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24 hours before the last planet collapses…
…4 BroBots prepare their great escape.
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What is the M-virus?
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CHEF LABS
TM
I just want peace of mind
Chef
Professional Retard
Fav. Dino: Spinosaurus
Fav. color: Gold
Fav. movie: Finding Nemo
Fav. theme: Bionicle
Who is Chef
Why the name?
Because I keep coming up with new ideas to experiment with. With the scope of web design, game design, and brick building; I am not a seasoned professional. I keep learning and improving the themes constantly. I know how to tailor modern tech and compose art into great experiences. I want to make each theme’s experience something special. So I design something new that hasn’t been done before. Else what’s the point? Chef Labs isn’t a company in the traditional sense. Still well thought out and to the point, but more direct & personal.
Chef Labs’ way is to challenge conventional thinking. Not just to do things differently, but to do things better. I don’t run from risk, I run to it.
2020
Rake in the Lake • Goose Game
My first LEGO Ideas submission. It’s made in LEGO Digital Designer, then rendered in BrickLink Stud.io. It was meant to finance the development of a game and passively cooled PC. The game has been dissolved into new projects and the PC has changed drastically in the meantime.
Rapunzel
LEGO Ideas contest submission. Just a one day training to get adjusted to designing with Stud.io.
Majora’s Mask • The Legend of Zelda
My second LEGO Ideas submission. It unexpectedly failed. I think the main problem was the disconnect between the expected quality of submission against the point of getting the concept across. People expect a full fledged model on a program where you might just as well send in a drawing; as long as the concept is clear. The model you make gets designed again from zero by a professional designer. So I used parts that are not connected in places, and used shaping of parts in spots that would be stickers in the final product. An idea that did not come across to voters. I do still want to build the physical model someday.
My history with LEGO
It all started with Creator X-Pod and the 2004 Speedboat. In 2006 I got my first Bionicle, Kazi. Then I accidentally bought Knight Kingdom’s Lord Vladek, and quickly after that Reidak & Gaaki. And got many more afterwards. I did move on to Hero Factory. In 2012 I bought 2 small Technic sets and got acquainted with more advanced functions. After the dark ages from 2014 to 2019 I started collecting Bionicle again and began designing models. In 2018 I started learning human behaviour, business strategy, webdesign, game design, 3D printing, and the ins and outs of designing LEGO models. I do my best but still have a lot to learn.
Nostrodamus RETAS
LEGO Ideas and Ideas contest submission. Nostrodamus was a labour of love. I didn’t expect it to go anywhere, I wanted to test and increase my skills. The original model was made from 8259 Mini Bulldozer and 9390 Mini Tow Truck. Honestly, it’s a cool model when you have it in your hands. If you like the 2001 Technic animals you’ll love this.
The Rainbow Fish
LEGO Ideas submission. I wanted to make a fish. I had a hard time making said fish. Like the end result, hated the process. The lips are nice though, would kiss again.
Christmas Snowglobe
LEGO Ideas submission. This is a bit shameful. A hard lesson on how I shouldn’t hurry into an idea without researching the concept beforehand and simply assume the little details come after the fact. About a week after posting the model I came to the realisation snow globes don’t use water, but a mixure of water, antifreeze, and glycerol. A childsafe fluid was pretty much required to build this. It’s basically a small brick compatible water bottle you can fill up yourself. Yes you could’ve built the whole model, nothing would’ve been pre-assembled. It did require 3 or 4 new molds though.
2021
What makes a great story?
Flawed characters overcoming their shortcomings through the struggle of change. The antagonist can be anything but is the opposite of the protagonist’s viewpoint or skillset. It’s about getting ready to show a force that you overcame change. It forces adoptation by showing the flawed character first, humiliation. When you get to know the character by testing, failing, and learning; he or she slowly gains control of the narrative by rational thinking – evolving the personality. The end isn’t a full 180 but a mix between the good of both past and present, while recognizing the bad of both & leaving that behind. To me the best stories are where strongly developed personalities keep responding to each other like it’s the natural course of action, and one unexpected character or event sweeps in that forces them to think. And thinking is just an expensive word for changing your mind.
Ignika Lamp
Was meant as a product but didn’t see the light of day due to production issues.
2022
Preparing multiple large projects
Rumors were going around of LEGO BIONICLE returning. I wondered “What if I made BIONICLE. How would that even work? It’s simply impossible… Vsauce music • Or is it? ”. I made a rough business plan of selling physicial sets I designed myself, completely unrelated to the BIONICLE brand but using the LEGO library of bricks & pieces. Didn’t work out. But I did accidentally struck a strong brand DNA. A good amount of project evolutions turned in AMONA. One of those versions turned into EXOMINERS. Near the end of 2022 the BrickLink Designer Program rolled around and I had a written out 2021 concept of the Fairytales project. Quite a stressful month to work out a large set, website, and its DNA. Sadly it didn’t work out. I still think it’s a great concept and am actively working on Kaya’s Fairytales. The Artakha Mark 1 started out in 2016. It kept returning every couple of years but didn’t amount to anything. Near the deadline of the first Fairytales project the power supply of my PC broke, and I took that personally. So I reworked the PC concept and turned it into the Artakha Mark 1.
What makes a great theme?
It’s an idea or concept worked out to its fullest potential. The exact details are too many to write down but to boil it down it’s all about the user experience, which is made up of all the tiny little details of effort you put into something you love doing. It has to be a million and 1 details perfectly designed to work together, like a watch. It needs to feel just right. But more importantly it has to feel like it has always existed and is supposed to be like this. It has to be fun, enjoyable, wonderful even, and at the end a joy to look at play with.
I don’t see the point in creating a static statue. The whole point is doing something that puts a smile on your face through design & function, being pulled into its personality, and creating a lasting memory with it; in that order. Most toys fail to bridge the gap between the last two because the personality is flat, and then it’s just plastic. It may wow you for a few days but if there’s no play the novelty wears off quickly. I should clarify I don’t mean play as in wooshing around an airplane, though you’re welcome to do so. Play means exploring the theme starting with mechanical movement that makes your brain ask the questions: “Wait, how does that work? How can I make that myself? Who is this anyway and why does he move like that? What does he have for breakfast? Why is there a crystal in his body? I want to create one myself and figure his story out; I need answers.”. Then after learning about the character’s place in the world through media it should bounce back contextualizing aspects like the crystal and play functions. This creates a bond between the user and the toy character.
2023
Fairytales
First BrickLink Designer Program submission.
2024
Fairytales
Second BrickLink Designer Program submission.
2025
Fairytales
Third BrickLink Designer Program submission.
TBA
What is Codrex DNA?
Design where story comes first. Bringing internet back to life with personality, styling, playfulness, and animations while retaining modern accessibility.
AMONA
A Mystery to be Revealed. Ignite The Dream.
Kaya’s Fairytales
Explore Kaya’s stories.
EXOMINERS
On the edge of the last living hours of the universe, Brobots prepare a hyperjump. Deep underground, gathering the final energy crystals, they discover long lost RockRobots.
Artakha Mark 1
6 designs • one destiny. Solving the final problems. It’ll take a while but it’s coming together nicely.