Up early again on Saturday – no work today – a whole day dedicated to whatever I want to do.  What shall I do?  Hmmm, … grey plates, transparent yellow bricks… how many hinges do I have in stock.  Stupid brain!  How predictable!  Looks like I’m going to be building a Classic Space model again.

At breakfast with the family drinking my coffee… didn’t quite catch what the wife was saying.  “Hello, were you even listening” she resigns herself to asking.  And still I’m thinking: if I rotate that row of angled bricks it will align perfectly with one of those beautiful honeycomb pieces… what was that set from 1986 called again?  Googling on my phone for some images; typing in ‘Classic Space Lego 86’… or was it 1987. She sighs and clears the plates away.

Mid-morning, second pot of coffee ready, on my hands and knees in the bedroom surround by several hundred blue and grey bricks.  Turn up the Jean Michelle Jarre on the stereo – Equinox perfect for the mood.  The front door slams shut and the voices of the wife and children fade off down the street as they set off to do something ‘constructive’ with their weekend.  Meanwhile I’m constructing the most epic space ship yet.  “Prepare for the ride of your life”, I impart to my trusty crew of yellow-faced astronauts.  Us guys go back a long way you know.

Lunchtime refuelling, time to leave the hangar and join the civilians back in the rest room… sorry I mean join the family in the dining room.  I start to explain to my son what’s going on upstairs.  “It is going to be amazing”, I tell him, “I’ve found a way of aligning a row of angled bricks with those old honeycomb pieces”.  “Daddy it sounds like all the other spaceships you’ve built” he notes in the bored tone only a 7-year old can affect.  Supress the annoyance, he’s only small, he obviously can’t appreciate the innovation I’m trialling here.  This technique will usher in a whole new set of brick alignment techniques for us builders working in the post-86 Classic Space paradigm.

Some challenges throughout the afternoon, but after the brainwave that recognised how a couple of technique pins would secure those v-wings, she’s ready.  What a ship, better than me and the little guys could have hoped for.  Let’s get this baby photographed and online.   And as the thrill of sharing fades out, I settle down for a glass of wine with my dinner with my wife.  Talk of LEGO spaceships subside and normal relations return.

I’m ill, I’m obsessed, 32 Classic Space models this year so far, and the itch still needs to be scratched.  How many space models does one man need to make to be satisfied?   Time to begin some analysis I think.

Leaning back on my metaphorical couch, the analysist’s voice chimes, “tell me about your childhood.”  I’m five again, and ripping open the packet of a small LEGO space scooter. Grey pieces scatter across the carpet, and my little hands slots the first oxygen tank onto the torso of my first astronaut.  Everything is heady with nostalgia and meaning. The sound of the bricks clicking, the sunlight from the patio doors filtering through the transparent green bricks, the fake moonscape on the discarded packet.  And I feel warm and safe.

For the first time in my young life I had managed to successfully follow a set of instructions.  The prize an amazing space vehicle I could hold in my hand.  My self-esteem had just grown a little, and the world around me transformed.  Suddenly I could see the kitchen worktop as a landing strip and the garden a wonderful new planet to explore.

This is where the obsession begins. When you build a spaceship you find a new way to explore your ordinary everyday life.

I hear my analyst calling me back to the present. “tell me now why do you build so many spaceships?”  The answer seems easy now: long long ago, in galaxy far far away I gave up on seeing the world as a boring place.  The next morning my son has been up in his bedroom for a while, and now he’s bounding down the stairs holding something.  “I’ve made you some rovers to go with your spaceship.” Perhaps somehow the space ship building gene has passed down a generation.  Perhaps neither of us are prepared to see the world in boring grey quite yet… much better to see it in grey, blue and transparent yellow.

My wife looks over at us both happily.  “Are you going to share his models with your friends online?”  she asks.  “Of course, they’re great” I say.  And then I seal the deal….”so what are you going to build next?”

This Review was first published on New Elementary last year.

Neal Stephenson in Seveneves, his 2015 epic speculative novel of human survival following a catastrophic cosmic event – the destruction of the moon – describes the technology that allows the quick assembly of the space craft in terms of an element based kit language reminiscent of LEGO building.  In fact he explicitly uses the phrasing ‘LEGO-like’. On this hinges the premise that humanity will endure the worst of times through ingenuity and creative thinking, mediated through the limited resources and components of this restricted technological system.  It is an unusually positive assessment as to what our combined intellectual endeavours might achieve in an era often obsessed with the critical appraisal of our species’ actions and the gloomy prognoses that follow.

This same optimistic spirit runs through the selection of essays gathered together in Roy Cook and Sondra Bacharach’s newly edited book LEGO and Philosophy: Constructing Reality Brick by Brick.  The twenty-one studies that make up the collection are written by a host of new and established academics from some of North America and Europe’s best universities.  Broadly themed around the topics of creativity, ethics and rules, identity, consumption and culture, and metaphysics and maths, the aim is to cover a wide intellectual base, in an attempt to answer the question posed by Cook and Bacharach in their introduction: ‘how deep and profound could a little plastic building block be?’, and like Cook and Bacharach these essays resoundingly reply: ‘the answer is “very”!’

As a part of the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series the book adheres to a no-nonsense editorial style that favours legibility and accessibility; a rare thing in a field such as philosophy, which often excludes the casual reader.  Each of the studies here allows the philosophically uninitiated to dive into the arguments presented by their authors. Ideas are clearly explained and interesting observations succinctly and expertly arrived at.  Whilst still very much situating themselves in, and adding to, a wide range of academic studies, from the psychology of play to the analysis of popular culture, there is a place in each of these essays for the LEGO enthusiast to learn more about what, why and how their love of the brick operates.

From the opening essay, Mary Beth Willards ‘Constructing Creativity’ there is a sense that LEGO building improves and aids human experience by developing our potential to play and create.  Ward’s argument explicitly breaking down the myth that LEGO as a toy is good because it is creative, suggesting instead that it is the simplicity and effectiveness of the system that encourages creativity to develop, moving those who use it quickly and happily onto a path towards virtuosity.  LEGO bricks, she argues, are a highly successful tool, able to harness our imaginative potential by helping each of us to practice, improve and even master that uniquely human faculty of creative expression.

Michael Gettings in his ‘LEGO Ideas and Intellectual Property’ from the same creativity section of the book takes a very different angle to these questions – fan expectation.  From my own LEGO enthusiast’s perspective, and having read the online message boards for years, it is a marvellous experience to see the trained philosopher pull apart the pedants’ arguments that modifications to a LEGO Ideas project by the LEGO Group, so as to prepare it for market, qualify as a deceit or fundamental change of model.  In amongst the arguments that debunk this opinion Gettings again shows us something special about the LEGO brick’s capacity to generate originality.

A tale of two time machines, the Back to the Future DeLorean submitted to LEGO Cuussoo

and the model release by the LEGO Group, discussed in Michael Gettings ‘LEGO Ideas and Intellectual Property.

As a sometimes writer on the philosopher Martin Heidegger – I teach various literary and aesthetic theories at Goldsmiths, University of London – Ellen Miller’s ‘Building and Dwelling with Heidegger and LEGO Toys’, appealed to both the philosophy and LEGO nerd in me.  The subsection entitled ‘Emmet as Existentialist’ eliciting a well deserved wry smile.  Her concluding statement though provided genuine food thought, noting that: ‘Dwelling and building in worlds of LEGO toys is one way to sustain the awe and wonder needed for authentic building and philosophising.’

Roy Cook’s own contribution to the collection ‘Ninjas, Kobe Bryant and Yellow Plastic: The LEGO Minifigure and Race’ shifts the focus away from play, to consider the political and social potential of LEGO creations.  By playing out the intended idealism of the racially non-identifiable era of yellow minifigures against the various flesh tones found in the post-franchise sets, Cook explores the illustrative capacity of the system of identify found in the LEGO minifigure.  Rather than suggesting that an earlier idealistic world of undifferentiated yellow smiling faces was in some way morally reprehensible, he argues that the complications generated by the confrontation of this simple ideal with the racial complexity of current franchise sets provides a forum for important questions regarding racial identification, social context and prejudice to be better understood and potentially confronted.

Tak Toyshimas Old School Wednesday:Racial Justice LEGO style discussed in Roy Cooks essay Ninjas, Kobe Bryant and Yellow Plastic: The LEGO Minifigure and Race

If one of the essays here could sum up the tone of the book, Sondra Bacharach and Ramon Das’ ‘LEGO Values: Image and Reality’ might be the best case in point.  Together they question whether the utopian and overtly positive social image the LEGO Group paints of itself is sustainable, via the well documented Greenpeace critical video made to highlight the company’s links to oil giant Shell. The answer comes back, that despite the problematic contradictions inherent in any multinational business operation, it remains too easy to malign the positive approaches made by the company and not hope that other toy manufacturers emulate the imperfect but aspirational approach that the LEGO group aspires to.

So whilst the LEGO Group and its products may not yet embody a utopian reality, in a world experiencing dark and troubled times, this book’s authors would seem to suggest that by playing, building and thinking with LEGO bricks we keep our utopian hopes alive. This book not only makes this point in numerous ways, it provides what all good research purports to do, it lays the foundations for future work.  To name drop my own blog, it sets the stage for building future debates.  If you have even the slightest inkling that something serious is going on in the LEGO world, something positive and potentially culturally transformative, then these collected essays provide no better starting place to for your own thinking.

LEGO collaborations bring the community to life; the bigger and more ambitious the better!  One such collective I’ve been honored to join and contribute to is the loosely termed ‘Private Club.’   Under the guidance of its brainchild Pico van Grootveld we have twice come together to present expansive collaborative space scenes rendered through his formidable photographic editing skills.  On the eve of the unveiling of the second of these mammoth endeavours, Building Debates plays host to an overview of the project and hear thoughts from Pico and a number of the other key collaborators about its creation.

A slice of fortune seekers trying to find their luck on Jupiters moon Europa. After the discovery of water under its icy crust, several investigated areas revealed the presence of ABS. Moments later 

The completed Quest for Europa diorama can be viewed here.

I hand you over to Pico now to set the scene.

It all started when a group of Lego enthusiasts came together in a posh group aptly named the private club over on Mocpages. Different folks of all ages from all over the globe sharing stories, asking questions, the usual stuff. One day in 2014 fellow builder Stephan Niehoff dropped a poll to see whod be interested in a digital collaboration (heres the original post).

So time passed and things became more polished through group conversation. The idea was expanded and a common theme of interest picked. The collaboration would revolve around different factions searching for the precious element ABS, or absinite.

The first chapter told the story of a mining frenzy that followed the discovery of the element. A collaborative build with a variety of creations that went from planetside bases, asteroid fields, mining ops, sector security to alien species and of course space pirates! The final tableau is on display here.

After publishing, again some time passed and the second chapter was in the making. This time the real life discovery of water on Europa got things ticking. What about an underwater world unknown to mankind, lets explore!. So again we made a roster and let everyone pick their spot.

With different layers in the grid, there was plenty of choice for everyone. Space, planet, planet crust, water, deep sea, sea bottom, examples of the layouts can be seen here.

We left the choice of build free so as to let creativity do its thing. All was possible from an exploration team to lurking creatures.

Following Picos account of the collaboration set-up, some of the key builders involved in the project shared their thoughts on the project.  Each providing their contribution to the projects fantastical narrative and reflections on the creative project.

Narrative: The Tequilatron agenda

As life thrives on planets over multiple quadrants, demand for spirits is high. The tequila serving syndicate has to keep the liquor pouring and the condiments a plenty. Whether its the growing of limes on blue planets or harvesting deep underground salt deposits on rocky roids, the right equipment is crucial to get the job done right. Introducing the underwater model of the Roid Jumper, the Roid Diver can withstand higher pressures and is equipped the technology needed to source salt rich deposits.

Reflections on the build

With Tequilatron making a debut with the Tequila Tuk Tuk  in the Classic Space Pocket Money contest (an idea of David and David), the line developed along the way in several contests, games (Rutherford Goldmans D.A.2.) and collabs.

To keep things consistent and fitting within the storyline, I thought it best to stick with the lime and grey. I would see a modified Roid Jumper equipped to dive and mine in the deep. So the cockpit got fortified to whitstand high pressures, an arm was replaced by a mining laser and the top got a big lamp to lighten up the abyss. To add to the scenery, red ABS crystals were added as well as a strolling diver and marker buoys. The idea was to get the share of the resource while it was around. The divers would attach the full tanks to the buoys and release them to the surface, where logistics would pick up and ship. The whole logistic aspect as well as the defense of the precious goods are the themes I like most. The most fun, though, is to be had with the whole bringing things together. Its a nice thought of having fellow builders from over multiple continents adding their creativity to a concept. While, in this case, real life logistics would get in the way, the digital collaboration type is just perfect. I really enjoy the different angles people take on a subject, each in their own respective and distinctive style. I have the honour of mixing it up and praying for an end result that puts a smile on everyones face!

Narrative: The Sub design story

After the relaxation of The Mining Frenzy, the time was right for the first meeting of the Resources on Europa Strategy Team or REST, in the teams favorite polished corner of their favorite posh bar, The Private Club. Team member, sister of Dame Darkla, and engineering genius, Wacky Wanda, attended the meeting after having recently been refreshing her knowledge of Platonic solids by scanning the webs mathematical sites. As the meeting progressed and post meeting discussions continued, Wanda, armed with this refreshment of past solid learning, realized that a mining submarine in the shape of one such Platonic polyhedron just might be the design answer to small volume cargo packing of drilling submarines for transportation to Europa in cargo spacecraft. Wandas design lab, Technic Bulldog, quickly determined a cuboidal design would be the best. The drill sub was even built with a propitiatory exterior surface metallic membrane material featuring faced-centered cubic packing as opposed to body-centered cubic packing of its metallic atoms. And finally, Wanda wanted her dear friend and Astro-geologist, Marina Bleu, to pilot the first sub.

Reflections on the build

Just like Wanda, I too had just happened to have been refreshing my knowledge of Platonic Solids. So, when all of us Private Club friends made the decision to add another chapter to our ABS Space Resource Saga I had already been thinking about building a Platonic Solid with LEGO. Now, I wanted my solid to be, well, for lack of a better word SOLID! I didnt want to just use LEGO pieces for my polyhedrons edges and vertices leaving its faces open like so many builders had been doing! So, I decided my contribution to our project would be a drilling sub that would have the shape of one of the Platonic Solids. Now I know my own limitations, so I decided to build a cuboidal submarine. Not having a large quantity of any one colored LEGO piece, I began by designing my structure using LDD. I found it was best to build up individual or 2 neighboring cube face structures from the outside in, then grouping them, and finally sliding the various groups together to form the cube. Of course, LDD gave me a great estimate for the number of LEGO pieces I would need. And naturally, the building process for the actual physical sub did not progress without some modifications and tweaks!

Reflections on the build

My thought on the collaboration: Absolutely! Having built for Mining Frenzy and having a blast doing something so weird and out there, I couldn’t pass up another opportunity with this crazy crew. Having also worked on collaborations of all sorts as well, I find the freedom and constraints here more appealing to my own building ethos. Plus, not having to photo edit my work appeals to my laziness. Thank you Pico! But the added bonus of a master like Pico taking charge in that aspect is always worth it.
Building ideas: Well, I really only had only one vision as soon as I heard the idea. I grew up loving Kubrick and 2001: A Space Odyssey. It was one of those films that couldn’t have been more perfect for me and my development at a critical moment. Turned me on to Clarke and from there I found many superb authors to really absorb and dive into. So when 2010: The Year We Make Contact came out, I was understandably so pissed off and disappointed in spite of having Scheider, Mirren, Lithgow, and Balaban on board. I’ll grant that the movie was not bad; however, I did not want any answers to the questions raised by 2001. The mystery was completely deflated. And because of that, I thought of the monolith as just another piece of junk. Then with the discovery of possible water hidden underneath the frozen crust of Europa, I couldn’t help but think of a pair of ice fishing aficionados lucklessly pulling one up from the depths.

The final build: I didn’t want just a simple pair of figures ice fishing, I wanted a couple characters having a REALLY crappy day ice fishing. I have them pulling up other “junk” and casting it aside in a pile. But I didn’t want just junk, I wanted other relics that would give the monolith an even lower level of importance. The Ark of the Covenant and a golden statue are parked back there along with a hull piece from a Helicarrier, a Wurlitzer, a miniature trireme, and a bunch of rare Lego pieces including a hanger, a metal Technic crane hook, a pen brick, the original Han frozen in carbonite, and of course a Scala potty. The toughest part of the build was figuring out to use white macaroni pieces to replicate the sides of a large fishing hole cut with an ice drill, which is sitting behind Phat Mac there. It’s a Stihl.

TAGS:discussing the BUILDING DEBATES big LEGO community issues 

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