LEGO IDEAS 21310 Old Fishing Store: A few questions for Robert Bontenbal

Today, Friday August 25, you will be able to meet Robert Bontenbal aka RobenAnne, the designer of the project that became the official set LEGO IDEAS 21310 Old Fishing Store.

As part of his European tour of the LEGO Stores, he is indeed stopping today at the LEGO Store des Halles in Paris (13:00 p.m. - 16:00 p.m.) to meet those who wish to ask him a few questions or simply congratulate him. and have him sign the box that they will have the opportunity to acquire in preview (159.99 €). For the others, it will be necessary to wait until September 1st to obtain it on the LEGO Shop ou hope to be drawn...

For the occasion, LEGO offered me (as on other sites) to ask Robert Bontenbal a few questions and I give you his answers below. Nothing very complicated, but I especially wanted to have an explanation on the source of inspiration of this set by its creator.

Hoth Bricks: Hello Robert, congratulations on validating your project and converting it into a real LEGO set. In the project description, you mention that you were inspired by the sets from the Winter Village range. When I discovered this Old Fishing Store, I had the impression that it could fit into a coastal village in Maine (USA). What were your other sources of inspiration for this project, if any?

Robert Bontenbal: I really like the sets from the Winter Village range and, on the occasion of the holiday season, I actually started to design my own buildings with the help of my children. After having imagined the design and made the sketch, I created the Old Fishing Store under LEGO Digital Designer [official LEGO digital creation software] by combining my passion for fishing and the architecture of wooden houses in Saba (West Indies Dutch), where my family is from. 

Hoth Bricks: When the project was selected and validated, did you have the opportunity to work closely with the LEGO designer Adam Grabowski during the phase of adapting the set to the constraints and construction rules defined by LEGO?

Robert Bontenbal: When the project reached 10.000 supporters, I actually got in touch with Adam Grabowski and the whole LEGO IDEAS team via Skype. That was the beginning of this incredible adventure.

Hoth Bricks: Are you happy with the end result? Do you consider that the spirit of your creation has been kept by the LEGO designer?

Robert Bontenbal: Yes, I am satisfied. The final product is very close to the original design. Technical changes were made to make the whole thing stronger and Adam Grabowski added some really cool props but overall I think the end product is really very close to my project.

Hoth Bricks: A lot has happened since you initially submitted your project to the LEGO IDEAS platform. How does it feel now that your creation is finally available on the shelves of LEGO Stores and LEGO fans can own it?

Robert Bontenbal: It was indeed a long process. There were a lot of intermediate steps to validate. But the result is truly exceptional and seeing your creation featured on the internet, in the media and in stores is truly satisfying. I really enjoy reading comments on all of the forums and sites that deal with news about LEGO products. I think every designer should appreciate this stuff.

I see you have developed any a range of assorted modular buildings to this one. Many fans know this and are already supporting your other projects present on the LEGO IDEAS platform. Many of them would no doubt appreciate having an entire line of official products based on your designs. Do you plan to offer / sell the instructions for assembling these other models?

Robert Bontenbal: I have effectively created a range of buildings that form a seaside village. I'm not sure yet if I will offer / sell the instructions for putting them together, but I can assure you that the seaside village will continue to grow. develop !