Lego Masters New Zealand season 2 winners Oli (left) and Charlie Mollard with their trophy. Photo / TVNZ
Lego Masters New Zealand season 2 winners Oli (left) and Charlie Mollard with their trophy. Photo / TVNZ
It’s a dream become reality for Oli and Charlie Mollard as they were crowned Lego Masters New Zealand champions on Wednesday.
The Lego building game show aired on TVNZ 2.
The siblings, who are part of the Massey University whānau, have been obsessed with Lego building for as long as they can remember.
“Every birthday and Christmas, it’s all we wished for,” Oli says. “Our Lego room is ever expansive, and Charlie is constantly negotiating with our parents about what areas of their house can be converted into more Lego rooms.”
Charlie adds: “I usually just add Lego bricks throughout the house and hope our parents don’t notice.”
Born in Christchurch, the Mollard siblings lived in India for a few years before moving to Palmerston North. They both went to St Peter’s College.
It’s a full house in their home, with not just the ever-growing amount of Lego and their parents, but also a younger sister, a dog, two guinea pigs, two turtles and an axolotl.
The two loved watching game shows growing up and knew they’d found the perfect one when Lego Masters Australia began to air.
“We kept up with the Australian version for the past few years and were planning to try our shot at applying for it once Charlie turned 18. But when TVNZ announced they were doing a Kiwi series, we knew it was destined for us,” Oli says.
The pair say their respective majors are reflected in their Lego brick building.
“Oli makes our builds look cool and I’m the mechanics mastermind,” Charlie says, who is studying for a Bachelor of Mechatronics Engineering at Massey’s Manawatū campus.
“It just made sense. I’ve always loved building robots, so I thought, why not make a career out of it?”
Meanwhile, Oli is partway through a Bachelor of Design, majoring in visual communication. They chose the College of Creative Arts “because I loved seeing how the work of Massey’s graduates improved in the time they were studying there”.
They’re also one of two residential life co-ordinators in the Wellington Halls on the Pukeahu campus.
Charlie (left) and Oli Mollard with one of their Lego creations, Choliwood. Photo / TVNZ
Oli says they were excited about having access to an unlimited number of Lego bricks in the show’s Brick Pit.
“It’s something we’ve literally dreamed about. We’re excited to build massive-scale models like we’ve never been able to before.”
Having very different skill sets, Oli says, is the key to making them a great team and gives them an edge in the competition.
“It’s easy for our imaginations to end up in the same place but our building processes are very different, which has its pros and cons. Charlie can make a mechanical marvel and then I come along to make it an art piece. Most of the time, if one of us is struggling with their aspect of the build, we can switch out and take on each other’s obstacles.”
After close to a hundred hours of creating incredible builds, on Wednesday Oli and Charlie were crowned Lego Masters New Zealand champions for this season. They won $25,000 to spend at The Warehouse and two Fiat Lounge cars.
“This is the best thing that has ever happened to us, ever,” Oli says.
