Meet Michael Brown and his military LEGO® MOCs

19 geassemánnu 2018

In this episode of meet our fans we feature Michael Brown. That name might sound familiar to you and that’s because we wrote an article about his amazing LEGO® Apache helicopter a couple of months ago. We wanted to know more about Michael and his passion for LEGO®. We therefore feature him in our series meet our fans.

ToyPro: How did your passions for building custom military LEGO® sets start?

Michael: My son works in the US Army and I have experience myself in the space industry and I have an aircraft background as well. The iconic LEGO® F14A of James Cherry is what we really triggered and inspired me to build my own MOCs.

ToyPro: How do you get your LEGO® aircraft models as real as possible and what are challenges building them?

Michael: Well, that’s really a challenge. I start with a basic drawing on a scale of 1/72 or 1/48. I draw the top, bottom and side, and when I am satisfied I scale up to 1/18. This is also the size I want to build my sets, because this size gives me the room for power functions and other systems. Then I start building with a technic frame down the middle of the aircraft. This frame has 4 major points, the nose gear, the 2 landing gears and the wing area. These points must be strong enough to carry the aircraft’s own weight. Hereafter I start with the LEGO® Power functions, batteries, motor servos and receiver. In the next step I start skinning the LEGO® aircraft with tiles, slope curves panels and plates. I only do this on one side and when I am happy with the result and shape I transfer everything to the other side. I do the same with the decal which I scan and scale up. I try to use as many LEGO® parts as possible, but sometimes I have to use non-LEGO® parts.

ToyPro: Which functions are you able to replicate in your LEGO® aircraft MOCs?

Michael: As many things possible. My last models have a working canopy, flats, rudder and jet nozzle power functions. I also integrated lights system and working screens. The wings can fold as well. I made a video in which I test the sound and function of the jet nozzle.

ToyPro: What model are you building right now and do you have goals for the future?

Michael: I am currently working on a F18F Superhornet from my old squadron (VFA102 Diamond Back). In the future I want to build a 1/18 scale F14D from squadron VX9 Black Bunny.

ToyPro: What do you do with your LEGO® builds when they are finished?

Michael: Some of my MOCs are used for aviation museums and LEGO® shows, which is really cool.

Michael Brown is someone who is taking building military MOCs to the next level and we are proud that he is a loyal ToyPro customer. Hopefully we have given you some inspirations and tips for your own builds. You can find parts at our loose LEGO® aircraft parts page. Do you know someone who also builds amazing MOC sets? Please let us know at LEGOfans@toypro.com.

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