 1 million

Seating capacity of nearly 6,000 minifigs

Build in 10 sections, each up to 50 lbs.


July 2009

August 2009


July 2010

November 2009


September 2010

August 2010


January 8, 2010


South Stands and Scoreboard

Press-box


Rotunda North

Speaker-

Cluster

Scoreboard showing “Script Ohio”

West Side

East Side curvature

Flag


January 15, Columbus Dispatch Article

LEGO Creations for All Ages - Lakeside Ohio · Base built first, 2007-2009 Prototype of fielt build...

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