Mariann Asanuma

Nice! Good representations of all the characters.

I could see the game pieces as babies, but I still think that it would be cool to have an actual baby. I know the main reason there are no babies, and not very many women is that LEGO marketed towards only boys. I've always found this to be a little bit annoying, being a girl, that they assume that girls only want something pink and purple like Belville. I was never really a fan, it wasn't until I found out all the accessories that came in them, that I even started getting them at all. I'd love a LEGO doll house, since that is what I made most of the time when I was a kid.

Actually, if you really wanted to do that, you could contact Tommy Armstrong over at Brick Engraver. He can print on LEGO bricks. I have a few I got at Brickcon last year. They are really cool!

Thanks every one. Thee Pirate Yeah, I want to keep it under wraps for now, but as they come out, I'll let everyone know about them. WhiteHexagon When I worked at LEGOLAND they give you the bricks to work with, so it wasn't a problem. Now, I get the bricks like every one else does. I buy sets, buy online, and I get them at Pick-a-brick at both LEGOLAND CA and Disneyland LEGO Store (they are the closest to me). It just depends on the model I'm making at the time. I try to get things at Pick-a-brick first, since it is normally the cheapest way, but when I was making the LEGO Batman Mosaic, I bought both the VW Bug set and the Market Street set so that I had enough of the Medium and Dark Blue colors. Dr.D You can order my books through my website. There is a link to my shop on there. If you have trouble ordering from outside the U.S. just use my Contact page and let me know that you want to buy it. I'll email you with the cost including shipping. Shoc Yep. My job is almost the same as when I was a Master Model Builder, I just do it for outside companies and people now. The only thing different is that I write my books too, I couldn't do that when I worked for the company. Big Pete See above.

Hi all! For those of you who don't know me yet, I'm Mariann Asanuma. I am a former Master Model Builder from LEGOLAND California. Now I'm a freelance LEGO Artist. I just found out today that I'm on LEGO.com! I had an interview with them a few months ago, so I knew it was coming, but I didn't see it till today. They interviewed me about my time as a Master Model Builder, and what I've been up to since I left LEGOLAND California. If you are interested in reading it, you can see it here. Enjoy!

Actually I have a set of City playing cards from a few years ago. I got it at LEGOLAND California. They weren't drawings either, they were pictures of different minifigs.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this on Eurobricks yet. But it was posted on The Brothers Brick at the start of the month. TT Games the creator of the LEGO Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Batman video games is looking for a LEGO Designer. Here is the job discription: Sounds interesting and exciting. Also note the "increasing number of LEGO games we are working on." That means that there are many more to come in the future! As an additional note, if no one has mentioned this, they already announced the next LEGO Nintendo DS game -- LEGO Battles It will be set in LEGO themes instead of licensed Themes. From the looks of it Castle, Pirates, and Mars Mission will be the three different "worlds," which you can naturally mix-up in free play. There's even a few concept shots of the game, but I couldn't seem to get it to link properly.

I really appreciate the Replacement Service. On the very few occasions that I've had a missing part, they have been very helpful. I wouldn't want to take advantage of them just so I could get rare parts or minifigs. LEGO goes way above and beyond in the way of servicing their customers, much more than most companies do, and we should respect that.

If you don't mind to modify, you could make the hand thinner.

Thanks for the compliment guys. As for your question Teddy, I had thought about adding some new brown for accent, but I didn't really have the time or the parts for this model. Although it would have been nice to be in sand red, when the model is 42 inches long and two feet tall, its a little hard to get that much together. I only had 2 and a half weeks to design and build it and that includes getting all the bricks for the project. Also, I didn't keep this model, it was given to the Afro-American Cultural Center. Thanks CopMike. I did sketch out the building on Brick Paper before building. I did this to determine the scale and size I would build in. I also did it so that I wouldn't spend as much time building unnecessary prototypes. As for all the details (windows, doors, etc.) I mostly made a single prototype and then planned out for multiples on the actual building. When I get a chance I'll add some pictures of the building process so that you can see what I mean.

That's actually not true. Model Builders do recycle their models. The guy in the video was a coworker of mine when I worked at LEGOLAND (in fact he still does). This was a glued model. They had to break it apart to fit it into recyclable pieces and take it off the steel framework. Although it is sad to see a model go down that way, what you don't understand is that from the moment we got those models (Jango and Boba Fett) in the park, we had no end of trouble with them! They were designed as display models -- not hands on models -- which means that they were supposed to be kept out of the reach of the public. But when they were put on display at LEGOLAND they were put right where all the guests could take pictures of them, touch them, pull on them, kick them . . . well you get the idea. The main problem was that because guests could be so close to the models, kids and adults kept pulling on the arms ("to see if they are really glued"). Unlike models that are designed to be in public contact, there was no steel framework in the arms of the model. And even if a model is glued, if thousands of people pull on it everyday, the arms are going to come off. We even brought it in for repair, removed much of both arms to the shoulders and retro-fitted steel to the existing framework to add it for the arms. That was a pain in the neck of a project that thankfully I didn't have to do. But even after we put the model back into the park, after a while, the arms still kept braking! This was over a process of a two or three years you understand, it didn't happen overnight. The arms probably fell off dozens of times and we continually got calls saying "yeah, the uh, Star Wars model is broken again" or something similar. So, to make a long story short, it wasn't a "perfectly good" model. It had outlived its usefulness to the park. And although it is sad, that is where most LEGO models go in the end.

B-OV-8C Hi all! Here's my newest model. Pride Communications asked me to make this replica of the Afro-American Cultural Center in Charlotte, North Carolina for the Lowes Pride Awards that was held Jan. 17th. This model took me 2 and a half weeks to make (about 100 hours). As for size, it is 2 feet wide (62 cm), 42" long (106 cm), and about 2 feet tall (62cm). I was a fun and interesting challenge to get all of the details right. Here's a picture of the actual building so that you can compare them. I have more photos on Flickr and on MOCpages. I also talk more about it on my blog. Hope you like it, enjoy.

Imperial This is the funniest thing I've read all week! I never had a dark ages, but I can totally envision exactly what you're talking about. Thanks for the much needed laugh!

That is a sweet set! I managed to get all of the Star Wars Kabaya sets at a Japanese Store here in California, much to my surprise.

First of all, who cares what people think? If they don't understand LEGO, they will never understand, no matter what age you are. I've been playing with LEGO for over 25 years. Although I never really had a problem with what people thought of me, like most of my generation of builders we didn't have the internet to realize that there were thousands of us LEGO fans out there. You are not imature and uncool because you build with LEGO. It is a hobby, and an art form. I should know, I was a Master Model Builder at LEGOLAND California. I had it for my career for 4 years. Now I am a Freelance LEGO Artist. When anyone asks me what I do for a living, even those who don't care about LEGO, they almost always think its cool. So don't worry so much, the point of LEGO is to be happy, creative, and enjoy life. Artists are never fully appreciated for their art. Fellow LEGO fan, Mariann

Happy birthday! Yeah, the price tag is way too steep!

Dano, l love the way you displayed the sword. Cool MOC.

Awesome custom Minifig! I just watched the movie and thoroughly enjoyed it, very funny! You really capture the "Spirt!"

Merry Christmas Everyone! I wanted to share my latest little Miniland Scene, just in time for Christmas. I've always wanted to create a Miniland Scale Nativity Scene, but I still haven't gotten around to building it. So instead I made the most important part, Mary and baby Jesus. I also added a lamb to look in on the child. Maybe by next year I can get the whole nativity done. Enjoy.

Dadster the process of becoming a Model Builder is build, build, build! But seriously, there aren't any classes out there. I've just been practicing a lot with LEGO for the past 25 years. It takes a combo of being able to build in any and every scale -- Minifig, Miniland, Mosaic, Sculpture, etc. -- and being in the right place at the right time. I actually applied 5 times over the course of 2 1/2 years before I ended up getting a job at LEGOLAND. When I was hired I worked in Retail for 10 months and then transferred over to the Model Shop. I worked as a Model Builder for 4 years. My recommendation if you ever want to become a Master Model Builder is keep building, try different scales and sizes, and take good, detailed pictures of what you do so that you have a portfolio of models to show. Since I no longer work at LEGOLAND and I was asked so many times by people how they could learn to build like a Master Model Builder, I've started writing a series of books called "Building Secrets from the Masters." The first book is called "How to Build a Round Ball with Square Bricks!" and is available on my website. I am working on the second book right now and it should be available sometime next year. (P.S. if you would like to order my book but live outside the USA, please use the Contact Page, my shop can only take US orders.)

I was actually there when they unveiled this set at BrickCon in Seattle, Washington (USA). I loved it then and I love it even more now! Thanks for sharing pictures with us. I can't wait to get this set myself!

Hi there. This isn't one of my most exciting MOCs, but I thought I'd share it anyway. On the Flickr Group LUGNuts (dedicated to all things Automotive Related) they are currently holding a building challenge called "All But Four." The only rule for the challenge is to make a vehicle that does not have 4 wheels. Since I am a former Master Model Designer from LEGOLAND California, and since one of my specialties is Miniland Scale (1/20) I decided to make a Segway. It was a pretty simple build and only took about 1/2 an hour to make. The Miniland person on the Segway is Miniland Stan, the former LEGOLAND California Mascot. I was actually the creator of Miniland Stan and built the models of him for all the TV commercials, newspaper adds, and for the LEGOLAND California Souvenir Video. Sadly Miniland Stan is no longer the Mascot for LEGOLAND California, but he is alive and well. Enjoy!

The old magnet minifigures were basically minifigures with a magnet stuck in the torso and then the torso glued to the legs. Other than that, they were exactly the same. I don't know about these new ones though, since they have a magnet in the base, they don't need to have a magnet in the body.

Thanks for welcoming me everyone! I'm glad you like my Batman Mosaic and my website. To answer your question I Scream Clone, I get most of my bricks from LEGOLAND California's Pick-A-Brick selection. I also get a lot of bricks from the Downtown Disney LEGO Store, lego.com, and bricklink. Sometimes, when I need specific parts right away, I buy sets. For the Batman mosaic I had to buy both the VW Beetle and the Market Street sets and take the Dark Blue and Medium Blue out of the sets to use as the background colors of the mosaic.

I'm interested in trading. I live California. I'd love to have 2 or 3 of the Good Wizard sets. Do you want one of each of the Pirate and Soldier's Arsenal sets (or more)? Let me know and we can work out the details.