Good design doesn’t start with building. It starts with understanding exactly what you’re trying to make and why.
Every build begins with research and a clearly defined set of objectives before a single piece is placed. What scale does this live at? What absolutely cannot be compromised? Getting those decisions right upfront prevents weeks of solving the wrong problem.
Ships and Vehicles
Designing a ship starts with visual analysis. I study reference images closely to understand proportions, repeating shapes, and how the craft is actually constructed. For Star Wars and sci-fi ships, that usually means pulling screen references into Figma, establishing a reliable measurement plane from a known LEGO part visible in the reference, then working outward using a pixel-to-stud formula. What comes back is often surprising. Proportions that felt right at a glance are frequently off by several studs, and those studs compound across the whole model.
With dimensions in hand, I prototype in BrickLink Studio, testing structural approaches and iterating on the sections that resist resolution. Some areas come together quickly. Others can take days or weeks. I intentionally over-engineer internal structures where possible. A model that looks right but falls apart in your hands isn’t finished.
From there I produce draft instructions and build the model physically. That’s where real testing happens. Most of my ships are released as professionally developed building instructions, so quality matters throughout, not just in how the final model looks, but in how confidently someone else can build it.
Dioramas
Dioramas begin with a moment. Before anything is placed, I decide what is happening and who is involved. I sketch out the basic arrangement first, then prototype major structural elements digitally before touching physical parts.
Once the structures are resolved, I shift to physical building. Landscape, terrain, ground texture, and vegetation come next, layered deliberately to create surfaces that don’t read as flat even when they technically are. Props are as important as the headline pieces. Industrial pipes, supply crates, droids going about their business. These are what make a scene feel inhabited rather than staged.
I design interiors with as much attention as exteriors, with removable roofs and floors so viewers can look inside. From the start, each diorama is planned to break down and reassemble cleanly for exhibition. Between shows, most of them live in my office. Building something you’re proud enough to display at home feels like the right standard to hold yourself to.
Behind the Work
Most of what’s described above happens out of view. The reference studies, the proportion math, the prototypes that don’t make it, the structural decisions invisible in the finished build.
That’s where Patreon comes in.
Tier 1 (Hangar Crew)
Hangar Crew members get full behind-the-scenes posts on active builds: reference analysis, iteration work, dimension calculations, and honest write-ups of what worked and what didn’t. Early looks at works in progress before they go anywhere else.
Tier 2 (Flight Technician)
Flight Technician members go deeper. Monthly roadmap posts on what I’m working on and why. Directional decisions before they’re locked in. Alternate studies and rejected versions. The thinking behind the thinking.
If you’re curious about how this work actually gets made, that’s where it lives.