Q&A @lego_artisan on his LEGO 'town' and building MOCs
Collector Kim Plata has made a name for himself with designs including the Lego Seinfeld modular - in this week's Q&A he talks us through his collection.
If you follow all things Lego City or Lego Modular then you might well have seen @lego_artisan’s instagram account.
This week My Lego City was thrilled to feature an interview with Kim Plata (the man behind @lego_artisan) where he talked about modularising LEGO’s new Seinfeld TV set.
In this week’s Q&A Kim talks us through his Lego ‘town’ of more than 30 buildings and how he got into Lego MOC design.
Name/location and socials?
My name is Kim Plata (a.k.a. Lego Artisan). I have an Instagram acct lego_artisan. I’m from the Philippines.
Tell us a bit about your LEGO City - how many buildings/minifigures do you have?
The LEGO town has 30 buildings/structures in my city and about 360 minifigs (I’ve not really counted all of the minifigs). I keep calling it a town rather than a city because I can see that it’s still small. The buildings are composed of official sets, original designs, modifications of official sets and alternate builds. I’ve tried to mix different themes in the city like modular creator expert, Harry Potter, Marvel, Ninjago, medieval, etc. with their own sections.
I don’t have a dedicated LEGO room yet so I always see my LEGO town as temporary and a work in progress until I can move it to a proper layout. Right now, I’m focusing on the buildings and their interiors rather than the overall layout since I know I will still relocate them later on.
You’ve recently completed a modularisation of the Seinfeld build tell us about that?
I had previously done a modification/combination of the Central Perk, FRIENDs, The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother apartments which I called Sit-Complex. So, when LEGO announced that Seinfeld will be released in August, I immediately knew that I wanted to add it to the building as an optional floor. When the photos of the set were released, I looked at them and studied the layout of the TV studio layout. I compared it with the existing footprint of the MOC building and luckily, I found out that it would fit well into the building without major modifications to the set.
The wider build is an apartment building with a number of TV shows (friends, big bang etc) builds in it - where do you start with something like? How has it evolved?
The original building was done when I bought the Central Perk last August 2020 after which I turned it into a modular café & pub. It was a small 32x32 building which was nice at that time but it felt incomplete and I knew I would add on to it eventually.
Fast forward to May 2021, LEGO announced the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. apartment. I immediately wanted to combine it with Central Perk. I thought people would try the usual approach of trying to fit the whole set into a 32x32 baseplate so I went on a different direction by doing it on a 48x32 and as a corner building. I started with the Central Perk as the ground floor.
Knowing that the FRIENDS apartments were larger in terms of footprint, I doubled the use of Central Perk with an extension of a pub with a pool table. Then, I thought of the stair connections for all three floors without affecting the detailed interior of each set. Once I’ve done the rough actual built floor per floor, I focused on the aesthetics of the exterior. I looked at some New York style buildings as well as LEGO sets designed in that same theme/style.
After I finished the MOC, people started suggesting different TV shows like The Big Bang Theory and even though I didn’t have that set, I thought others who have it would enjoy adding it to the building. I had to design its layout as an optional additional floor wherein it won’t affect the layout of the original FRIENDS/Central Perk MOC regardless of whether it was added or removed. This is where the general footprint of the additional floors was developed. In a way, I could now add any interior layout as long as I adjust it to fit the footprint of the building.
This would showcase the building with a much more prominent view in a LEGO city.
Are the TV sets one of your favourites? If so why?
The Sit-Complex is one of my favorite MOCs/MODs that I’ve done so far. I’m a fan of the TV shows and to be able to include them in my town. LEGO has done a wonderful job with the detailed interiors and it is an honor to be able to modify them into a single building that can fit well in a town and at the same time, maintain the interiors that the designers intended them to be. The positive response from other LEGO fans also helped make it one of my top three favorite MOCs/MODs.
What’s your favourite part of your LEGO City why?
I love the fairground area surrounded by modular buildings. It’s filled with life and different scenes that people love to look at.
What other projects are you currently working on? I saw you recently did the Jazz Cafe conversion from Assembly Square how hard was that?
I am working on another modification of a friends themed set as well as trying out LED lights for the Sit-Complex.
I have recently completed the European Jazz Café and it was an awesome build. You get that same feeling when you build an official set that has a neat technique that you’ve not seen before, only with this alternate build, you experience it many times. It’s a bit tricky at times but that makes it more worth it. You’ll come out as a better builder after you’ve finished building it and you’ve learned those different techniques.
Can you tell us about any other MOCs in your city - what’s your favourites?
The MOCs in my LEGO town are mostly buildings with a few vehicles. I love all of them but if I had to choose the top 5, they would be:
Sit-Complex – this mammoth of a project took a lot of time and effort to complete and the details within each floor is so fun to look at. There’s always an easter egg that I end up adding every time I open the interior.
The Town Square Corner – it is a purely original design (not modified from any of the official sets). It contains 5 different establishments in a 32x32 baseplate which supports my main design philosophies – diversity & density. I see it as an accomplishment to be able to fit different establishments, scenes and details in a limited space.
The Crown Jewel – it is an alternate design for the Police Station and like the Town Square Corner, I was able to put 5 different businesses while having the exterior look like a cohesive and classy building.
Jim’s Bowling Alley & Diner – I love the façade that I was able to create for the alternate design of the Downtown Diner. The clear panels and windows make so I don’t have to open the modular building to be able to see the details inside.
The Birch Art & Antique Corner – an alternate build for the bookshop has one of my favorite hobbies in it – art. It shows of a nice artistic façade that I would love to go to, if I were a LEGO minifig.
You design and sell MOC plans - how did you get into it?
I do design and sell MOC instructions/plans. I was encouraged to do it by a guy in Instagram with the username onlytogether.tv as well as being inspired by a youtuber DrMcBrick when he modified the Harry Potter set – No.4 Privet Drive. I downloaded Studio from Bricklink and tried to create the digital version of my own modular Privet Drive. After that first creation, I continued with other ideas like Silkwood Street and Central Perk Café & Pub. People liked my works so I just kept doing it whenever I can.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in their LEGO city?
Do what you can with what you have. We will never have enough parts, sets, space, etc. We will always want/need more but making use of what you have now teaches you to be innovative, resourceful and so much more. Those special techniques, the different aesthetics, are only discovered when you experiment with the parts that you have instead of just buying pieces.
Your account is called LegoArtisan - how much is it about the LEGO versus Art / Storytelling?
Before I got back in to the hobby of LEGO, I used to draw/sketch cartoons, etc. I’ve always loved art and I found that LEGO is another way to express art and combine it with my profession – civil engineering. I don’t see it as much as LEGO vs Art. I see it more as using LEGO as a medium to relay my interests and creativity.
Where in the house is your LEGO City/ Talk us through how you manage / sort or display your LEGO collection?
The LEGO town is currently in my room. Since I only started last Jan 2020, I’ve not had much time and opportunity to move it to a dedicated LEGO room in the house. I also never thought it would grow to how it is now when I started it in 2020.
The town is currently on tables with L shaped configuration. There are 2 different levels to be able to showcase the modular buildings without being overshadowed by the ones that are in the front of the set up. I’ve set them up in a way where kids like my nephew and niece can play and interact with the minifigs.
LEGO is a toy and is still mainly for kids so I want the LEGO town to be enjoyable for kids (and adults of course) and not be set up where it’s out of reach of children and just collecting dust.
How did you get into LEGO? Did you rediscover it in adulthood?
I got into LEGO when I was about 5 or 6 years old. My parents bought me a small LEGO car and I got hooked to it. But like most people, I got into other toys and then went into the dark ages during my highschool, college and early adult years. I rediscovered my love for LEGO back in December 2019 when my sister asked me to build a small Ninjago set for my nephew. I enjoyed building it. Then my brother remembered that he was given a mini cooper set and asked me to build it as well.
I was so surprised at how far LEGO has come in terms of details and complexity. I was so interested to find out what else LEGO has done in the past 20+ years. Then I discovered the modular buildings and the YouTube channels like Alex Nunes, Robinhoodbricks, DrMcbrick and MrBookieboo that showcase their cities. I knew right then and there that I would buy the modular building that would be release on Jan 2020. And I’ve just kept falling in the LEGO rabbit hole since then ^_^
Why do you love LEGO?
I love LEGO for the creativity that it brings out in me and other LEGO builders. I love seeing my work and other people’s work and sharing ideas on how to improve a certain design. I love how it brings people closer. Since I’ve been back into LEGO, I’ve met and kept in touch with people around the world – UK, Australia, US, Italy, Netherlands, India, UAE and so much more. It’s a great stress reliever not just for me but for my family & friends who get to see my designs and my LEGO town. It’s a good way to spend quality time with the kids. There are so much more positive things that have come from LEGO.
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