About me
Hi! My name is Christoffer and I have been a LEGO fan since I was a child. I was born in 1970 so I have been following LEGO since its early days.
Over the years I have had a lot of experience in building with LEGO. I am so to say a travelling catalogue of knowledge about bricks, existing colours, tips and building techniques. As a child I dreamed about owning so many LEGO bricks that I could swim in them like Joakim Von And/Scrooge McDuck. Now I live my dream as you can see on my photo!
As a builder, I constantly try to push my own limits and I love to try and find new building techniques, explore the endless possibilities and it always excites me to build something that no one else has done before. I'm also keen to bring my models to life with exciting play features. My interest in architecture, trains and Danish designs is often visible in my works. Once I've decided on a project, I explore it to get the best possible result. I really hope this portfolio shows that.
Christoffer Behrens
Different projects
In the beginning of my AFOL years I was excited about Technic cranes and huge trucks in 1:13 scale. I just loved those old 24 x 43 Technic wheels which suited the trucks so well.
In this scale I have built a 7 axled Liebherr crane and 4 trucks: a Mercedes Actros, a Volvo F12 and these 2 Scanias.
Architecture and buildings
In 2005 I joined the AFOL community and LEGO became a more serious hobby. It also meant that I changed course from building trucks to architecture. I like to exhibit my work and taking part in making large city layouts together with the community. Here my interest in architecture could finally be fully expressed. I have built a lot of different types of buildings and the possibilities seem endless here. LEGO bricks and Architecture are a match made in heaven and I love it!
In Her Majesty's Secret Service
My pleasure for architecture and for the Royal House inspired me to build this huge Amalienborg layout, 4 x 12 metres. At LEGO World in Copenhagen I won the first price 3 times for the best LEGO creation. First for my model of the Marble Church, second for the Royal ship Dannebrog, and latest for the huge Amalienborg layout which was a joint project after my ideas.
LEGO MASTER BUILDER ACADEMY
One of the finest LEGO moments for me personally has been the mentioning of my name and showing one of my models in an official LEGO set, a LEGO Master Builder Academy set from 2012.
Here I had a corporation with TLG, supplying LEGO with details of how I built my model of the Marble Church.
A rare achievement for a LEGO fan - and it still makes me very proud.
Olsen Banden - The Olsen Gang
My enjoyment of the Olsen Gang films has given me a lot of inspiration to build. It started with a LEGO mosaic. Then the famous train and the money wagon, and most recently in 2023 I built Kjeld and Yvonne's house in Valby. A project that took a lot of time to research as I wanted it to be as accurate and detailed as possible. I'm very proud of the result and think it might be one of my best creations so far. My model has been very well criticised on the internet with more than 1000 likes and with suggestions to turn it into a LEGO Ideas set. I have therefore decided to expand my project with more exciting things from the Olsen Gang films in the coming years.
Art and Colors
The LEGO colours both fascinate and inspire me a lot. I love the strong colours and I like to find the right compositions of them in my buildings. In 2022 I made this colourful Mosaic Art picture. It measures 102 x 230 cm and is made of 36.864 1x1 bricks. It contains a total of 64 different coloured LEGO bricks. My goal was to use as many different LEGO colours as possible and make a huge colour explosion. - A kind of a big bang or “THE BRICK BANG” as I titled the picture. The picture was exhibited in LEGOLAND Billund Gallery in the 2022 season and it was blogged on the frontpage of Eurobricks.com
Model work
I received an inquiry from the company PRIMUS DANMARK.DK to build a LEGO model of their most sold item, a Lifan 5,5 hp. plate vibrator. It should be a present for the boss in occasion of the company's 20 years anniversary in 2021. I accepted this funny challenge. The model is in scale 1:3,57
Bornholm Smart ECOGrid projekt
For the Danish energy company ENERGINET I have made a model called Bornholm Smart Ecogrid project. The model shows how the danish island Bornholm can be self-sufficient with energy, such as wind energy, electric cars and energy supply from straw burning. A lot of electric LEGO motors, and light were built into this model to attract attention. It had moving wind turbines and cars and lights in every building. This LEGO project was made as a joint project after my ideas. The model was exhibited on Bornholm more than 10 years ago and is still running.
Future and Hope
I made this charity project for the danish architect Ole Weber. My model was used to collect money for the association FREMTID OG HÅB/FUTURE AND HOPE. I wanted to support this Afrika charity project, helping homeless children in Sumbawanga, Tanzania. I made two models for them on different scales. One model showing an overview of the area with 8 cabins, a school, workshops, a chapel and a centre building with kitchen and dining room. Further another big model showing the interior design in one of the 8 cabins for the children.
Play functions
I like to build trains as they challenge my technical skills and speak to the engineer in me. I also love to bring life into my creations via some good play functions. Either through the use of minifigures, sound, light or some movement. The double decoupling method on this Litra Q 345 shunting locomotive is a great example of a play function I developed myself. Watch the video to see the play function of the steam locomotive.
In developing this feature, I have chosen to accept the use of non LEGO parts due to the limited space in the model.
I have created a building instruction for this locomotive, which can be found here: LINK.
Making things move
I have a passion about mechanics and bringing my LEGO models to life with movement. Things that move capture the eye's attention. If I can make things move like the real thing, I'm in my element. Rods on steam locomotives, for example, are something I've spent a lot of time working on and I like to work on improving the mechanics. It's so mesmerising to watch the rods move, I think.
LEGO Trains
When I build trains, I base it on technical drawings of the trains so that I get the right scale of the train. I use the design programme Bricklink Studio, which is very suitable for this. It's very important to find the right scale when building trains. I prefer to build older locomotives as they have more moving parts and are therefore more exciting and challenging to build.
Great LEGO fan moments
As chairman of BYGGEPLADEN.DK, I helped organise a Guinness World Record by building the world's longest LEGO train track at 4,000.25 metres. The 4 km long project filled an entire sports hall.
As an exhibitor at LEGO World, I was lucky enough to meet Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen and Jørgen Vig Knudstorp a few times.
I managed to get my name on an official LEGO set and became a Master Builder!
In autumn 2024, I was so lucky to join the LEGO Icons design team in the LEGO Innovation House and work as a consultant for 3 months. For an adult LEGO fan like me, it was a great experience to be able to come in and work on projects and experience how it all works in the design team at TLG. A childhood dream came true.
Drawings
My freehand drawing skills are ok. The technical drawings and PC REVIT are drawings from my structural engineering studies. I build my LEGO models from pictures and rarely make sketches.
christoffer.behrens@gmail.com
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