Couple’s Lego creations are built to last
A globe, a rollercoaster, a carousel and Batman’s Batmobile are just some of the astonishing Lego models on display at the home of one local couple marking International Lego Day today.
Steph Porter and her husband Dan have accumulated more than 300 Lego sets since they started their remarkable collection a decade ago.
They are also prominent members of Facebook group ‘Bailiwick of Guernsey Lego group’, which has grown to almost 800 members.
‘Dan and I met 11 years ago, and we have probably been collecting for 10 years, we’ve both had an interest in Lego since we were young,’ Mrs Porter said.
‘Lego really is something that, if anything, is becoming more aimed at adults now instead of children, especially with the types of models you can get.’
While the couple started off constructing smaller models, their passion for building grew over the Covid pandemic.
‘Obviously we had more time on our hands and a bit more money to spend, so we started to go for bigger sets and it just went from there really,’ Mrs Porter said.
‘Dan likes quite intricate builds while I prefer the simpler models as my eyesight isn’t the best, but Lego has an app where you can zoom in on the instructions so it’s quite inclusive in that sense.’
She said they had spent thousands of pounds on Lego over the years, with the Danish company retiring old sets and bringing out new ones all the time.
They also often use a website called BrickLink – a website similar to eBay but for Lego – to see what is available to buy second-hand.
As for her favourite models in their collection, Mrs Porter said a globe she built in April last year ranked top of her list.
‘It took me three evenings doing about four hours per evening.’
‘I love the detail, especially on the inside of it, the mechanics to make it spin are really impressive.’
Other highlights include a now-retired rollercoaster which she bought second-hand, and a rare motorised carousel, both of which form part of a wider model fairground.
The couple have also accumulated a number of Nasa spacecraft, including the Saturn V rocket – at 10 years old the oldest model in their collection.
As for future builds, boxes of models including the Empire State Building and Notre Dame cathedral remain unopened, and Mrs Porter hoped they would get round to constructing them soon.
But her main focus for this year is to build on the success of last year’s ‘Bricktacular’ event, staged at Grow Ltd's headquarters, which saw some of the island’s toy brick enthusiasts display their models to captivated visitors.
‘What started as a fun conversation in the pub turned into something way beyond what any of us involved were expecting, it was a great event,’ she said.
‘What I’d like to do is build a medieval village to put on display for this year’s Bricktacular, that’s the next big project.’
