Building miniature cities no child’s play

(From left) Pang, Lee and Siti Fatimah putting finishing touches on a Lego model at Legoland Malaysia Resort’s Merlin Magic Making Studios (MMM) at i-Park Indahpura in Kulai. — ABDUL RAHMAN EMBONG/The Star

The trio are among the six pioneers of Lego model builders who started their career back in 2009, building Lego models for Legoland Malaysia Resort in Iskandar Puteri.

Siti Fatimah Ibrahim, 35, Pang Chuen Shuong, 38, and Lee Khai Yuen, 43, have been good friends from day one when they reported for work at the company.

They also went for two-month training at Legoland California to sharpen their skills and knowledge on building the models using Lego bricks for the Malaysian resort.

Apart from the Malaysian resort, their works are also on display at the Legoland theme parks in China, Dubai, Florida in the US, Germany and Japan.

“There is never a dull moment in our job, it’s like a game but you have to be very precise and meticulous in assembling the Lego bricks,” said Siti Fatimah, who holds a Diploma in Computer Graphic.

The mother of a two-year-old said she had constructed about 500 miniature buildings using the bricks, together with other model builders.

Pang, who hails from Beaufort, Sabah, and holds a Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning, said he had no regrets working as a Lego model designer.

“Actually, I wanted to further my studies to become a town planner but I have loved my job since day one and have no plans to quit,” he said.

Pang said he enjoyed working in the studio and nothing could beat the satisfaction of seeing his work of art enjoyed by visitors from all over the world to Legoland Malaysia.

Lee, who works as a production assistant manager, said constructing models using Lego bricks was no child’s play as model builders work closely together to create iconic building and scenes with just Lego bricks.

He said the extensive process consisted of surveying locations, computer rendering, construction of the model and post production to ensure that the integrity of the model was preserved.

With over 900 million different brick combinations, the only limit was your imagination, said Lee.

Earlier, Legoland Malaysia Resort general manager Kurt Stocks opened the studio at i-Park Indahpura here. It is the new hub in Asia to support a growing demand for Lego models in the region.