Welcome to this month's edition of the LEGO Fire Community Blog, where we interview outstanding builders! We hope you had a blessed Christmas holiday! Today, we are honored to have Diego K whose creations has impacted many people, including me! You may have seen his YouTube videos/instructions back in the day and applied them to your own creations!
LFC Blog: Welcome to the Blog Diego! Tell us about yourself. When and why did you start building Lego fire trucks? DC: I am from Zurich in Switzerland, I got involved with Lego at the age of 6, there I received my first real Lego set, the 4512 Cargo Train. At the age of 13-14 I saw some videos of FDNY Rescue 1 and other Emergency vehicles and fell in love immediately. This got me involved into the fire scene and the lego fire community. My first trucks were an engine and a ladder truck based on the FDNY rigs, which at the time were really bad LOL. LFC Blog: It's great to see people all over the world who share similar hobbies and interests! Haha! I think all of us started out with janky looking rigs XD Who/what inspires you to build? DC: The American Fire Trucks are one of a kind with their shapes and sizes, so that’s what inspires me to build replicas. Of course there are some great builders who really inspire me with their epic models such as Sven J. and Christian Collins (CC). LFC Blog: Sven and CC are really awesome builders who continue to inspire many builders with their fantastic MOCs! What's in the name South Brickfalls Fire Department and why did you settle on the current color scheme? DC: I have to say that I changed my departments name multiple times in the early stages but I settled with the SBFD (South Brickfalls Fire Department) quite a few years ago now. I usually have two main colour schemes. These two schemes consist of Classic Red with white Stripe and white Cab Top and Yellow, blue Stripe and White Cab top. The last one is based of the Ventura County Fire Department which runs one of my favorite brands, the ALFs. I also do older trucks with different schemes. LFC Blog: It's a shame that ALF went out of business, but I'm glad their rigs are still being recreated in LEGO haha! What is the most challenging rig you've ever built? DC: The most challenging rig I have built is the Rescue 1 from the FDNY. As this is the first Rig I have seen and it is my favorite still to this date! I want it to look perfect, so I always work on it to make it the best it can ever be. LFC Blog: Your Rescue 1 model is a great MOC! I can definitely relate to your sentiment of working on a particular model! There always seems to be a new technique or piece that would make the MOC way better! What is your most favorite rig and why? DC: My favorite rigs are of course the Rescue 1 and my ALF Eagle with the Ventura County scheme. For me personally these are two iconic trucks which I just love. LFC Blog: It's cool to see Ventura County rigs being replicated more and more nowadays. Before, there only used to be one or two people who had departments based on VCFD! What is one Lego piece you wish were manufactured and why? DC: I would love to see 5 and 7 wide windscreens, these would definitely make a big change to the way we build the trucks. LFC Blog: For sure! I too would like to see more variety with windshields, but having said that, I do appreciate what others like Sven, David H, or Craig P have innovated using unconventional pieces for 5-wide/7-wide windshields! What are your future plans for your department? DC: Currently I’m working on putting every truck I have built on big wheels because I changed the basic cars to their current wheels and to keep the size realistic I have to change the trucks too, so I have to make some changes here and there to fit them correctly onto their new wheels. LFC Blog: Oh my! That will take some time lol! I thought changing tire sizes would be a piece of cake too, but it turns out that I need to redo the entire frame to make it work haha! What is the best part of the Lego Fire Community? DC: The Community consists of a bunch of cool guys who have very different and unique ways to design their trucks. The exchange is really big and everyone is very helpful and really cool to talk to. I really like that. LFC Blog: Amen! It is really interesting to see how people have different approaches to build a rig! Not only that, but the friendships made is even better! We are blessed to live in a day and age where we can rapidly share ideas even though we may thousands of miles away! How would you like to see the LFC grow better? DC: I really do like as it is right now as I’m part of the group chat on Instagram and I can see what everyone is up to and sometimes when I find time I can contribute in there as well 😊 LFC Blog: Agreed! It is great to chat with guys on the web, especially with those who I first met years ago on MOCpages lol! Any tips or advice for new builders? DC: I would say that it is better to have a small department with trucks that are really high detailed and awesome to look at then a huge fleet where there has to be made lots of compromises due to the lack of bricks. I myself downscaled a lot during the years and I’m happier then ever! LFC Blog: Quality over quantity any day! I mean, you can have quantity, but each build should display details that separate them from other builds as well. Thank you Diego for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with us! To those reading this blog, thanks for stopping by! From all of us here at the LFC Blog, we would like to wish you a Happy New Year! May 2021 bring about new MOCs and innovations! Keep on bricking!
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With MOCs becoming more and more complex through the integration of techniques such as SNOT, I thought it would be interesting to see what people could come up with using a limited number of pieces. It certainly was great to see different approaches for this competition. I loved seeing the imagination used to create these miniature emergency vehicles! Before announcing the winner, here we have the entries along with their respective builders and a brief comment from the judge :) A small "Tanklöschfahrzeug" (a tanker unit) built by Fritz G. Great usage of the curved tile to give the definitive Euro look! Also love how the wheel wells were fashioned! This metermaid was built by Olivier O! Love the use of the 1x3 plate with 2 studs. Bonus points for not being a fire truck haha Olivier's second entry is this jet ski. Excellent use of the hose as well as literally building this upside down! Joshua B built this ATV. Congrats on getting this apparatus less than 50 parts! I know it was a challenge to meet the requirements, so good job! Here, we have a horse-drawn fire engine built by cactus_man_studios. Great use of parts all over, plus the fact that you were able to get the horse too without exceeding the parts restriction is really awesome! Luke J made this mini walk-in rescue for the competition! This MOC really reminded me of my old Matchbox Mack MR rescue! Brickfordcityofficial also built an ATV fo the competition. Solid build! Decals are a nice touch! At this point, I would like to acknowledge all the people who submitted creations! Thank you for making this fun! You all deserve to be recognized for thinking outside the box!
And now, for the moment everyone has been waiting for: The winner of the CBFD 2020 Challenge is Cactus Man Studios with his horse-drawn entry! So go and congratulate him for a job well done! Also, don't forget to congratulate the other entrants as well! LFC Blog: So Jack, please tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get into LEGO, more specifically, LEGO emergency vehicles? Jack: Hi, I’m Jack, a middle schooler from California. Ever since I was little, I was into fire trucks so of course my first LEGO set was a fire truck. It was a ladder truck, set 7239. I continued getting more LEGO fire sets as gifts but found it was more fun to modify the sets to my liking. LFC Blog:That's great! Set 7239 was one of my most favorite LEGO City sets. Who inspired you to build replica fire apparatus? Jack: I came across South Brick Falls Fire on YouTube and their builds inspired me to create my own MOCs. I have always liked Pierce fire trucks (I even had a chance to visit their plant) and it was their designs that I first tried to replicate. My first custom fire trucks were a bit rough but I have improved over the years. Not long after, I discovered City of Brick Angeles’ tutorial on a Pierce Arrow XT, which helped me get the scale and style I use today. LFC Blog: Diego K had an awesome channel back in the day! Why did you pick a horse drawn apparatus for your entry? Jack: I chose a horse drawn steam pumper because I wanted to build something unique. I had never built anything like this before so it has really inspired me to build more historical style fire trucks. LFC Blog: I was really surprised to see the horse-drawn steamer because I did not think that it was possible to make one under 50 pieces, yet here we are! What was the most challenging part about your entry? Jack: When I was researching pictures of steam pumpers, I thought it would be something I could build without a lot of pieces. Once I started I quickly realized it was a lot more complicated and part intensive. It was definitely a challenge to keep it under 50 parts and create a MOC that had a working element. LFC Blog: Absolutely! I'm glad you proved as all wrong by making a creation under 50 pieces! Thanks for participating and again, congrats on the win! To those reading this blog, thanks for your continued support and be on the lookout for more exciting content! Lastly, we want to thank Joshua B for giving us a good laugh with this miniature firetruck which only required 7 pieces! |
~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. |