The Journey of Bob’s Vintage Bricks Red Dwarf LEGO idea Project

The story of the Red Dwarf LEGO idea project began in 2015 when a fan named Bob Turner, operating as „Bob’s Vintage Bricks,“ decided to restore his childhood LEGO collection. After watching the documentary The Secret World of LEGO, which featured Thomas Poulsom’s successful „LEGO Bird project,“ Bob was inspired to submit his own creation to LEGO Ideas. As a massive fan of the cult British sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf, he realized that while there were a few existing submissions, none matched the vision he had in mind.

Designing the Bunkroom and Beyond

Bob spent seven months of planning and building to bring the project to life. He decided to base the primary set on the Series X decor, as its dark red color scheme complemented LEGO’s „dark red“ bricks perfectly. However, to satisfy long-term fans, he included „nods“ to earlier seasons, such as the Blue Midget spacecraft, the Holly Hop Drive, Scutters, and the ship’s senile computer, Holly.

The build was a process of trial and error; for instance, the bunkroom door alone went through three different design changes before Bob was satisfied. To ensure the characters looked authentic, he collaborated with Minifigs.me, who supplied custom-designed minifigures including Lister, Rimmer, The Cat, Kryten, and even fan favorites like Duane Dibbley and Ace Rimmer.

A Viral Sensation

The project launched on LEGO Ideas on May 29, 2016. Its rise was meteoric:

• 15 Days: Reached 1,000 supporters thanks to features on Gizmodo and Nerd Approved.
• Official Recognition: The project was featured on the official Red Dwarf website, pushing it past the 5,000-supporter mark and to the top of the LEGO Ideas „popular“ section.
• Celebrity Support: The creators and cast of the show, including Doug Naylor, Craig Charles, Robert Llewellyn, and Danny John-Jules, threw their weight behind the project on social media.
• The Czech Connection: A significant boost came from a Czech Republic fan page called „Cerveny Trpaslik,“ which helped gather nearly 1,000 supporters in a single weekend.

The Road to Review

After just 5.5 months, the project reached the elusive 10,000 supporter milestone, qualifying for the Third 2016 Review. While the 2016 review ultimately selected the „Ship in a Bottle“ for production, Bob’s dedication did not end there.

Undeterred, Bob returned with a new collaborator, Nick Savage, to launch a second project: a massive, highly detailed model of Starbug. This second project also successfully reached 10,000 supporters in October 2020, advancing to the official LEGO review phase in early 2021.

Building a LEGO Ideas project is like piloting Starbug through an asteroid field; it requires constant course corrections and a lot of grit, but with enough support from the crew, you might just reach your destination.

You can follow Bob and his work here:

direct.me/bobsvintagebricks

facebook.com/bobsvintagebricks

twitter.com/@bobvintagebrick

instagram.com/bobsvintagebricks

youtube.com/@bobsvintagebricks

www.tiktok.com/@bobsvintagebricks

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