DAVENPORT, Fla. – A Central Floridian with a LEGO obsession will display his works of art at the Orlando Brick Convention, combining a popular game with theme park elements.
Scott Drown describes himself as an AFL, which, In LEGO terms, it stands for Adult LEGO Fan.
[TRENDING: Become a News 6 Insider]
“It’s something that I’ve done since I was a small kid. Growing up, I loved LEGO, I built with LEGO, I played with LEGO, and as you get older, I would get rid of some old toys but always kept my LEGOs up in the attic,” Drown said.
Drown has a LEGO building room with dozens of drawers along the walls, organizing the LEGO bricks by shape. LEGO pieces, mini figures and models can be found just about everywhere you turn in his home. There’s even a kiddie pool filled with LEGOs waiting to be organized into a bin.
“It’s usually very relaxing for me to create something with LEGOs. That’s why I do it. It’s a stress-relieving activity for me,” Drown said.
News 6 anchor and Insider Guide Crystal Moyer was invited into Drown’s home and asked how many LEGO pieces he had.
“I have no way of counting that. There’s millions, I’m sure, of pieces and parts in this house. With that many pieces, organization has been critical for me,” said Drown.
Drown’s latest creation will be featured at the Orlando Brick Convention: a LEGO Mario Theme Park.
“I love rollercoasters, I love Mario cart and I love LEGO, so it’s combining three of my favorite things in life into one piece,” Drown said.
The theme park took Drown nearly three years to build, with most of the focus on the rollercoaster. Drown captured hours of video, which he edited into a timelapse, as he began creating the display.
“It started with a blank LEGO plate and a bunch of LEGO sticks in the air and just track,” Drown said.
Bric by brick, the theme park came to life.
“I tried to incorporate what you’d find in Mario games and Mario tracks and then also things that are theme-parky, like a gift shop and character meet-and-greets,” said Drown.
But it takes more than just design and creativity.
“There’s motors, there’s gears, there’s all kinds of simple STEM activities involved in it,” said Drown.
Drown’s hobby has been passed down to his son, Jack, who has LEGO masterpieces of his own.
“I started building with LEGOs as a kid, it’s such a cross-generational unifying thing. Now me, my son and my wife all love to build with LEGOs and spend time together sharing ideas and creations,” Drown said. “I’m so excited to share this with people so they can have the same excitement we do at home.”
Drown hopes others will unleash their creativity with the timeless toy.
“Just grab some LEGOs and start building,” said Drown. “For years and years, I was a by-the-instructions person. I still like building by the instructions, but there is a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment you get when you build something from scratch that’s totally yours.”
You can meet Drown and check out his one-of-a-kind LEGO Mario theme park at the Orlando Brick Convention March 18 and March 19 at the Events Center at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee. Tickets are $15 if purchased online and there is a fee for parking.
Some of the proceeds from the convention will go toward a donation to Creations for Charity, a nonprofit organization that buys new LEGO sets for underprivileged kids.