Spotlight: What I Do As a LEGO Model Designer
Would you like to play with LEGO all day? For kids and adults alike, the multitude of LEGOs offers such possibilities – whole worlds and inhabitants in this familiar table with right angles and bright, mismatched colors. Plus, some people take their LEGO a little more seriously.
When zoomed in, bricks allow for sophisticated and complex designs, turning into precise pixels in large structures. Building the large scale models you see in places like LEGOLAND is a huge undertaking. How does it feel to actually spend knee-deep days at LEGO? We spoke with Adora Lo about her work as a LEGO model designer and how she got into the plastic brick environment.
Above: Adora is building Teed Palace from Star Wars.
Tell us a little about yourself and your experience.
My name is Adora and I am a Modeling Designer and Team Leader at Merlin Studios Carlsbad based at LEGOLAND California Resort. I design new architectural and sculptural models for LEGOLAND and LEGOLAND Discovery Center attractions around the world. I also manage a team of nine model builders to solve any problems they may have. I’ve been working here for almost five years, although I’ve only become a designer and team lead in the last year and a half. Before that, I was a model designer.
What prompted you to choose your career path?
My graduation coincided with hard work in the labor market in 2009, so I worked part-time while looking for a full-time architect job. While looking for a job in architecture, I found an ad for a LEGO model constructor and decided to give it a try. I didn’t make it through the first round, but after a while I received an email asking for another interview. After that, I got the position. I thought I would only be a modeler for a year or two and return to architecture, but after the first year I liked it so much that I decided to stay.
What kind of education and experience did you need?
Our model shop has people from all walks of life. There are high school graduates and people with degrees in graphics or public policy. I have an MA in Architecture from the University of California Los Angeles and a BA in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley, so my architectural education gave me serious experience in structural engineering and a step forward in all the software I need. was to know for this job. It was also good that I love to solve problems and deal with stress quite well. My previous job was an out-of-school teacher who interacted daily with 20 fifth-graders who didn’t want to be there.
What are you doing besides what people see? What do you actually spend most of your time on?
Most people see finished models in one of the LEGOLAND parks. Our model shop is out of the office and the public will never see what is going on inside, mainly because we are working on models for parks and attractions for months or years to come. I spend a lot of time on the computer, using proprietary software and LEGO Rhino3D to create reduced in scale buildings or sculptural models. I am also prototyping to figure out how the model will combine as there are building methods that are easier to visualize and test by building the model physically. I am also a team leader, so I distribute projects to my builders, check the quality of their work, and perform other administrative tasks. I think the public will never see myself or my team leader trying to break LEGO models to test their strength.
What misconceptions do people often have about your job?
I think many people think that I just play with LEGO all day long, when in fact it is a lot of math and puzzles. The first thing we remember is the size of the LEGO 1×1 plate (8mm x 8mm x 3.2mm). When you consider that turning five plates on its side is equal to the width of two studs, and then doing this in the course of constructing 100 studs with mixed patterns, the math starts to get a little more complicated. Also, people tend to think that I work for the LEGO Group and I do not work. I work for Merlin Entertainments , a British amusement company that owns LEGOLAND resorts around the world, as well as Madame Tussauds, dungeons and other attractions.
What’s your average uptime?
On average, I have 40 hours a week, although I usually work nine hours a day for nine working days and then take the 10th day off.
What personal tips and shortcuts have made your job easier?
I plan on doing similar tasks at the same time. If I need to check the quality of some models, I check them all at once at the beginning of the week. If someone completes their model the next day, I postpone until next week so that a few more can be completed. I also find time in the morning to walk over to all my builders to see how they are doing, if they need anything, or if there are any quick questions that I can answer right away. It helps me because then I know I can work relatively calmly for a couple of hours after I have tested them all.
What are you doing differently from your colleagues or colleagues in the same profession? What are they doing instead?
There are two team leaders working in the store, and we work in opposite but complementary ways. My boss jokes that we are yin and yang. I am more organized and like to plan things in advance; my teammate is better at handling chaos and better at solving problems on the fly. I am better at computer problems, and he is better at everything related to power tools. While we can both do what we need to do, we both know we are better at certain tasks than others. In terms of design, since I’m architecturally prepared, I prefer to use Rhino3D more than others who usually use LEGO Digital Designer or proprietary LEGO software. In addition, I always use modeling elements to start building and work out the details according to this scale, instead of starting with a few small building details and working out the rest of the model from them.
An example of a fan-made model from the free digital LEGO construction set .
What’s the worst part of a job and how do you deal with it?
The worst is when something goes outside the plan during model building, such as when the steel frame doesn’t match, or when the original structural design looks great on a computer but doesn’t work in the physical world. I usually just brainstorm with colleagues to solve the problem as efficiently as possible while maintaining a high level of aesthetic quality. The worst thing that happened to me was that one of my models fell off the truck. The manager brought the parts to the store and I repaired them after a week. On the first day, I was pretty annoyed, but I got over it and focused only on the repairs. However, I built it pretty solidly, and most of it survived the fall safe and sound. I just needed to fix cosmetic damage and reassemble the walls and everything was as good as new. Fortunately, this has happened only once in the history of the fashion store. Wish it was me!
What is the most enjoyable part of the job?
I’m surrounded by LEGO all day! I grew up playing with LEGO and that led me to architecture, which in turn brought me back to LEGO. The fact that I can make international landmarks out of plastic toy bricks and get paid for it still surprises me. Plus, it’s the people I work with that make my job one of the best in my life. They are great, fun and easy to work with. We have really strong companionship and everyone really cares about each other. Some of us play Smash Bros for eight players during our lunch breaks, while others have drinks together at the weekend. For being such a big model store (30+ people) we all get along well.
In the photo: a scene from the movie “Star Wars: Episode II” on the planet Kamino.
How are you progressing in your field?
I started out as a model designer, and when I learned about the different types of models our store produces, I started talking to designers to find out how they create their schematics, and then I started requesting my own small design projects. As a result, I had a small portfolio of work projects that I could show to managers and prove my potential to become a designer.
What advice would you give to those who want to become your profession?
Create a portfolio that showcases your creativity. It doesn’t have to be LEGO; mine, of course, was not. And be sure to practice building with LEGO and learn the system. It is very helpful to know the difference between tiles and bricks and that three slabs are equal to brick. Our interview looks more like a skill assessment than a traditional interview, so we look at how a person uses bricks through some building tests along with their resume. Also, if at first you don’t succeed, try again next time. It wasn’t the first time I was hired, but the second time was a charm for me, and many of my colleagues were hired on the second try.