Looking for a do-it-yourself home improvement project to occupy your time during self-isolation?
You may want to consider an idea from a Princeton man — one that should even interest the kids.
Neal Dangerfield, an Adult Fan of Lego (AFOL), recently completed a ‘Lego post’ as part of a basement renovation.
“We had the post downstairs that we couldn’t get rid of. Instead of just drywalling it, I thought it would be fun to try this and it just brings Lego into the room in a subtle and artistic way.”
Dangerfield, 45, has been interested in Lego since Kindergarten. “Although I probably only got back into it as an AFOL in about 2005, when I started buying sets again. Before that most of my Lego was from my childhood.”
Lego is definitely not child’s play for serious collectors.
There are international Lego building competitions, Lego’s Facebook page is followed by 13.5 million people, and there is even a currently airing Lego Masters reality TV program.
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“Lego now produces many, many sets with adults or more experienced builders in mind,” said Dangerfield. “They are a lot more complicated builds, usually a lot more pieces, and mostly for display and not for play.”
Some of the biggest models can have over 8,000 pieces and cost $800.
“It’s just a great medium to build whatever you want. It’s great for model makers and you don’t need anything else like glues or other tools.
“It’s just Lego.”
Dangerfield’s largest set is the Star Wars Millennium Falcon, with over 5,000 pieces.
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When asked how many sets are in his collection there was a considerable pause before he replied: “Lots…Put it this way, we don’t have the room to have them all out at once, so I’m on a constant cycle of changing themes.”
Dangerfield got the idea for his Lego post — which has about 1,000 bricks — from a YouTube video.
“It’s supposed to look like the entire post is made of Lego and the drywall has been broken off or worn away to expose some of the Lego underneath.”
He built a frame around the existing post and added small areas of Lego walls on the flats and around the corners. Then he drywalled as normal and cut out segments to show the bricks.
When he’s not working or playing at home, Dangerfield is an associate at Fletcher Home Building Centre in Princeton, where he frequently helps customers with do-it-yourself projects of a more traditional nature.
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