Best of BrickNerd — Article originally published January 5, 2021.

Southern California might be one of the best places on Earth to be an AFOL. It’s home to loads of LEGO Brand Stores, LEGOLAND California, and a network of vibrant, talented LUG communities (LEGO User Groups—like awesome book clubs for adults but with LEGO). Our main annual gathering is BricksLA, a LEGO fan convention that normally takes place in Pasadena the first weekend of the year. This year, the event will take place virtually this weekend. While everyone online will surely be wishing we were all together in person, I’m excited to see what fun the organizers have planned. In anticipation, I've chatted with one of the builders I will miss seeing there in person, Cindy Zhan.

Cindy and gwyneth in pre-covid days at Los angeles comicon

Gwyneth Kozbial: I believe I met you at your first LEGO event ever! You built a stunning, epic diorama based on a Chinese TV series that drew a lot of praise. It's striking to think of jumping straight into LEGO building with such large scale and success. How did you get into LEGO and building MOCs?

Cindy Zhan: I met you at BricksLA 2018 when I saw your beautiful “Kubo and the Two Strings.” And that diarama was my first MOC. Before then, I only built sets.

I first started building LEGO with my son when he was around three, so that was 2015. For the first two years, I only built sets with him. Then LEGO building was getting interesting for me, and I started seeing MOCs online, realizing that you could actually build anything with LEGO bricks, not only the available sets. I have a passion for film and TV. There are many shows that I love dearly. When I saw so many AFOLs had created gorgeous “Star Wars” scenes, “Harry Potter” scenes, and many others, I thought I could try that, too.

At that time, I was crazy about this TV show that premiered in the beginning of 2017 called “Eternal Love” and also called “Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms.” I like those kind of ancient stories. The acting, cinematography, music and aesthetic of this show made me wanted to recreate those scenes in LEGO form. That's how I began building my first MOC. I didn't plan to build a large diorama at first, I just built one small scene then kept adding on more until I finally assembled them together.

“eternal love” (aka “Ten miles of peach blossoms”) CINdy’s first moc, based on a tv show popular in china in 2017, won the “More Than The Sum Of It’s Parts” award at bricksla2018

GK: You also had a MOC based on a Japanese TV show at that event, but you live in California. Were these shows popular enough in California that people recognized your MOCs, or were most people (like me) just struck by the beauty, with no context? Do you know of any builders who have tackled the same subjects as you?

CZ: That MOC is based on a Japanese TV show called "Long Vacation" from the 90s. The show aired a long time ago, so there were not that many people who recognized it during the convention. A lot of people liked the build itself. Social media did help to get some of the fans of the shows in other countries to notice it. And no, I don't know of many builders who build very similar subjects as me.

GK: I think finding a topic that hasn’t been built out of LEGO before is very special, in a world where it sometimes feels like "everything has been done." Your newer pop culture builds are based on several popular Netflix series. Many people have turned to Netflix for comfort in COVID times. Has your relationship with building LEGO similarly changed during lockdown?

CZ: This year, I certainly watched more shows. Most of my recent builds are based on new shows like “Crash Landing on You” and “The Queen's Gambit.” I definitely spent more time building LEGO this year, as I am staying home most of the time.

“Crash landing on you” based on a k-drama netflix hit, will be unveiled at bricksla2021

“The Queen's Gambit” is the first show that I have built more than one MOC for. I built a vignette, a poster style build, a few BrickHeadz, and I have one more scene coming up. So I got a series of builds on one show, that's a first time for me.

Beth harmon brickheadZ, one in a series of mocs based on “The Queen’s gambit,” will be on display at bricksla2021

GK: Will those be "on display" at BricksLA online? Are you working on anything else for the virtual convention?

CZ: Besides those two builds, I am also finishing up a new MOC on Disney/Pixar's “Soul.” I just watched it, and I really like it. I plan to display them at the virtual BricksLA coming up.

GK: Wow! “Soul” was only released a few days ago! Does your inspiration usually happen that fast?

CZ: Ha! Only this year.

GK: The biggest thing you've ever built was not pop culture related. And it's huge! How did the Huntington Garden idea come to life?

cindy with her model on display at the garden of flowing fragrance (Huntington library, pasadena) that inspired it

CZ: You are talking about “The Garden of Flowing Fragrance,” the Chinese Garden at Huntington Library. I built it because I love that garden! I have been going to that garden since the initial phase opened in 2008. They just completed the expansion project this year. I have always liked the architecture of the scholars' gardens. After my first diorama MOC, I thought I could try recreating this garden in LEGO form. The size of this build is 4.5 ft by 10 ft.

GK: If I recall correctly, it was a two-year process. Did you make the MOC bigger when the real garden expanded to match?

CZ: It took me more than a year to finish that project! I also expanded my garden with the real expansion. That's why after I took it to BricksLA 2019 I brought it back to BricksLA 2020. The first year only had the initial phase and the 2nd year included the newly expanded buildings.

Before building this garden, I took a class at Huntington Library through their Center for East Asian Garden Studies to learn more about the history and art of the Asian gardens. I have always wanted to learn more on this subject. The instructor was Phillip E. Bloom who is the curator of the Chinese Garden and director of the Center for East Asian Garden Studies at the Huntington. He has great knowledge on the culture and history of Asian gardens. His classes have inspired me, As I was learning more about the architecture and aesthetics of their garden, I was getting more confident that I could build it in LEGO form. I invited them all to BricksLA 2019 to see it in person.

GK: How did you procure the elements? Is budget a factor in the speed or size of your build?

It took me quite a while to complete the project, so I was getting parts along the way with no budget of any kind. I got most of the parts through BrickLink, and some of parts from LEGO store's PAB wall. I do wish I could get more elements to build more trees and rocks.

GK: Do you still have the model together? How do you deal with storage for such large MOCs?

CZ: My MOC was on display at the garden for a two-day event. I currently have the build dissembled into smaller pieces and put them on the shelves in my garage. I don't normally take my builds apart—because I spent too much time building them! I want to keep them. I might sometimes "borrow" a few parts from past builds if I am short for a new build and I don't want to wait for the new parts to arrive!

GK: You mentioned that you began building LEGO with your son. Did you discover any favorite sets as you were building with him?

CZ: At that time all LEGO sets were for my son, so they were mostly the City line and Minecraft. After I started building MOCs, I started getting sets for myself. I got a few of the modular buildings and the Architecture line. I seldom modify sets. I modified the Pop-Up Book because that set was perfect to change into other stories. But the Central Perk set is my favorite. That's what I like to build. I still build sets. I just got the Minions!

GK: How did you discover the AFOL community? Have the people you've met or the activities you've been involved with changed how you build?

CZ: After my first MOC was finished, I wanted to show it to people. I learned that there are LEGO conventions around the world, so I searched for one locally and I discovered BricksLA. When I went there, I met the AFOL community for the first time. I got to share and learn from so many talented artists. I realized that there are so many people sharing the same passion, and that was a wonderful experience for me. Chris Wight, the ambassador at that time, introduced me to LUGOLA, and then I became a proud member! It was my first time joining a fan club of any kind, and I now feel a sense of belonging.

I am glad that I am part of this supportive community. My fellow builders' works have inspired me. Everyone has their own styles and preferred techniques. I have learned so much. In fact, I’ve made a lot of friends that I wouldn't have ever met if it weren't for LEGO.

You can see more of Cindy Zhan’s work on Instagram and learn more about BricksLA here.

What gardens would you most like to see built out of LEGO? Let us know in the comments below!

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