LEGO’s latest Gift With Purchase (GWP) set Cosmic Cardboard Adventures (40533) hit stores earlier this month. The set features a brick-built child’s room with a cardboard rocket, its maker and pilot Captain Billy, his first mate Teddy, and Doctor Kitty. Brimming with carefully thought-out details, Cosmic Cardboard Adventures captures both whimsy and nostalgia, making it a must-have for many AFOLs.

This sweet little build is the second IDEAS submission by Filipino LEGO Fan Designer Ivan Guerrero, known as @bulldoozer, to be made into an actual LEGO set. Ivan was also the fan designer of 123 Sesame Street (21324). When LEGO issued the challenge for Out of this World Space Builds in 2021, Ivan submitted The Adventures of the USS Cardboard. Pair an amazing build with a cute story and interesting trivia, and you’ve got a fan favorite that blasted off with the Grand Prize.

We had a chat with Ivan and talked about life, LEGO, and his own cosmic adventures.

Inez: Hi Ivan! Could you tell us something about yourself and your LEGO journey? What's your day job?

Ivan: My name is Ivan, and I'm a LEGO fan designer from the Philippines. While I mostly direct videos and commercials for a living, LEGO is a big part of my creative interests.

I’ve been a LEGO fan since I was kid, but fell out of building as I got older. I got back into it just a few years ago thanks to sets from LEGO Ideas and Dimensions. I really liked that they were making sets based on IPs that I grew up on, like Ghostbusters and Back to Future. It also encouraged me to design and submit my own sets on the LEGO Ideas platform.

In 2020, I was lucky enough to get one of my own sets produced — Sesame Street. That set was based on one of my favorite educational shows growing up. As an enormous fan of Jim Henson, it was a dream come true to work on something Muppet-related.

Since then, I’ve regularly continued to design and submit projects on LEGO Ideas. In fact, I recently designed a Gremlins project that is currently under review.

Ivan (AKA @bulldoozer) in his own cardboard starship. Photo courtesy of Ivan Guerrero.

Inez: I noticed your design, The Adventures of the USS Cardboard, is digital. How did you get into designing LEGO digitally?

Ivan: I got into building digitally because of LEGO Digital Designer. As someone who hadn’t built a MOC before, building with LDD gave me an unlimited supply of LEGO bricks to work with. It gave me a lot of freedom to play with elements, and not worry about the cost of buying the parts right away. It’s really empowering to learn that you can build and express your ideas like that.

Ivan’s original design submitted to LEGO IDEAS.

Inez: Do you also build your designs in actual bricks after you've done them digitally?

Ivan: While I do enjoy displaying my LEGO collection, I prefer building my MOCs out digitally. For the most part, I use Stud.io from Bricklink to create. It’s been especially helpful to build things digitally, because some of the sets I create make use of parts that aren’t always available in the colors I need. For instance, I made an Avatar set two years ago that made use of a lot of glow-in-the-dark pieces.

Inez: Which method of building do you prefer and why? (Digital versus Physical)

Ivan: Honestly, nothing beats the experience of building a model physically. While I love that I’m able to create all sorts of wild MOCs digitally, they don’t always translate well when built using real parts. There’s always that small margin of computer error that you only learn about when you build things with real bricks. You discover that parts may not really fit perfectly, or builds become unstable. You really have to learn how to build with physical parts to create LEGO sets.

Inez: You’re a very prolific builder. You've got 21 contributions on LEGO Ideas! Where do you draw your inspiration from? And how do you find time to build so much?!

Ivan: As someone who works in a creative field, I constantly have to expose myself to new ideas and pop culture. I’m always trying to learn and teach myself new things about design, film, and storytelling. That said, I would say a large portion of my designs on LEGO Ideas take their cues from my childhood. I’m a very nostalgic person, and I like to take things I grew up on, and find new ways to express them.

Inez: You mentioned that you were inspired by your own cardboard adventures as a child, and this resulted in The Adventures of the USS Cardboard. Could you perhaps share more about those adventures? Do you have a particular favorite happy memory?

Ivan: Me and my siblings used to build so much stuff out of cardboard boxes when we were young. We would make robots, rockets, houses, trains and more. I think that’s something most of us can relate with. When you’re a kid, you can’t really afford to buy a lot of stuff, so you make things out of cardboard and tape, and let your imagination fill in the rest.

I remember one instance where I actually made my own cardboard and styrofoam Millennium Falcon. I created C3PO (out of batteries) and an R2D2 (out of a salt bottle) to go on adventures with me. Anytime my parents brought home a new appliance, there was always a new box to play with.

Ivan (with the Cookie Monster) and his brother, Alan, having cardboard adventures together. Photo care of Ivan Guerrero.

Inez: I’m a self-confessed crazy cat lady, so I'll probably be the only one to ask this... why the cat? Why a Doctor Kitty?

Ivan: I’m so glad you noticed that. There’s actually a very long history of cats in space and science fiction that I wanted to pay tribute to. You can learn more about it in this image that was part of my original LEGO Ideas submission

Inez: I think it's awesome that you've already got TWO ideas made into sets. What was it like to work with LEGO on this design? How different was the experience, compared to working with them on 123 Sesame Street?

Ivan: I would say each experience was different and uniquely special. I got to work with different creative teams who have their own specialties and backgrounds. As someone who directs for a living, it’s always a treasure to work with fellow creative people, and learn about their own creative styles and methods.

Working on Cosmic Cardboard was such a meaningful experience for me, not only because it was based on my own childhood memories, but also because the team really took great care in capturing every single detail of the original idea.

Ivan’s submission, 123 Sesame Street, that eventually became an official LEGO set.

Inez: What is your favorite aspect about Cosmic Cardboard Adventures?

First Mate Teddy in his home-made mech suit.

Ivan: Great question! My favorite detail in the build is the mech armor for First Mate Teddy. That’s something that I had a hand in. In keeping with the theme of using simple household items to create space adventures, the armor is made out of umbrellas, a kitchen whisk, and a pair of toy cars (or skates), all strung together with cardboard and tape.

Inez: Did you have any difficulty in making the design? If so, what part was difficult?

Ivan: It was a fairly easy build to assemble. The challenging (and fun!) part was thinking up what real-world household items could be used to make the ship. From a conceptual standpoint, I really wanted it to look like something a child could build at home with boxes and things laying around.

Inez: What’s your next build?

Ivan: I took a short break the last couple of months to work on some wedding plans, but I’m itching to build my next LEGO Ideas submission. I can’t give it away just yet, but it’s definitely something out of my childhood.

Inez: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us, Ivan. Congratulations again on the project! We can’t wait for your next submission!

Cosmic Cardboard Adventures is gift with LEGO purchases over $160, valid 5/16/22-5/30/22 while supplies last.

Have you made MOCs reminiscent of your own childhood? Tell us about it in the comments below!

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