Lego Masters (Australia) - General Discussion

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3 just began this week!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Week 1

S3.E1: Stop in Your Tracks

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LEGO Masters Australia is back. The contest designed to push the imagination and creativity of Australia's best LEGO builders returns for a third season, and this season promises to take the competition to a whole new level. Up for grabs is the all new Platinum Brick which will give the winning team immunity from an elimination. To win it, they face a massive first challenge. Teams must create a show stopping piece that will stop a train in its tracks. They have 17 hours to complete their builds.

Original air date: 4/19/21

S3.E2: Castles and Cannonballs

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All eight teams are playing for immunity from the elimination build. They are asked to create a beautiful castle that will spectacularly explode as a bowling ball is hurled at it.

Original air date: 4/20/21

S3.E3: Snow Globe

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In the first elimination of the competition, teams will have 10 hours to build a world inside a snow globe.

Original air date: 4/21/21

Edited April 26, 2021 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I always enjoy the smashing challenges, but I also feel bad when the builders don't get a good explosion due to someone else's error (AHEM). As expected the cool looking flexi circle building didn't explode well. I always wonder why some of the teams don't add lots of colorful bricks inside the structures to get a better looking explosion.

I liked the snow globe challenge. I totally agreed with the bottom two. The Stonehenge one was boring in every way. It was just a bunch of rectangles so there was nothing technical or skilled about what they built. Most of it was grey so it was boring and blah. There was no height so the mini figures got buried in the snow. I didn't understand why they thought Stonehenge was suitable for this challenge. The other team in the bottom two at least had a large figure to create some height and create a story. Thank goodness they're laying off the brick of doom business a little bit. I do not need the lightning and screaming sound effects multiple times per episode.

I liked most of the other snow globes. The fox was really well built and the color was an excellent contrast with the snow. Rudolph and Santa at the beach was whimsical and colorful. The rotating ballerina was a simple but effective design (good use of color and height). The Nightmare Before Christmas was full of so many details and I loved all the color.

[xfuse]

This is my favourite reality show and possible most favouite show now that Eco Challenge is no more. 

The smashing or exploding is my least favourite ep. The winner is generally up to chance that a certain character will fly a certain way. I loved the snow globes and the fox was really a work of art. Stonehenge just some rectangles but it was also too big for the globe. If they had made it smaller and build the ground up around it it would have worked better.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E4: Fantastical Beasts / Mission to Mars

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In the first of two challenges, teams are tasked with creating an entirely new creature by blending the DNA of two existing animals.

Original air date: 4/25/21

[xfuse]

I'm not a fan of having two missions in one ep. It might be because I loved the show and want more eps. I like it stretched out more than what we got. Maybe they are just film back to back season. That would make me happy.

It seems like most of the teams are put together teams. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E5: Hero's Quest

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Teams have 12 hours to create a build that explores the theme of the 'hero's quest'. Adventure, danger, high stakes, precious treasure and a huge journey - even a bit of magic and mystery. It's all part of the hero's quest.

Original air date: 4/26/21

[ElectricBoogaloo]

21 hours ago, xfuse said:

I'm not a fan of having two missions in one ep.

I was surprised by that too. I was trying to figure out why they did that for episode 4, but they're going back to the regular format of one challenge per episode for episodes 5 and 6.

The mashup animals were so weird. When so many teams ended up with half flamingo creatures, I was worried that they would run out of pink bricks. I loved the peacock feathers - the color, the texture, everything about them was really great.

I wasn't crazy about the outer space challenge, but it was nice to see the mom team create something that was clearly near and dear to one of their hearts. I loved their big green alien, and the vignettes inside the theater were fun.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E6:

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The return of a classic challenge: Cut In Half! Teams choose from a range of items that have been cut in half. Their challenge is to use their imagination in creating the other half of the object from Lego.

Original air date: 4/27/21

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E7: Hot Air Balloon

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Teams must build something that floats, suspended from their very own hot air balloon, for a minimum of 10 seconds.

Original air date: 5/2/21

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E8: Four Seasons

Original air date: 5/3/21

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I've been trying to figure out who Jess reminds me of and I finally realized tonight that she looks like a young Ione Skye.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E9: Arcade Game

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Teams are tasked with creating their very own arcade game out of Lego.

Original air date: 5/4/21

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Week 3:

The hot air balloon challenge was fun. I liked that it was just trial and error to see how much weight the balloon would hold before sinking or flying. Ryan and Gabby's motorized bike one was great but I also loved Harrison and Michael's people hanging onto the balloon. I get why Gus and David's pegasus was in contention because it was done really well.

I liked that the restriction of the Kale Scale challenge was that it could not be a building. I thought Ryan and Gabby's fountain was one of the best ideas but the execution was not great. It looked like a three tier dessert stand, not a fountain. It needed more water spilling over. Adding the rose at the last minute to create a story was pretty weak. Gus and Harrison's extremely tall dock was a cheat to get more height without making a building. It also wasn't done very well so they were lucky that they scraped by. Sarah and Fleur's crossing sign was a really great idea to get height but I was not sure if they would be able to make it work. It was sad to see them fail so badly at the last minute so thank goodness for their platinum brick. Owen and Scott's rocket was boring and there was no story there. It was just a big rocket so I felt they didn't really complete the challenge. Gus and David's snake was cool to look at but I felt like it was too straight up and down. I would have liked to see a curve in the snake or something, especially since it was obvious that the length of the snake was just to get to the minimum height.

On most shows, I dislike when they bring back eliminated contestants but for some reason, I didn't mind it here, probably because I'm all for seeing more people make stuff. I was surprised that Amy and Dawei struggled so much to make a curved rainbow. I liked that they still used all that color for the phoenix wings. That looked so great against the trees. Jeff and Atlanta's ice cream monster wasn't awful but it wasn't great. I wouldn't have known that was supposed to be three scoops of ice cream if they hadn't explained it. Between that and the original orange color they used for the cone, I don't think they did a great job conveying their vision. Jess and Anthony's camping scene was just okay to me. I had a huge problem with their bear because it was just a big brown blob with a disproportionately small bear head on top. If you're going to make something that large, it needs to be more anatomically correct. Ryan and Gabby's winter train scene was by far the best because it was clear what we were looking at, it was well built, and there was a story with the train robbers.

The arcade game challenge was really fun. I was shocked that neither Gabby nor Jess had ever played an arcade game before. Not even once at a kids' birthday party?! Owen and Scott's guitar game was by far the best one. It was bold and colorful, and the mechanics for the scrolling part of the guitar and the giant keyboard playing had a great visual impact. The others ranged from okay to a bit of a mess. Some of them were very lucky that this was an immunity challenge rather than an elimination challenge.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E10: Race / Dream Home

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In the first of two challenges, teams are required to build a vehicle that can race down a purpose-built track in the shortest time possible. In the second challenge, they are tasked with building their ultimate dream home.

Original air date: 5/9/21

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E11: Heroic Moment of Impact

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In a celebration of the Marvel cinematic universe, teams will have access to an exclusive Brick Pit and collection of Mini Fig characters for a build that needs to show a heroic moment of impact.

Original air date: 5/10/21

[xfuse]

On 5/5/2021 at 9:08 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Sarah and Fleur's crossing sign was a really great idea to get height but I was not sure if they would be able to make it work. It was sad to see them fail so badly at the last minute so thank goodness for their platinum brick.

They are my least favourite team and I think they are the least skilled. Unfortunately for me I think that brickman really likes them.  

6 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

In a celebration of the Marvel cinematic universe, teams will have access to an exclusive Brick Pit and collection of Mini Fig characters for a build that needs to show a heroic moment of impact.

The right team won which I don't always agree with. I wonder if the Lego people see some of these designs and decide to make sets from them. I know that they can't put all the elements in because they used so many bricks but I would love to have their set.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E12: House of Colour

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Each team is provided with a greyscale house which they must bring to life with colour. The build with the least impressive story and aesthetics will go home.

Original air date: 5/11/21

[ProfCrash]

I wish I could find these easily in the US. I really liked the US version of the show.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Week 4:

I enjoyed the car races - it was fun to see how they all got so into it! Taking away all the wheels and tires in the brick pit was kind of mean. I felt bad that the saucer idea ended up being copied. Innovation should be rewarded!

The dream home challenge was not my favorite. I had to laugh at Jess and Anthony coming up with all the features they wanted in the house but not having any ideas about the actual house. I got annoyed with David and Gus. Yes, yes, home is where the heart is and all that other shit but you've never once thought about what you like or dislike about houses? You have no opinions on architecture at all? If so, JUST MAKE A HOUSE. It doesn't actually have to be your dream house. It just has to look good! I mean, have you ever considered what a portion of a rocket ship being sent to space would look like until you were asked to do it on the show? Have some imagination!

Harrison and Michael took a huge risk. The challenge was to create your dream house, not your dream environment. Making that tiny house and focusing on the desert was a terrible idea. One thing I like about this show is that Brickman insists on the contestants actually fulfilling the requirements of the challenge, and their idea DID NOT. The twist to turn their dream house into a nightmare didn't help but I think they still would have been screwed if the original challenge had remained the same.

I am not a huge Marvel fan so a lot of the fun of the challenge was probably lost on me (aside from everyone wanting to steal the special mini figures). Scott and Owen did a really great job with theirs. Even as someone who is not familiar with the Marvel universe, I could tell that it was very detailed and well made.

I enjoyed the greyscale to color challenge, partly because I loathe the designers on Project Runway who say, "I only work with black/I never use prints/I don't work with color." I don't think anyone on this show has that problem, but I still loved that they were all forced to work with color. I thought Gabby and Ryan's was really great. They had a clear story and the color spilled over really well. Fleur and Sarah also did a good job. Again I liked that it was really obvious where the color was coming from and they did a good job spreading the color around. Michael and Harrison's unicorns, on the other hand, made no sense. I understood their idea but the execution was very lacking. Looking at it didn't make it clear what was going on. David and Gus got lucky that Michael and Harrison did so poorly. Otherwise they would have been on the chopping block because their goddess scenario made no sense. If she's blowing forward to create life/color, why was all the stuff BEHIND HER already in color?

[xfuse]

On 5/12/2021 at 10:24 AM, ProfCrash said:

I really liked the US version of the show.

I didn't like the US version. Too much WA and not enough building. Also the eps were way too short. I hope this year of the US show will be better. 

 

On 5/12/2021 at 12:37 PM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I am not a huge Marvel fan so a lot of the fun of the challenge was probably lost on me (aside from everyone wanting to steal the special mini figures)

That was mainly watching out for Hamish since he stole so many of the special ep last year. I think he stole half of the Star Wars figures that there was. 

I love Marvel but I wish they had more of a choice to build what they want. There were so many different worlds than those few. I would have loved to see where they would have went if they had just gotten a brief of good, evil or questionable.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E13: Tree Branch

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In the penultimate episode, the four remaining teams are required to dress an empty tree branch that is connected to a life-size LEGO tree.

Original air date: 5/16/21

Edited May 18, 2021 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E13: Grand Finale

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Finale!

Original air date: 5/17/21

[ElectricBoogaloo]

This is a light fun show for me to watch, so I was surprised by how mad I was by the final decision. How in the hell did Gabby and Ryan come in last place of all the finalists? I thought they were in the running to win. Their circus creation was bright, fun, motorized, detailed, humorous, and had lots of little storytelling scattered throughout.

In comparison, Scott and Owen's was a big old mess. They were right about there not being a big focal point. Their original idea to have the wizard in a cyclone as the focal point got dwarfed by their insistence on making their scene WAY too busy, yet somehow their solution was to make ANOTHER focal point? There was too much going on but not in a good way. It just looked like a jumbled chaotic mess and I didn't think the story was very clear without an explanation.

Gus and Max's deer with wolves scene was very pretty but I was sure that they would get dinged for being too simplistic. Once the judge said that it made him feel emotion, I knew that they had risen up to contention but I thought it would between them and Gabby/Ryan.

The stupid thing about the live voting is that there were 250 votes from the people who came in, but the judge's vote counted for 100 votes so whoever he wanted to win was going to win regardless of how everyone else voted. The only possible way to avoid his 100 votes determining the winner would be if EVERYONE voted for the same team.

I'm used to the finale video of the contestants' families but I loved that they did one for the crew too. That was really sweet.

Normally Hamish doesn't bother me but there was a bit too much "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!" directed at the contestants during the finale. I wanted to tell him to STFU and leave them alone because they were exhausted, under pressure, and knew they had to be up for 28 hours to build. The last thing they need is the equivalent of a five year old child saying, "MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM!" I felt it was particularly egregious with the deer team at one point because they were clearly trying to ignore him and he would not leave them alone. Look, if you're bored, go bother Brickman. Leave the contestants alone.

[xfuse]

On 5/18/2021 at 8:20 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

they had to be up for 28 hours to build.

They don't do the 28 hours straight. It is broken up for them. 

And I love Hamish. I think he does a great job of hosting. He is not too in their face, does enough interviews and comments to each team and makes fun of himself. He does try to get a reaction of of the quieter people but that is his job. 

I do think that the right people won. David and Gus made an incredible build but I agree that Gaby and Ryan should have been second place. Scott and Owen was incredible busy and I just couldn't figure out what was going on in most of it. Also I couldn't see the wizard from the 'energy'.

I love this show. It has been my favorite every since I first found it a few years ago. I just hope after season 4 they do an all-star show to bring back some of the favorites.

[TVbitch]

Just finished this up. For me, some of the pre-final builds I actually liked more than the finale builds. For Scott and Owen's I even paused the video to try to figure out what the heck was going on there, but I still couldn't! From any distance away, it just looked like a complete jumble of stuff. The circus one should have come in second. I enjoyed the winning piece a lot, but that was like the fourth (ish) time they did an animal like that. All in all, a great show! 

PS. Brickman reminds me of the judge from The Great Pottery Throwdown, with his tearing up over some of the builds and the contestants. I think it's sweet. 

[TVbitch]

The current AU season is a Grand Masters season and looks like it could be epic! 

[roamyn]

Hubby & I just started watching S1.  We're four episodes in, and my rage toward Kale gets bigger every episode!  He always says "I knew what to build right away."  Not ever letting Bilsey get a say so or suggestion.  He never shuts up abt his art or how great he is. The apt build was a complete disaster.  Bilsey was very unhappy.  I wish, despite their technical ability, that the Lego Master guy had sent them home.  Several times he's remarked abt the fact that they don't work as a team.

On the bright side, Hamish is such a breath of fresh air aft Will Arnett.

Right now my favorite teams are the oil dudes snd the best friends.  Jimmy and his wife really grew on me this last episode, too.  Their haunted apartment build was gorgeous.

[Taeolas]

Discovery Canada has just started airing LM:AU S4 and I'm loving it. Opening with a water challenge build was a great start and the builds looked good. 

Plus I love seeing Hamish and The Brickman back. They both seem so much better hosts than Will over on LM:US.