STAINED GLASS WINDOW

 MEET THE MAKER: THE BUILDER BEHIND THE VISION, INTERVIEW BY GIORGIO D'ALBANO

52nd episode:  MICHAL HORÁČEK Michal Horáček

Where are you from and what did you study?

Hello, I am from the town of Milovice in the Czech Republic. I am a trained goldsmith

What do you do, what job do you do now?

I am now a warehouse and production manager in a company that sells chimneys

What inspired you to become a LEGO builder?

I've actually been a LEGO builder since I was a child. My parents supported me a lot in this hobby, even though LEGO was a scarce commodity in our country in my early childhood. As an adult, I was into model making, building plastic airplane models and wooden historical ships, but I was bothered by the fact that once a model was finished, it couldn't be modified or rebuilt in any way. That's why I returned to LEGO, because of its variability and the possibility of rebuilding models endlessly

Where do you get inspiration for your creations?

I love the Middle Ages and medieval architecture. My family and I travel a lot and discover new castles and castle ruins. That's where I get a lot of my inspiration. Until recently, I had a period of several years when I focused a lot on horror-gothic themes. I really like Tim Burton's work and it was he who inspired me in many of my models. Now, after years, I'm back to a more realistic medieval concept of my MOCs, which was brought to me by the game Kingdom Come Deliverance and its wonderful depiction of medieval life and architecture, I immediately had to build Pirkštejn Castle 

What is your favorite LEGO work that you have built so far?

I have more of these MOCs. I really enjoyed building Corpse Bride by Tim Burton and Edward Scissorhands in life size. Or maybe Prince Dracula's Castle, which I toured Czech exhibitions with until last year

What has been the most complex challenge you have faced as a LEGO builder?

The most difficult challenge was the construction of the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, which I built for the Czech Republic exhibition. I had exactly one year to build the church, during which I spent 1,800 hours on the construction site and used almost 400,000 bricks. It was a real challenge, because of course I went to work and the construction of the church took up almost all of my free time, but I think the result was really successful and I am glad that I accepted this challenge

Do you have a favorite technique or a special method that you use in your constructions?

The key technique I use is of course SNOT. I play a lot with irregular angles in my MOCs, so I use all sorts of flexible pieces a lot

What themes or subjects do you like to explore the most in your creations?

As I said above, my favorite themes are Castles and Pirates 

What is the largest or most ambitious project you have ever made?

As for LEGO MOCs, the most ambitious project was the aforementioned St. Vitus Cathedral. As for LEGO as a whole, it is the organization of LEGO exhibitions, which I work on with my wife and a few friends, and participation in the Czech version of the LEGO MASTERS competition, which my great friend Mark and I won

What advice would you give to someone who wants to become an expert LEGO builder?

It's very simple, just build with LEGO bricks, test the potential of different pieces and use your imagination to the fullest. The perfect LEGO model doesn't have to be technically perfect, but it must impress with its imagination. Becoming a good LEGO builder is actually not difficult at all, if you like LEGO 

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