After a brief dabble in festive specials LEGO Masters proper is back for 2022. I’ve got the decapitated head of a chocolate rabbit in front of me and it’s time to get in to it.
We begin with an tease of the epicness in store for 2022. Honestly they aren’t going to say it’s a bad season so I’m taking this with a grain of salt.
For the first time our teams enter the LEGO Masters build room. There are lots of excited faces. The set is all new for 2022.
We start with some basic intros. Here’s a more detailed look at who is who…
Alex (25) and Caleb (21)
Alex from Sydney is a makeup artist with a love and natural creative knack for LEGO®. A self-confessed nerd, she enjoys watching Star Wars and Harry Potter on repeat most weekends. She collects Star Wars memorabilia, and despite having only been an AFOL (Adult Fan Of LEGO®) for the last two years, she now owns 12 LEGO® sets.
Her teammate Caleb is a Sydney law student who uses LEGO® to decompress after long, stressful hours of studying. He likes to
create unique takes on architecture with his builds and is often inspired by movies. Unlike Alex, Caleb grew up with LEGO® and he loves the challenge of mastering the creations he dreams up.
Trent (45) and Paul (50)
Trent and Paul are a fun-loving, lively couple from Newcastle who became the first Australian gay men to be wed, in New Zealand in 2013, years before marriage equality laws were passed in Australia. Paul describes himself as loud and extroverted, while Trent is more reserved. Trent still acts the clown though, and they always find a way to laugh and support each other when they are going through tough times.
Branko (48) and Max (17)
Branko and Max are the father and son duo from Sydney who are ready to put their relationship and LEGO® skills to the test as they team up for the ultimate competition. Originally from the Netherlands, they have lived in Australia for 15 years.
Daniel (42) and Kirsti (44)
Daniel is a web developer from Canberra, a long-time solo builder whose passion for LEGO® was renewed once he started building with his two young children. Daniel even has his very own “mini brick pit” at home.
Support worker Kirsti’s love of LEGO® began when she was in her 20s and writing a sitcom. Without access to a cast or crew, she decided to get creative and developed her show using LEGO®.
Henry (20) and Joss (23)
Newcastle-based brothers Henry and Joss might just be the ones to beat in this series, with Joss already a well-known name in the LEGO® world. Joss is obsessed with all things LEGO®, working at a LEGO® store and having one of his builds exhibited at the LEGO® House Masterpiece Gallery in Denmark. The brothers are confident in their abilities and passionate about building.
Lexi (32) and Rachael (37)
Rachael’s passion for LEGO® is on display in all her builds as she challenges herself to always go bigger and better than her original plans. An auditor by day and a massive Harry Potter fan, Rachael’s biggest build is the 6,000-piece Hogwarts Castle she made after discovering Harry Potter LEGO® in 2008.
Video editor Lexi loves creating with LEGO® as it makes her feel calm and gives her a chance to put her imagination to the test, trouble-shooting and problemsolving along the way. Lexi is proud of every build, even those that might not be as impressive as others.
Nick (30) and Gene (32)
Video editors Nick and Gene are best friends and lifelong LEGO® lovers. When they realised they shared this passion they became obsessed with what they could create. Nick tries to bring his sense of humour and creativity into each build, while Gene likes to get his builds done as quickly as possible.
Andrew (38) and Crystal (30)
Andrew and Crystal met over 10 years ago through Andrew’s cosplay photography business and have been friends ever since. Although they have never built together, they are confident that their shared love of LEGO® will be enough to see them through to the end of the competition.
Now a social media producer and curator of a LEGO® news and reviews blog, Andrew’s passion for LEGO® began when he used it for a stop-motion animation he was working on. He prides himself on his efficiency and speed, and now is a LEGO® super-fan.
Crystal is a content creator, model and actress. She uses LEGO® to relax when she’s stressed, and although she favours building sets over her own creations, she is positive that her creativity won’t let Andrew down.
Now back to the episode…
Brickman says this year there are no second chances.
This year there is a new special prize brick. The Titanium Brick of Triumph. This brick is up for grabs every build. That means that somebody can win it off you. The brick will save you from an elimination BUT the twist is that teams won’t be told when the eliminations are taking place. There might be two back-to-back, or a few builds in a row without an elimination. This year every team builds in every challenge. I love this change as in past years there have been build where I would have loved to see what a team not building would have done.
For our first challenge teams are taken over to the pool of destiny. It’s an indoor pool with fake rocks around it. The challenge is called Drain the Ocean. The pool drains to reveal a hidden shipwreck build.
Each team gets a large round section of base to build their own creation. This is a pretty open build, teams can build whatever they think fits on the bottom of the ocean. The technical challenge comes from the fact that the tank will be refilled and then drained again. All the builds need to survive that.
There are 16 hours for this build.
Our teams are off to the brick pit for the first time for 2022. It’s as majestic as ever.
Branko and Max are building a giant Poseidon. It seems like an obvious choice, which might lose them some points in terms of storytelling.
Lexi and Rachael get a bit of a more detailed intro and Rachael has LEGO Friends so she’s my favourite now.
Lexi has experience with character building which is a huge plus in this competition.
Trent and Paul are doing Art Wreckage. I think this is an interesting idea and has the potential to really tick the aesthetics box.
Lexi and Rachael are doing magical mermaids. There is a bit of a curse to mermaids, with every team that attempts them being eliminated. This is probably not an elimination so I am sure it’ll be fine.
Joss and Henry seem to be the chill team, at least in this build. They don’t seem to be as frantic as the other teams. They are doing a massive sea serpent. A good creature build could be a winner.
Kirsti and Daniel are doing an underwater alien colony. They are trying to capitalise on the change in water level more than anybody else.
Nick and Gene are doing the Wild Wild Wet – seahorses and underwater cowboys. I love the originality of the idea.
Crystal and Andrew are going historical with their build. They are doing the remains of Amelia Earhart’s plane. They seem to be going for a larger scale. Slightly macabre with the femur sticking out of the boot.
Brickman does classic Brickman with Joss and Henry and tells them their build is bad and they should feel bad. More specifically their sea serpent is looking down, and it’s going to be viewed from above. Brickman is right but it sucks for the guys to have to change their build at this point in time.
Alex and Caleb are building too! We haven’t really seen them so far this episode which probably means they are middle of the pack. That’s just how TV editing works. They are doing a seaworm. Yeah probably middle of the pack.
Trent and Paul are freaking out about not having enough detail to go with their paintings. The stuff around the build can be just as important.
Max and Branko have build a head for their Poseidon statue and it’s a bit of a blank expression. They start putting together a few alternatives.
We are now at the part of the show where everybody panics and finishes up their builds. I don’t think there are any disasters so far.
The Poseidon face is looking much better… but then Branko knocks an arm off their build. They manage to re-attach it.
The clock hits zero and it’s wet LEGO time!
The water drains out and the final builds are revealed. It’s quite dramatic.
The floating pods in Kristi and Daniel’s build work as intended and are a nice feature.
It looks like all of the builds held up really well.
Judging time
Trent and Paul
Their underwater art build looks good. I don’t think it is the most technical build compared to some of the other teams but there are definite positives. I really like the Van Gogh portrait.
Brickman likes the originality of the idea. Not a winner but a great start.
Daniel and Kirsti
The colony itself is not a build that blows me away. Lots of large clear panels. While they were the only team to feature deliberate movement Brickman is very brief with his feedback so obviously they won’t win today.
Branko and Max
I quite like the statue. It’s not the most incredible character build I have seen but it works. The story isn’t super obvious but I think the statue is imposing enough for this to be towards the top of the pack.
Nick and Gene
The underwater western is a novel idea but the execution could have been a little better.
Alex and Caleb
The seaworm is awesome but the rest might be lacking. They only show this super briefly so it’s not a winner.
Crystal and Andrew
Brickman is impressed with the technical side of this build. The larger scale was an interesting choice and I think it worked out. Brickman thinks this was one of the best ideas and I don’t really agree with that. It’s also still pretty dark. I mean Amelia was a real person who really went missing.
Lexi and Rachael
The mermaid curse is broken! They are much better than any other mermaid featured on LEGO Masters to date. They are really ell executed and the overall scene is fun with lots of great detailing.
Joss and Henry
This is a very impressive sea serpent. I also really love the sad little fish that is about to be eaten. Technique and aesthetics are both big ticks. Top 3 for sure.
Now for the results…
Tonight we have a top 3 teams. Joss and Henry, Branko and Max, and lastly Trent and Paul. Not my picks for top 3. I think the mermaids deserved to be in there over the sunken art.
The winner is Henry and Joss. Not a surprise at all and a deserving winner. It was a very cool build.
Tomorrow night we have fire and smashed LEGO. Should be a good night.
It seemed to be a getting to know you episode with not much focus on the builds (or all the teams even). I’ve definitely been reading your recaps long enough to pick out the teams in contention by the editing process.
I noticed that all of Lexi’s character builds have a similar appearance to her own, I wonder if there’s going to be the same self-referencing as that Series 1 couple?