Picture it... Christmas... 1976.  A young nerdy kid gets his first LEGO set from his parents - #570-1 Firehouse (picture on the left). The following Christmas (1977)  both his parents and grandparents get in on the act - his mother's parents give him two sets, and his parents give him his first space-themed set, #565-1 Moon Landing (picture on the right).  More sets show up at Christmases and birthdays following, but most notable was his first classic space set, #483-1 Alpha Rocket Base, and then his most favoritest set ever in 1980, #6970-1 Beta I Command Base.

Yeah duh, it's me - I'm the kid, and that's how it all started.  I built and re-built and played with those classic space LEGO sets endlessly.  As I got into my early teens, I didn't receive any new LEGO sets, but I kept my classic space LEGO sets on display in my bedroom well into my late teens and college years.

I don't remember exactly when my childhood LEGO sets and bricks ended up in the closet in my bedroom.  Probably on some visit home mom told me to get stuff out of my old room and either throw it away or store it.  Of course, I stored the bricks, figuring some day I'd use them again.

Well that some day didn't come for a long time.  Mom nagged me for years to get them out of my closet, and eventually they made their way from that closet to my apartment closet, where they sat for several more years.

I stuck my toe back in the LEGO waters in 2018 when LEGO released a Tron Legacy set (more on that below).  I was/am a HUGE fan of the Tron movies, and I bought multiple copies of the set.  I built a small "light cycle battle" with three sets, and ordered some parts from the LEGO website to create the base.

It wasn't until the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020 that I truly got back into LEGO building.  The first season of LEGO Masters was airing at that time, and it gave me thoughts of getting back into LEGO.  I figured I was going to need some stuff to keep me busy while isolated, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take the leap.

And leap I did.  I began buying commercial sets and building them.  Then buying a set again and modding it with the first.  Then building and designing my own stuff.  Then going to a LEGO convention as an spectator. Then joining a LEGO User Group (LUG).  Then building stuff and exhibiting at conventions myself.  And as they say (who is they?), the rest is history.

And about that first LEGO set?  I still have the original baseplate in my collection as a memento of how it all began. 

As I got back into LEGO during the early months of the pandemic, I quickly learned a lot about creating builds in the computer using software called Stud.io and ordering parts from Bricklink.  I finally settled on the idea of creating a multi-unit apartment complex with three stacked units.  The first task was to come up with a design for the individual apartment units.  I envisioned a two-floor apartment unit, with a dual-floor living room and work space, a small bedroom loft on the second floor, and a small kitchen in the back of the first floor.

I spent a lot of time in Stud.io learning how to use the program, designing my build, and then rendering it.  I didn't have a lot of extra parts laying around, so I couldn't really try things in the real world.  My plan was to design the first unit as best as possible in the computer, order the parts for that unit, make any adjustments/changes as needed, and then order parts to build the rest.

I used red bricks (which I had on hand) for the prototype unit, but red wasn't in my plans for the final design - I had planned to build units in brown, green, and blue.  However, after building the red unit and finalizing the design, I decided to keep the red unit and go ahead and build the other three for a total of four units, and then have them as two separate buildings.  And then I added a garage on the first floor of each building.  And then I added little cars.  And then I added a hot tub and a rooftop deck on the top of each building.  And then I added a park in the middle.

The final build is pictured above.  There are a variety of easter eggs throughout the build - pride flags on the roof, small artworks and bookshelves in color schemes associated with things in my life.  I hate the trees and may redo them some day.  To view more pictures of this build, click the Build gallery link below.

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Greetings programs!

Since the first Tron movie came out in 1982, I've been a huge fan.  And I TOTALLY geeked out when we finally got a sequel with Tron Legacy in 2010.  I could probably write a whole page about my love of Tron, but I digress.

In 2018 LEGO produced set #21314 Tron Legacy Light Cycles.  I was shocked and excited to hear the news.  It was nearly eight years since the movie had come out, and while I loved the movi, it wasn't exactly a hit or huge moneymaker for Disney.  But here it was, a LEGO set of one of my favorite movies.  I hadn't bought or received any new LEGO in decades, but that didn't stop me from buying six copies of the set., it wasn't exactly a hit or huge moneymaker for Disney.  But here it was, a LEGO set of one of my favorite movies.  I hadn't bought or received any new LEGO in decades, but that didn't stop me from buying six copies of the set.

Initially I took three of the sets and built a small light cycle battle - three orange cycles and three blue cycles on separate small bases looking like they were all about to collide.  Then with spare pieces I built a Light Racer Car with a design I found on Rebrickable.

Mind you this was all before I REALLY got back into LEGO building, but once I got back into real LEGO building in 2020, the floodgates opened.  I ordered more parts, more minifigs, and built more things to accompany my Tron Legacy collection.

In January 2022 I took on my biggest project yet - a full-scale Light Cycle Battle, complete with a grid, grandstands, lots of minifigs, and whatever else I could cram in.  Unlike other builds where I had meticulously planned out the build in the computer, this was a build that I made up as I went along.  This of course meant lots of trial and error, lots of ordering parts that I eventually didn't need, lots of rebuilding and starting over, frustration, etc., etc.

Finally in June 2022 the Light Cycle Battle build was complete - 96 studs wide by 48 studs deep (two 48 x 48 baseplates), 112 minifigs, six light cycles, grandstands, a score board, and lots of other details and easter eggs.  I honestly have no idea how many bricks are in the build.  In 2024 I added lighting to the build.

The Light Cycle Battle is not my only Tron-themed build.  I also have a Tron Disc War build that started small and built with spare pieces, and in February 2024, it too became a full 96 x 48 studs build like the Light Cycle Battle with a grandstand, walkway, VIP suites, a two-way disc battle, a four-way disc battle, and lights throughout the build.

After completing the Light Cycle Battle, I got the grand idea to add a third big build to act as a "corner piece" between the Light Cycle Battle and the Disc War.  And thus in July 2024 the Light Jet Repair Bay was born - a 48 x 48 studs build that included two light jets and lighting.

I have over 300 Tron-themed minifigs, and because I've bought so many, I've inadvertently caused the value of them to go up on sites like Bricklink since I'm the nerd that keeps buying them. ;)

Am I done creating Tron builds?  Maybe?  I keep telling myself I'm done, but then I get another idea, and there goes my time and money.  If anything, I'd like to make the original Light Cycle Battle easier to transport to conventions and I'd like to do more to hide the wires that power the lighting in all three builds.

To see pictures of all these builds, click the Build gallery link below.

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I began this project in early 2021 when I found several miniature artwork designs on Rebrickable.  I thought it was a very cool idea, and I decided I wanted to turn those designs, plus more of my own, into an art museum.

My original concept was a fixed-size museum with two floors of artworks that could easily be swapped in and out.  However, in working on the design, I struggled to come up with something that 1) fit the space where I wanted to put it, 2) looked interesting, and 3) could easily be transported to a convention.

Eventually I was inspired by the “habitat” build style and after several trials and errors, I found a module size and configuration that worked.  By using modules, I can add artworks endlessly and arrange them in multiple ways.  Over time I have tweaked the module design as well - changing the decor, and most notably, rebuilding all of the modules in such a way that they can be easily taken apart, nearly "flattened", and fit in a much smaller space for transport.

As I had originally intentioned, as time goes on I keep adding more artworks to the overall build.  I've taken this build to multiple conventions over the years, and it has really become my "signature build".  People recognize me, remember this build, and ask if I've brought it.  I love challenging people to see how many of the artworks they recognize.

Here are some quick stats about this build (as of March 2026):

• 54 artworks in 30 modules.
• Began construction in Spring 2021.
• Phase 1 – 18 artworks – completed July 2021.
• Phase 2 – 12 artworks – completed December 2021.
• Phase 3 – 6 artworks – completed July 2022.
• Phase 4 – 8 artworks and added lighting – completed April 2023
• Phase 5 – 10 artworks, revised 2 existing – completed February 2026.
• Total pieces – over 10,000 (includes the artworks, modules, decoration, and support structure)

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In June 2021, just in time for Pride Month, LEGO released the Everyone is Awesome set which included 11 single-color minifigs, or "monofigs".  Being gay, and by that point, being very much back into LEGO building, I bought three copies of the set, which the intention of building something bigger and more dramatic than the original set (more about that build in the next section).

In creating my own expanded version of the Everyone is Awesome set, I only used two of the three sets of the monofigs, so I had one extra set.  I also received an extra set of monofigs from a friend who duplicated my build.  Initially I was going to use these extra sets to populate the art museum.  However, I soon began to learn about the whole business of collecting monofigs and creating monochrome builds.

As I began collecting monofigs I put them in a simple display.  I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but like any slightly-obsessed collector, I wanted as complete of a collection as I could get.  I knew I wanted two of each color so that I could have one "male" and one "female" as much as possible.  As I got into the more difficult and rarer colors, this wasn't as possible, so I went with whatever hair or headgear I could obtain.

As my collection grew, I knew I wanted to have them in some sort of nicer display, but I wasn't sure exactly what to do.  Inspiration finally came to me when I was attending Brickworld Chicago in June 2022.  I saw two builds there that were centered around monofigs that inspired me - one build was a full habitat for each monofig color, and another build was in a picture frame with simple greebling (random pieces) behind each monofig.

I decided to adapt those ideas into having each pair of monofigs on an 8 x 8 plate, with carefully arranged pieces of the same color behind the monofigs.  As I began to design the mosaics in the computer, I set a few "rules" for myself.

• Each mosaic could only be made up of parts of the designated color.
• Each mosaic had to be unique - no two should be alike.
• Each mosaic had to have some sort of symmetry - either vertical or horizontal.
• The underlying white plate needed to be completely covered.
• Don't repeat any major elements across the entire build - once I used something I couldn't use it again.  Small parts  were exempt.  This involved the use of a spreadsheet.
• Try to use pieces in unexpected colors - for instance, instead of using the banana piece in yellow, use it in white.
• In a later revision, all of the monofigs had to have a unique hair style or headgear.  (Except for one color.)

As with all of my major builds, I've updated and revised this one several times.  In 2025 I expanded the display to two frames and added information tiles below each mosaic.  The current display has 49 tiles, with room for one more in the future.

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This project began as an offshoot of the monofig mosaic build.  I knew I couldn't do any more mosaics with monofigs, but there were still colors out there with viable parts, though in many cases the number of parts were limited (rare), some colors had been out of production for many years (retired), and some colors were very new (recent).  However, being the sometimes-obsessive collector that I am, I didn't let that stop me. 

As with the monofig mosaics, I used an 8 x 8 plate as the base of the mosaic, and all of the parts in each mosaic could only be of the designated color.  But unlike the monofig mosaics, I had to be a lot looser with the "rules" because of the limited availability and in some cases, the high cost of the parts.  Four of these mosaics are made up of a single element, which was a challenge to make the mosaic look interesting.

This project started out with 18 colors in two small frames, and has since grown to 48 colors in two large frames with labels that list the color name and the years of production.

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Big builds are fun, but they aren't everything.  Listed below is a selection of smaller projects and builds that I have done.