Interview with Robert Bontenbal, fan designer of 21310 Old Fishing Store
Posted by CapnRex101,
21310 Old Fishing Store was revealed to great excitement earlier this year and will become available worldwide on the 1st of September. However, it is being released a little earlier in a few European locations as Robert Bontenbal, the original creator of the LEGO Ideas project, will be signing copies of the set at events in London, Paris, Berlin and Copenhagen this week.
Robert kindly agreed to answer a few questions about his background with LEGO and the design process behind the model. You can read about this after the break...
Brickset: Could you tell us a bit about yourself and how you became interested in LEGO?
Robert: I started when I was very young. I remember my first set 336 Fire Truck which was released in 1968 and contained 77 pieces. My passion for LEGO has always been there since then so now and then I buy a big set.
How did you come up with the design for the model and what inspired it? Did you intentionally design it with lots of appealing elements included?
I like the Christmas village sets so I started to design some buildings for around Christmas time with my sons. After making designs and sketches, I built the old fishing store in LEGO Digital Designer which I often use. For inspiration, I combined my passion for fishing and architecture with my love of LEGO so tried to include some appealing elements which would make it fun to built and play with.
What were your thoughts when the project reached 10,000 supporters and subsequently passed review?
When the project reached the 10,000 vote mark it was midnight here in the Netherlands and when I next checked the LEGO Ideas site, I was like "yes, time for a celebration!" I then started wondering about what would be happening next as I hadn't given it much thought up to that point.
What was your involvement in the process of turning your submission into a set and what was your reaction when you first saw the finished model? Are there parts you wish hadn't been changed or changes that have been made which you are particularly pleased about?
After the Old Fishing Store achieved 10,000 votes I was in contact with designer Adam Grabowski and the LEGO Ideas team about the design throughout the whole process. The first time I saw the Old Fishing Store, I was very pleased and it looks very close to the original. Adam made some mathematical changes and added some great accessories. Overall, I am pleased with the result and how it stayed very close to the original design.
What advice do you have for others with Ideas projects for reaching 10,000 supporters?
Inspiration is very important for your project and a clear theme that can help develop the model is useful. It is good to put your initial ideas in sketches on paper, maybe using a mood board to determine the details and color schemes. I think the use of appropriate colors has been especially important in the success of my designs so far.
Many thanks for taking the time to talk to us!
21310 Old Fishing Store will be released worldwide on the 1st of September. The set contains 2049 pieces and is priced at £139.99 in the UK, $149.99 in the US and €149.99 in Germany.
We will be publishing our review of the set within the next couple of weeks so keep an eye on the homepage for that!
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21 comments on this article
Nice interview!
£139.99 - isn't that a jump from the previously announced price?
Love this set, first day purchase, well done Robert.
Nice intervieuw. Really looking forward to this set. I will get it probably around the first X-mas promotion, so I can order the second one with the new Winter Village Station.
@catwrangler - https://brickset.com/article/28346/ideas-blog-21310-old-fishing-store-details
It doesn't look like the price has changed between announcement and release day.
Ah, thanks @NeilCrosby - I must've misread or seen it quoted differently elsewhere.
I'm so torn between this and Destiny's Bounty.. both are must have but along w/Ninjago City and something huge coming soon my wish list runs much deeper than my bank account. I would love to see more of Robert's designs come to fruition though, they are perfect and deserve an entire sea-side series.
Congratulations Robert - I can't wait to build your set! I think TLG has done a great job with this one. Really very close to the original wonderful design, and quite attractively priced for such a large, detailed set.
I am deciding between this or Ninjago City when I hit the lottery.
I was torn between getting this or Ninjago City and ended up choosing this.
The City is beautiful, but so is this set, and I prefer something more realistic. Plus, the City is way more expensive.
It's a cool set and i'll definitely be getting it. Not sure where i'm gonna put it though.
Nice interview. Congratulations Robert on an excellent set. This is for me what ideas is all about. I will certainly be buying this.
Awesome! Very much looking forward to getting this.
I don't really have any space for either this or the Ninjago City but based on experience space magically expands when I buy more sets, well... not really but it's hard to pass up on either of them.
I would very much like to see this set sell well! For me this is what Ideas should strive for, original sets full of detail, depth, originality, & yummy parts!
I will be needing at least two of these.
Hopefully it will be available in a few retailers besides TLG shops.
This has the same cool factor as the fan designed Modular Market Street. Also by a Dutch guy by the way. This set, however, is infinitely more nicer than MS and I will be buying it day 1!
I think that anyone who can decide between this set and any other one, remember this is an ideas set. Smaller run and shorter shelf life. I'm not taking any chances here! First day buy!!
I'm getting this and the Mystery Star Wars set, and I'm pretty sure that will exhaust my Lego budget for the year! Next year, Destiny's Bounty!
Could have made it longer folks, you could have
I really like this set, details and colors are very very pleasing.
Lovely looking set that fits in well almost anywhere on Planet Earth. Fantastic color scheme and design!