Lenarex breathes new life into Lego with creative alt builds

Today we’re talking to Lego MOC designer Lenarex! Growing up in the Soviet Union, she didn’t discover Lego until she was an adult, playing with her child’s first Lego Classic sets.

This blossomed into a hobby designing alt builds, which are original creations using only the pieces in a given set. That way you can create much more than what’s in the booklet without having to buy more pieces!

Keep reading for the full interview, and check out her designs on her Rebrickable profile, as well as her YouTube Channels Lenarex Lego and Lenarex Lego alt build!

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Tell us about yourself. What do you consider your best design so far?

I am a teacher by education and worked as a school teacher for a long time. Now I am not working, so I have a lot of time for my hobby — creating models from Lego.

My best design is hopefully yet to come, but my Rainbow Houses come to mind now.

At the time I made them, I was just starting to admire Lego Classic. I had no idea what to do with a whole set of bricks. I spread them into several multi-colored piles. That’s how I came up with the idea of making colorful little houses, and the result was cute.

And it turned out that this idea can be easily extended to almost all Lego classic sets.

Read also: Best Lego sets for adults

Tell us about your workspace

I make my videos on the kitchen table by attaching white cardboard.

I use natural light from the window, which makes me dependent on the weather and the season. I tried some options with artificial lighting, but I haven’t found any that I’ve liked yet.

How did you first get into Lego? When did you first start making MOCs and alt builds?

I grew up in the Soviet Union, so there was no Lego in my childhood. At all. My peers didn’t have Lego either. Nobody had Lego.

When I started buying Lego Classic for my child, I became interested in what else could be built with those bricks.

I found several MOCs on Rebrickable. I was then fascinated by the friendly, creative atmosphere of the community. I started trying to build the MOC myself from my Lego Classic sets, which were becoming more and more numerous.

Most of your alt builds use Lego Classic box sets. What are you looking at next?

About a year ago, I expanded my attention to Creator sets.

I created a second channel on YouTube for the MOCs with sets Creator, Friends, and others.

I can already say that I am applying my new experience building with Creator to new ideas with Classic.

Read also: Best Lego Creator sets

Have you experimented with other brands of bricks? What are your thoughts on Lego alternatives?

I had the opportunity to hold in my hands the bricks of several Lego-like brands.

In terms of quality, only Mega Blocks seem acceptable to me.

But Lego is in the first place. It’s a whole universe.

Read also: Best Lego alternatives for adults, kids, and everyone in between

Any advice for people who want to create MOCs?

Start with medium-sized sets (200-500 pieces). This way it will be easier for you to “see” all the details, and at the same time you will have enough details to implement your ideas.

It is also ideal that the set has wheels (at least 4 pcs.) for building vehicles.

I use the Studio.io software to design my MOCs. In this program, you can create step-by-step instructions and generate an image of your build. Even if you don’t have a Lego set, you can import all the details of the set into the program’s palette and build virtually any alt build.

Who/what inspires you? Any shoutouts to fellow designers?

There are a lot of talented alt-build authors on Rebrickable. There are many interesting ideas for Lego Classic by BrickBrush, Tomik, mattking, and others.

Moe Brickman‘s experience inspired me 2 years ago to create my YouTube channel and share my MOCs with viewers there.

I am also a fan of the Tiago Catarino channel on YouTube. He reviews new LEGO sets. These sets inspire me to make similar constructions with Lego Classic (Boutique hotel, A-frame cabin, Disney castle, etc.).

I also watch ellieV on YouTube. I love her creativity in creating videos and building different rooms for Lego Friends.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I like to collect photos and videos of my MOCs taken by my followers. It’s very interesting to see my work in someone else’s room. Often it can be on the other side of the world.

I also like it when viewers add their own details to my model, and build it into their Lego world.

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Find more of Lenarex’s work on her Rebrickable profile, as well as her YouTube Channels Lenarex Lego and Lenarex Lego alt build.