5 days ago
Netizens bowled over by Lego model of Boat Quay
A postgraduate student's Lego model of Boat Quay has captured the imagination of Redditors.
Joslau, who is in his 30s and has a masters degree in architecture, said in his post that he built the model to share it with Singaporeans on National Day.
"One of my favourite things to do in Singapore is taking a stroll along the Singapore River. I have always found the Boat Quay section of the river to be very scenic due to the unique arrangement of eclectic shophouses," he said.
"I live quite far away from the CBD area and so I wanted to capture a version of it at home," added Joslau, who has had a passion for Lego since he was a child and took it up seriously during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The model, which consists of some 24,300 parts, cost between $600 and $700 to build, Joslau told The New Paper. It took him 300 hours to design, and another 150 hours to build.
Netizens seemed impressed by his efforts.
"Well done! It looks amazing. Brilliant!" said Taniela_Tupou.
"Looks incredible! Must have taken you quite awhile to come up with this," said Administrator-Reddit.
Joslau told TNP that he started the project in April and completed it just before National Day.
"This Boat Quay model is called a Lego MOC, which stands for 'My Own Creation', which means it's custom-built," explained Joslau. "It took me about two months to design and around a month to build."
He added that he uses Studio, a design software widely used by Lego creators, which can churn out an Excel list of parts needed.
However, Joslau said that it was simply too much work to replicate the more than 50 Boat Quay shophouses in his model. "So I picked the most iconic 15 that would capture the feel and atmosphere, selecting the buildings in the form and colour which would best represent Boat Quay."
The most difficult part of building the model: replicating the curvature of the street as it bends around the Singapore River.
"I felt that the unique curve of the street is what gives it its character and the unique experience as you traverse the street. I referenced Google Maps and Google Earth heavily to replicate the exact curvature of a section of the street," he revealed.
Conservation effort
Joslau added that his model of Boat Quay, aside from celebrating National Day, is a form of conservation. "It's so that we at least keep a physical representation of the area in one form or another."
Many commenters were convinced that Lego should turn the Boat Quay model into an official set, praising its "beautiful attention to detail".
"That is stunning to look at, I can't believe you actually made this yourself. One of the coolest things I'll ever see, for sure. Lego should absolutely make this an actual set lol," said Sad-Panic-4971
While Joslau is open to collaborations, he wants to focus on recreating more models of iconic Singapore buildings and street scenes. Some have expressed interest in buying the Boat Quay shophouses as custom kits.
Joslau has also made a model of a part of People's Park Complex. He is eyeing iconic podium blocks in Chinatown, Peranakan shophouses, and colonial buildings for his next project.
