Meet a member: sdrnet
Posted by Huw,
Today we are catching up with Sandro, aka sdrnet who's a computer programmer in Turin:
What is your first LEGO memory?
My first memories are of when I was a 5-year-old boy, and I was playing with my box full of mixed LEGO pieces with which I spent my winter afternoons. At Christmas every year I tried to get my parents to buy new sets.
Did you have a dark age and if so what caused you to emerge from it?
My dark age lasted 20 years! At the age of 16 I stopped playing LEGO, then in the future at the age of 36 just before my first daughter was born, I visited the LEGO website (which in my time did not exist) and I bought my first two sets Star Wars. Since then I have never stopped playing LEGO!
Which set or theme has been most influential upon you, as a LEGO fan?
One of my favourite themes is Star Wars. The film series marked my life since my childhood with the first 3 films of the saga. I've always been a fan of space adventures. LEGO + Star Wars have turned into a fascinating thing.
A set that instead has marked me from the constructive point of view is the 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop. Starting from this set I started to love the Winter Village series from which I was inspired to create my village of over 65,000 pieces!
What are you building right now?
Despite the crisis for Covid-19 I am working a lot from home with smart-working and I don't have a lot of free time but I always manage to find some time to go ahead with my projects. I am planning two new MOCs right now which I hope to be able to present later this year. One is my return to the Winter Village, while the second is about the Middle Ages.
How do you store your LEGO?
I am fortunate to have two environments. In the house where I live I have a small attic that I have furnished as a workshop for the construction of LEGO MOC. All the pieces are kept in transparent Ikea boxes and I also have several small parts drawers for small pieces.
The second room is located at my mother's house and is furnished as a Lego Room to display all the official collectible sets.
Do you build MOCs? If, so what?
Until just 3 years ago all my MOCs were focused on enlarging my winter village. After this period I began instead to create MOC of different themes according to my interests and preferences of the moment. Basically I really like to build landscapes with houses or other buildings.
What is your favourite part?
My absolute favourite part is the 4070 Brick modified 1x1 with Headlight. It is an extremely versatile piece that allows you to build many things with different techniques. I use it a lot for my buildings, for medieval constructions and in many cases of snot use.
What theme would you like LEGO to produce?
Since I love fantasy settings, I would love if LEGO launched into sets that have to do with the Games of Thrones series. Since, however, it will be quite unlikely that this would happen, I would very much like it to remake historical themes that have marked my childhood such as the Classic Space (which I love) and also the medieval theme!
Do you have a presence on Instagram, YouTube or elsewhere?
All my works are presented in my image gallery on Flickr.
However, you can also visit my personal website where I always update my LEGO works and there are also my landscape photographs.
Do you have any interests or hobbies other than LEGO?
I have had a lot of interests in my life, besides LEGO my main hobbies are travelling and taking landscape photographs.
How long have you been visiting Brickset?
I have been a Brickset member for 10 years. I have followed the evolution of the site and I follow the site with great interest every day.
What's your favourite/most used feature of the site?
My favourite feature is definitely the personal collection of sets that I keep constantly updated and also the wanted list.
Why did you choose your Brickset username?
My alias is an old story. Basically it is the sum of the abbreviation of Sandro (sdr) + network (net).
Are you a member of a LUG?
I am a proud member of ItLUG since 2010.
Have you been to a LEGO event?
I participate on average every year in 5 important events in Italy, especially Verona, Lecco and Florence. However, I also exhibit my works abroad, especially in the last 2 years in Spain.
Thanks, Sandro!
This really is the last in our Meet a Member series for now. Stay tuned for news of its replacement later this morning.
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19 comments on this article
Your Winter Village is impressive!
That's a heavy Flickr account! Loving the U-wing pics. It takes a proud spot on top of my IKEA shelves.
@andrelego said:
"Your Winter Village is impressive!"
It really is! I love the way you did the snow on all these roofs, it's like it melted a bit because it's warm inside.
Your photography is as impressive as your Winter Village!
Impressive ! I must say BRAVO for the table too. Very often in our homes or in exhibitions, the bad looks or poor quality of the display tables are ruining our hard work creations.
Congrats on hitting 10k on lego ideas!
The Winter Village is truly something to look at. How did you access the pieces? Did you buy similarly colored sets or individual elements?
I wonder if the headlight brick has been the most often nominated by featured members as their favourite piece ?
@Fauch said:
"I wonder if the headlight brick has been the most often nominated by featured members as their favourite piece ?"
I don't know, but Erling bricks do seem pretty popular among most fans. They can be used in so many ways. Just consider the Creator Expert logo.
What?!? No more Meet a Member articles? Say it ain't so, Huw.
I was really enjoying these, although I value my own anonymity far too much to have ever submitted info of my own.
I would have loved to be featured on a Meet a Member article. However, I do not actually know how to submit one.
I really loved this series and I'm going to miss it. :( It was great to read about other fans, thank you for that.
That Winter Village lay-out is crazy awesome.
And you're the builder behind that really cool chalet and restaurant? That's an incredible set, man.
@darthnorman:
That's actually bad for your roof in real life. If the snow forms a blanket that doesn't melt until the temps go above freezing, that means you've got sufficient insulation. If you don't, and the snow cover melts from the heat coming up through the roof, not only does it mean you're heating up the frozen outdoors on your own dime, but as the snow melts from the bottom up, the water gets trapped against the roof by the remaining snow cover and will almost certainly start finding pathways to get inside. In terms of the roof, this can result in seeping water refreezing and stressing the materials in your roof (thus shortening the lifespan and forcing you to get a new roof installed a lot sooner than you should really need to), but it can also seep down into the rest of the internal structure, causing a shocking amount of water damage.
There's a building in Detroit called the Charles T. Fisher Mansion. On the back of the building, three steep sections of roof come together around a shallow section. Due to inadequate insulation, and the shape of the roof causing all the meltwater to collect at one point that was incapable of shedding unmelted snow, the current owner discovered that there was water damage that had made it down through four floors into the basement, and once it got there it pooled into the lowest point of the basement which was the pipe room for the organ in the front hall. The ballroom (largest room in the building) was in the basement directly below the leak, and a lot of really ornate decorative plaster work was destroyed. The blower motor and all the leather components of the pipe organ were also destroyed.
I enjoyed reading your story, Sandro. I have long been a fan of your winter village diorama, which is hands down the best one ever created in the entire world. I’m excited to hear that you are still working on it!! I also look forward to seeing your medieval world. I am also really hopeful that your winter chalet ideas project gets approved.
I really like that winter village layout! I would want to make something similar to that!
Guess I sent in my interview a day too late... :(
@HandPositions said:
"The Winter Village is truly something to look at. How did you access the pieces? Did you buy similarly colored sets or individual elements?"
many, many, many orders of BrickLink!
Thanks for these amazing compliments! They are really nice, especially to receive them from the other side of the world!