Welcome back to the latest edition of the LEGO Fire Community Blog where we interview outstanding builders and their MOCs! We appreciate your support throughout the years and are constantly amazed by your reception and desire to see the blog grow! Yes, we have been on a sort of hiatus for a while now, but I assure you that we are all still around in some capacity, though not as active as we'd like (for all you teens and younger, that really means we're tied up with work/family/paying bills XD). Anyway, I'm thrilled to have one of my good friends Evan here on the blog today, and I hope you will enjoy the conversation we had, and obviously, the pictures he shared lol. LFC Blog: Welcome to the LFC Blog Evan! Tell us about yourself. When and why did you start building Lego fire trucks? EA: My name is Evan, I’m 22 years old and live in Indiana. I started building with LEGOs before I can even remember. I started with duplo, and moved to normal LEGO around 4 years old. By 5, I had built my first fire station and my first couple fire trucks. They were extremely basic and really looked nothing like fire trucks but I loved doing it! By age 7 I had created my first fire department and was starting to build multi-colored rigs that resembled real rigs more. Every Christmas from ages 7 to my early teen years, I typically got multiple Lego City sets, usually a fire set or two every year! Then after finding the LFC, my obsession really took off! LFC Blog: Pretty sure all of us had with a multi-colored rig at one point or another prior to us discovering the black hole known as Bricklink haha! Who/what inspires you to build? EA: The first two builders I can specifically remember seeing and being super inspired by were Tom D. (St. Lego Fire) and Bob K. (Lego Twp. Fire). Their rigs and stations absolutely blew me away and I wanted so badly to build like them! Then after joining Brickshelf, MocPages, and EmergencyBricks over time, I was inspired by more and more people. Nowadays I’m inspired by the fine folks I interact with nearly daily on Facebook, Instagram, and in various group messages. Lots of “old guys” from the LFC. But more than anyone, my good buddy Gunnar (East Overson Co. Fire) inspires me to build and helps me out a ton with ideas and motivation. If it weren’t for him I would’ve lost this hobby years ago. LFC Blog: Gunnar is a solid homie! I've had the pleasure of knowing him for a while now too and he's great! What's in the name Lego Springs VFD and why did you settle on the current color scheme? EA: I currently have 3 brick built departments. The first and original dept. is Lego Springs VFD, which I came up with in 2007. At the time, the movie Cars was my absolute favorite, and Radiator Springs was a neat name to me. So I figured Lego Springs sounded cool too! And the color scheme has evolved from solid red to red with a white stripe, and I’ve settled on white over red with a white stripe. The scheme is super basic and vanilla but I love the classic look and I think it lends itself well to most of my builds! The only exceptions from the scheme in the department are the airport rigs, which are solid yellow with a white stripe. The second department is Brick Tudor VFD, which I came up with probably 7 or so years ago. Not really sure where the name came from but I think it sounds kinda cool. The color scheme is extremely basic, just solid white rigs with a low red stripe. Only other real “different” thing about the BTVFD rigs is that I try to stick with strictly older rigs like a super rural dept., and I run green lights on the officer’s side of the rigs similar to Chicago/some Illinois departments because I thought it was neat! The third and final current department is Frankton VFD. Based on my real life hometown department that I grew up around. The majority of the rigs are orange, which is true to life. Our rigs were Omaha Orange until 2000, when the first red rig was purchased since 1950. After that, all our newer rigs were red. The department disbanded in 2015, and I stopped being involved after that point. LFC Blog: Your orange fleet certainly is unique one in the community and certainly drew our attention! What is the most challenging rig you've ever built? EA: In bricks, the most challenging rig to build was my tower. Just a lot more pieces and SNOT than I was used to, and the size in general presented some rigidity challenges I had to figure out! Digitally the most challenging rig I’ve built was my IRL hometown department’s Engine 32, a 1989 E-One Hurricane. It was a real learning curve building it from total scratch with only a couple reference pics of other Lego built E-One cabs. The body was a real pain, because I’m still fairly new to SNOT techniques so figuring out how to make everything work and look good was really tough. But I absolutely loved the outcome, and plan on building it in bricks eventually! LFC Blog: SNOT is one of those things that takes a lot of time, but is definitely worth the efforts! Can't wait to see the E-ONE in bricks! What is your most favorite rig and why? EA: My favorite rig I’ve built is hands down my 4x4 regular cab top mount International 4900 pumper for my Brick Tudor department! It looks so badass and I just love the thing. I have a soft spot for 4900’s, 4x4 fire trucks, and top mount pumpers, so it checks all my boxes! LFC Blog: 4900s are great workhorses, and they are, as our dear friend Jessie W always says, "Dummy lit!" What is one Lego piece you wish were manufactured and why? EA: Off the top of my head, TRANS RED AND CLEAR INGOTS. We need cooler lightbars dammit! That and 3-wide roll up doors, but that’s why we’ve got Mr. Chi-City Lego Creations ;) LFC Blog: Haha Jeff certainly knows his colors and how to cut pieces :) What are your future plans for your department? EA: At the moment, nothing crazy. Got some rigs planned and built digitally but life is expensive as hell and I’ve been super busy with life and my other hobbies. Eventually I’ll get some more rigs built but I’m pretty happy with the ones I’ve got now! LFC Blog: No kidding! Especially with gas prices and the rumored inflation of bricks, it's definitely harder to pick which rig to buy. But I do hope we will get to see more creations from you! What is the best part of the Lego Fire Community?
EA: Hands down, the people. The friends I’ve made over the years. If it wasn’t for the LFC I wouldn’t have many of the friends I have now, who have helped me out so much and I’m forever thankful for them all! LFC Blog: Indeed! How would you like to see the LFC grow better? EA: Kick the kiddies out. Okay just kidding, they’re inevitable. But in reality, folks just need to respect other’s builds, constructive criticism goes a long way but I see a lot of misdirected or poorly worded “criticism” that are just insults, or not helpful at all. If someone has a build or a method you don’t like, remember, you don’t have to say anything at all! Let people do what they please, and what makes them happy. LFC Blog: HA! Yes, I agree with your sentiments! There's a lot of disrespect happening today, and sadly has caused some great builders to leave building altogether. While the past is the past, I do believe that we can learn from other's mistakes and make a better community. Any tips or advice for new builders? EA: KEEP BUILDING. DO NOT GIVE UP. It can be super frustrating and disheartening to see other’s builds, especially if you’re looking at them in the context that they’re “better” than yours. Just remind yourself that everyone starts somewhere. We all did. The only good ways to improve your builds are to learn from others and just keep trying. That being said, be respectful of older/accomplished builders, especially if you want any help from them. Be polite, be cordial, don’t be demanding. They don’t owe you anything. A little politeness goes a long way! LFC Blog: Well, thank you for your time Evan! I know you have a super busy schedule, so I'm really grateful for taking the time to be here today! For the rest of you reading this blog, again, we want to express our deepest gratitude for sticking with us all these years, and we hope to get more posts up in the future! If you have questions, concerns, or even recommendations for future posts, message one of the admins (Mike, MM, Jeff, or use the contact tab), and we will do our best to reply as soon as possible!
8 Comments
|
~Committed to presenting outstanding LEGO firefighting MOCs from around the world!~
Blog Updated: 10/28/22
PurposeWelcome to the Lego Fire Community Blog! Presented here are outstanding builders who captivate their audience with their MOCs (My Own Creation). The purpose of this blog is to educate others of exemplary builders both past and present. DedicationThis blog is dedicated to Eric S. McDonald, the Fire Chief of the original Lego City Fire Department who died unexpectedly on Aug. 21, 2002. His vision is what started the whole LFC, and for that we are eternally grateful. About the moderating teamChief editor - Michael P. - Founder of Castle Beach Fire Department and Los Angelego County Fire Department Archives
October 2022
DisclaimerThis website is not affiliated with The Lego Company, or any real life fire department for that matter. All builds presented here are original works by the respective builders who gave strict permission to utilize the photos on this website. None of the photos were/are kept for personal use. |