CLOSING IN ON THE CATERHAM

CLOSING IN

ON THE CATERHAM HAM

We’ve followed the story since it was just another fan model and now Bricks catches up with the two designers of the official LEGO Caterham 620R

Words: Lewis Matthews Photography: Andrew Tipping

Regardless of whether you’re a car fan, LEGO fan or LEGO car fan, there is an awful lot to get excited over with the new LEGO Ideas Caterham 620R. Bricks has followed this highly-anticipated model since our first issue, where we featured Carl Greatrix’s perfect creations, before revisiting it in issue 11 after it reached 10,000 votes on the LEGO Ideas platform and was successfully put into production. It was with great pride that we stood at the Caterham showroom in Crawley and watched our good friend beam with joy as he, and fellow designer Henrik Andersen of the LEGO Group, in true car showroom style unveiled the LEGO Caterham 620R. Caterham also revealed a real 620R at the same time which had the same livery as the LEGO set and a custom LEGO licence plate. It was a lovely touch and the room reflected it with a cheer.

Henrik was charged with making Carl’s popular model meet the design standards of the LEGO Group. “I tried to stay away from changing the model too much,” he says, which is more than apparent when you put Carl’s concept alongside the finished model. Despite usually building smaller City cars, it is clear that Henrik made the most of the opportunity to make a more detailed and to-scale model. One of the major differences between the two models is that the official model has lots of new elements which naturally Carl didn’t have access to, including macaroni tube pieces and a whopping 15 new printed parts, such as the Caterham 620R logo printed for the engine cover. “The fact that there’s not a single sticker in this set is a bit ironic, given that I’m known for using a lot of stickers,” says Carl with a huge smile on his face. As with other recent LEGO Ideas sets, there is not a single sticker in sight, which is sure to please many fans, assured that there will be no apprehension of applying a wonky sticker.

One of the nicest touches on the Caterham is its printed brake disks, which unless you display without the wheels, no-one will ever know exist, as they are otherwise covered. It is a testament to the quality and high level of detail expected from a set designed by Carl, and as Henrik explained, there are a few other features to help you play and display.

“We wanted to acknowledge that this is a kit of a kit car, so in the boot you will find axle stands so you can raise it and ‘work’ on it. The bonnet can be removed to reveal the engine which can be interchanged, you can adjust the wheel arches, remove the seats and remove the wheels to reveal the printed brake disks.”

The collaboration between Carl and Henrik has created a model that wields a formidable use of detail and parts, with pieces being used in ways that challenge the standard LEGO convention.

“When I first saw the prototype, I was blown away by it because if I had known these parts existed, then I would have used them straight away. They would have been my first choice,” says Carl, taking a look at the final model. “I really like how

Henrik has managed to round off the roll bar and the exhaust using the new pieces that are available, and even the fenders and nose cone are rounded off more than I ever could. All the shaping of the car works together. There have been

“I TRIED TO STAY AWAY FROM CHANGING THE MODEL TOO MUCH” HENRIK ANDERSEN LEGO DESIGNER

Henrik (left), Carl and the LEGO Caterham in the real thing at the model’s launch

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Host of opening and removable parts make for a variety of display options

a lot of improvements.” Despite Carl’s praise, it in no way diminishes his own work as by a stroke of luck, the geometry of the nose and bonnet is believed to fit within 0.1mm. When the fact was put to Carl, he merely shrugged it off and claimed; “It was a complete accident, a total fluke. I guess I’ll use that to promote the set at some point.”

Giving your model over to someone else to work on can sometimes feel like you’re giving your child to someone else to raise, and as Carl opens up to us, it seems the process of giving away his model was somewhat daunting.

“I thought I would hate it at first when I saw it; I thought they would make so many changes that I wouldn’t be happy.”

This is understandable considering Henrik worked from Carl’s sketch models and his own Caterham references and then spent over 120 hours developing Carl’s brainchild. However, it is unusual for the original builder to have input on the final model, even when they are as talented as Carl. So how did Carl feel when he saw it for the first time?

“I was pretty anxious about the colour because when I heard what colour was chosen, I was convinced I would have liked the dark green more or it would have looked really nice in blue. When I saw the contrast of the yellow and black, I changed my mind though. It looks stunning.” The final colour choice came from a collaboration between the LEGO Group and Caterham, who chose the best colours to fit the LEGO colour palette.

There is one element of Carl’s model – working steering – which was left out, to the annoyance of many fans who immediately took to forums and social media to vent their frustration. But as Henrik explains, it was a choice made to enhance the model and allow it to match the LEGO Group’s building standards. “It would be more or less impossible to have steering with the restriction on stability. I would have to sacrifice a lot of structural integrity for steering. Working steering was the point where I really thought this was on the limit between what will be strong enough to release as an official set and what will not.”

Despite Henrik’s veto, when Carl was asked the question of whether or not he would add steering, he couldn’t help but rev his engine. “Yes. Straight away. I know that it will compromise the structural integrity slightly but it’s about what the fans want to do. If they are happy to compromise stability to have the front wheels at an angle, then let’s modify it.” However, as we have learned from designer interviews in past issues of Bricks, the LEGO Group has to make

The four-cylinder cam cover is printed and the engine is interchangeable

The boot contains four axle stands so ‘work’ can be carried out on the car No working steering though, as this would have compromised rigidity

sure that all models are structurally sound enough to stand up to the ultimate test: the playful will of excited fans. Regardless of the Caterham oozing the air of maturity, and being proudly destined to grace the desks and display cupboards of many adults, it must still adhere to the LEGO Group’s play process.

“Creating sound stability, especially around the rear axle, proved to be the most difficult part of making this very complex build,” explains Henrik. Yet it’s only when you build your way through the model that you realise how complex it truly is. The angles of the studs are constantly being reversed, flipped and

switched; clever engineering is applied throughout to create smooth angles which seem nigh-on impossible. It even includes elements which will make you question if the LEGO Group have given you the wrong piece, such as two bright pink lipstick pieces. Henrik reveals more about the bizarre inclusion. “One of the most fun parts to build was the exhaust. It’s a bit tricky to get it to sit and as you can see I ended up using two lipstick elements to hold it together, so there are pink parts in this model. I wouldn’t be allowed to use Technic pins because the elements would squeeze them too much on either side and cause too much stress but because the lipstick is made of rubber, I was allowed them.”

It really is a build full of the twists, turns and surprises that a real Caterham car is designed to deal with. When you build it, which we highly recommend you do, you will be greeted with a premium experience that is matched only by the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The box is dynamic with lots of beautifully-detailed shots of the model which we’re sure non-box-collectors will find impossible to throw away due to its unique presentation. It’s unlike any LEGO product we have seen to date and a lot of credit is due to Carl and Henrik. The difficulty of keeping such an amazing product under wraps for so long is

unthinkable and, as Carl explains, it almost became too much to bear.

“It is infuriating having to sit on everything because you just want to tell the world that you have seen it and it looks brilliant but you just have to sit there and be quiet. It made a two-year process feel like it was four or five because you know what’s coming but no-one else does. It’s nice but not nice. Now it’s finally been revealed, I can take to social media and tell everyone all about it and the box signings I will be doing. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

By now you’ve probably figured that the Bricks team are fans of this model and we dare you not to fall in love with it as we have. It is a truly beautiful addition to not only the LEGO Ideas collection but also the LEGO car collection. The big question is, what will Carl submit next?

“I probably won’t submit something to Ideas again. It was an enjoyable process but now that I’ve done it, I’m quite happy. It is a lot of work but we did it for the people who would ask me at shows how they could get one. To me, it’s mission accomplished. I am perfectly happy.”

That’s a shame for us, as we really want one of Carl’s awesome helicopters!

“WORKING STEERING WAS THE POINT WHERE I REALLY THOUGHT THIS WAS ON THE LIMIT”