LEGO Masters week 2 exit interview
Posted by MeganL,
LEGO Masters USA season 2 is in full swing, with the first team going home last week. Like last year, each week we'll be bringing you an exit interview from the team going home. To avoid spoilers for those of you who have yet to watch the episode, we'll refrain from identifying them until after the break. We also have pictures of most of the builds from the competition.
So, if you've watched the episode already and want to hear from the first team to have to leave, or want to check out this week's builds, read on.
Each team was assigned a minifigure as their "hero" as well as a media that would be part of the explosion: slime, water, or glitter. Teams had to recreate a hero shot found in many action movies, where the hero walks away while momentous explosions happen in the background. Teams had to ensure that their build would explode - but not knock over their hero minifigure!
This week, the sibling team of Jack and Dawn went home after the Hero Shot challenge, after part of their build didn't fall over during the explosion.
Who is the more intimidating of the judges, Amy or Jamie?
Jack: I’ll say Amy (laughs).
Dawn: I’m going to say the same thing. She kind of towers over you. I was very comfortable with both of them but I would say Amy was probably marginally a little more intimidating.
If you could go back and change something in your last challenge, what would it be?
Dawn: We probably could have used a big rat sitting on top of the jewelry store signifying that evil rat that’s selling the bad jewels. Something bigger than life, you know. Something that’s going to have bright colours just flying out of it when it explodes. We were playing very much to a very detailed small-town scene. Looking at the other builds, we probably could have gone, like I said, bigger and bolder.
Jack: Much bigger, yes.
You've talked about your grand-niece Kelsey in both episodes, and dedicated your builds to her. Tell us a little bit more about her.
Dawn: (long pause) It's very emotional. Kelsey battled with health issues all her life. And two years ago, a tornado took out their house, right after a benefit to help with some finances. It was just awful - they had to find a new place to live, and they had vehicles that were damaged and property that they couldn't salvage. A couple years before that she was diagnosed with diabetes, and she had leukemia. It was just was one thing after another that she was battling. They were trying so many different things to try and give her a quality of life. She turned 16 in October, and we lost her just before Thanksgiving. She really did not have a chance to have any quality of life. But she had a love of life, and a love of people. She was just the kind of soul you would always want to meet.
Jack: Her faith was strong, in spite of all the hardships she went through. Her brother was a bone marrow donor. She just struggled and struggled but she never gave up. She was just an amazing spirit. And she loved butterflies and that's why we went with the butterflies. She had a special connection with them - they would come and land on her. It was a tough ride for her, and she was a trooper.
You wore bracelets in Kelsey’s honour. How can someone get one of their own?
Dawn: Grab a LEGO DOTS bracelet pack and create away! Choose your colour palette, Quarter-round tiles make for great lettering options. Notice the yellow butterfly on the end of the bracelet? Made with 3 quarter-round tiles. Take a picture and share it on Instagram with the hashtag #TeamKelseyLEGO and tag Jack and myself so we can see all your creations.
Share with us some of the details of your builds that didn’t get shown on the episodes.
Dawn: For the parade float, you could see the bunting around the edges of it. We made it very uniform so it looked like it was a dedicated float for a parade. We had a lot of kids on the float that represented Kelsey’s family and friends, and they're holding balloons and just celebrating. All the little white different coloured things up on the Flexi tubes were actually supposed to be balloons. We were hoping that the motion of the float would jiggle them a little bit, so we would have additional motion with that. On the back side, which never got seen, we had a tree with a little boy swinging. He was frightened so had a scared face. With him as well we were looking for some natural motion from the actual movement of the float to give that some movement.
Jack: For the second episode, we started out with explosives in the safe inside of the jewelry store. So, that never was seen. The building next door to the jewelry store on the left side was a pawn shop. So inside, which never got shown. Part of the things that were supposed to fly up in the air were tools and musical instruments and things that people would pawn in a pawn shop. There also was a toilet that was supposed to go airborne. Unfortunately disintegrated before it got airborne when the actual explosion went off. There were rats, there were jewels. A little bit of this, a little bit of that.
Dawn: We had corbels and cornices, and some dentil work. We really made details because we knew Jamie is really big on architecture. So we were gonna play toward what we knew they liked, and hopefully get a big thumbs up. I posted three pictures of some of the details on my instagram where I listed quite a few details. I couldn't believe how long the list actually was. For example, on the telephone wires, we have brick built birds. If you looked in the window of the pizza shop we actually have a brick built pizza because David and Richard used all the little two by two pizza tiles in their build the week before and they hadn't been taken apart yet. We've got a little dining area off to the side of the pizza place. There was a line of gems that Opal, our jewel thief, was dropping as she was walking away. We wanted to play up the fun stuff.
You got the jewel thief for this challenge. How excited were you to get that character?
Dawn: I was super excited. We were the last ones to draw. It was all random as to who got to draw when, so we were to get whatever was left. I pulled it out and it’s the jewel thief and glitter! They didn't show it on the episode but I could hardly contain my excitement. We knew glitter was going to give the best visual effects on screen. Water can be kind of hard to see. For slime we didn't know how much colour was going to be there, or how viscous or how liquid it was going to be. So when we saw glitter. I was super excited.
Jack: I was not as excited. I was really unfamiliar with the minifigs so it's like, okay, whatever. That's where I was at. I was glad that she was happy about it, though. And I knew she was happy about the glitter, so that was cool
Dawn: Glitter and it’s not in my house, so I don't have to clean it up. That was exciting.
LEGO creations don’t usually get blown up. What was your strategy with the explosion and glitter?
Dawn: It was hard to blow up, it was hard to think about blowing up your build. You build to stand, and to build to fail that was really hard. You really had to put yourself in a totally different mindset, and we had, I think the right idea, but at the very last minute, I pushed something down with a little more clutch power that I probably should have. Because it wasn't stuck together and in my mind, it needs to all be stuck together you know, it's the typical way you build. Oh, of course that was the slide that didn't fall in.
Jack: We actually had walls that were designed to fail. But then we decided to add another feature and add corbels onto the top of the building, and that added a little more structural integrity, maybe a little too much. So it took a lot more to actually knock the walls down. My concern was - and why I decided to put the telephone poles in there - I was afraid, everything was going to blow forward and knock our figure off of the board. So the telephone lines were more or less like a net to catch some of that debris. But then when we put those corbels on there it kind of strengthened it just a little bit too much.
How were the explosions done?
Dawn: They had charges that were about the size of a quarter. We weren't allowed to handle them, because they had a pyrotechnical professional to do that. We had two small ones and a larger one. We could tell them where we wanted them to be placed, and what direction we were hoping to go. But never having blown up Lego before we weren't sure how it was going to react. It was one of those things that mostly worked but not quite enough.
If you had been in the show longer, what would your ideal challenge have been?
Dawn: Ideal challenge… I was looking forward to doing the wearable challenge that’s coming up soon. We’ve seen some things in the promos and I think that’s what they were assigning a colour to. At one point, while we were still there, they drew colours and they said “well, this colour is for such and such a team” and “this colour is for such and such.” We got a colour that would have been perfect tying back to Kelsey and her leukemia. We would have had orange. The colour of the leukemia cancer ribbon is orange. I was so excited. We didn’t know what we were doing at that point, what that was going to be for. We never got that far. I wanted to do something with whatever that orange was going to tie into to Kelsey.
Jack: Anything to do with the motors again because we did some research while we were there thanks to Amazon and some overnight shipping and stuff. After the first challenge, I got to know the motors a little better and learned. I was kind of looking forward to playing with them again. So, I guess that would be my answer, anything that was mechanized.
What are your favourite memories from your LEGO Masters experience that happened that the cameras didn't catch?
Jack: Dawn slapping me in the face, because I wasn't sure that we were really on the show.
Dawn: (laughs) He gave me permission! He said “slap me, are we really here?” and so I slapped him! That and the chance to bond with the other contestants. That was an experience in itself, just getting to be, you know, elbow to elbow with all these amazing builders and see their skill level and get to know them as people, not just as amazing builders but as amazing people. Those friendships we are going to carry forever.
Jack: We had a lot of bantering between both of us, and then between a couple of the other teams too. Tim and Zack come to mind immediately because they were next to us. Other than Dawn, Tim was the next oldest person, he’s like 19 years younger than I am but there were still old man jokes between us and things like that.
Dawn: There were a couple times where Jack was off doing something else, and I’d be like “get back here old man!”. I can do that because he is older than me. There was a lot of very friendly, in good fun bantering that went on between the teams. We just had so much fun together. I hope that in future episodes they will show some more of that, as they won't have to showcase as many builders. Show a little bit into the actual people and their builds as well as how we each get along with each other because it's just remarkable,
Jack: The interactions we had in the green room too while we were off set waiting to go on to the set were fun. There was a lot of that. And it was amazing. I can't even describe it. I really can't describe it. Just the camaraderie that we had in general.
Dawn: They were short one meal at one time and Jack hadn't gotten his yet, so Caleb gave Jack his meal. Just simple things like that. That shows the caring of everybody trying to watch out for each other. And the human side of the builders.
What was the most difficult part of being on the show for you?
Jack: The most difficult? Dealing with all the COVID protocol.
Dawn: Yeah I agree. They took very good care of us, they tested us every other day and we went through so many different tests before we even got there. We were quarantined, you know, so we couldn't even go, we couldn't do anything we couldn't go anywhere. You know I know last season they got an afternoon off they could go to the Lego store or something like that. We weren't allowed off of the hotel grounds, unless we were in the van going to the studio, so that was probably the hardest thing.
What advice do you have for others who want to be on LEGO Masters in future seasons?
Dawn: I would say hit the gym. Run sprints. Get used to running sprints in shoes you're not used to running sprints in because you aren't necessarily going to wear the most comfortable shoes every episode, and that run to the brick pit can take it out of you.
Jack: I would say, do research. Dawn was a little more versed on the motors than I was. I had no idea about any of the coding or any of that until it was presented to us. So I was a little bit out of touch with some of the newer lines. I wasn’t well in the Technic. But we took some crash courses when we headed there. Research, research, research,
What was your impression of the brick pit? Did you discover any new favourite elements?
Dawn: Walking into there and seeing that wall of parts…. I just wanted to just walk right past Will and everybody and just run my fingers through some of those bins right away. It was just so cool. I just wanted to get my hands in there. I don't know if I had a favourite new part. Although we did use the one by two plate with the handle. That's what we used for our dentil molding, and that was kind of on the fly, I'm like, “Oh, put these next to each other, look what it does.” I actually have used that since then, on some other small architectural things I've built. So I think that might be one of my new favourites.
Jack: I think my new favourite is a two by four tile. I liked them. And if you look real close with that last build we did I used a lot of them. that sidewalk was covered!. But yeah, it was amazing just to run to the brick pit and see everything. But other than that I didn't really find any new favourites other than that, It’s the one that worked out real well for what we needed it for.
Was there some type of build technique that you were hoping to show in a future episode?
Dawn: I enjoy doing a lot of landscaping in my builds, and we did a little bit with the butterfly. But we weren't really able to touch on it as much yet. I dabble in so many different techniques. I'm constantly learning, and I get inspiration from a lot of places. It's just crazy so I'm always trying to learn new techniques, I don't really know if I have a niche yet, but there's so much that I just love to do.
Jack: I'm still looking for my niche as well. I don't really have any special technique, per se. I like doing figures as well as architecture. I've done a couple figures I did a biker, for obvious reasons. And then I also did a pianist to go with the Grand Piano. They're a little different, but, but they work, and so I'm still learning. I learned so many different techniques that people use in the competition that I'm still trying to process it all mentally, and apply it.
What is your biggest takeaway or lesson learned from season two of LEGO Masters?
Dawn: I’m going to say go big, go bold, and don’t stop laying the bricks (laughs). That’s a big part of it.
Jack: Yeah, what she said (laughs). And try not to second guess yourself either though. Just keep going at it. The lessons I learned were more about the people than anything else. And spending the time with my sister, because we don’t get to spend that much. That was…
Dawn: That was an awesome time. It was very special to do together because we live 300 miles apart. So, having that time to spend together and be creative - that involves our family history, the people in our family are very creative. So, we’re very blessed to have had that opportunity.
How long have you been LEGO fans and what are your collections like at home?
Jack: I’ve been playing with LEGO off and on for about 57 years. Obviously, experience doesn’t mean everything (laughs). My collection has actually increased tremendously just since the show. I did not have a lot of LEGO because my kids are grown and I just hadn’t had the opportunity to get out and do a lot of builds or anything up until just prior to the show. So, I’m slowly increasing my collection. I’m really getting into the Architecture and the cityscapes, and the builds that all connect…
Dawn: The modulars.
Jack: Yeah, the modulars, thank you (both laugh).
Dawn: I knew what you were talking about. That’s what we do, we finish each other’s sentences (both laugh). I didn’t start with LEGO 57 years ago, but pretty darn close. He’s, what, seven years older than I am? So, give or take seven years. I built mostly stuff with his LEGO because back in the ‘60s LEGO was not a girl’s toy. It was very gender oriented, as toys were at the time. But I would use it and I would make homes for the Barbies or whatever else I had, or we’d make ramps for the Hot Wheels (laughs). So, I remember playing Hot Wheels with them. We did various things like that. And then once my kids got to a certain age, we expanded, and we bought LEGO for them and I never got rid of those. Those sets and bricks are now inter-mixed in with mine, because my kids are all now grown. So, I had a couple of dark ages, I guess you’d say. Then within this past year or so, I really got back into doing some building. The room I’m in is gradually being overtaken by LEGO, surprise, surprise (laughs). I’m getting more selective as to what I’m buying because I’m buying for parts. I enjoy the sets, but once the set’s put together I want to know: what can I use these parts for? I am more of a MOC builder than a set builder, so that’s what I’m looking at. Specialty parts, I’ve got all kinds of Bricks-and-Pieces orders waiting for me on LEGO, oh my gosh (laughs).
What’s ahead of you on your LEGO adventure?
Jack: Building up my inventory, because I don't have a lot of bricks. So I'm trying to increase that. I want to be able to do these mega builds that I see other people do, but with my limited supply it's hard to even attempt to do it right now. I'm in the middle of a project right now and it's like, Man, I'm gonna have to make a trip to the Lego store, or order online or something because I just don't have enough to do it.
Dawn: I am not done building or learning. I’m going to participate in my first con next weekend at virtual Bricks by the Bay, so I’m looking forward to that. I'm also going to Brick Rodeo in July. There are several other LEGO Masters from this season that are going as well. It will be a good chance for us to see some of them again. So I'm dipping my foot into the convention pool. I’ve been doing a lot of the Instagram challenges, but I’m probably going to cut back on that a little bit. I’ve been doing the daily brick challenge since January 1 - I’d like to get through the year, but it’s a lot of builds. But I just keep building. I'm planning a trip with a couple other AFOLs from Michigan to our local LEGO store soon as a group trip and hang out for a little bit. My husband is very supportive so that's a blessing.
What has this experience meant to you?
Dawn: It was one of those things, for every step of the process we kept thinking “Oh, we probably aren't gonna get any farther than this, it's no big deal, it was for fun.” And it just kept progressing and progressing. Then we got notified we're actually going to be on the set, and went to the studio, Like we said earlier Jack said “Slap me, see if we’re really here.” It's an experience that we were blessed to have been able to experience together. And something I wouldn't trade for the world except for maybe a little bit of the last episode. But other than that it was awesome. The fact is that we now have these 22 additional new friends, that we are constantly in contact with. Messages every day between us, and it's just crazy how we haven't stopped. We are already talking about meeting again. Some of us are going to Brick Rodeo. There's so much camaraderie and honest love between these individuals that it just warms my heart.
Jack: Yeah, it was very surreal. In some ways, it still is today. I have to add on what Dawn said, these are not my friends, these are part of my extended family. I truly do love these people, they're amazing. I never would have dreamed to be able to be in a competition like this and still have the caring and compassion, and the love that you have between these people. Every time I've ever been in competition it was pretty much cutthroat. This was like that. If you had a shortcoming, people are trying to help you up your game and strengthen your weakness. That's amazing. That's unheard of in this day and age.
Here are the builds from the other teams:
Credit for all pictures except for the Kelsey bracelet: FOX
Many thanks to our friends at BZPower, True North Bricks, and The Brothers Brick for the collaboration of this interview.
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17 comments on this article
Is this airing in the UK at the moment, or just available via file sharing networks ?
@Angry_Warlock said:
"Is this airing in the UK at the moment, or just available via file sharing networks ?"
Currently only airing in the US.
So glad you guys are doing the exit interviews again! Really nice to get some insight into the people on the show, especially in these early episodes where the sheer number of contestants plus the time constraint means we see so little of each team on air.
I am glad no one had to go home the first week. The floats were nice. I liked the explosion challenge a little better this year, with the different substances, they added to the overall effect. Very neat in slow motion. Not that I overall like blowing up LEGO. Last years challenge just seemed so brutal. This years premise of action movie hero, came off a bit easier to watch them being exploded. I am looking forward to the next show.
It's too bad there are so many teams in these early episodes and they're still limited to an hour of airtime. That makes it REALLY OBVIOUS who will either be on the top or on the bottom each week because they're the ones that get all the airtime. Middle teams just get a quick glimpse and that's it.
I could have sworn they showed a quick aerial shot of the TNT behind the wall, but maybe I’m thinking of Zach & Tim.
It’s weird seeing someone say that LEGO products were gender oriented in the 60’s. My first set was from the tail end of the Homemaker theme, which was anything but, to my eye. It wasn’t until the late 70’s with the introduction of the minifig and associated genre themes that things felt like they started skewing towards the boys market. When Samsonite first launched their licensed line of LEGO product, they even marketed it as being for boys and girls.
So one notable change this year vs last year is that the explosion challenge required every team to use real explosives. Last year some were dropped, some were hit with a bat, and others were blown up with compressed air. Provided you don’t release it unevenly, gravity works. You had an element of chance with the bat, since you couldn’t predict the point of contact, power, or angle of travel, and each of those could affect your results. And with compressed air, when you hit the trigger it will either work, or not work. With three explosive charges, it’s always possible that you get a dud, and they probably weren’t powerful enough to set each other off. I’m assuming the pyro guys had to inspect each model to verify the charges all triggered properly, but I wonder if they had contingency plans in place if one of the models had an incomplete explosion. It’s not like you can just try it again, since the model would be partially destroyed (and they might have to do further damage to dispose of the unfired explosive).
And if you’re planning a group trip to the LEGO Store in Michigan any time soon, maybe call ahead and let Shane (the store manager) know you’re coming, and how many plan to go. Also be aware that they’re still operating under headcount restrictions, which includes the store staff. Until things fully return to normal, having a large group just hanging out in the store could be a problem. As an individual, I’ll do it, but if the store is crowded (and especially if they have to start locking the door) I try to wrap things up and get out of there.
@benbacardi said:
" @Angry_Warlock said:
"Is this airing in the UK at the moment, or just available via file sharing networks ?"
Currently only airing in the US. "
And since the US series 1, that's currently airing in the UK, has just switched from a 20:00 weekday evening slot, to 08:30 Sunday morning, I can't see us getting series 2!
Jack and Dawn make really nice static models (I thought their shopping center looked great). Unfortunately LEGO Masters is all about dynamic models, and that just isn't their thing. They would have really struggled in the upcoming episodes, when the producers will start throwing twists in, halfway through the build time.
Having said that, I didn't think they should have been sent home this week. I didn't think theirs was less impressive than a couple of others, and then you have the one that the minifig fell over (which violated one of the only two rules of the build -- there must be an explosion, and the minifig must not be harmed). I would not have picked Jack and Dawn.
@sjr60 said:
" @benbacardi said:
" @Angry_Warlock said:
"Is this airing in the UK at the moment, or just available via file sharing networks ?"
Currently only airing in the US. "
And since the US series 1, that's currently airing in the UK, has just switched from a 20:00 weekday evening slot, to 08:30 Sunday morning, I can't see us getting series 2!"
Maybe it’s so the kids can watch it too? Who knows
@SuperMatt said:
" @sjr60 said:
" @benbacardi said:
" @Angry_Warlock said:
"Is this airing in the UK at the moment, or just available via file sharing networks ?"
Currently only airing in the US. "
And since the US series 1, that's currently airing in the UK, has just switched from a 20:00 weekday evening slot, to 08:30 Sunday morning, I can't see us getting series 2!"
Maybe it’s so the kids can watch it too? Who knows
"
It started off with 2 repeats on Sunday as well as the weekday prime time slot. Now it's down to a single slot.
@sm5574:
There were two teams that were noted for incomplete destruction, and one for knocking over the minifig. All three failed to meet the requirements of the challenge, but only two teams are up for elimination. But until the button is pushed, there’s no way to know which of these teams would fail or succeed. I’m last year’s bridge challenge, it was clear that Jermaine and Mel had not built their model level with the road, so they automatically went up for elimination even before their bridge was tested for weight. It could have been the only one that wasn’t broken, and they still would have been in the bottom two.
I’d argue that destruction should outweigh minifigs anyways. If you got complete destruction but knocked over the minifig, you still delivered on one of the two requirements. If you got incomplete destruction, there’s no way of knowing if the remaining chunks of building would have safely cleared or not. So, that’s failed on one count and undetermined on the other. As it stands, I guess this could be debated just as long as some of the more debated decisions of last season.
Regarding the quality of their build, the unfortunate truth is that’s only part of the equation. First, you have to meet the stated challenge. You need to listen to any advice the judges give you, because that’s their way of pointing out the things that will cause you to lose the challenge. Then it needs to be big and impressive.
The Straatsmas figured that out in the first episode when they noted that having a good model didn’t mean much when it was dwarfed by everything else in the room. And they ended up in the bottom two. Provided you didn’t miss something critical, if the first thing the judges think when they see your model is, “That’s cool,” you should be fine. If the first thing that pops in their mind is, “That’s small,” you better hope someone else guffs it.
What a shame they went out with such a cool build
I see from the footnotes that blame goes to someone on Fox payroll, but the more I see them, the more I can’t ignore the fact that the photography of the pre-explosion models...um...well, it sucks. There are two good shots that show the entire model straight on. Two more clip the tip, but still show the entire minifig, which is forgivable. Two more cut the minifig off at the waist, one shows the model at a wide angle, and one more does both. Three don’t show the minifig at all. Then I don’t know if it’s Fox’ fault, or if one just got lost in the pile, but there’s no picture of Violin Guy by Dave & Richard.
@monki:
Challenge requirements aside, what they built would fit in on many AFOL town/train layouts, but the foreground is just an empty road, and the details on the single-story structure don’t read well on a TV screen. If you want to win this, you have to go big, every time. Some teams did a better job of filling their foreground, or went bigger in the background. A few did both. If they had managed to fully destroy their structure, without knocking over the minifig, they wouldn’t have been in the bottom two (there were still two teams that failed the challenge), but they still wouldn’t have won last week.
@PurpleDave - the pictures posted are exactly how they were provided to us from FOX (as well as the number). I've got a request in to see if we can get the twelfth picture from that week.
@MeganL:
I believe that was the first model to get blown up, so it’s entirely possible that whoever was there to take photos was planning to wait until after judging and realized their mistake a bit too late. And that was one of the models the judges favored. Maybe if they don’t have a photo someone can provide a screencap?
Anyways, not to get spoilery about today’s episode, but right at the very start of the recap from last week, they showed someone “installing” the poor Elf Girl by smacking her on the head with a hammer! I know that Master Model Builders use hammers with plastic striking surfaces to firmly tap bricks into place (especially since glue doesn’t allow you to go back and do it later, and your fingers can only take so much abuse), but is it strictly necessary to do it to a minifig?
For those who do not have access to the regular Fox broadcast network shows, the show is also on Hulu.
@PurpleDave said:
"If you got complete destruction but knocked over the minifig, you still delivered on one of the two requirements."
"Complete" destruction was not a requirement. Impressive intentional destruction was the requirement -- their destruction was less than what they intended, and it was certainly not impressive, so I agree that they did not meet that requirement. But I disagree that it negates the minifig requirement. This was supposed to be a cinematic Hollywood moment. At best, the death of the hero is equal with incomplete destruction. But given that survival of the minifig was the only objective requirement, I think that should automatically make it the primary consideration.