There and Back Again with LEGO Builder Balbo
/Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published March 9, 2021.
One of the big perks of getting a gig here at BrickNerd is the opportunity to reach out to builders from all over the world and ask them questions—without appearing like a complete stalker! So today, I have the privilege to shine the spotlight on one of my favourite builders in the community, Balbo. So let’s get to it!
Andreas Lenander: Hi there! Could you introduce yourself a bit?
Balbo: My name is Patrick, better known as Balbo or Patrick B. in the LEGO community. I’m 26 years old, and I’m from Austria. At the moment I’m about to finish my law studies. My favorite hobbies are building with LEGO (big surprise, haha!), picking mushrooms, hiking and going to the cinema.
A few of Balbo’s favourite builds, along with his sig-fig
A: How long have you been building with LEGO, and what got you into the hobby?
B: The release of the Lord of the Rings sets in 2012 brought me back into building with LEGO. So I’ve been a proud AFOL for about nine years. As a child, I always dreamed about sets from Lord of the Rings, so after seeing them on the shelves I immediately knew that I had to get them.
A: Why do you build with LEGO, and do you express creativity using other mediums (painting, drawing, interpretive dancing)?
B: I build mainly just because it’s fun. But also, building with LEGO is a perfect way to clear your mind and to forget about stress in everyday life. In terms of other ways I express creativity, unfortunately not—although I was drawing a lot as a child, but I realized soon that I wasn't talented enough. And my dancing skills are… hmm, let's talk about LEGO again, haha!
Sleds for the win!
A: You seem to always have a constant stream of new ideas. Where do you find your creative inspiration?
B: The biggest inspiration is definitely the LEGO community on Instagram and Flickr. Seeing all those new and great builds every day encourages me to build something too. Moreover, I also find inspiration in daily life or from my childhood memories. For instance, as a child I loved playing with my sled so therefore I often try to incorporate a sled in my builds. Another example is my visit to the Edoras movie location (from the Lord of the Rings movies) in New Zealand, which inspired me to build an Edoras creation.
Balbo’s “micro” Edoras
A: Speaking of inspiration, are there any specific builders out there that inspire you?
B: To be honest, there are so many that I don’t even know where to start and it would probably take too much time to mention them all. But a very special builder for me is Burglarhobbit. Unfortunately, he isn’t building MOCs at the moment, but back in 2012 his creations were one of my biggest inspirations to start building myself.
A: When you started to build, what’s more fun—a small build with clever solutions or a large LOTR build?
B: That's a difficult question. All in all, I enjoy both—for me the most important thing is that you have fun while building. The size or the theme are less important.
A: What’s the first LEGO set you remember?
B: 7101 Lightsaber Duel from Star Wars Episode 1. So simple but so fun.
Picture from Brickset
A: One of the things I really appreciate (and looking at the number of followers you have on social media, I’m not alone) are your tutorials. What drove you to start delivering these to the community?
B: Everything started after I joined Instagram around three years ago. After uploading my first MOCs I received a lot of comments where I was asked if there are any instructions available for the builds. Therefore I decided to post some tutorials and due to all the great responses, I’ve just continued with it as it seems people enjoy them.
A: Have you ever felt any pressure when building, given that you are known as a talented builder (I mean let’s face it, you’re being featured on BrickNerd, that’s really the top of the food-chain right)?
B: Haha! Well, I wouldn’t call it pressure, but making collabs with other builders is always a big challenge. At least when you see the first WIP photos of their creations and you realize that you have to really give it your best so that your MOC is worthy of standing next to their builds. For instance, here's a MOC my friends and I made for an exhibition in Mondsee 2019:
A: Do you prefer the online part of the hobby (like posting pictures of your work, etc) or the offline part like attending conventions?
B: Actually I love both sides of the hobby. It’s really cool to get in touch online with LEGO fans from all around the world who share the same passion as you. But conventions are awesome too, seeing the builds in real life and meeting the builders who made them is always a great experience
A: I’m curious what your favourite piece is and why?
B: That’s a difficult question (again). At the moment I love experimenting with the Bar with Round Plate part because it allows many interesting connections and angles. Here are some examples where I've used that part:
A: Those are some clever uses! Random questions next. If you could bring back one theme, which would it be—and why is it not Galidor?
B: That’s an easy question! For sure it would be something related to Castle. Lord of the Rings would be my favorite choice, but I would be fine with Classic Castle or Fantasy Era, too. Why not Galidor? Because there’s already something “similar” available with LEGO Trolls, haha!
A: Where do you rank on the LEGO purist scale?
B: My motto is that the part should be made or at least distributed by LEGO. Other than that I’m very open when it comes to that question. For instance, I sometimes use broken LEGO parts in my creations (reddish-brown elements are breaking easily unfortunately…) and once I’ve even used a LEGO plastic bag as a frozen pond. Moreover I also like customizers who print texts or logos on LEGO parts.
A: That pond is amazing! (And all those poor, poor brown shards…) Are you a member of a LUG? If so, which one?
B: Here in Austria there’s a LUG called “Lgoe” and I’m a proud member of it. Lgoe organizes many conventions every year and also has an online forum: forum.lgoe.at. I’m also a member of the LotRLug which reunites LEGO Lord of the Rings fans from all around the world.
A: It seems like you spend a lot of time on LEGO. Are you open with your LEGO interest in your private life? Have you ever had any negative experiences in regards to that?
B: The view on my hobby changed a lot in the last few years. When I started collecting LEGO back in 2012, I always felt like a nerd (or BrickNerd, haha!) when I was standing in a shop in front of a LEGO shelf when next to me there were only children with their parents. So all in all, I wasn’t very open talking about my hobby.
But over time that has changed, in part because LEGO started releasing more and more sets aimed towards adults, and there have been several reports about LEGO as a successful investment in the media. Nowadays it feels normal standing in the LEGO aisles as an adult—it even feels like sometimes there are almost more adults than children by those shelves! Therefore I don’t have a problem anymore talking about my hobby in my private life.
A: Alright, the last question that must be on everyone’s mind: how many PaB-cups do you own?
B: Ha! Unfortunately not many because there isn’t a LEGO store in my area. At the moment I own six big cups and two small cups.
A: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us here at BrickNerd, I really appreciate it. And we’re looking forward to seeing what you come up with in the future!
B: I’m happy to hear, and thank you for reaching out to me for this interview!
I really hope you enjoyed this reading this interview as much as I enjoyed chatting with Patrick (aka Balbo). And whether you are a seasoned builder or just getting started in this magnificent community, I can definitely recommend following Patrick on social media. He posts a lot of great tutorials, especially on his Instagram, and his creations are pretty much guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
What builders inspire you that you would like BrickNerd to interview? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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