487Unique parts
2,207Total parts
The Ocean House is part of an original theme I created whilst writing story for my son (now sons!). The first set in the theme was The Mountain Windmill, which I am very thankful to say was part of the Bricklink Invitational. I was also invited to do the Ocean House as part of the invitational, but at the time it wasn’t possible so I am thrilled to have the opportunity to submit it now.
The story tells of the mysterious Mountain Windmill that holds mysteries long since forgotten by the villagers who live in its shadow. The journey to the windmill is too dangerous to travel, until, that is, a young village boy discovers a map marking a hidden route to the Windmill. The Ocean House is the home of the boy.
One of the aesthetic 'design pillars' of the theme is the combination of nature and man-made structures. The other is a vivid and rich palette, I think maybe my favorite feature of the Ocean House is the bright multicolored cladding that runs around the facade. I am really happy with the way it turned out and I think offers a pretty unique sight in LEGO
One of the biggest design challenges was the order in which the set was constructed and how the decking should mount onto the legs, I am happy with the solution as I found when building that it wasn't bad taking it off and putting it back on, etc.
Here is the passage of the story that introduces the Ocean House:
The boy started home with the map tucked away safely in his satchel. Could it really lead to the Mountain Windmill, and what if it did? He wasn’t about to set off into the valley to find out. He decided to put it out of his mind for now.
It was dusk when the boy's house came into view.
The house stood on stilts above the water. Blue flowers grew knotted and thick across the roof. The boy’s father had removed the flowers a few years ago but they returned defiant, so he had decided to let them be. The boy liked the way the flowers looked, as did his mother, though they had started to damage the roof.
Their old fishing boat was tied to the jetty and rocking gently on the tide. The boy liked to sit in it occasionally and read, or just watch the fish swim around the legs of the jetty, enjoying the protection it offered from the open water.
The boy's cat meowed and brushed against his leg. The smell of cooking fish wafted over the sand towards him, and his stomach grumbled. He bent down and scratched the cat behind the ear before the pair of them headed up the ramp toward the front door. The boy looked forward to the sight of his familty at the table with a nice hot meal.
4 Minifigures included.
Model Dimensions:
Width: 40.9 cm / 16.1 in
Length: 47.8 cm / 18.8 in
Height: 28.2 cm / 11.1 in
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Hi all!
My name is Harry and I am the fan designer of the Ocean House. I am 34 and based in the UK. For the last decade I have worked in the videogames industry and before that I was a professional guitarist.
I am a big LEGO fan and LEGO brick building has been part of my life since I can remember.
As a kid I spent hours waging wars between Blacktron and M-tron, Pirates and Indigo Islanders and building custom Star Wars ships and scenes…
One of my fondest childhood memories is spotting The Speeder Bikes set (7128) on a display stand in a supermarket in 1999. When I arrived home, I ran upstairs with the set hidden behind my back - seeing my brother still in the exact building position I had left him in - I exclaimed: “What are the two greatest things of all time!?” Without hesitation he answered: “Star Wars and LEGO sets!”
Not much has changed in the last 25 years. Growing up I made custom scenes and ships from my favorite movies and games, and as an adult, I shifted to mostly buying and building sets.
Over the past 5 years or so my engagement with the brand has reverted back somewhat towards my childhood approach of building things from my favorite video games and original ideas. The majority of my LEGO brick time goes into working on the Mountain Windmill series and stories.
The Ocean House is the second set in the Mountain Windmill series and is the home of the story's protagonist; a young adventurous boy who happens upon a map charting the forgotten route to the mysterious Mountain Windmill.
I always aim to try and get vibrant colors and nature into my builds. I think my favorite features of the Ocean House are the colorful trim that wraps around the whole house and the decorative fish bone door frame*
I hope you all enjoy the set as much as I enjoyed designing it, and a deeply heartfelt thank you for the incredible continued support for this theme!
Peace and happy building!
*No LEGO fish were hurt in the making of this set.
How do you find inspiration for your designs? What inspired this BDP set in particular?
This set is part of a series that began with the Mountain Windmill 910003. The Mountain Windmill started as a set idea but ended up becoming part of a story I wrote for my son, about a boy who finds a map to a mysterious Windmill and goes on an adventure. I found it easier to envision the building once I had wrapped a narrative around it. Since then the story has grown, as has the number sets (and the number of sons)!
In terms of inspiration, I found the story and the sets started to inspire one another. As I fleshed out more of the story, new locations were created and as soon as I started describing these locations, I started to see the LEGO set too.
The Ocean House is the home of the story's main character who comes from a small fishing village. I started writing about the house in the story and pretty soon I was in front of my bricks and stud.io building it, all the time imagining the characters living there and what they’d be up to.
I find Studio Ghibli vistas inspiring and enjoy looking through movie and video game concept art books.
What was the first set you ever built? Which one is your favorite? What is one set you would love to see being made?
The first set I remember owning personally was the Spyrius Robo-Guardian 6949, known to me as the ‘big LEGO robot’. There was a good amount of M Tron, Indigo Islanders and Pirates in my house growing up!
My favourite set changes. I think of recent times it has to be Rivendell 10316. Knight’s King Castle is a masterpiece too, and Barracuda Bay!
I’m still holding out hope for LEGO Zelda, that’s the theme I really would like to see.
How would you describe your building style? Do you usually design sets within a certain theme?
I find nature often features heavily in my builds, there is a repeated theme of nature vs man made structure that runs through my original designs. I have a set of pillars I try to stick to when I design a set; architecturally interesting, affords narrative and play, works as a stand alone piece, and ties in aesthetically if part of a larger theme.
I spend the majority of my time on the Mountain Windmill series, though I do quite a lot of buildings based on other IPs, most commonly video games, for example; The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, Ghost of Tsushima and Destiny.
How would you describe your role in the LEGO® fan community?
I’m not sure. I was pretty active for a time on LEGO Ideas, but feel I have found my place within BDP. I don't think of myself as having a role, but I will say that I am beyond moved by the community support for my builds. It’s so cool to hear people talking about the sets as a theme and actively collecting them, it’s amazing! I’m so grateful for all the support.
Have you been to any LEGO community events or conventions? If so, what were they like?
Not yet! But I have visited the LEGO House in Billund and can wholeheartedly recommend it if anyone was thinking about it.
What do you think makes a BDP set successful?
I don't think there is any denying Castle and Trains do well, there’s clearly a real demand for them, and some superb designers out there who are passionate and successful designing them. Other than that I think eye-catching, unique designs that aren’t on offer currently from the LEGO Group is a really good way to go.
What advice would you give to the next set of hopeful BDP designers?
Take pride in your idea and execute it to the very best of your ability. Personally, I would recommend putting the time into one set you really believe in, as opposed to making lots of sets with potential. There are more series of BDP coming so perfect each of your sets to give them the best shot at success. If you did want to make several sets for a single series, however, I would recommend making them significantly different in both aesthetics and scale, and have fun with it!
Peace and happy building!
Why not be the first?