Interview with the LEGO Masters Season 1 Winners!
Posted by MeganL,
LEGO Masters USA is in the books! The final episode did not disappoint.
Brickset was invited to interview the winning team this morning. To avoid spoilers for those of you watching on catch-up or via some illicit website in other countries we won't reveal their names above the fold.
One piece of news that can be shared here: LEGO Masters is currently casting, which means that signs are promising for a second season. If you're interested, go to legomasters.tv.
Read the thoughts of the winning team after the break.
All three builds in the final were fantastic! The judges selected Tyler and Amy to be the season 1 LEGO Masters.
Tyler and Amy graciously spent time with us early this morning sharing their thoughts on their final builds, their competitors, and more.
How does it feel to be the first ever U.S. LEGO Masters?
Tyler: It’s okay, I guess. [laughs]
Amy: It’s still sinking in. It feels surreal, just like it did at that moment on stage when they announced our name. It wasn’t something I would have ever expected.
Tyler: It’s amazing. Looking back at all the LEGO that I’ve done over the years, it feels like all of that has been this incredible journey leading up to this final. All my LEGO building has led to this moment. And to be the winners is like a dream. A dream come true.
Was it difficult keeping your win a secret the last couple months?
Tyler: Keeping this all secret was a little bit challenging but also kind of fun. It’s a little bit exciting to have this fun secret that nobody knows and trying to keep it under wraps. It makes you feel a little bit like a spy or something, I enjoyed it. I was able to very much keep my dad in the dark. He kind of suspected that we didn’t win, so when he found out that we won, he was quite shocked.
Amy: It was very fun to have a secret that you knew was going to bring a lot of joy and excitement to the people that are close to you. It was quite enjoyable to hold on to that and knowing that they will one day experience that joy.
Do you feel like there is any kind of weight or expectation attached to now being LEGO Masters?
Amy: I don’t feel any weight. My greatest goal and joy in this was supporting my husband and helping him fulfil his dream. I love LEGO as a creative outlet. But as we know, he’s a longtime builder and I’m the newbie. So maybe that’s just an experience perspective that I don’t really feel any pressure at this point. I’m just thankful we’re able to accomplish what we did.
Tyler: I don’t necessarily feel like there’s any weight attached to the title of LEGO Masters.
The final challenge was a 24-hour build. What was it like to have to build for that long?
Tyler: There are two emotions tied with the prospect of going into a 24-hour build. There is the side of it where you’re excited that you get a lot of time, but there’s also the disappointment of having a really long challenge because you can get burnt out pretty easily with the intensity of each challenge. It was exciting to know we had that much time, but it was also very daunting.
Amy: I think that sums it up. Like on any building challenge day, we did have several breaks for lunch and things like that.
The episode didn’t give a great up-close look at all the details of your final build. Could you walk us through the concept?
Amy: The title of our build was “The Treasure of the Griffin.” We were inspired to do this idea by wanting to showcase a theme of strong parental love and protection of their child. We thought through a lot of different themes and variations before we settled on what you see in the finale there. We love the figure of the griffin as the strong noble protector and putting it in an epic scale in a fantasy world and on the top of the ancient ruins of a bygone era.
We did have a few more details to the storyline that weren’t shown. Inside the castle, you could see through the sides and get a glimpse into what has caused the kingdom to fall into decay. There was the overflowing treasure room with the remains--the skeleton--of the former king. The backstory was the kingdom had gone into ruin because the king had been picking the wrong type of treasure. He had become a hoarder and closed up with what he thought was true riches, which they were not. In contrast, there was the griffin on the top of the tower, protecting what can be considered as a true treasure--your children.
We loved all the details we were able to create the world around it. We had different magical things going on. We had our trail of destruction that the lizard went through, there were dwarves hacking away to make the best out of that situation. There was a small cave off to the side where there were dwarves mining for jewels. There were mermaids, a lagoon area, a rock monster, a flying Pegasus, and light up fairies.
After 24 hours, was there any part of your final build that you wish you could have spent more time on?
Tyler: Oh yeah. One thing I would have liked to do more was give a little more attention to the foliage. Maybe more vines growing up the side of the castle and have it look a little more overgrown by the greenery in the area. That’s something that we wanted to do, but then eventually didn’t have time to do.
There could have been any number of things you could use to represent opposing factions. Why the griffin and lizard?
Tyler: Initially when we were trying to come up with the concept, we were talking about this idea of having a mouse be the defender of his family and have an owl or an eagle of some sort be the attacker. I knew that I wanted to create that wing mechanism somehow. We were thinking along the lines of birds and things of that nature. We eventually decided that the mouse character was too small to be our hero character. We decided to go a different route with it. We tossed around several other ideas but landed on this idea of putting it into the realm of mythology and fantasy. Just having something that’s not usually or necessarily seen in LEGO. I think griffins and giant lizard monsters are a little more out of the ordinary for LEGO.
Talking about the wing motion, the show demonstrated you having some difficulty getting it just right. How long did it take and how many iterations did you go through?
Tyler: It took maybe three or four hours working on the griffin.
Amy: As we do for every episode, we had split the 24 hours into different phases with different elements of the build to be accomplished in each phase. This is to help us stay on track and keep us working quickly and always have a deadline looming ahead. That griffin definitely went over his deadline. [laughs]
Were there any other moving functions in the build that the camera didn’t catch?
Tyler: There weren’t any other moving functions but we did have a lot of light. Going back to our story, and that treasure room that’s in the centre of that tower, we wanted to have an interactive feature for the build. We had a set-up where when you push a button, it would illuminate the treasure of the griffin. We wanted people coming up and seeing the build to see that treasure room and think that when they push that button, that treasure room is going to light up. That treasure room doesn’t light up, but there’s a light in griffin nest that illuminates the babies on top. We also had some light in the forest with some of our fairies as well to add a little bit of magic.
Amy: We don’t tend to use a whole lot of mechanical functions and motion in the competition. One of the reasons is it just takes so long. And there are a lot of things that could go wrong. But we knew we wanted to do it in the final build as a wow factor for the judges. We wanted to highlight that center point of our story and use it very intentionally in that way--at the top, to bring attention to the griffin protecting its babies.
Tyler: Our philosophy in approaching motors in builds for the show is that if we were going to use motors, they had to contribute significantly to whatever the story is that we were telling. We didn’t want to just have something spinning or moving just for the sake of having something spinning or moving. We really wanted it to be a key element in telling the story that we were telling.
Brick Master Amy has been very vocal about wanting to see colour throughout the show. How did you decide on the colour scheme for your build?
Amy: I think we started with the colour scheme of our focal point, which was our griffin versus the giant lizard and built it out from there. We actually spent a lot of time thinking about colour since colour is a huge contributor in making a world seem otherworldly. That was something the Brick Masters really expressed strongly. They wanted us to make sure that as soon as you see the build you realize it is a magical world--a mythical world. That really contributed to how we created the colour and determined what colours we use. In the foliage, we used white trunk trees with different colours you would not see in this world, plus the sparkling water and other elements.
Tyler: Since we put this build in the realm of mythology and fantasy, we had some room to stretch and play with our colours. Our trees were bright, otherworldly colours, with bright green grass. The challenge for us was how we wanted to show this old and ruined tower. Those sorts of things are usually very bleak and grey. So, it was a challenge to kind of mix this fresh, vibrant foliage of the land with this bleak tower and still maintain a consistent colour palette throughout the entire model.
How confident were you going into judging them with your final build?
Amy: [laughs] We loved our build. We’re so proud of it and what we were able to capture. Personally, I was not very confident. I felt a little thrown off right at the end of the challenge due to a comment that Brick Master Jamie made as he passed by. I asked if there were any other details we should be focusing on now, and he said, “Populate, populate!” I was like, “Oh no!” This is what we’ve heard from the Brick Masters all season. They love their minifigures. They want all the minifigure stories. And we saw Mark and Boone over there with like a quadrillion minifigures. My stomach just kind of dropped. I thought, “This is a minifigure challenge and we just failed.” So that shook me up a little bit at the end.
Tyler: Going into judging, this was one of the challenges we didn’t get a whole lot of feedback from the judges. To me, it felt like this could go any different direction with the three teams. Each of the builds is so different, that it’s really challenging to pick one of those three. So it’s hard for me to pick my favorite of the three. I mean, of course I think my art is my favorite, but they’re all so well done--but they’re so different. That was hard to understand how the judges are going to pick just one, so I was certainly nervous in that regard.
What do you think made your build stand apart from the other two?
Tyler: I think the thing that made our build stand out was the fact that we focused a lot on storytelling. I think we told a very compelling story that a lot of people can relate with that kind of tugs at your heartstrings a little bit. I also think our use of characters and our ability to create personalities and characters that really draw you into the scene and make you feel like you’re there or part of it was something that really pushed us to the top.
Amy: I think one thing we did have on the competition goes back to our planning ahead. We had thought a lot about our concepts ahead of time and came into the finals with a pretty good idea of what we wanted to do if the challenge was what we suspected, a master build. In the episode they didn’t show quite so much, but Sam and Jessica and Mark and Boone struggled a little bit with their ideas from the very beginning and they had to make some last-minute changes.
There’s a strong connection between the griffin protecting their young and you expecting your first child. Do you think that theming contributed to your win?
Amy: Ultimately, I don’t think so. I think the Brick Masters were definitely considering the whole competition in their final decision. And I believe what made us stand apart was that we really tried to show variety of styles and technique in our builds throughout the whole competition. Possibly what set us apart from the other competitors in the end was our range.
Tyler: In terms of the story, we had brainstormed, even before the competition, different stories that we might possibly be able to tell and the story of protection and standing up for what was right or standing up against evil. All these were stories that we had talked about telling long before we even knew that we were expecting. So it wasn’t like we pulled this out of the hat and tried to link it with our parental story. This was a story that we had wanted to tell from the very beginning just because we think it’s a very compelling and gripping story that tugs at emotions and the heartstrings of somebody that might be seeing it.
Amy: It definitely ended up being a connection for us in the end.
How does it feel to have your mini-build for your personal microscale challenge already done since you essentially built that as your mock-up to show the judges?
Tyler: Yeah, I think I’m going to improve upon that mini build. [laughs] There was certainly a time crunch that we had to build that under. And we didn’t necessarily at that point have the entire scene fleshed out as far as how it’s going to work. So now that I have the final build that we can go back and look at, it’ll be exciting to recreate that again in a miniature scale.
Was there any additional feedback that the judges gave you that set you apart from the other teams?
Amy: There was more feedback shown in the episode than we got in person. They recorded that separately. For some reason, they decided to do it that way away from the builders for the last challenge. So we really got zero feedback from the judges at the time on our final builds, on what they liked or what they wished was stronger.
Your families visited you in the middle of the challenge. Did you know that they were in town for this?
Tyler: We knew that there was a possibility of our families being there at some point. But we weren’t expecting it in the middle of the challenge. It was really a huge surprise to have them stop and bring them all in. It was an incredible moment.
Amy: That did feel quite emotional. We’re in the middle of the final challenge, stress was running pretty high, we’ve been away from home for weeks, and the door opens and your family comes in. It was just an amazing feeling and very encouraging.
Who from your family was there?
Tyler: My mom and my sister were there. And that’s everybody from my family.
Amy: And on my side, my father Matt, and my sister Leah, my brother Timothy, and his wife Nicole. I do have a number of other brothers and sisters but only two are represented there.
They all seemed very excited to learn that they were getting a new addition to the family.
Amy: It wasn’t quite how we planned it, but it happened!
Any updates on potential names for your baby?
Amy: We are getting closer to picking our baby boy’s name, but we are going to keep up under wraps until he is born.
How heavy was the trophy, and did you get to keep it?
Amy: I was surprised how heavy it was!
Tyler: Yeah, you see the trophy in clips, but you don’t realize how big it actually is. And it’s very solid. It was surprisingly heavy and yes, we did get to keep the trophy. We don’t know exactly where it’s gonna go because like we said, it’s huge.
Amy: And the colours in our house aren’t exactly bright yellow, but we’ll find someplace for sure.
(LEGO confirmed after the interview that the trophy was around 20 pounds and was made of around 4,000 bricks.)
What did you like best about your competitors’ builds?
Tyler: For me, one of the things that I loved about Mark and Boone’s build was their interactive feature with that paint brush. You dip into the paint, and that building transforms from being old to this colourful painted building. I just thought that was such a cool feature, especially with the way that it happened putting that brush in the paint can. And then you see this transformation. I thought that was a really clever and exciting way to use the motors and the function to tell their story.
For Sam and Jessica’s build, I have in the past wanted to make a giant life size peacock. And I am super impressed with how they did that. Their peacock was gorgeous. It’s something that I’ve never seen before in LEGO. It was just so cool to see something that I’ve always wanted to see in LEGO actually happen and be built right there before our eyes.
Amy: We really appreciate a clear story and fun colourful characters. So, Sam and Jessica’s build was really exciting for us as Tyler mentioned. We had thought about peacocks earlier in the competition as a possible brainstorm idea. We never got the chance to execute on that, so to see them have the opportunity in the finals was so fun. For Mark and Boone, I’d agree with Tyler. The motors and the unique ways they used them is just fantastic and inspiring. How they used it with the transformation and paintbrush was really cool.
Do you think it was fate that earlier in the season you won tickets to LEGOLAND New York’s opening and then ended up having a build to be featured in the park?
Amy: [laughs] Well, all three finalists get their builds displayed, so we will not be the exclusive build there.
Do you know where in LEGOLAND New York the final builds will be displayed, and will you be personally installing it?
Tyler: I do not know where in the park it will be displayed. We will not personally be installing it. I believe there is a team of more competent people at dealing with LEGO bricks than we are that is making sure that it arrives there safely and gets installed properly.
What little details from your other builds are you especially proud of that weren’t featured on the show?
Tyler: The very first episode, in the Dream Park challenge, we built our Funny Farm and we had two different rides. The show focused primarily on our Egg Drop ride. But our other ride that we had going was a Flying Pigs ride. I think it made it into only one shot, but I loved our little Flying Pig ride. It had this big, cartoony pig face that spun on top and these little pigs with wings that little minifigs could ride in. And there’re these clouds with the different pig cars that kids can ride up and down on make them look like they’re flying up and down as they spun around.
Amy: Another detail in our Storybook challenge I was proud of was an additional tie-in of the story the kids gave us creating the world of the Cuckoo Magic. Our floating platforms were held up by these gushing fountains of water. So in our story, the magic of the Cuckoo Land was in these magical waters. In the world, the Taker Waker had captured the magic of the water, and that’s what she was applying to the magical toys that we saw in the story. In our model, if you look closely you can see we were suspending toys with blue flame elements using those as water. So, we created a back story to Cuckoo Land, what was magical about it and how the Taker Waker was using that magic in the story. I just loved how expanding on that made the story complete.
What building techniques or styles did you improve the most on over the course of the show?
Amy: One thing we definitely improved on was our use of minifigures. I entered this competition as a brand-new builder, with so much to learn. So in our first model, the Dream Park, one of the critiques we got was that it was quite empty--there weren’t enough minifigures. I was thinking, what do you mean? We’ve got minifigures. Not realizing that there is a lot more potential if you have a large scene to really bring in so many different stories and interactions with the minifigures. That was something the Brick Masters really valued and we tried to improve in later challenges with the storytelling with those minifigures. That was something we really learned from the other teams.
Tyler: I would say one of the things that we improved on was building big very quickly and trying to build up the size for these models in a quick and efficient way. At first, you of don’t realize the scope of the amount of pieces that you have on hand. It was over time that we managed to wrap our heads around the pieces that were available and how we could use those to our advantage to create some really huge stuff.
Were there any specific pieces that weren’t in the Brick Pit that you wish you had?
Tyler: One of my favourite newer pieces that was not in the brick pit, that wasn’t necessarily a crucial element to have, were some of those rounded tiles--the ones that are curved and rounded. I just love that they create a lot of options as far as decorative like scrollwork or lettering and things of that nature. So it would have been really fun to utilize some of those pieces on a larger scale. But one of the challenges of LEGO Masters is having to deal with not necessarily always having all of the parts that you might want. But we certainly had more pieces than we could ever use.
Are you referring to the types of tiles and pieces in the LEGO Dots line?
Tyler: Correct. Yeah, the small ones even up to the ones that complete like an eight by eight circle. All the different quarter round tiles.
What was your favourite challenge of the whole competition?
Tyler: My favourite challenge was the Space Smash challenge. I just loved the contrast with the dichotomy of creating and constructing something and then also destroying it. That contrast is certainly present in LEGO. We’re aware that things are built and can easily be destroyed. But to build it with that destruction in mind was a really unique concept for a challenge. To incorporate your story into that destruction was really unique, and I really loved the entire concept of that challenge.
Amy: My answer would be split into two. My most enjoyable challenge and my favorite challenge--I would agree with Tyler--was the Space Smash. There was something special about that challenge. Maybe the build that we chose to make was one singular object. There weren’t too many details or small things around. During building, that challenge just felt less stressful. Maybe because there were less things to accomplish during the time period. It felt like more of a relaxed challenge as much as you can be relaxed under a clock ticking down quickly. Second, my favourite result at the end of the challenge was at the finale. I’m just in love with the griffon story we were able to bring to life. At that point, we were really pinching ourselves. We were tired. We were starting to feel some of that creative burnout. So the fact that we were able to end strong was really wonderful.
In many of the teams’ builds, you could see a unique style for each of the individual competitors. However in your builds, it seemed there was one consistent stylistic voice throughout the whole competition. Amy, did you have any specific details or techniques that were 100% your contributions versus Tyler’s or was it all a joint effort?
Amy: [long pause] When it comes to specific building techniques, I feel like I don’t have a whole lot to offer being brand new. What I feel like I *was* able to offer were a few different things. First of all, when it came to the initial idea generation and selection, I found over the course of the competition that I was able to have really good ideas and visualize what would come across well in LEGO. Tyler and I really benefited from bouncing ideas off of each other, and we’d keep refining and making the ideas better. Secondly, I discovered that I have a good eye for layout and design and what looks good. Even if I can’t build the technical side of it, I can give a lot of great feedback. I can help with the theme we’re creating, whether that’s in colour choices or scale or layout. I feel proud that I was able to contribute in that way.
Thirdly, I helped just get the thing built at the end of the day. There were a lot of things that needed to be built. We agree I probably built 50-75% of most of our models. Tyler was of course the technical head but then I could take it and run with it. But not just copying, there were a lot of opportunities to be creative and add my own flair. Whether it was landscaping or small touches, or just positioning and layout. That was something I was very thankful I was able to be a contributing member to the team. Going into it, I definitely had that concern of what am I going to contribute to this team? But at the end of the day, I definitely had a lot of confidence in us as a team.
Tyler: I want to add one useful story. In terms of Amy’s ability or our style that really surprised me was on the droid challenge. I was working almost entirely on the mechanical portions of our build. And pretty much everything that you see that is “Star Wars-y” that makes our droid fit in the Star Wars universe, that was all Amy. That wasn’t how we had had the original build broken up. But I was so impressed to see her jump on making all the panels and the detailing of all of the character elements that went into our droid. I was just so surprised to see her style come through, and it’s very much a similar style to mine. I think that just lends itself to the fact that we’re very much on the same page when it comes to our building style and how we want things to look.
Amy: This allowed us to have, I believe, a very cohesive build, where it’s not “one person did this, one person did that,” but to create a unified creation.
Tyler, do you think that you will ever get satisfaction or approach a speed build or a master build at a LEGO convention the same way ever again?
Tyler: I’m sure anytime there is a clock ticking down to a deadline while I’m building, I’m probably going to have a mild heart attack, or at least some level of high anxiety. [laughs]
What were some of your favourite LEGO sets growing up?
Tyler: I think you see some of my favourite sets come out in multiple builds throughout the season. In terms of the Star Wars challenge, I loved the first AT-AT walker set that LEGO produced--that was one of my favourites growing up. I also loved the Adventurers line. You could see that in the Good vs. Evil challenge with our temple and all the tracks and fun Egyptian iconography. So those were some of my favourite sets growing up. It was fun to incorporate a little bit of that into the builds that we created for the show.
Amy, do you have any childhood memories of LEGO?
Amy: I was hoping you wouldn’t ask that question! I do have some memories, of course not as extensive as Tyler. One of my biggest memories revolves around the LEGO Magazine that we would get every month. I would sit on the couch with one or two of my brothers. We would go through it page by page, and play this game called “I got it!” You flip the page and then you find the set you want the most but you have to be fast, and then you slap it, and say “I got it!” And you’re trying to beat out the other person and get the most of the epic and best sets. I did not have a lot of LEGO sets myself growing up, but we did have some large bins of LEGO that all of us kids liked to make creations with.
What is your favourite current LEGO set?
Tyler: The Saturn V would probably be my favourite current set. I don’t typically display sets, with the exception of two. I have the LEGO Ideas Wall-E set because I think Wall-E is a cinematic masterpiece. I love that movie, mainly because it’s got an adorable robot. So, I love the Ideas Wall-E set and I also love the Saturn five rocket. It’s just a beautifully designed set and I think it’s a testament to how well the designers were able to capture that shape.
Amy: The latest modular. The one with the bookshop.
Have you kept in contact with your other competitors and, and what has that relationship meant to you?
Tyler: We all keep in contact. We have our own little private chats where all the contestants can just talk with one another and encourage one another. One of the things I was just so delighted by throughout the show is just how supportive and encouraging all of the contestants were to one another. I think that the LEGO community as a whole has just been a wonderful place where everybody’s very supportive and encouraging because we’re all unified by the love of LEGO and creativity. So we love talking and chatting about the episodes and just keeping up with what each other are doing. For example, a few days ago Kara and Jessie were asking for pictures of the baby bump--they wanted a baby update! So it’s really exciting to see just how close we all became as a LEGO Masters family.
Amy: We have everybody on our Christmas letter mailing list now. We hope to keep these friendships for a lifetime.
Do you agree with the final results? Looking forward to a season two? Let us know in the comments.
This interview was conducted in conjuction with The Brothers Brick, BZ Power and True North Bricks.
All images courtesy of FOX.
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33 comments on this article
Please tell me you will be covering the Australian LEGO Masters that starts this Sunday to the same extent that you covered the American version
So disappointing. Mark and Boone deserved the win by a long shot. Even the peacock by Sam and Jessica was better than the griffin model that they won with.
Tyler and Amy's build didn't get them the win, the fact that they were having a baby got them the win. Don't get me wrong, Tyler and Amy are amazing builders, but Mark and Boone's build was so much better. Artopia was so creative and told such an amazing story. the griffin tower's only good attribute was the moving wings. the tower was just so boring. I would even argue that Sam and Jessica's peacock was better than Tyler and Amy's build. Mark and Boone deserve the title of Lego Master
Okay, this really helps answer one of my biggest questions about this team in particular. Going into this, I wasn't sure if it was going to be 20 competitors, or 19 competitors and a wife, but after watching the entire season it was very clear that Amy had to be contributing materially or there's no way they would have been able to advance. The problem is, I'd heard of Tyler but never Amy, so I hadn't seen any prior work. And during the course of the season, the only thing I remember being pointed out that she made was the little broccoli warriors...which I don't think ever got a good closeup view (maybe it did if I go back and pause it). But now I know that the aesthetic portions of EZ-PZ are pretty much all hers.
As for the final results, I mean, it's hard to give an accurate answer from a living room, especially when they're not all building to the same challenge. Minifig stuff is great to look at in person, but the details can be so tiny that a quick camera pan simply doesn't do it justice. I really don't have a good feel for what The Bearded Builders actually made after watching this episode. The other two teams made large sculptures. The Eccentrics went with a character sculpture, where the details are really big, and it's easy to take in the full scope of what they built. I really like the peacock, and admit that part of that may just be because they're one of the more amusing animals to see at the local zoo, where they're allowed to roam the grounds freely (seriously, there are usually at least a couple males, and sometimes a female wandering around by the Arctic Café in the back), but last year we actually managed to visit when the peahens were in heat, so _ALL_ of the males were fanning their tail feathers out like that if they even though there was a peahen nearby. The Newlyweds' build kind of bridged the two realms. On the one hand, it did feature a lot of minifig-based stuff that we totally missed out on, but the tower with the two fantasy creatures going at it was on a large enough scale that we could really see what was happening between them. And they were character builds, which is in Tyler's wheelhouse, so they looked more polished than the peacock and monkey even though (and possibly because) they were smaller. Because of the scale issue, I don't feel I can give a fair opinion on 2nd/3rd places, but I can't argue with the top prize. Aside from stalling out in the Pinewood Derby, and just tucking a tiny puff of color into the back corner of an otherwise stellar SW scene, they really haven't had a bad round, and I really don't think you can say that about any of the other teams. The Bearded Builders certainly had more wins in their column, but they weren't really always as solid during the rounds they didn't win.
Although Mark and Boone's build was impressive in terms of color and size, at its core, it's a rather basic structure of walls and floors. I think Tyler and Amy were able to achieve the most interesting and impressive shapes using the system, so I personally agree with the judge's decision. All of the builds were great though!
This show solidified the rigged rumor after they let (edited) into the finals at third place. Had Sam and Jessica placed third last week, it would have been a showdown between the final two teams. Good thing they can change the rules on the fly like that. SMH
@Brikkyy13 said:
"Please tell me you will be covering the Australian LEGO Masters that starts this Sunday to the same extent that you covered the American version"
The production company has not offered us access to contestants etc., so no.
I tried to enjoy this show, but the fake acting and humor is so cringy.... I instantly got peeved off by Will Ferrell by the first episode. The judges seem nice but they are just so precise that it makes them unlikable.
Congrats to Tyler and Amy. Think I called their win when the contestants were revealed :D
Haven't been reading in depth as I'm in the UK, but at a glance it feels like a lot of the rounds were very similar (two themes mashed together, often large minifig-scale scenes) compared to the UK series (from memory). That's more of a production issue as the contestant builds were always impressive.
I just cannot watch American reality tv programs because the fake drama and hype is too much. I did appreciate the coverage though. The interviews and coverage was very good.
Congratulations to the winning team.
@julianbricks said:
"I tried to enjoy this show, but the fake acting and humor is so cringy.... I instantly got peeved off by Will Ferrell by the first episode. The judges seem nice but they are just so precise that it makes them unlikable. "
Will Ferrell was not in this show haha
It's really unfair the winners are getting so much malice thrown their way and accusations of rigging just because they're having a baby. Considering the diverse range of contestants, you could have claimed 'rigging' no matter who won (and I personally enjoyed the diversity of contestants).
I think the right build won. While the color sensor built into Mark and Boone's build was cool, it felt very much like a last minute add on to me. It didn't feel cohesive to the rest of the model, and if I'm being completely honest I don't feel like this model was their best work. Even understanding their theme, their model just felt too 'unfinished' to me and as someone else pointed out, the structure was very basic. Even then, I thought it was close between them and Amy and Tyler due to Mark and Boone's use of minifigures.
However, after reading this interview, I am even more convinced the right team won. It's a shame the editing of the TV show didn't take the time to show the features of Tyler and Amy's build mentioned in this article, which I think would have helped reduce the accusations of rigging.
While I understand this may not be possible, I would be interested in reading interviews with Sam and Jessica and Mark and Boone about their builds in the final episode.
I really struggled with it because I feel like having zany personalities and drama overshadowed the LEGO aspect. In my opinion, Sam and Jessica shouldn't have made it that far as they had multiple weak builds. Aaron and Christian really should've been in the final three instead.
I hope come season two the producers kinda take into account the criticisms and show more of the LEGO. I've also seen multiple contestants say that Will Arnett was great when unscripted, so maybe they should just let him do his thing as the script he was given was pretty corny.
I thought it was going to be Boone and Mark winning but the more images I see of Tyler and Amy’s build, the more convinced I am that they deserved the win. They constructed an entire scene - two towers, two large creatures with one flapping its wings, plus a very large base and all of the landscaping. AND they created a story within the story. Boone and Mark had a really entertaining concept and a lot of fun minifigure vignettes but the overall build was not as impressive as a whole as Tyler’s and Amy’s. It was a great collaborative build but not as epic as the winner’s.
I'd really like to see a short video where we could get a better and more detailed look at all of the final challenge builds. I'm sure there are many details not captured in the two minutes we saw on screen.
@jrbookworm said:
"I really struggled with it because I feel like having zany personalities and drama overshadowed the LEGO aspect. In my opinion, Sam and Jessica shouldn't have made it that far as they had multiple weak builds. Aaron and Christian really should've been in the final three instead. "
I personally think Sam and Jessica had improved massively during the final few episodes; and there was a brief moment I was thinking their Peacock might have a chance to give the other teams a run for their money. But Aaron and Christian were so consistent the whole series, there is a question of "what if?" regarding how things would have played out had they been in the finale instead.
If this show ends up running multiple seasons; or say they decided to gather the international casts all together... eventually an "All Stars" season seems like it would be in order. If I was the show runners, I'd have Aaron and Christian on my shortlist to return for an "All Stars" match, since I think the potential is there for a winning team from them if they had a second chance at it in the future.
As for Mark and Boone, Sam and Jessica and Tyler and Amy... if there is a future Brickfair or other convention circuit after this virus stuff has died down; getting the three finalists back on stage for a small build competition would be a brilliant convention event. Especially for the fans who feel Mark and Boone got robbed, it could give them a chance to prove their worth; and I dunno they could use the contest to raise money for charity or something. Personally, I think Tyler and Amy deserved the win this final episode; but I can't help but wonder what tricks Mark and Boone could pull in a rematch between them; and since all these interviews hint that all the contestants became close friends I am sure a rematch would be just as fun for them as it would be for us.
Opinions are interesting. Mark and Boone had a decent set up but it was too similar to a previous build they did. And it did not "transform" as mentioned.
the peacock was really neat and clever, but I'm guessing the repetition hurt them a bit since the feathers are so similar. The face and head of the peacock was brilliant though.
I definitely rooted for Tyler and Amy. That build captured everything. CHaracters, storytelling, colors. The movement of the wings being so graceful. I'm surprised people think that shouldn't have won!
And even in the interview they mentioned how much Amy actually did, so she contributed s lot more than people are giving her credit for.
I personally would not have argued with a win by either Tyler and Amy or Mark and Boone. I think Tyler and Amy's build looks fantastic and has a great story with an exceptional focal point on well executed characters that I think won it for them. Mark and Boone's scale was really impressive, with some fun functions and great minifig usage. I thought Sam and Jessica's peacock while beautiful was a clear 3rd place.
My hope is that in the future, Lego/Fox releases many more photos of the builds after each round. It's so hard to get a good view of all the sets every week. It's fine if they want to create drama for the ratings... but they should add a way for those of us who are fans of the craft to view the creations is more detail.
For instance, during the finale, I was convinced that Sam and Jessica's sculpture would win, or possibly Artopia by Mark and Boone, but I had a different opinion once I saw additional images. I might even change my mind more with additional views.
@TheMikeAwakens said:
"Although Mark and Boone's build was impressive in terms of color and size, at its core, it's a rather basic structure of walls and floors."
I really thought they were going to win it all, but like you said: at the end of the day their build was relatively simple. Meanwhile Tyler and Amy (are they dating or something?) had a large tower, two creatures (one with movement), and the entire landscape around it, and all of it looked well sculpted from what we could see on TV. They were pretty consistently in the top with Mark and Boone too, I feel bad that they're catching so much underserved flak. I can almost guarantee the producers encouraged them to play up the newlywed/baby thing
Thanks for these great interviews Megan! I have really enjoyed them all.
I thought all the builds in the finale were good. They all brought such a different aspect of LEGO, whether minifig stories or creatures made of LEGO. I really liked Sam & Jessica's peacock, I would put that in my office at work. They had a cute story with the monkey stealing the feathers & those banana table legs, very creative, I didn't see any minifigs though.
I also liked Mark & Boone's wrecked building & all the minifigs fixing it up, the paint being sprayed, the way the paint can transformed the building, was great. The building itself which was the main focus, to me seemed a bit plain though, just a basic tall skyscraper. What was happening to the building was good, but the building itself lacked a wow factor.
Tyler & Amy's build on other hand, it incorporated large creatures, each with a lot of character, as well as minifig stories in the kingdom below. Both aspects were done very well. But the nest on the top of a castle with the baby griffins in danger from the evil lizard, with the griffin swooping in to protect the family, steals the show for me. It makes me say wow, that's so cool. The motion of the wings really brings it to life & you kind of forget that it's made with LEGO.
I am so thrilled they are planning another season for the show!
@julianbricks:
I mean, he _is_ a terrible actor, but I generally try not to get so caught up in hatred for Will Ferrell that I have a hard time enjoying Will "LEGO Batman" Arnett. Mostly I succeed. Mostly.
@Andhe:
They were the one team I called for the Top 3 really early on (first or second week), but I know that all it takes is one really bad week and you might be gone. I also know that Tyler's style really skews towards large-scale character builds, so minifig-centric or highly technical challenges were something that could have proved problematic. Certainly don't bet money on them winning any Pinewood Derby races...
@jrbookworm:
The Eccentrics did have to pretty bad weeks getting started (to be fair, they are the only team that had never built together prior to the on-site audition phase), and they had a sub-par week during Good Vs Evil which probably would have sent them home at any other time...except that Clark Kent & Superman just completely botched it that round. So like I said, one really bad week can be all that's needed to end your run. They got lucky that the second week there was another team that didn't even deliver a stable structure, or that could have been it for them as well. But from weeks 3-6, and again in weeks 8 & 9, they had a pretty good run. Certainly a lot better than I expected from them after the first episode, when I truly believed they would be the first team sent packing.
@skyraider17:
Or something. Their team name is "The Newlyweds".
@kwickbrick:
There were no content requirements for the final challenge. Minifigs were completely optional. I didn't even realize The Newlyweds included any until they started showing brief closeups of the scenes scattered across the base.
@Peter1999 said:
" @julianbricks said:
"I tried to enjoy this show, but the fake acting and humor is so cringy.... I instantly got peeved off by Will Ferrell by the first episode. The judges seem nice but they are just so precise that it makes them unlikable. "
Will Ferrell was not in this show haha"
Oh my god I am so sorry hahahahah I get them mixed up literally all the time
Now that's something embarrassing.
Tyler and Amy totally deserved to win this. Their piece was beautiful and actually represented them as a team and as a couple. The wing function was superb as well. They also had the best and most consistent track record from previous challenges and I knew they would probably win. I was super disappointed in Mark and Boone’s build as it was just too bland and the story behind it wasn’t very clear. Although I love small details and that “city” feel, all the detail is lost unless you rather closely. This piece Is going to be displayed at a theme park so it has to be grand and eye catching. I can’t stress enough that the challenge was to build a piece that represented the team and I didn’t see Mark & Boone in their piece. Heck, I thought Sam & Jessica’s piece was better than theirs. In the end, I knew it would down to Tyler & Amy and the beard bros and it was going to come down to who had more creativity. If anything, I believe the Beard Bros first build, The Lumberjack Theme park with that astonishing roller coaster, would’ve been a much better piece that represented them as a team. Congratulations to Tyler & Amy! I hope they eventually get to go to Legoland New York.
I cannot say that the competition has been rigged or not. But if we read the interview they did to the two contestants who went home in the first instance, one of them mentioned that she knew who the winners were. And that from the first day he suspected that they could reach the final. Therefore, it was obvious that Sam and Jessica were not going to be the winners since in the first episodes they were between the two worst teams, so no coherent would have thought that they would reach the final. Somehow this was a spoiler.
@Elite_1:
They won a trip to the grand opening as a result of having the winning model in, I believe, the Storybook episode. The grand opening got postponed, but that just means they'll have to wait a little longer. And maybe it'll be easier for them to manage it since Amy said she's due sometime June/Julyish.
@ramnicros:
Minor spoiler, sure, but not proof that the show was rigged (something which is, BTW, highly illegal in the US after the quiz show scandals blew up in the 1950's). The entire season was filmed before the first episode aired, and the entire group of contestants was still around when the final episode filmed. They would have all been under NDA for the duration, so the only people they could discuss each episode with were each other.
These were all great builds, but I think Tyler and Amy overall showed the best builds during the show. Mark and Boone had a few issues at times, and while it was cool, their final build felt unorganized and kind of a jumble of things. It was a little hard to figure out what was going on even. The Griffin tower felt much more organized and a cleaner build.
@PurpleDave said:
" @Elite_1:
They won a trip to the grand opening as a result of having the winning model in, I believe, the Storybook episode. The grand opening got postponed, but that just means they'll have to wait a little longer. And maybe it'll be easier for them to manage it since Amy said she's due sometime June/Julyish.
@ramnicros:
Minor spoiler, sure, but not proof that the show was rigged (something which is, BTW, highly illegal in the US after the quiz show scandals blew up in the 1950's). The entire season was filmed before the first episode aired, and the entire group of contestants was still around when the final episode filmed. They would have all been under NDA for the duration, so the only people they could discuss each episode with were each other."
You are right. And also all the relatives who attended to see the last episode. It is more than obvious that for this reason there were no children in the last program.
I don't know why everyone is so obsessed with Mark and Boone's build. It wasn't better than Tyler and Amy's. It was just a black building with some cool features. I didn't like that the judges molded the builds into something not their style. They are too much into the "story" and such. It's ridiculus.
Boring, Please get an interview with Mark and Boone. Their understanding of concept, creativity, story-telling, and techniques are extremely well developed and properly balanced for a Lego Master.
It's nice to hear that the competitors are so friendly and supportive to one another. Also cool to hear more details about the winning model in the final round; I second whoever said, upthread, that it'd be cool if Fox released more pictures of the various builds, because you're never going to get all the details on TV.
@jaimedaza:
The first seven teams to be eliminated had post-elimination interviews so as to not spoil the outcome of their respective episodes. The final three teams all had pre-finale interviews, again so as to not spoil the outcome of the finale. Everyone also had the opportunity to do a pre-premiere interview (two of the ten teams apparently declined because we only saw eight of them posted). Only the winning team got a chance to do a third interview. However, we are still waiting on Mel & Jermaine, the East Coast Bricksters. One of them is a police officer, and is reportedly tied up with the pandemic at the moment, so their exit interview is delayed for an indeterminate amount of time.
That Griffin tower was pretty cool. I'm just disappointed that Aaron and Christian didn't make it to the finale.
For anyone interested in the Australian version it has just kicked off for season 2.
https://9now.nine.com.au/lego-masters