Jump to content
THIS IS THE TEST SITE OF EUROBRICKS! ×
THIS IS THE TEST SITE OF EUROBRICKS!

Hi from a (former) Master Model Builder in sunny California!

Mariann Asanuma

By Mariann Asanuma
in Hello! My name is...

 Share

Recommended Posts

Mariann Asanuma Community Regular

Mariann Asanuma

Posted
Posted (edited)

Greetings all from California!

My name is Mariann Asanuma. I've been a huge LEGO fan for over 25 years. I never had a Dark Age, heck I even took my brothers' LEGO when they stopped playing with thier's.

I achieved one of my childhood dreams at 25 and became a Master Model Builder. I worked at LEGOLAND California for 5 years, 4 of them in the Model Shop. If you've been to any of the parks, you've probably seen some of my models. I've never been to any of the other parks, but I've seen pictures. I made the Miniland Las Vegas Sign and the MGM Lion at LEGOLAND California, I also made a copy of the fat flute playing pirate (from 65-70 pictures) from the Pirate Band in Windsor and I designed Patches the Pegleg Pirate Puppy (at least that's the name I gave him) which seems to have been copied in the Denmark park.

I build all styles and types of LEGO models, but my specialties are mosaics and Miniland Scale models, I was even known as the Miniland Mom by my fellow Model Builders. I posted about my Batman Mosaic recently here on Eurobricks.

I quit working at LEGOLAND in March of 2007. Now I am the first and only Female Freelance LEGO Artist in the world (at least that I know of). :pir-laugh:

I do commission LEGO models for companies and individuals. I also wrote a book -- "How to Build a Round Ball with Square Bricks!" -- it is the start of a new series of LEGO instruction books that I am writing -- "Building Secrets from the Masters." Currently, I am writing the second book, and I hope to have it available early next year. I have lots of books planned, but if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. :grin: I also write and do instructions for BrickJournal.

You can check out my website www.modelbuildingsecrets.com so you can see some of my models and info on my book (p.s. if you want to order it outside of the U.S. you can't go through the store, you have to use the Contact form and email me).

As for Non-LEGO interests. I love Capoeira. For those of you who don't know what it is, it is a Brazilian martial art that combines dance, gymnastics, and martial arts in a fight-dance style. I even made a LEGO mosaic of my Mestre's (Capoeira Master) logo design as a Christmas gift one year. I also love quilting, reading, writing, singing, origami, watching movies, and playing video games (just to name a few of my hobbies).

I plan on posting several of my creations here, probably a mix of my old models from the park, and newer models that I've made in the past year or so.

Edited by Mariann Asanuma
Dragonator Grand Master

Dragonator

Posted
Posted

Welcome to our humble part of the internet Mariann. I've visited your site before and was considering buying the book, perhaps I will take you up on it some time in the future. :pir-wink:

Your work looks amazing, I'm looking forward to you sharing it with us so I can get a better look. I hope you enjoy yourself here, it's a great community. :pir-sweet: Just try and avoid the crazy people, and you'll be fine. (that is, the entire staff and many others, probably including myself. :pir-tongue: )

Anyway welcome, and I'll see you around. :pir-classic:

CopMike Grand Master

CopMike

Posted
Posted

Hi Mariann and a warm welcome to Eurobricks!

I saw your Batman mosaic and was blown away, it´s really cool! Seeing the other stuff you have on your homepage makes me understand what a loss LEGOLAND made when you left!!

Keep up the good work & see you around :pir-classic:!

CopMike

WhiteFang Grand Master

WhiteFang

Posted
Posted

An incredible warm welcome to you, Mariann Asanuma. I saw your Batman mosaic earlier, and it was indeed an impressive piece of work. This is a wonderful introduction from you and I am glad that you have decided to be a member in our hype community. I am sure you will have an enjoyable time in here. :pir-blush:

By the way, your website is outstanding. Enjoy your stay with us. :pir-wink:

Wout Mentor

Wout

Posted
Posted

Hello and welcome on eurobricks. :pir-classic:

Wow, a real Master Model Builder on our website.

Maybe you can teach us some tricks. :pir-wink:

Professionalism on!

mania3 Rising Star

mania3

Posted
Posted

Welcome Mariann! Glad to have you here at Eurobricks! Your work is incredible, and I look forward to seeing what else you have to share in the coming days.

Teddy Experienced

Teddy

Posted
Posted

Dear Mariann,

A real Master Model Builder. :oh: I'm impressed.

I checked out your website, there is some good stuff on it. :thumbup:

Kind regards,

Teddy

I Scream Clone Grand Master

I Scream Clone

Posted
Posted

Hi Mariann, welcome to Eurobricks.

I was amazed to see you have made a career out of Lego, and your creations are fantastic.

As Copmike said the Batman Mosiac is fantastic.

Where do you get all the bricks needed when you comission a job?

Mariann Asanuma Community Regular

Mariann Asanuma

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for welcoming me everyone! I'm glad you like my Batman Mosaic and my website.

Where do you get all the bricks needed when you comission a job?

To answer your question I Scream Clone, I get most of my bricks from LEGOLAND California's Pick-A-Brick selection. I also get a lot of bricks from the Downtown Disney LEGO Store, lego.com, and bricklink. Sometimes, when I need specific parts right away, I buy sets. For the Batman mosaic I had to buy both the VW Beetle and the Market Street sets and take the Dark Blue and Medium Blue out of the sets to use as the background colors of the mosaic.

Dadster Experienced

Dadster

Posted
Posted

Welcome and thanks for sharing! Looking forward to tips and secrets!!

What was the process of becoming a Model Builder? Stumble into it? Apprenticeship w/ classes?

Mariann Asanuma Community Regular

Mariann Asanuma

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Welcome and thanks for sharing! Looking forward to tips and secrets!!

What was the process of becoming a Model Builder? Stumble into it? Apprenticeship w/ classes?

Dadster the process of becoming a Model Builder is build, build, build! :tongue:

But seriously, there aren't any classes out there. I've just been practicing a lot with LEGO for the past 25 years. It takes a combo of being able to build in any and every scale -- Minifig, Miniland, Mosaic, Sculpture, etc. -- and being in the right place at the right time.

I actually applied 5 times over the course of 2 1/2 years before I ended up getting a job at LEGOLAND. When I was hired I worked in Retail for 10 months and then transferred over to the Model Shop. I worked as a Model Builder for 4 years.

My recommendation if you ever want to become a Master Model Builder is keep building, try different scales and sizes, and take good, detailed pictures of what you do so that you have a portfolio of models to show.

Since I no longer work at LEGOLAND and I was asked so many times by people how they could learn to build like a Master Model Builder, I've started writing a series of books called "Building Secrets from the Masters."

The first book is called "How to Build a Round Ball with Square Bricks!" and is available on my website. I am working on the second book right now and it should be available sometime next year.

(P.S. if you would like to order my book but live outside the USA, please use the Contact Page, my shop can only take US orders.)

  • 2 weeks later...
Dadster Experienced

Dadster

Posted
Posted
Dadster the process of becoming a Model Builder is build, build, build! :tongue:

But seriously, there aren't any classes out there. I've just been practicing a lot with LEGO for the past 25 years. It takes a combo of being able to build in any and every scale -- Minifig, Miniland, Mosaic, Sculpture, etc. -- and being in the right place at the right time.

I actually applied 5 times over the course of 2 1/2 years before I ended up getting a job at LEGOLAND. When I was hired I worked in Retail for 10 months and then transferred over to the Model Shop. I worked as a Model Builder for 4 years.

My recommendation if you ever want to become a Master Model Builder is keep building, try different scales and sizes, and take good, detailed pictures of what you do so that you have a portfolio of models to show.

Since I no longer work at LEGOLAND and I was asked so many times by people how they could learn to build like a Master Model Builder, I've started writing a series of books called "Building Secrets from the Masters."

The first book is called "How to Build a Round Ball with Square Bricks!" and is available on my website. I am working on the second book right now and it should be available sometime next year.

(P.S. if you would like to order my book but live outside the USA, please use the Contact Page, my shop can only take US orders.)

Thanks for the info!!

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...