Specials and Featured Items VAB 6x6 Armored Personnel Carrier British SAS is now in stock! CLICK HERE for more recent NEW RELEASES!LEGO really does have it all. Not only does it allow LEGO fans to develop their creativity and problem-solving skills, it can also offer an escape into a whole new world. Building worlds with LEGO can mean escaping into the far-flung reaches of outer space with Star Wars, seeking out the darkest corners of Gotham City with Batman, or discovering the magical realm of Hogwarts with Harry Potter. The possibilities are almost endless – and the promise of each new world is defined and limited only by the LEGO constructor’s imagination. In creating these worlds, lovers of LEGO not only have the enjoyment of building and constructing, they also have something tangible that they have created, something that they can be proud of once the project is finished. Whether it’s a battle-ready space ship or an indestructible castle, these LEGO sets can be so intricate, they can almost be thought of as works of art.
Indeed, they are a project, a creation, an achievement. Where should these carefully constructed masterpieces go when there is nowhere left to store them all? LEGO offers a massive selection of sets and packs within a wide range of themes. The only difficulty comes with choosing between them. With a huge collection of LEGO sets on offer, eBay is the place to go for LEGO enthusiasts of all ages. From simple sets for LEGO newbies, to intricate designs that take weeks to conquer, there is a set for everyone who loves the world of LEGO. Choose by theme, by model type or by character family to discover eBay’s amazing selection of LEGO complete packs and sets – or stretch the imagination with LEGO bricks and building pieces to go completely off-plan!Recently I contacted the LEGO Group by email to find out what it takes to become a LEGO designer and what are the required qualifications. I asked them due to the fact that I will soon have to decide which direction to go with my education and I would really like to work for LEGO.
I figured I’m not the only one with this question, so I thought to share with you their reply that I received in only a couple of days after my initial inquiry. Dear Robert (my real name), Thanks for getting in touch with us. Being a LEGO Model Designer is a lot of fun: you get to work all over the place and meet new people. One day you might be building a huge castle at LEGOLAND® and the next you could be building hundreds of tiny fish to swim in the moat. Can you imagine a better job? LEGO Model Designers usually go to college and study 3D Arts. Some have also studied architecture, industrial design, theatre design, carpentry and even sculpting. If you’re interested in becoming a designer the best thing to do is play with LEGO sets as much as you can. Try making something as realistic as possible: when we meet people who want to become designers, we often ask them to build a small head out of LEGO bricks in four hours. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Once you’ve been realistic, try combining unlikely combinations – a flying car, a bouncing house… become comfortable thinking the idea through – the good bits, the bad bits and how you make something better. T
ry to make your ideas into a piece of music, a story, a movie, a picture. The more things you try to master, the richer the ideas. Mathematics is good for engineering (how things work), English is good for explaining why your idea is important, business skills are good for working out if your idea will help you retire as a rich millionaire or not… Pretty much every class can help you think of ideas. When you’re ready and feel prepared, you can check out what jobs we currently offer at jobs.L Thanks again for getting in touch. We’re always pleased to receive feedback from LEGO fans! Please let us know if you need anything else. Nice response, isn’t it? LEGO really got awesome customer service! As far as what is required to become a LEGO designer, it looks like you just need to be an experienced LEGO builder. So that’s what I’m going to do; pnd if you would like to become a LEGO model designer too, I encourage you to do the same. 😀 For more specific information and to check out currently available positions at the LEGO Group, here are some links that you may find useful: Main LEGO Jobs Site, Currently Available Jobs at LEGO, How to Apply for a Job at LEGO, FAQ About LEGO Job Applications.
One way to perfect your skills is to give yourself LEGO building challenges similar to the ones I have been sharing with you in my own MOC Challenge Series (links at the end of this post, and more coming). You can also participate in LEGO contests at various LEGO events run by LEGO itself or by LEGO fan-sites. As Claudia mentioned above they give candidates a LEGO building challenge with a time limit, so getting some practice ahead of time is a good idea. (Check out the awesome LEGO designer office below!) Who knows, if we all follow these words of advice we may meet up in the LEGO office designing a LEGO Star Wars Starfighter or a LEGO Modular Building together! What do you think? Have you considered becoming a LEGO designer? What steps are you taking to achieve your goal? Have you given yourself tasks and challenges to improve your LEGO building skills? Feel free to share in the comment section below! Would love to hear from others who are planning to become a LEGO designers! 😉
And you might also like to check out the following related posts: Last Friday, critics and fans alike were stunned when “The Lego Movie,” expected to be a 90-minute commercial for children’s toys, turned out to be an inventive, well-written adventure for all ages. One of “The Lego Movie’s” most tellingly brilliant moments comes in the form of its faux pop song “Everything is Awesome,” performed by Tegan and Sara and the Lonely Island. We’re introduced to “Everything is Awesome” at the beginning of the film, as everyman protagonist Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) is inundated with a stream of inane pop culture produced by Lord Business (Will Ferrell). Lord Business wants to preserve the Lego world exactly how he thinks it should be, and he uses bland pop artifacts like “Everything is Awesome” and a sitcom called “Where Are My Pants?” to keep the Lego populace mindlessly moving through their lives. At first glance, “Everything is Awesome” seems little more than an infectiously catchy parody of watered-down radio pop, right down to the faux-dubstep breakdown.
There’s a lot more happening under the surface, however. Namely, “Everything is Awesome” casually embraces fascism in the service of Lord Business’ plans to keep the world exactly as he believes it should be. Pay attention to the lyrics:“Everything is cool when you're part of a team.” “Everything is better when we stick together.” “Side by side, you and I gonna win forever.” “We're the same, I'm like you, you're like me, we're all working in harmony.” “Lost my job, it's a new opportunity / More free time for my awesome community.” “A Nobel Prize, a piece of string / You know what's awesome? What the words are really saying is: Don’t focus on your problems because everything is great. Stay in line with other people just like you. Nothing is more special than anything else. Most importantly, always be a “team player.” The lyrics aren’t just a generic call for teamwork and positive thinking, they’re Lord Business’ call for conformity and consumerism, nothing short of a reminder of the fascist regimes of the 20th century, which prized conformity and enthusiasm (think Hitler's "Strength Through Joy" program) above all else.
Of course, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller planned it this way. The duo are no strangers to smart satire, having also used their short-lived 2002 MTV show “Clone High” to skewer then-popular melodramas like “Dawson’s Creek.” Lord and Miller seem to have deliberately crafted “Everything is Awesome” as a reflection on corporate control, which makes the song — and “the Lego Movie” itself — so brilliant.The word fascism was coined by Benito Mussolini to refer to the ancient Roman symbol of a bundle of sticks tied together to reinforce their strength, and “Everything is Awesome” intentionally plays on that imagery. The song repeatedly downplays individual listeners in favor of an unspecified “team” and encourages them to do everything they can for their “team” rather than themselves. “Everything is Awesome” serves to push Lego citizens to continue on in their miserable jobs and buy $30 coffees just as surely as it makes real-life moviegoers sing along.
It’s a tremendously effective song. Therein lies the essential genius of "Everything is Awesome": It takes modern radio homogeneity to its logical extension and knowingly creates a pop hit celebrating cultural goose-stepping. The song gives a tangible weight to Lord Business’ desire for control over the Lego World and his desire for homogeneity, but it also comments on the real world.As unsettling as the lyrics can be in the context of the film, though, “Everything is Awesome” isn’t just a light joke on fascism. It’s an example of the way fascist thinking can creep into everyday life. Fascism and musical numbers have a long history together. From the beginning, Nazi Germany used propaganda songs to stir its citizens into mindless collective action. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels himself was once quoted as saying, "Music affects the heart and emotions more than the intellect.” Decades later, though, fascist songwriting truly came into its own in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, proving that this sort of fascism isn't confined to far-right ideology.
North Korean propagandists have been using Western-style pop songs as tools to reinforce their political agenda for years. Because Kim Il-Sung and his descendants have maintained total control over North Korean media for decades, many of their efforts have been extremely successful in the isolated nation. Some songs, like “The Dear General Uses Distance-Shrinking Magic,” flaunt their worship on their sleeve. Others, like “Reunification Rainbow,” express desire for a reunited Korea while denying any culpability in the peninsula’s continued division.Odd titles aside, few North Korean songs are as manipulatively fascist as “Don’t Ask My Name.” The 1990s song, apparently still popular in North Korea, describes a woman who makes a great achievement but declines to tell a journalist her name. She insists that factory workers are the real North Korean heroes. It’s the perfect anthem for giving up your very name to further a faceless government agenda. And by all accounts, it works.