First, here are some examples of what can do Markku with LEGO blocks ...

Airwolf


Breakdance


Batman

And each ride can be packed inside one truck !

Simon Bourlet : First of all, I want to congratulate you for your incredible constructions with LEGO Bricks. Everybody on our forums were in love with your rides.

Markku Jääskeläinen : Thank you !

S.B : Could you shortly introduce yourself ?

M.J : I'm Markku Jaaskelainen, a 35 year-old diesel mechanic from Espoo, Finland.


S.B : When did you begin playing with LEGOS ?

M.J : I began playing with legos when I was 2.


S.B :And when did you begin building LEGO rides ? And why ?

M.J : I started to build lego rides when I was 14. There was a sand field 5 km from our house. On that field I saw many funfair trailers. I didn't know what they were but they looked very interesting. At home I started to build them out of legos. The next day I rode there on my bicycle and the trailers had turn to a funfair. The funfair stayed there for a week and I visited there twice a day (I had to go home to eat). So that's how it all began.


S.B : What was you very first ride built in Lego ?

M.J : I think it was twister with 2 arms or dodgems.

Twister

Dodgems

S.B : How many rides have you built ? (and how many trucks, miscelanenous...)

M.J : At the moment I have 81 rides and 243 transportation units (including all cars in 1/40 scale). I didn't count the ones I've broken.


S.B : Could you give some examples of broken rides ? And why did you break them ?

M.J : For example Altus (impulse coaster) and Hustler. I didn't like the looks of those rides


S.B : How long does it take to plan and build an entire Lego Ride ?

M.J : Planning takes usually 1 month (from 3 days up to 10 years) and the building takes a week (from 2 days to 4 months). It depends of the ride and the spare time I have.


S.B : What was the most difficult ride to build ?

M.J : I don't know which was the most difficult. Here are some of them:

SOMBRERO: the outer hinges of the platform and how to get 4 electricity wires and a pneumatic hose to the upper part so that it can spin freely.

FRISBEE: the swinging mechanism.

CHAOS: the lightshow.

TORNADO: the lifting mechanism.

S.B :All your rides and other games are very realistic. Do you build them following an official builder instructions, or following your own observation of the rides ?

M.J : The models are mostly based just on my observation. I take a lot of photos. Sometimes I see a nice ride and a nice trailer and combine them in my model although they don't go together in the real life.


S.B :Have you ever been contacted by the LEGO Group ? It would be fun if you can design rides sold in shops ! :-)

M.J : I agree. The LEGO Group hasn't contacted me but I've contacted them. They weren't interested at all. They said they don't take ideas outside of Lego Group.They have their own engineers for that.


S.B : And have you ever been contacted by a rides manufacturer ?

M.J : No.


S.B : According to you, what is the most difficult thing to do with the LEGO Blocks ?

M.J : Legos are good for blocky things like houses. Round shapes are difficult. But what's the most difficult ? Let's say a flying airplane.


S.B :Suppose your home is burning. (What a catastrophe !!! ;-). You must take only one LEGO ride model you have built. Which one ?

M.J : Propably I would think that so long that it would be too late to save anything. Maybe Sombrero. I couldn't build another center joint like that.

Matthieu Galus : What will be your next LEGO ride ?

M.J : At the moment I'm building SPEEDY, FLUME RIDE and MUSIC EXPRESS. Also 3 new homes, one of them has 7 motorized slide-outs (quite challenging) and one is the biggest living trailer I've ever seen (21,5m, 2 floors, 3 slide-outs).

M.G : Among all these rides inspired by the reality, have you ever created your own ride thanks to your imagination ? M.J : Some, for example Bahamas and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I've many ideas, but I haven't built them.

S.B :Have you ever abandoned a project, because it was too difficult to build ?

M.J : Yes, but never if I've already started to build. The challenging the ride is the interesting it is to build. In the planning phase I've abandoned some. The reasons have been lack of parts or too complicated packing system. I'm not so interested in how the ride works but how it is packed. For instance roller coasters can't be packed easily so they are not my cup of tea.

M.G:Could you give some tips to our readers who would like to begin building such rides ?

M.J : Good planning saves nerves, parts and time. Start with a ride that is neither too simple nor too difficult. Try to make the construction as simple as possible. Usually I get the ideas for simple mechanisms from old (1930-1970) rides.

S.B :Have you other hobbies ?

M.J : Yes, I've got many. For example I make comics. I'm now on page 51 at my 3th album (some other hobbies: scifi, traveling, reading, making scifi-clothes, writing plays, writing song lyrics etc.)


S.B :So, the interview stops here. I want to thank you for all your answers, and I hope you will carry on designing and building such beautiful funfair materials !
Now, you can tell whatever you want to our readers :

Have a nice summer and visit parks and funfairs to keep them alive!

Special thanks to Markku Jääskeläinen who answered to our questions.
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