FIRST LOOK: Ivan Guerrero shares new 'Gremlins' design for Lego

MANILA -- Hot off his Sesame Street and USS Cardboard Lego sets, Filipino filmmaker and Lego fan designer Ivan Guerrero has submitted a new design inspired by the classic '80s film "Gremlins" about a creature that wreaks havoc in a small town.

“Gremlins is my latest design that will be coming up for voting on Lego Ideas based on the beloved 1984 movie and its sequel,” Guerrero said. “And it’s a Christmas set. Most of the movie takes place in the house of the family that adopted Gizmo and it looks well with other Christmas village-themed sets.”

The Gremlins set took Guerrero two-and-a-half weeks to design. Should it receive the requisite 10,000 votes and the stamp of approval from Lego, it will take a year of production and packaging before it hits the stores in all likelihood, late 2022.

Guerrero’s USS Cardboard, which is based on his childhood experiences re-imagining cardboard boxes as spaceships, vehicles, or even castle hideaways, is due for release sometime in the first quarter of 2022.

Guerrero, who also co-owns comic book specialty store Filbar’s, shared with Filipinos tips on how to create their own Lego set.

1. Use tools available to you.

Not too many people know you don’t need to buy Lego sets to create a design. You can build it using Lego software.

There are two programs that are highly recommend: Lego Digital Designer, and BrickLink’s Stud.io.

"A lot of people think, 'Oh, I can’t build Lego sets because it’s too expensive. Let’s strip apart old Lego sets and see what we can re-use.' Actually, you can just download one of the free software and build. The limitations of your own creativity are your own imagination.

2. Think playability.

Whenever you build a set, think about the playability. Is your set playable? Is it for kids? If it is for adults, can they play with it? Once assembled, do they just forget about it or do they continue to use the set?

When you are creating a set that you want to be successful, think about how it will be used as a plaything.

Another key idea that should be emphasized is that of building and rebuilding. It’s in the process of rebuilding that you’re able to become more creative in your work. You’re able to streamline and play around with your build and come up with a more superior product.

3. Brick counts for a lot.

Lastly, be conscious of the brick count or the number of parts used in my sets. This is a very important element in coming up with your design. To keep your numbers of parts down, the greater number of parts in your Lego set, the more expensive it is.

Streamline your designs. Optimize use of your parts. As your build your Lego sets, you will not only enhance your creativity, but your sense of perspective will widen.