Ian Summers
About you
What is your name?
Ian Summers
Which country are you from?
USA
How old are you?
23
About your LEGO passion
How did you get into building with LEGO bricks, especially building your own creations?
I am so grateful to have been introduced to Lego/Duplo at a very young age. I have 2 older brothers who played with LEGO, all growing up...so, LEGO pieces have always been around me.
Building MOCs (My Own Creations) has always been my favorite part of my LEGO obsession. Even as a young child, I enjoyed turning sets into my own creations, and I have never stopped.
What kind of creations do you love building the most, and why?
The kinds of creations I like to build most are the ones that evoke a variety of emotions. Laughter from humorous characters, nostalgia from objects from the past, or even disgust from nail clippings.
If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring LEGO builders, what would it be?
If I could give one piece of advice to an inspiring LEGO builder, it would be -No one else can create what you can create, so the World is waiting to see what you can make.
How does it feel to have your work exhibited here at LEGO House - Home of the Brick?
To have my builds displayed at the LEGO House is mind-boggling cool. This is the birthplace of LEGO products, and I feel truly honored and in awe to display my work here.
What’s next for you in your LEGO journey—any upcoming projects or dreams?
It would be a dream to turn my ultimate hobby into a career.
Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website or social media profile that you can share?
My Instagram is https://www.instagram.com/bricktacular_builds.
About your LEGO creation(s) on display
Perched Owl
I have always had a fascination with owls. They are so mysterious yet captivating. I wanted to build an owl out of LEGO bricks because I knew that their big, beautiful eyes would translate really well into LEGO bricks. I wanted the owl to be resting on a branch scanning the dense forest. By building the branch at an obscure angle, it would appear as if it was taken right out of a forest scene. It took me about 1 week to complete the model. The owl’s beak is achieved by using Robin Hood’s minifigure head/hat. For the talons, I used LEGO Chima Mammoth Heads.
Nailed It
My favorite part about building MOCs is turning a particular piece into something completely different. When I saw that I had a couple of LEGO visor elements in my collection, I knew exactly what I could use them for! It took about one day to create this build.
Frying an Egg
Capturing a LEGO build that represents a moment in everyday life brings me joy. What is more mundane than frying an egg in the morning?! I wanted my LEGO build to be so realistic, that you could hear the sizzle of the egg hitting the hot pan. This took about one day to complete this creation. This build is full of easter “eggs.” Star Wars wind screens were the perfect egg whites around the yolk. The hot pan sticker came from a LEGO fire station set.
Well, This Sucks
We all know that painful feeling when accidentally sucking up a LEGO piece in the vacuum cleaner and having to go digging in the dust mound to find it. But imagine how much more traumatizing it would be as a LEGO minifigure? It’s a tornado on wheels. If you get sucked into that abyss, you might not be able to make it back. So, I wanted to immortalize this and bring awareness of these unfortunate incidents. It took approximately 3 days to complete this. The “On” button uses an unscrewed light brick. A brick separator is one of the tools on the side. In the vacuum chamber, there is Han Solo in carbonite surrounded by skeletons and Gollum with the one ring.
Who Didn’t Put the Cap Back On?!
Sometimes the most common things look the coolest in LEGO form. That is what inspired me to build this everyday object out of LEGO bricks. A toothpaste tube and a toothbrush are what everyone uses in the morning (hopefully). This creation took approximately one day to complete. I used bar elements to create individual bristles. For the toothpaste, I wanted to find a piece that would represent the toothpaste oozing out of the tube. The ghost element was my favorite option.
Flash the Sloth from Zootopia
This character, Flash the Sloth from Zootopia, stole the show for me. I had to recreate his iconic scene in the movie. This build was one of my “slowest” to create. It took 2 weeks to complete. By positioning the eyes at an angle, this gives him a slow and sleepy look. Unique parts usage consists of the nose made from Iron Man’s helmet, Claws that are from LEGO Star Wars Tauntaun’s Horns, and the coffee spilling over is Aurra Sing’s hair (also a Star Wars piece).
Shrimp from Shark Tale
He might be tiny, his scenes in the movie might have been tinier but his character made a huge impact on me. Since this shrimp gave me so many laughs in such a short period of time, I had to build him out of LEGO bricks. It was so much fun building this colorful little creature. It took about five days to complete him. I was able to capture his plea for help by using the carrot mascot’s costume for his mouth. Grogu’s eyes worked perfectly for his eyes that pierce right through your soul.
Elphaba and Glinda
Name a more iconic duo?! After seeing the movie Wicked, I immediately went home and wanted to create this dynamic yet complex friendship out of LEGO bricks. I wanted to capture the essence of them but on a really small scale. It took me “one short day”. The Minifigure teapot was the perfect torso for Glinda with minifigure arms attached in a unique way. For Elphaba’s broom, the minifigure beard worked perfectly. The letter W was made using a LEGO Wolverine claw.