A mining worker spent five months building an unusual and touching tribute to Australia’s Anzac heroes: an 18,000-piece Lego sculpture.
Ben McCullock, 43, built the imposing two-metre-high statue at his home in Maida Vale, Perth, and completed it in time for Anzac Day.
This stunning work reproduces a statue from the Anzac Memorial with a soldier standing in a field of red poppies in front of a white cross reading ‘Lest we forget’.
“I built it to show respect and admiration for servicemen and women who serve, have served or have fallen,” said Mr McCullock, who operates cranes at mining sites in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. , at Daily Mail Australia.
“I wasn’t able to join the armed forces when I was younger, but honoring those who are able to serve is very important.”
A Western Australian man spent five months building an unusual and touching tribute to Australia’s Anzac heroes: an 18,000-piece Lego sculpture.
The talented Lego enthusiast, who has been making large-scale artworks for more than a decade, started with “a rough model” on his laptop and made some modifications suggested by friends.
Although he did most of the work himself, his family gave him some help, with his daughter building the poppies and his son helping to build the base.
He added that “his wife is very supportive of my passion.”
“This is one of the most fun and challenging builds I have ever undertaken, as I do not glue or use internal steel framing in my designs.
“I have to build a Lego tech inside for added strength, the base and legs are solid Lego and weigh a bit and the top is a hollow/honeycomb design to reduce weight.”
Although he did most of the work himself, his family gave him some help in making the impressive artwork, with his daughter building the poppies and his son helping to make the base.
Everything is designed to be taken apart for transport, so maybe people will be able to see it in person at some point.
“It’s been an honor to be able to build and present this for others to enjoy and open up conversations with each other as a topic of discussion, because some friends (who are) ex-military have a hard time opening up in civilian life,” Mr. McCullock said.
His Anzac tribute proved very popular with those who saw it on his Facebook page.
‘Absolutely awesome. We will remember them,” one commenter wrote.
“Awesome build, wonderful respect shown, you should be really proud of this one!” said another.
And echoing Mr McCullock’s hope for what his statue would achieve, another person wrote: “I hope everyone enjoys the build and opens up conversations with people from everywhere, because sometimes it is just a way to break the ice that people need to open up and talk.”
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