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Howdy All-
While reading the Orange County version of the Los Angeles Times today, I found
the following article about a Lego Maniac® family. I'm not sure if this family
frequents RTL or LUGNUT, but they sure have a nice setup, that I sure admire.
The print version of the article, had a picture of the boy standing in front of,
hundreds of drawers with various elements in each. The article can be viewed
here or read below:
http://www.latimes.com/editions/orange/ocnews/20000515/t000045855.html
Enjoy,
Chet
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Leading a Lego Lifestyle
Irvine boy has played with the toys since he was a toddler. Now he has a chance
to become world champion.
By ERIKA I. RITCHIE, Special to The Times
The Cosmic Prospector has launched National U.S. Lego Champion David Michon
into the galaxy of world competition.
The 9-year-old Irine boy, who won the U.S. finals of the Lego Star Wars
Galactic Challenge in his age group last month, looks forward to stiffer
competition at the world finals in the fall.
David's winning model, the Cosmic Prospector, is a motorized spaceship that
searches for mineral resources in the galaxy. While judges at the New York
competition praised it for ingenuity and creativity, David attributed his win to
seniority and experience.
"I was the oldest kid there in my age group and the only one who seemed to
have experience building on site," he confided.
But officials from Lego credited David with tireless practice of Lego
techniques and unerring instincts as an engineer.
"He is outstanding as a builder," said Shannon Hartnett, a Lego
spokeswoman. "He and his brother Thomas have a real grasp of building with Lego
bricks."
Lego building has been a lifestyle for David and his 13-year-old brother
Thomas, a two-time national champion, since they were toddlers, said their
mother, Susan Michon.
Their father, Ted Michon, who enjoyed playing with construction toys as a
child, passed on this love to his sons.
"From the moment I could communicate with the boys, we started playing
Lego," he said.
Thomas, who won his first championship at age 5, inspired his younger
brother by spreading his Lego blocks around their home. Between the two of them,
they have at least 100,000 blocks and special pieces.
Their models stand inside a room dominated by a wall lined with miniature
filing drawers containing an array of Lego blocks.
The Lego World Championship, to be held at Legoland in Carlsbad in late
September, will feature 15 children from around the world vying for the title of
Most Imaginative Builder in the Galaxy.
The national competition last month required the children to design and
build a futuristic invention. In that case, working with a plan in mind was a
must, although challenging for David, who relies on spontaneous bursts of
creativity.
At the U.S. competition, David had to be able to build right out of the
box, and he had only two hours to do it.
"I had to work up, develop and devise a plan," he said.
David plans to enlist the aid of his brother and father and will begin to
devise his plan for the world challenge.
If David attains the world title, he and his family will receive a VIP trip
to Lego headquarters in Denmark, where Legos originated in the 1930s. David also
would have direct input into the design and theme of future Lego sets and,
finally, would receive a life-size Lego Star Wars model of his choice,
autographed by "Star Wars" creator George Lucas.
But he does not want to spend his entire summer building with Lego bricks.
"I'm not that enthusiastic about it," he said. Instead, he wants to play
computer games and spend time outdoors.
Copyright 2000 Los Angeles Times
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