2020 in LEGO: The Year of Eli
/No, my friends, you didn’t arrive at a fan page for Denzel’s “The Book of Eli,” this is in fact an article about the amazing and talented AFOL and LEGO builder, the one and only Eli Willsea.
Eli on a typical day with Baby Yoda (full video below)
You may already be familiar with this wonderfully goofy character and if not, you’ve certainly seen some of his LEGO creations the past year. He’s been getting a lot of press in blogs across the interwebs, so we thought we’d shine a light on his 2020 which was simply an astounding year of accomplishments! Let’s dive right in and chat with Eli:
Doug Hughes: Eli, it’s great to virtually chat. Thanks for spending the time to do an interview with BrickNerd!
Eli Willsea: It’s my pleasure!
Doug: I wanted to interview you because I think you’re one of the most exciting and dynamic builders out there. (You’re like Hansel—so hot right now!) I’ve also gotten to know you over recent years, chatting on Discord with friends and hanging at LEGO conventions, and I'm confident it’ll be a pleasure for our readers to get to know you too.
So diving in, I think it's safe to say that you really brought it in 2020… dare we call it the Year of Eli? You won two very prestigious awards, The Brothers Brick: Builder of the Year 2020 and Mr. RebelLUG 2020. What was your reaction to these accolades?
Image from The Brothers Brick announcement of the award
Eli: To be honest, I was very surprised to win these awards! For me, 2020 really was just a normal year of building LEGO. I entered a lot of contests that pushed me to build better and faster than ever before, and at the end of the year, I still felt like I hadn’t even built all that I wanted! I can definitely see that 2020 was a huge year of growth for me, but I was having so much building and creating, I didn’t realize that it was all that impressive until it was called out. I like to always strive for excellence in my creations, and to hear that what I was doing was inspiring to others was a really encouraging moment.
I was also surprised because these honors weren’t something I was trying to earn, I was simply striving to build well and express my gift of creativity. I’m just a normal guy who’s passionate about LEGO!
Doug: Surprise honors are the best, and frankly sir, you deserved it. Looking back earlier in the year, we last saw each other at Bricks Cascade 2020 in February, and as I recall your builds were highly regarded. You won some individual awards and the AFOL crowd was quite impressed. Here are just a few that impressed me: “Let’s Float Away,” “Deeper,“ and “Hedgehog.”
Doug: Do any of the awards feel particularly rewarding due to the recognition of some special technique or design that you were proud of?
Eli: First of all, I was very humbled to hear so much feedback about my creations at the convention. I think it was the first time that I felt like my creations could stand on their own.
As for awards, I was really encouraged to see my desert temple do so well. The temple had originally been built for an online viewing experience—a fully immersive scene where you could really see all the details and small bits. I was sort of expecting it to be overlooked since “big” MOCs in the studio suddenly become “small” MOCs at the convention hall, but I was quite wrong.
Others really seemed to love all the detail and could appreciate it just as much as everything else. I really saw it as a breakthrough that creations made for online viewing can still be appreciated in person. In fact, I think I had even more fun hearing people asking and wondering how I used certain tiny parts. There is this sense of joy in sharing the secrets of how I built something with other creatives.
Closeup of “Deeper”, check out that detail from the bucket handles to the underside of 1x2 bricks with a groove
Doug: You also helped in the Sci-Fi collaboration I took part in ("Dispute on LV-4273" or Battle of Bubblegum Brook) in which you made the most ingenious rocky hills that not only had a fantastic stratified look but also had a certain play feature. Yes folks you heard right, Eli's landscaping had built in play features! Care to tell us the tale?
The Sci-Fi collaboration “Dispute on LV-4273” with Eli’s canyon walls in the back
Eli: Hahaha! I love the slinky mountains. The play feature was a pure accident!
When I was planning the canyon walls, I decided I wanted to build sideways to get a layered effect that resulted with no studs showing. Since it was going to be a large project to build so many layers, I decided to create each layer separately so I could randomize the order and thus the texture later without a ton of rebuilding. I built each layer off of a Technic beam that later would slide over Technic axles mounted into the base.
This resulted in a giant stack of layers only held on top of each other with an axle running down the back—but surprise surprise, axles have a flex to them which meant: Slinky mode! A few layers in, I realized that I had not really thought through the structural integrity of the entire technique seeing as how loose everything was but opted to keep going hoping the weight of it all would hold it together.
In the end, the rockwork effect I wanted to achieve worked out perfectly, but I still wanted to be sure the structure would hold so I gave it a push—and much to my surprise, I discovered I had built a giant slinky! A slinky in the shape of a canyon. I could have just built all the layers off of plates to hold them together, but I’m glad I went this route as it is loads more fun!
Slinky mode!!
Doug: Another thing about Bricks Cascade, one of the other BrickNerds Simon Liu tells me that Sam from the TV show LEGO Masters (USA Season 1) was so excited to find you to talk about your amazing builds that he spent a half-hour wading through the crowd of autograph seekers but ran out of time before a Meet-and-Greet he had to turn around to get to. Did you get a chance to ever chat with Sam or any of the other LEGO Masters contestants at the con?
Eli: I did get a brief moment to talk with Sam. It was really neat to hear that he had kept seeing my creations and wanting to meet me. But it was also strange at first because I sort of saw him as the “celebrity” and yet he was looking for me and admiring my work. I think it was really a testament to how supportive and encouraging the AFOL community is. No one is out of reach, or too good or too bad, it’s like a huge group of friends, everyone wants everyone else to do well.
I was able to briefly meet some of the other contestants as well and I would say that it really humanized them. I think it is easy to judge someone by how they are portrayed on TV or social media or what have you, but when you meet them in person you see that they’re just like me, yes imperfect, but also passionate creative individuals who want to share their love of the brick with others. I found it inspiring to be around them and see them interact with the public and other AFOLs.
Doug: Moving on to contests, reading your 2020 recap post I couldn’t believe you participated in eight contests and events. Do you have coffee pumped into your veins!? For the benefit of our readers, I’ll list them all out here with a gallery of some of your entries:
Doug: Obviously there’s too much to unpack for all those contests here in one article, so a question I thought I'd ask is if you had a favorite contest—perhaps one that pushed you to build something truly special or maybe was the most fun?
Eli: I think I’ve got to say Iron Builder was my favorite. To be invited to compete in Iron Builder had always been this mythical goal of mine. My good friend Grant Davis had competed, and I was ready for my turn to prove my worth! In the round, I was paired against LEGO legend Jonas Kramm, and while daunting, I really had a blast. I think it was a close match, and I was happy with what I brought to the table even though I didn’t end up winning.
I absolutely love part challenges with LEGO. I revel in coming up with creative uses and perspectives for parts. And to get to do that with one of my favorite LEGO builders and see what he came up with at the same time was a delight.
Doug: I thought I'd zero in on a few more of my favorite builds from various contests, and perhaps you could talk about any fun facts, what inspired the builds, and anything else you’d like to tell our readers.
First, let's hear about the collaboration you participated in for Summer Joust and the resulting street market MOC you created. That scene still makes me pause and shake my head in admiration.
Eli: The Summer Joust is a great competition that really encourages innovation and original world-building in the LEGO castle community. Are you tired of seeing the same grey castle builds year after year? Well stop by the Joust and get ready for some medieval inspiration. If you are a castle builder I highly recommend entering this year!
There are a handful of great new categories each Joust, but there is always a collaborative category that really leans into the story building across multiple builds. So this last year I grabbed two of my good friends Jake and Micah and we set to work imagining the world of “Preston the Potion Master” and then translating that into LEGO. Defining our story was important before we even started building. The story helped guide how we wanted to bring life to the characters’ environments.
What shall we buy at the market?
Eli: Inspiration for my scene came from a collection of concept art—and maybe a little bit of Narnia (I was listening to The Horse and His Boy during this build.) I knew I was going for a market scene, and I wanted to add a lot of depth and detail. I had to find the right balance that made the market seem busy, but not so busy that you can’t focus on anything. In the end, I opted for a lot of subtle textures and layers of flags and awnings to really bring it to life. This was one of my favorite scenes to create so don’t be surprised if you see more like this from me in the future!
Doug: I feel like listening to a Narnia audiobook while working on a castle or fantasy build is about the smartest idea ever for inspiration. What can you tell us about the mind-blowing scene you crafted for MOC Wars: "Through the Glass?" I find the design so creative and unique, I need to know more.
Portal… rails… tree… whaaaaa???
Eli: This build was a lot of fun but also very difficult. The prompt for this build was this very strange, crazy book quote that the contest wanted us to interpret into LEGO. I thought the quote was seemingly deep but also confusing, so I opted to build something deep but also confusing. I never gave a description or an explanation as to what the scene means or was meant to be. Part of me thinks that the unknown is part of the magic, and to explain the story would ruin it. But since it’s been some time since I built it I’ll give a little explanation.
The scene shows a boy with a wagon exploding through a portal, headed presumably into the next portal, and we, the viewer, are in the world in-between seeing the boy make that split-second transition. The idea came a little bit from the Calvin and Hobbes comics; Calvin is constantly using his imagination to create incredible worlds using everyday normal activities. It’s how the mind of a child works—one second you are riding your wagon down a hill and the next you are flying a spaceship into the great unknown. This build is a snapshot of that moment when the mind switches from reality into imagination.
While I wanted to capture that moment, I also wanted to create a world that makes you ask questions like: Why is this place in ruins? Was someone observing these transitional moments? Why mechanical and natural? Where is this and where is he going? These sorts of questions help the viewer either come up with their own story as to what is going on. I like the idea of a build that could be interpreted in many ways like its own kind of poetry. I have my own explanation, but I’ll keep the rest of the story open to interpretation.
On the building side of things, there were many other ideas I wanted to include in the build such as a bit more foliage scattered around and fleshing out the main tree with more leaves. But due to contest deadlines and other life things I ended up rushing this build, and while it is completed and posted, part of me is still quite unsatisfied with the build quality.
Doug: I realize like most builders you can always find something you’d do differently, but I wouldn’t change it one bit. So you’re going to laugh but I think my favorite build from your set of Iron Builder entries was the "Chicken-Pen-Ball." There's something so whimsical and cartoony and bright about the whole thing, but then it’s also a functional build.
Pinball at a farm
Eli: Before I added the chicken to Chicken-Pen-Ball, I had set out to just build a pinball machine. I wanted to build something mechanical in my Iron Builder round and I thought the seed part (the yellow train switch) looked like a flipper from a traditional pinball game.
I started building the function base first (basically everything you see that is brown) but after I had built the function and got it to work I really didn’t have much time to spend on redoing the entire thing in a different color. So I ran with brown and decided I would theme the rest of the build to match the color choice. I figured brown could be used as mud on a farm and then started building the rest of the scene around it to make it all mesh together well. Building the barn and green outer section was really fun because I knew that it would make the whole build pop with color.
I chose chickens because they scaled well and I had also come up with the chicken pen pun that was funny to me. In the end, I styled the whole build sort of like a Fisher-Price toy and even made an advertisement for it. I would never have built something like this if it weren’t for the challenge of Iron Builder, and I am very glad that I did.
Doug: Moving on from contests, one of my personal favorite Eli 2020 moments is your wild and hilarious YouTube video where you put on a fake beard and a glove then proceed to karate chop a number of builds! How did this masterpiece come to be? And can we expect more from the character?
MOCs are no match for this bearded windmill chopping beast
Eli: Yes! I’ve been really wanting to expand my YouTube activity and create more fun, informative and goofy LEGO-related content. This video definitely was on the goofy side (maybe due to a case of the COVID crazies?), but it also served to help me part with MOCs and sets that needed to be deconstructed. I have a really bad habit of keeping MOCs and sets built for way too long. My friend Grant is always trying to get me to destroy them so I can use the parts in new MOCs (which I agree with, but it’s still sad to see them go). Sorting can be boring sometimes so I decided to spice it up and smash stuff for entertainment!
As for more: Yes, there is more coming! I’m hoping to create a lot of new and fun LEGO-related content on my YouTube channel soon. As for the Chopping Block, as long as I keep making MOCs or building sets, there will be a reason to deconstruct!
Doug: On a slightly less destructive note (but still very entertaining) you also put together a set of charming review videos of both the Mos Eisley Cantina (75290) and of The Child (75318). You struck a great balance of informative content with some laughs and solid video editing. Did RebelLUG ask for this specifically or did you offer up the idea?
Eli: RebelLUG basically saw that I had done some video content before, including one previous video for their channel, and I guess they liked my style enough to trust me with two set reviews! I wasn’t expecting to get sent sets to review, but after that surprise, I decided to give them my best shot. They gave me a lot of freedom with what to do in the videos which made it really enjoyable to create something that others would find enjoyable and informative. I made sure I had fun and hopefully that made it fun for others.
Doug: What was your process like for developing the videos, and did you enjoy it?
Eli: My process was really simple: Find something funny and outside the box I could do with the set, and then give my thoughts on the set’s design and construction from a MOC builder’s perspective. I really enjoy this format because it feels different than a standard product review and focuses more on the play and creative aspect of the set. I find myself uninterested in a lot of standard review videos, so I wanted to create something that I would enjoy watching even if I didn’t necessarily want to buy a set.
Doug: We could talk all day about your wild 2020, but I had a couple of general questions I wanted to get to before we wrap up. Who are the top builders who inspire you at the moment? And if time, distance and money were no obstacle, who would you want to collaborate with on a future project?
Eli: Oh man there are so many great builders it is hard to narrow it down! I would say a few of the top builders who inspire me currently are Anthony Wilson, Jonas Kramm and Markus Rollbühler. There are loads more who inspire me—just scroll through my favorites on Flickr for a vast array of incredible builders. As for collaboration, well I can’t say too much but there may or may not be some projects already in the works with some of my favorite builders! Other collaborations would be fun as well, frankly, I can’t wait to get back to conventions again and all the collaboration that goes along with them.
Doug: Before we close this whole thing up, I’m hoping you might share a random non-LEGO-related fact about yourself. What’s your favorite movie? Or color? Or what tune do you hum as you work… what do you do for work? Share a random Eli fact!
Eli: One of my recent favorite movies is This Beautiful Fantastic. I’m a huge fan of Owl City and all Adam Young’s musical side projects, especially Sky Sailing. And finally: Sharp cheddar is better! (Also cheese slopes! But don’t get them confused, plastic isn’t as tasty!)
It turns out Eli loves cheese almost as much as the mouse in this hilarious MOC by builder Martin Gebert (spaceEngineer on Flickr).
Well, there you have it folks! That’s almost everything you could ever want to know about Eli’s year in 2020. As for things we didn’t get to from Eli’s 2020, he also wrote an article for New Elementary, was featured in a BrickJournal article, and had a MOC featured at The LEGO House.
The LEGO House in Billund, Denmark featured this very surprised mailman!
Oh wait… we barely scratched the surface and it is already 2021! But hey, that’s just motivation for you to follow him on Flickr, Instagram, YouTube, and to enjoy seeing his works blogged by The Brothers Brick and other sites.
Do you think you could build this many LEGO creations in a year? Let us know in the comments below.
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