Idaho Falls Man Hopes To Win Lego Contest

(Idaho Falls, Idaho) — David McClellan of Idaho Falls hopes he'll see his LEGO design turned into an actual set sold in stores.

Lego runs an online contest, and after hundreds of hours of work, he's hoping his piece connects with voters.

“That’s my dream in life — to make my own official LEGO set.”

INSPIRED BY CLASSIC NINTENDO GAMES

Not only would people be able to build his set if it gets mass-produced, they could turn it on and play it, too. It’s based on the popular 1980s motocross video game Excitebike. McClellan hopes this interactive LEGO build has all the right pieces.

The build has gone through multiple iterations, and he’s spent more than $1,000 of his own money, lovingly paying attention to even the smallest details.

“I created these custom minifigs, and since I couldn’t find a place that was able to print them in complex 3D shapes, I actually hand-painted them.”

You can even swap out the riders, who use a conveyor belt controlled by a joystick to move over various obstacles, making it interactive.

“So this allows them to catch some air… you can pull it and push it, and you can change lanes. You can do wheelies. You can tilt it forward. You can even do flips.”

HIS LOVE OF LEGOS GOES DEEP

McClellan is heavily involved in the LEGO community. He and his wife both have LEGO-specific Instagram accounts, amassing more than 20-thousand Instagram followers and traveling to LEGO conventions.

It’s not just fun — it’s family time, too — and they get both of their boys involved.

“My older son — I’m going to help him work on his first build, which is a guy that runs down a track and jumps over stuff. So I’m starting to get him into it, starting to get him interested. And even my younger son is really taking to it.”

If McClellan wins, he won’t be the first Idahoan to make his mark. He spoke with a past recipient who won with an idea for a ship-in-a-bottle set. The winner told Dave to focus on the details — and focus he has. He’s spent more than two years on the project since its conception.

“So these are custom dirt bikes. So I think that’s a huge selling point. And then you’ve got custom stickers here.”

He says he started building LEGO around age four, but stepped away from it until adulthood.

“I took like a 20-year break, maybe, and then rediscovered it as an adult.”

Reporter: “And what made you rediscover it?”

“I don’t know — just being an adult and needing a break from adult stuff.”

Now, his basement LEGO laboratory has an entire wall of builds he and his family have created.

WHAT HE'LL WIN--BESIDES BRAGGING RIGHTS

If he wins, he’ll receive one percent of all sales, plus ten free sets — which he says he’ll pass on to his boys. When asked if his parents will receive a set as a thank-you for getting him started, he replied:

“They’re definitely on the list.”

Dave needs 10,000 votes to move on in the competition. And if he doesn’t win — he won’t need to quit his day job. He says he’ll keep right on building. That's because Dave is an engineer at the INL.

If you'd like to vote for Dave's creation, click here.