The LEGOLAND Master Model Builder search was a great experience that I highly recommend. For those of you unfamiliar, I'll give you a little background: LEGOLAND California(R) employs six Master Model Builders which build, create and maintain the LEGO creations throughout the LEGOLAND themepark. In their pursuit to hire a seventh Master Model Builder, LEGOLAND held a nationwide search of LEGO builders. It's a dream job for someone like myself, so I was intrigued.

The search consisted of regional rounds of "build-offs" where applicants were given 2,000 bricks, a theme, and were asked to build a creation in 45 minutes. The New York round was held at the Toys'R'Us in Times Square. Our theme was space, so I of course built a 'space bunny' (which was really just a rabbit in a space suit).

The second round was held live on NBC's Today Show and since it was the Friday before Thanksgiving our challenge was to build a turkey. So I of course built a 'space bunny' (which was really just a turkey).

Twenty-seven of the regional finalists then met in Carlsbad, California for the final competition at LEGOLAND California. The contest consisted of two days of various tests.

On the first day we were asked to build a semishpere out of LEGO bricks within an hour. This is a challenging task since LEGO elements are, of course, rectangular. After we finished the semisphere, we were asked to build our semi-sphere into something else. I had built my semisphere out of yellow and decided to extend it downward and outward to achieve the shape of a bell. I then added a clapper and a loop at the top for a little detail. The rest of the day consisted of interviews and a tour of LEGOLAND.

The second day was the actual build-off. We had two hours and 4,000 bricks to build our models. Fifteen minutes prior to the build-off we were also given a chance to fill a bag with more LEGO pieces of our choosing. The theme was "LEGOLAND" and so our creations had to represent something in LEGOLAND California. LEGOLAND has many little "LEGO Friends" which are little three foot tall LEGO sculptures of LEGO people that are scattered throughout the park. They are all posed doing various tasks such as pointing to the nearest food stand or doing construction and such. I decided to build two of these little people working together. I put them in overalls with baseball caps, and had them sitting on my table. To connect them in some way, I decided to put a cross-cut saw between them cutting through a log (a nod to my Oregon roots, perhaps?) Apparently the judges liked them, because in the end, LEGOLAND announced they would be selecting not just one, but three new Master Model Builders, and I was one of the three.

It was a tremendous experience and I really had a great time meeting some wonderful LEGO enthusiasts from around the country. I have also met great people at LEGOLAND and am excited to start my adventure there. The photos above are from the final build-off. A special shout out to my friends and family who made the trip to LEGOLAND from all parts of the country and showed up wearing their brickartist.com t-shirts.

Thanks to Dad, Darwin, Deirdre, Greg, Heather, Jim, Julie, Kerrick, Liz, Maureen, Mom, Sarah, Stephie, and Suzi!