Published: July 31, 2010
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LEGO fan and Pixar animator Angus MacLane, who was literally "discovered" online by LEGO after he posted images of his custom CubeDudes concepts, will be adding to the Star Wars CubeDudes population with a set of five bounty hunters from The Empire Strikes Back -- 4-LOM, Dengar, Boba Fett, IG-88, and Bossk -- to be offered as an exclusive to Celebration V attendees.
We asked MacLane a bit about the CubeDudes, and what influenced the quirky cubic aesthetic that has made them so irresistible to LEGO Star Wars fans:
First, I understand you're a big LEGO fan -- how did you come to design figures for LEGO?
I am a big LEGO fan. I loved building with the bricks as a kid and as an adult and I try to build with LEGO as much as I can. Last summer after I debuted the first 100 CubeDudes on Flickr, I was contacted by LEGO to see if I would be interested designing a CubeDude Buzz Lightyear as an exclusive for the New York Toy Fair 2010. Of course I said yes! That project went pretty smoothly and we had such a good time working together that LEGO then approached me about doing the two exclusive Star Wars sets. I am such a big fan of both Star Wars and LEGO that the opportunity was really a dream come true. It ended up taking about six months from start to final product, and I couldn't be happier with the results.
Were Star Wars characters among any of the first you designed for CubeDudes?
Boba Fett was probably in the first ten CubeDudes that I made. "Snake Eyes" from G.I.JOE was the first one. I was trying to make a version of that character in LEGO when I "discovered" the CubeDude building formula. After him I continued the development and refinement of the format by building some other G.I.JOEs. That led to Robocop, Robocop's visor design led to Boba, and the rest is CubeDude history.
The designs have a decidedly retro-look -- what were your design influences?
I think the design influence comes from a wide variety of places. I don't think that I ever thought of them as "retro" but I am certainly influenced by the toys of my childhood. Manufacturing limitations of the toys of that time meant that representations of licensed characters were not an exact science. It was these creative interpretations and dealing with budgetary and manufacturing limitations that led to some creative and inspired design solutions. Obviously my CubeDude work is also heavily influenced by the Japanese Anime "Super-Deformed" style as well as the modern vinyl toy movement. Artists such as Eric So, Tim Biskup, Sanjay Patel, Mike Mignola, and Hergé have also influenced the way that I think about simplification and stylization. Finally I would also have to say that LEGO minifigs and LEGO Miniland scale figures are also a big influence. Actually, the CubeDudes were meant to be the "missing link" between those two LEGO scales. LEGO as a building format allows the builder to create incredibly detailed and complex creations. I wanted to make simple graphic work that stripped down the source material to its essential elements.
Discuss your design process -- do you sketch first, or just go at them piecing bricks together?
When I first started figuring out the CubeDude formula, I did a bunch of sketches to try and figure out what the rules of the format would be. After I settled on the "rules" of the format, I just started building. Honestly it's easier for me. I keep a list of figures that I want to make and I am constantly updating this list with new ideas and theme possibilities. I tend to only make 'Dudes based on properties that I like or at the very least think are funny. I'll get toy magazines or catalogs and decide which characters would be cool to have as CubeDudes. So instead of buying toys based on the stuff I like, I'll just end up making them (except for that new Gentle Giant Boba Fett Kenner 12" figure -- I pretty much have to get that ASAP. The only thing that would make that better is if instead of the blister pack it came in a plastic bag and a white shipping box with my 1980 home address on it).
Will the CubeDudes style extend beyond the LEGO Star Wars brand?
Well it already has in my private collection. I could see making 'Dudes of some of the other licenses out there, but officially there isn't anything planned at this time. The building formula is flexible to handle a wide variety of characters, as the Clone Wars set proves. There is a creature, a humanoid, an armored character, and two types of droids in that set alone. As long as the IP doesn't contain a lot of rare colors such as pink and purple, CudeDudes can be made of most any license fairly easily.
Attendees at Celebration V will have a chance to grab Angus' latest Star Wars quintet, the bounty hunters from The Empire Strikes Back (gotta love those teeth on Bossk!).
via StarWars.com
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