Meet a member: Alex314
Posted by Huw,
Today we are chatting to professional LEGO builder Liam Tullett, aka Alex314, who's in Geelong, Australia:
What is your first LEGO memory?
I have very fond memories from when I was 2 or 3 years old, playing with sets 6706 Frontier Patrol and 6326 Town Folk, that would have been gifts from my parents.
Which set or theme has been most influential upon you, as a LEGO fan?
I didn't really have a dark age, there was certainly a time around my early teenage years when Lego wasn't 'cool', where I guess it took up less of my time.
I remember first seeing 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van and falling in love with it, knowing I had to buy it. I think if I had to credit one set with turning me into a lifelong Lego fanatic, it'd have to be that one.
Do you build MOCs? If, so what?
I most enjoy building minifig scale MOCs, especially those that set a scene or tell a story. I've got a bit of an ongoing Lego city that's slowly expanding, adding bits and pieces to that keeps me busy!
What is your favourite part?
I've always loved the magnifying glass element, especially that it's functional!
What theme would you like LEGO to produce?
I have a lot of nostalgia for Bionicle, I'd love a third wave of Bionicle, or at least another big constraction theme.
What is the availability of LEGO like where you live?
Lego is fairly easy to come by here in chain stores like Kmart or Target, but sets there are limited to themes like City/Friends/Star Wars, and often don't hit shelves until weeks or months after debuting on Lego Shop at Home.
Speciality toy stores give more of an offering, but there's still that lag time. Luckily, in the last year or so LEGO has rolled out 5 or 6 Lego stores around the country, which has been great (perhaps not for my wallet).
Do you have any interests or hobbies other than LEGO?
I collect Hot Wheels cars too, not straying too far from small plastic colourful toys.
How long have you been visiting Brickset?
I've been a member of Brickset for over 4 years, and use it in some capacity almost every day.
What's your favourite/most used feature of the site?
Searching minifigs!
Have you been to a LEGO event?
I've only attended Brickvention Australia, where I was lucky enough to display as a part of the Brickman team at the beginning of this year. It was fantastic seeing so many amazing builds all in one place!
I've been a part of the Brickman team with Ryan McNaught for almost a year, and I've been involved in so many awesome projects in that time. We've designed and built models for Lego stores in Australia and New Zealand, and models and exhibitions that travel the globe.
I was a huge AFOL before this job, and separating work Lego from home Lego has become an interesting task. Thankfully I haven't found myself getting sick of it, even 8+ hours a day isn't too much!
As they say, if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life.
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8 comments on this article
Nice to see a fellow Australian mentioned in the meet a member articles!
Thats awesome that you worked with Ryan McNaught. I met him once, a very nice man. He's been great on Lego Masters
Must’ve been great working with Brickman himself! I express all of my congratulations.
Just in time for LM Australia Season 2.
A shame LM Australia is not getting any coverage here; out of all LM series I liked AU the most. The start of the new season was awesome too!
Never knew the magnifying glass was functional!!!!
You are not asking for, nor showing, examples of his work as a professional builder.
Pretty good attempt at camouflaging himself against the backdrop
Great to see a fellow surf coaster highlighted on here, hope you're doing okay in lockdown and have plenty of Lego to build. I had to go through town to the doctors last week, never seen Ryrie St so easy to get along, even with the work their doing to that building on the corner of Moorabool. Still waiting on Easter sales packages here, speed champions sets are apparently very slow, guess the wheel size makes travel times down the Princess from Melbourne that much longer lol!!