Meet a member: cityson
Posted by Huw,
Today we are talking to Lee, aka cityson, a student in Hong Kong, who currently has a model in the showcase gallery in The LEGO House in Billund:
What is your first LEGO memory?
I got my first LEGO set when I was 5. It was 8608 Vhisola, the small Bionicle set my parents bought me after I performed well at school. I didn’t really have any particular preference over toys at that point, so I didn’t really pick it myself, but my parents chose it for me because they think it allows me to be creative when compared to other toys. My dad often jokes about it even up to this day that it was a very “costly” decision given how much I have spent on LEGO after that first set!
Did you have a dark age and if so what caused you to emerge from it?
No, and I think I have been lucky for that. My parents have been very supportive over my hobby (after all they were the one who introduced me to LEGO in the first place), and among my friends, my passion for LEGO has always seemed to be a cool unique trait to them, so I never feel the pressure to grow out of it.
Which set or theme has been most influential upon you, as a LEGO fan?
It would be the Viking set 7021 Viking Double Catapault versus the Armoured Ofnir Dragon. After I got my first set, I went on being a Bionicle collector for several years until 2007, when I won a sum of money in a school contest, so I got to buy my first LEGO set (before, that they were always given to me as presents for special occasions).
When I went to the toy store, that Viking set was on a 50% off discount, so it seemed to be a no-brainer to get it instead of more Bionicle. That was the set that turned me to system bricks over Bionicle. It was also the first set that I made a bunch of alternative models out of, because that was the only system set I had back then.
How do you store your LEGO?
I can only afford to sort them by colour into different big drawers… I also have some of the smaller parts in plastic boxes but it’s far from 'systematic'.
I actually enjoy my bricks being sorted by colour, though: having the pleasure to work at a LEGO Education centre before and occasionally visiing my friends’ workshops, I actually find it sometimes less efficient when parts are being sorted way too precisely… sometimes in the process of creation you simply have to test and try out different possibilities instead of looking for a specific piece.
Do you build MOCs? If, so what?
Most definitely! I tend not to limit myself on certain topics, so I can’t really say I am a mech builder or whatever. I try to challenge myself with all sort of topics, but I do have a tendency to build something based on movies because I am a huge movie fanatic!
One of my favourite MOCs that I have made over the year for instance, would be this Millennium Falcon Painting in 2017, where I get to represent the iconic Star Wars ship in the refreshing way of a scatter build.
Currently, I also have this “tradition” for myself to make at least one larger model every year, where I would set up some sort of technical challenges for myself every year like they do in Pixar, just as a reflection of where I am at as a builder every year.
My "Animal Kingdom" model which I built in 2019 is still by far the most challenging MOC I have ever worked on technically speaking, and I am honoured to say that the model is currently sitting in the LEGO House in Billund, so the effort definitely paid off for the 2 whole months I spent on it.
What is your favourite part?
Brackets! Any sort of bracket gets a share of my love! They are the ultimate lifesaver for any geometric puzzle in LEGO world with the half-plate difference. I believe 99% of my builds include at least one bracket piece!
What theme would you like LEGO to produce?
Steampunk! Coolest theme one can ask for! Imagine all the metallic coloured pieces and amazing minifigures it would provide!
Do you have a presence on Instagram, YouTube or elsewhere?
I am most active on Flickr and my new Facebook page. I do have an Instagram account but let’s just say I am not the most proficient Instagram user of my generation!
What is the availability of LEGO like where you live?
As some of you may have heard before already we have the famous Inspoint shopping mall in Hong Kong at which you can get all sorts of LEGO sets and relics There are also a few LEGO Certified Stores here, too, but I mostly go for online marketplace or Inspoint personally speaking.
Do you have any interests or hobbies other than LEGO?
I love watching movies, and if that doesn’t count, I do like to draw and do crafts like clay modelling when I have extra long holidays. But LEGO and movies definitely take up most of my leisure hours.
What's your favourite/most used feature of the site?
I don’t really remember when was the first time I bumped into Brickset, but ever since then I have always been using it to search for which sets contain a certain part when I am doing MOC, it has saved me countless times!
Why did you choose your Brickset username? (if it's not obvious)
I used the name “citizen” across many platforms when I first joined the online fan community, because for one I was collecting LEGO City back then, and also it was a play on how some forums back then usually called every account a citizen, but then Flickr didn’t allow me to use it as my account name, so I twisted the name to city son and that stuck with me since then.
Have you been to a LEGO event? Which one(s)? Do you have a favourite?
We have had some local events before but I have yet to have the pleasure to go to any big ones overseas… still looking forward to the day I can come meet all the amazing builders around the world!
Thanks, Lee!
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22 comments on this article
I am absolutely loving that Millennium Falcon piece! I actually thought it was a painting at first!
I like that many of the creations shown are more artistic then they are structures or vehicles.
The Millennium Falcon "painting" is great.
It's always interesting to see fans (and their builds) from different communities and cultures. I think sometimes I can find myself in a euro/US bubble, and then you 'discover' a builder who's been doing awesome stuff for ages, but just moving in different circles.TLG seem to be doing a good job in getting a broad range of builders for their Lego House displays.
@Slobrojoe said:
"I am absolutely loving that Millennium Falcon piece! I actually thought it was a painting at first!"
Thanks! I have been told that a lot when I first posted it back then as well! :)
@guachi said:
"I like that many of the creations shown are more artistic then they are structures or vehicles.
The Millennium Falcon "painting" is great."
I am glad to hear that as well, as it has always been my intention... to do something different and refreshing! The build I did for this year in particular was an attempt to build something more expressive as I have often heard the statement of LEGO being more than a toy but a medium to express ourselves", that's why I chose to express my love for music with it. :)
@Andhe said:
"It's always interesting to see fans (and their builds) from different communities and cultures. I think sometimes I can find myself in a euro/US bubble, and then you 'discover' a builder who's been doing awesome stuff for ages, but just moving in different circles.TLG seem to be doing a good job in getting a broad range of builders for their Lego House displays."
Most definitely! I am not entirely sure if it is a regional thing, but I think there is definitely a huge variety of creators in the LEGO community, and personally I am always excited to discover more. And yes, having the privilege to visit the LEGO House last year, I can agree with you that they did a splendid job recognizing talents all around the world.. can't wait to visit it again in the future!
Wow. I really love that "Animal Kingdom" model, that looks incredible.
@cityson do you do much the Star Wars stuff? It's my favourite theme and man do your MOCs look good!
@Zordboy said:
"Wow. I really love that "Animal Kingdom" model, that looks incredible."
Thanks! I was really happy how it worked out too! Realistic animals are definitely one of the most challenging topics in LEGO!
@Slobrojoe said:
" @cityson do you do much the Star Wars stuff? It's my favourite theme and man do your MOCs look good!"
I do have a few more of them! While I am not a hardcore SW fan, my love for movies in general covers that, and looking back I actually have made quite a number of them, you can check them out in my Flickr! :)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/legocityson/albums
^thanks
If that Slave V didn't win the contest, I am going to have to have a really stern talking to with the judges... :)
@Slobrojoe said:
"^thanks
If that Slave V didn't win the contest, I am going to have to have a really stern talking to with the judges... :)"
Hahahaha thanks! Well sadly it didn't win for that particular contest, there were some great entries! I definitely had blast building that though, Slave 1 has always been my favourite SW ship! :)
@cityson said:
" @Slobrojoe said:
"^thanks
If that Slave V didn't win the contest, I am going to have to have a really stern talking to with the judges... :)"
Hahahaha thanks! Well sadly it didn't win for that particular contest, there were some great entries! I definitely had blast building that though, Slave 1 has always been my favourite SW ship! :)"
I'm currently building the UCS Slave I that my dad let me pull apart to rebuild and then box up somewhere. I thought he was just being nice, but actually, he needed more space in his office.
That Millennium Falcon 'painting' is absolutely incredible! Would make for a great wallpaper.
@Slobrojoe
Nice! Either way you get to build it... I grabbed a second hand UCS Slave 1 last year and it was definitely a great model, so enjoy!
@JediMolerat
You are welcome to download it off my Flickr for wallpaper! ;)
@legolover777
MOST DEFINITELY! I was super excited when I was invited to have my work displayed there, but knowing how expensive a flight from HK to Denmark would be, I never imagined to be able to pay it a visit in person... except I happened to be taking a school trip to Oslo last October, so I managed to sneak off to Billund for a day in an affordable flight and visit my model there! :)
That's quite the cake! I especially love the mini-Alpha-1 Rocket Base (one of my very first sets) and what I think is a 918 behind it!
That's a really cool scatter build! Love it!
Besides being insane talented a lot of AFOL are also very attractive. I think there needs to be a dating app for AFOLs. (Copyright 2020) :)
I have a suspicion that you're right about the risks of sorting in too granular a way. Or maybe I'm just rationalising the fact I haven't got a sophisticated sorting system in place yet, but when I did a lot of MOCs they tended to be very inspired by just noticing pieces that corresponded nicely and sketching from there - I do wonder whether a very granular sorting system would still let me do that...
I loved the colors and the themes in your MOCs. Your work should be clasified as art, because it is...
@ra226 said:
"That's quite the cake! I especially love the mini-Alpha-1 Rocket Base (one of my very first sets) and what I think is a 918 behind it!"
Thanks! I'm afraid I can't take full credit for that one though, as it was a collaboration with 4 of my friends for an exhibition celebrating the 60th anniversary of the brick back then, I was responsible for a number of the mini builds and the 60 sign (I love brick lettering) on the cake, but it happens so neither of the ones you mentioned was done by me :P
@SeekerBear
Thanks!
@The_Green_Brick_Giant
Hahaha great idea! It's not even that easy to bump into another LEGO fan around my age here in HK!
@catwrangler
Most definitely! It happens to me all the time as well!
@Lego_lord
That's very kind of you, thanks!
I love seeing people from Flickr pop up in these interviews! I think I left a comment on Animal Kingdom way back. I still love how you got so many colors without the scene becoming too busy.