1. Where can I buy LEGO® bricks?
(The most popular question of all.)

List of Suppliers

2. Where can I buy crawler tracks?
(Used to be the most popular question of all.)

Bricklink (search in "Technic, Link" catagory), in particular: Tom's Technic store usually has them.
Pitsco Dacta, in particular: Conveyor Belt Links.

(NOTE: Lego doesn't sell these (or make these) anymore. Sorry, they're difficult to obtain.)

3. How did you build that?

With my hands :-)
(more details below)

4. Do you have instructions of your models?

NO

Both questions 2 and 3 can be further answered with an explaination of my building process:

My models are built from my own design and are unique in construction. I generally do a little planning prior to building and I do not generate any detailed instructions.

I have over 50,000 Lego parts (Updated Count 1/1/03) in my collection that I've obtained from sets and bulk parts purchases. I select from all these parts to build my models.

When I select something to build (e.g. a crawler crane), I'll do a little research (usually on the Internet) to obtain pictures and basic drawings with dimensions. A typical model of mine will be modeled after a real machine. Sometimes I try to build a perfect scale model, and other times I'll base my model loosely on a real machine.

Building starts with establishing a few key dimensions (e.g. overall height, length, and width). In the case of meduim or large sized models, I'll build the model in several major components.

Most of the construction is done by "eyeballing" it. I'll build something and then study it to see if it looks right. If it doesn't, I'll rebuild it. It's a trial-and-error cycle that can be time consuming, but it's fun and I enjoy it.

I'll usually leave the model built for a while (a few months) and then tear it down. I'll use the pieces again for my next creation.

5. Where can I get models like yours?

I'm sorry, but you can't. I don't sell my models. If you want models like mine, you'll have to buy quite a lot of Legos and build your own creation.

6. What fan-generated Lego-related stuff exists on the Internet?

There is a large online community of Lego enthusiasts. This community represents just about every age group from all around the world.

Probably the largest, and most important site, is LUGNET, the Lego Users Group Network. If you're unfamiliar with it, go check it out. Read the newsgroups for a while to become familiar with things. There are a lot of ideas and important information exchanged there.

There are many other sites too, including sites like mine, that represent individual's creations. Have a look at my Links page to see a few. Remember that most of those sites have a "Links" pages too.

7. What Lego sets do you buy and what do you do with them?

I don't buy a lot of sets. I mostly buy bulk parts from Bricklink.

When I do get a set, I'll build the main model once and then tear it down soon after. I then sort the pieces from the set and put them into my collection. They'll be used again, but to build something of my own creation.

8. There are so many different parts, how do you remember them all?

Easy: 20+ years experience with building does the trick.

Of course I've been inundated with many new parts in the past few years, and I must admit that I have to stop and think about them once and a while.

When building, I'll look at something I want to model and the pieces just come to me naturally. In fact, it's hard to turn this off. I'll be driving down the road, my mind will drift off, and then it happens. The next thing I realize, I'll have been thinking of how to turn the truck I just saw into a Lego model!

I definitely have bricks on the brain- at all times!

9. Are you embarrassed about your "childish" hobby?

NO!

Nearly everyone that knows me has seen my Legos. I've been doing this for over 20 years and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. I show everyone my creations and give my website address out frequently. I even have photos of my crawler crane in my office at work.

The things I do with Legos are a challenge and building something isn't easy. It's very difficult to build a functioning model of a crane without any instructions and I enjoy the challenge. A lot of times I feel my Lego work is much more difficult than my real life engineering work!

10. Are you going to build a car out of Legos and drive yourself around in it?

No. Don't be silly :-)

11. Are you going to build a house out of Legos and live in it?

No. Don't be silly :-)

12. When you have kids, will you let them play with your Legos?

No. I'll buy them their own and then I'll play with theirs!