Secunda’s Lego legend speaks on YouTube channel

SECUNDA – With one of his models standing on the desk of a world-renowned video game designer, Mr Wayne de Beer is somewhat of a Lego legend.

Mr De Beer told viewers on the YouTube channel, Block Blaze, that the famous Hideo Kojima saw his MOC (Lego language for My Own Creation) of a futuristic creature called a Tallneck from the PlayStation game “Horizon Zero Dawn” on display at the headquarters of Gorilla Games in the Netherlands.

Kojima, who is also a Lego-lover, obtained the instructions and soon built his own model of Mr De Beer’s MOC.

Mr De Beer saw the Tallneck in the game trailer about three years ago and wanted to recreate it using Lego. Once it was completed, he took a photo and posted online.

A few weeks later, Gorilla Games contacted him and he created the building instructions. It was later also released to the public.

“I was so excited when Gorilla Games contacted me, it felt as if my skin caught on fire!” he said.

He is even more ecstatic that the great Kojima complimented his work.

“Since the release of the plans, I received numerous photos of Tallnecks built by Lego fans throughout the world.”

This MOC is just one of many models Mr De Beer designed and built.

His niche is spaceships and robots, and although they are small, they are completely poseable.

This Creative Services Practitioner is a member of zaLUG, the first South African Lego User Group to achieve recognition or RLUG-status. LUG is the abbreviation for Lego User Group.

The members annually exhibit at various venues throughout the year including Springs Mall, Clearwater Mall, Comic Con SA and the annual Brick Fair held at Menlyn at the end of October this year.

“The life span of my MOCs is usually less than a year. As soon as Brick Fair is over, I break down the models and begin afresh.”

Mr De Beer does not buy Lego sets, but rather individual pieces as he needs it and stocks more than 100 000 pieces in his designated Lego room built onto his house in Secunda.

“I construct my designs to be as smooth as possible without any studs visible. I also take the flow of the colour and the contours into consideration when I work on a new MOC.”

Mr De Beer loved Lego as a child superhero but grew out of it in his teens.

When his friends bought him a spaceship set as a joke in 2013, they unknowingly sparked an old flame that is now a full-scale wildfire.

Mr De Beer has a soft spot for figurines and collects the Lego mini-figures that were released throughout the years.

He also displays dozens of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings fantasy characters, and super hero collectables in the Lego room where he also makes time to hone his music skills on an eight-string electric guitar.

He is married to Ms Anita de Beer and their six-year-old twins, Caitlin and Logan, just love to hang out with their dad in the Lego room.

Mr De Beer keeps the LUG’s online presence and community up and going by regularly posting tips and snippets and shares his knowledge and expertise.

Check out his YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/H568R_QEtnI

Check out his Flickr account here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelogre/