I got my first LEGO set when I was 6 in 1973. I loved building things, especially houses and robots. To this day my fondest memories are of playing behind my Dad’s chair with either my LEGO bricks or my Erector sets. Back then LEGO didn’t have the cool minifgures that they have today. We just had your basic colors too — black, white, red, yellow, blue and green brick plates.
In fact I don’t even remember having windows and doors. I am pretty sure I had clear transparent bricks to use for windows. I did have wheels for vehicles. I loved those bricks and I still have my original ones too.
Then in 1997, I stumbled on a bunch of UFO sets (set number 6999 Cyber Saucer) on clearance at K-Mart and scooped them all up (I have no idea what I did with the plastic masks that came with them). That is what brought me back into the LEGO hobby as an adult. I then learned about BrickBay (original name of BrickLink back in the day) and other LEGO user groups online. I was hooked.
Around 1998, I started making custom sci-fi minifigures (that is when I was working for 800-Trekker [best job ever]). I had my first AFOL webpage devoted to them back in the day and have since moved that information on to this site.
I lurked around the online AFOL community for quite a few years until came across a local LUG at a train show in my town. Sometime in 2013 I joined both DelVaLUG and PennLUG. I started building my own MOCs for events sometime that year as well. I have since joined a few online LUGs and have been sharing my builds via different channels.
2014 we had our first local con called Philly Brick Fest. Looks like 2020 be the final year for that. There are plenty of AFOL events out there. I just need to get my butt to some of them.
After building and showing my LEGO Pagoda up at the Pagoda [in 2018], I started a club for kids up at the Pagoda in Reading, PA. The Pagoda Brick Builders club meets the last Saturday of the month unless it is a holiday or I am at another LEGO event.
2019 I started a community project of building the Northeast Middle School for the school. I hope to have it completed by early 2020.
For now, I can be found in a small studio at The Goggleworks in Reading, PA.
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