Select your location
The Drum
The difference between men and boys, is the speed of their toys: the art of LEGO scale modeling
28.02.2019
Most men among us used to play with LEGO bricks as a kid, building sets or making our own creations, only limited by our imagination and the number of bricks present in the room. Well, some people think there shouldn’t be limits in creating and take the LEGO building process to the next level. They use bricks as a base for real scale modeling in a form and detail we’ve never seen before. Meet the two Dutch friends Dennis Glaasker and Dennis Bosman, basically the inventors of LEGO scale modeling. We had a talk with Dennis Glaasker, a Dutch entrepreneur who spends some of his free time in this good-looking hobby.
Dennis, we tend to think in terms of LEGO builders, but what you create, is way above the typical builder level we see at fairs and in TV-shows?
Yes, that’s correct. To put it straight from the beginning, we’re not the typical fans who fancy the latest LEGO set or puppets. We just happen to be scale model builders who use LEGO bricks in a way, that goes far beyond the typical set or city builder. You might state that LEGO is our raw material and the base for every build. We do take this seriously.
How did this story start? Judging in the number of details and precision in your models, that didn’t happen overnight?
No, it didn’t indeed. I used to play with LEGO as a kid and got really interested when LEGO launched their Technic line. But when I became a teenager and student, I lost interest for 10 or maybe 15 years. I studied engineering and when internet was becoming popular, I got acquainted with the work of my friend Dennis Bosman. He was already scale modeling with LEGO, we met, and I regained my interest.
How did you become like-minded friends?
I’ve bought a set of LEGO bricks and from there off things took off. We bumped into some other builders and for 12 years now we are a small group of builders, aiming at the highest level of detail possible. We do not build volumes, or work in a commercial way. The friendship and discussing about builds, solutions and technical details really forms our passion. We all love being creative and have a serious amount of petrol in our blood.
The book you edited shows incredible work. What was the reaction from the LEGO company?
When exposing at events, LEGO sends out its community managers to see what is happening in their community. We got many compliments. What we created, was new: creating scale models entirely build with LEGO bricks. The concept is implemented by Lego as well, with some clear examples being the Mini, Aston Martin Bond car, the Bugatti Chiron and recently the Ford Mustang. By the way, our book has been edited all over the world including China.
How does a building process work?
We always start from a car, truck or motorcycle model we love. We start with researching books and download technical details and pictures from the internet. The scale is being adapted to the LEGO wheel that fits best our idea. We follow the same manufacturing process as a real car. First, we build the chassis, then the body, the interior and finish with the decals.
And how long does a build take to complete?
After all it remains a hobby. I build approximately 2 to 3 models per year. On average a build takes me 3 to 4 Months, depending on my free time. Currently I am working on a Lancia Delta Integrale in the famous Martini race livery. But we have been making, cars, trucks trains and motorcycles, … from the latter mostly Harley-Davidsons which I adore.
What is the most satisfying part of this hobby?
The moment somebody says, this can’t be LEGO! That always puts a big smile on my face.
Discover more work on: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bricksonwheels
