Meet the Pro: Philip Verbeek of PV-Productions, designer of wonderful LEGO® GBC sets

12 February 2019

For this new article in our series Meet our Pro, we have interviewed Philip Verbeek from the Netherlands. Philip designs impressive LEGO® Great Ball Contraptions (GBCs), constructions in which a little ball runs along a certain route, guided by modules. A GBC set by PV-Productions can be put together entirely with the parts of an already existing set. Building instructions for GBC-sets can be purchased via website PV-Productions. In this interview, Philip tells us all about his passion for LEGO® and the challenges he faces when designing a LEGO® GBC-set.

ToyPro: how did your passion for LEGO® come about and since when have you been a professional designer?

Philip: it started the same way as for many other builders: as a young boy I got hooked on these little plastic blocks from Denmark. I was often inventing smart mechanisms and constructions. LEGO® Technic provided me with the opportunity to build them. Later on, when I learnt about Great Ball Contraptions, I grew very enthusiastic and began publishing videos of my designs on the internet. My work on the internet grew more popular and I set up a company in 2017 to build and commercialize 3D construction plans of my designs. These are now spreading all over the world.

ToyPro: you build Great Ball Contraptions out of existing LEGO® sets. Could you explain in short about these GBCs and why you like them so much? How did you come across them?

Philip: great Ball Contraptions are complex machines which transport little GBC balls as effectively and creatively as possible from A to B. You can join several GBCs together so that the little balls move around to infinity. The video below shows an example of one of our GBCs.

Take a look at GBC 10 Fun fair's product page to purchase the construction plans. You can build this GBC-set from the parts of LEGO® set 42042.

We provide complete GBCs to be built with the parts of existing LEGO® sets, also known as C Models in the LEGO® world. We turn these into building plans and make them available on our website. Thus, it becomes very easy and accessible to begin building a GBC yourself. We have small and large GBCs, easy or complicated ones, for beginners and for Master Builders. Something to suit every type of LEGO® builder.

GBCs are great in that you can put a lot of creativity into them, and they teach you some out-of-the-box thinking. One needs to combine technics and advanced mechanisms in order to carry out certain tasks. In that respect, GBCs have a lot more to offer in the way of creativity and resourcefulness than any of the standard Technic models by LEGO® for example. I look upon them as big puzzles, and designing new items is such fun.

alt_tekst

Along with the fun of rebuilding our ball machines comes a highly educative process. The discovery and learning to understand certain mechanisms while building our GBCs constitute a good solid basis for the teaching of technics.

GBC 30 Fun Park, built with LEGO® set 42082 Rough Terrain Crane, is our latest diamond and it features various smart constructions and mechanisms.

Take a look at GBC 30 Fun Park's product page to purchase the construction plans. You can build this GBC-set from the parts of LEGO® set 42082.

ToyPro: which software and/or tools do you use for your designing?

Philip: various software packages are available. For our building plans we use different packages which we combine in order to reach the desired results, such as for example LeoCAD or LEGO® Digital Designer.

ToyPro: do you have targets, projects and/or dreams for the future?

Philip: absolutely! I always come up with new ideas! Schools and organizations around the world have been using our GBCs, and I would very much like organizing educative workshops in the future, to be able to introduce and stimulate technics and mechanisms among young people, based on our GBCs. We are also thinking about building GBCs out of older LEGO® sets, or even to combine them. Moreover, I am interested in the combination of LEGO® and electronics. Presently, we already use a Power Functions UV LED Strip to charge our GBC Glow Balls efficiently.

alt_tekst

ToyPro: Where do you get ideas for new projects?

Philip: I find inspiration in everything happening around me such as the internet, and books and TV, programs such as “How it’s made” or books such as “How does it work” by David Macaulay and YouTube of course.

Our GBCs are always associated with a certain theme. I create and design modules with a link to the theme.

A good example of what I mean is our GBC 21 Mine Factory (42055 C Model) and the GBC 30 Fun Park (42082 C Model). For the GBC 21 we remained close to the original theme (i.e. mining) but we came up with something completely different for GBC 30.

Take a look at GBC 21 Mine Factory's product page to purchase the construction plans. You can build this GBC-set from the parts of LEGO® set 42055.

The GBC 30 Fun Park (Attraction Park) holds four big modules allowing for the GBC balls to challenge the ‘attractions‘. Thus, there is a Big Wheel, an interactive coin slider, a sinusoid slide and an automatic lift!

ToyPro: what are your greatest challenges (in general) when designing a new Great Ball Contraption?

Philip: Building GBCs from point zero is a profession in itself. But we set the bar even higher by only using parts from an already existing LEGO® set. This involves several challenges. First of all, every GBC needs to comply with general GBC rules and with our own demands of course. Thus, there must be one loop to be completed on the course, so that balls can move around infinitely. Our larger GBCs consist of several GBC modules, each to be driven from the same motor. Besides planning the lay out, you also have to take into account the velocity, torque and capacity for every module. Beside the functional aspect of a GBC, we also appreciate aesthetics. Thus, a model needs to be well designed and nicely colored, too. We also try to implement as many interactive elements as possible.

Take a look at GBC 17 Wing Lift's product page to purchase the construction plans. You can build this GBC-set from the parts of LEGO® set 42052.

In order to achieve all of the above, I tend to think several steps ahead and start planning for the possible use of certain parts in advance: where to put the modules, I think about motor drive, construction etc. This requires a lot of experience and insight into mechanical construction, style and design, extensive knowledge on available LEGO® parts and their possible applications. Once a GBC is finished, having used as many parts of a LEGO®-set as possible is also an important factor. We tend to aim at 90 to 95%.

ToyPro: have you got any tips for our readers who might want to get going themselves?

Philip: Certainly. Discovering the GBC world is indeed a wonderful experience. With photos or videos, you could try to rebuild existing modules other people designed, which is how I started myself (there was a lack of building plans at the time). This may be tricky, though, especially when you are a real beginner. An alternative consists of building a complete GBC with the aid of building plans. This ensures a smooth building process and better understanding of the mechanisms, with explanations of how things actually work and how to adjust them.

Once you have built a complete model, you will be able to improvise and possibly improve the model itself. There is no limit to the creative possibilities!

Our website PV-Productions also features a few free C model building instructions to get started with and to transform existing LEGO® sets into new models.

Take a look at GBC 27 Pinball Madness Machine's product page to purchase the construction plans. You can build this GBC-set from the parts of LEGO® set 42076.

ToyPro: which designers do you follow yourself, and do you admire?

Philip: I follow several designers and artists. Out of pure interest but also for possible inspiration, not so much to discover what they are building but more to find out about their way of thinking during the building process. Adam Savage, famous for his MythBusters, regularly publishes new videos on the internet in which he produces a certain project in merely one day. (Tested, One day builds). These videos also feature new technics and ideas.

Another designer and artist is Wintergatan, he builds new music instruments. Coincidentally, he is presently building a gigantic “Marble Machine” which makes music. He discusses the problems he faces while designing and building the machine.

ToyPro: Philip, many thanks for your time and inspiration. Lots of success with future GBC sets to be built and other LEGO® MOCs.

All Philip’s designs are to be found on his website with LEGO® GBC-sets.

All PV-Productions GBCs can be built from individual parts of an existing LEGO® set. ToyPro provides an extensive assortment of LEGO® sets. Besides, we offer a large collection of individual LEGO® parts and minifigures.

Light up your LEGO® sets!

Discover all Lightailing light sets here