Contributor Page: Fikko Soenanta – Fikko3107

LOCATION: Indonesia
NICHE: LEGO digital media, action-adventure themes, LEGO polybags, LEGO licensed themes (to some degree), select forms of LEGO gear, LEGO constraction figures, LEGO books

People say, (like in here) that their very first LEGO set has a special meaning to them. That’s not quite the case with me. I received my first LEGO set at a very young age – under 3-years-old, I think. I did not start with DUPLO like most kids that young. My very first LEGO sets were from the LEGO Jack Stone theme: #1435 LEGO Jack Stone Super Glider and #4600 LEGO Jack Stone Police Cruiser. I don’t remember much about these first LEGO sets and all the pieces are now gone – probably forever. However I managed to salvage the figures. Of course I was heartbroken to learn how much my childhood figurines were so unwanted these days after reading this article…

Even before this though I was playing with LEGO; I lived the first two years of my life at my grandmother’s house, which is where my much older cousin kept his LEGO Exploriens sets. I played with them with my other similarly-aged cousin, once my aunt trusted us enough to handle them. In a fairly short time though I (we) had ruined my cousin’s favorite toy. He salvaged all he could and took them over to his house. That was the last we saw of those sets, until after some helpful hints from my aunt I found out what sets my cousin owned: #6938 LEGO Exploriens Scorpion Detector and #6958 LEGO Exploriens Android Base, both excellent sets. Also, I believe he (my much-older cousin) also owned at least one LEGO Aquasharks set, as we found a black octopus and the head of the Aquasharks leader, Thresh.

But even before all of this my mom had a LEGO set or two. She had owned sets from the “Building Set with Little People” theme, which uses the classic Homemaker figures. I have deduced that she had owned #258 LEGO Zoo with Baseboard and  #212 LEGO Scooter. Where are they now, you ask? That’s a very sad, tragic tale that I think will be better left untold…

At that time I had a lot of other interests, and LEGO wasn’t top of the list. But around 2003 my mom got me a trio of LEGO sets that would pave my liking of cool LEGO robots: the Bohrok of the Bionicle theme. Specifically, I got #8563 LEGO Bionicle Tahnok, #8560 LEGO Bionicle Pahrak and #8565 LEGO Bionicle Kohrak. Their looks captivated me, and I specifically found the combiner models fascinating. And the whole idea of Krana was intriguing. These LEGO sets were the first to introduce me to LEGO Bionicle, and LEGO constraction figures in general. These LEGO sets no longer have a place in my heart, but through them Bionicle does remain special to me.

Around 2003 or 2004, I got a LEGO set that both Brickset and Bricklink says it wasn’t released until 2005: #5370 LEGO Creator Make & Create Bucket. Even more bizarrely, I seem to be missing most of the pieces from the 200-bonus, and I don’t even remember getting the bonus when I first got the set. Yet, some of the pieces from it I remember having! I have heard that people have a LEGO set they remember most from their childhood. (Like for Angus Mclane’s it being #375 LEGO Classic Castle, I heard.) This was my set. With it, I could make anything I wanted. After all, there were over 600 LEGO bricks in this set! I still have the bucket, and after a lengthy check, I’ve found I’m now missing 108 pieces.

It was also around this time that my cousins and I caught the LEGO Knight’s Kingdom II craze, and we got the buildable knights, based on our favorite colors. Personally, I chose the set #8792 LEGO Knight’s Kingdom Sir Jayko. This became one of my favorite childhood sets. I’m working on restoring it right now; all I need now is the shield and the shield’s light-blue handle. We also often stayed at the toy-store looking at the commercials detailing the story. Besides the sets, my cousin also got a complete collection of the Nestle Promotional figurines for Knight’s Kingdom, and I personally got the set #8778 LEGO Knight’s Kingdom Border Ambush, which – due to various circumstances – is now in pieces; some at my place and some at my cousin’s place. When I got back into the LEGO hobby, there was a lot of “legal” battles between us over who keeps the surviving minifigures – which resulted in me and the oldest cousin (who was my best friend since we were small) to almost being forbidden to see each other ever again. No, it’s not his fault…

I should also mention that I wasn’t always against Megabloks like most LEGO fans are nowadays; When I was 6, for example, I was overjoyed that I got a Megabloks set. As with virtually every toy I got before my first decade, I lost it. Unlike my LEGO sets though, I have no regrets…

Then, around 2006, my mom got me two Bionicle sets; the #8722 LEGO Bionicle Kazi and #8726 LEGO Bionicle Dalu. You see; I had not gotten a Bionicle set since the Bohroks, but I had been watching the movies. (I watched the 3rd one, then the 2nd one. I never watched the 1st one until I got into serious collecting.) I instantly recognized the two characters to have the same mask as Nuju and Nokama, two movie characters, respectively. My illogical 7-year-old brain comprehended that these are the Matoran form of said characters. But they restarted my interest in Bionicle nonetheless. I had oftentimes stared longingly at Toa Hordikas and Visoraks, as every other typical kid at that time. By the way my first thoughts about the 2nd Bionicle movie still amuses me; I had thought Toa Lhikan and Turaga Lhikan were two different characters; thinking that Turaga Lhikan – or at that time I had known him as “The old (Senile) Bionicle from the sewers” – had given Vakama the Vahi. I understood nothing about Makuta masquerading as Dume. These were all courtesy of my 7-year-old, English-unsavvy brain.

So anyways, I got re-hooked on Bionicle. I begged my teenage cousin to give me his (poorly built, slightly incomplete) #8570 LEGO Bionicle Gali Nuva. I got a vague idea about Voya Nui and the 2006 storyline. I got a fake Hakann and Zaktan, which (in addition to a 2007 fake Defilak) was enough to keep me away from knock-off LEGO sets forever. I played Bionicle Heroes (as well as various other LEGO games) on DS. My dad got me a #8727 LEGO Bionicle Toa Jaller, and best of all, my mom traded a little (OK, a ton) of HSBC points for my 8th birthday to get me #8719 LEGO Bionicle Zamor Spheres  and #10204 LEGO Bionicle Vezon & Kardas! It was awesome. It was massive. It was… built wrongly. What do you expect? I was only 7. Nonetheless, it easily became my favorite LEGO set and looked super-rad on top of my desk.

Soon, I learned the beauty of MOC-ing. But because of this I also learned the ugly truth of Bionicle the hard way; cracky joints. Pretty soon the great and almighty Kardas Dragon crumbled; some pieces broken, some scattered, and some lost. It was emotionally super saddening. I began to believe that MOC-ing is something heretic…

But first, let’s enter 2008. It was the year I got #8913 LEGO Bionicle Toa Nuparu. Then later on I got a new favorite, the #8697 LEGO Bionicle Toa Ignika. Owning the Mask of Life – I had learned of its importance from the 2006 storylines – sent a tingle down my spine. I would also proceed to get #8952 LEGO Bionicle Mutran & Vican. And got a booklet which tells the Bionicle legend in fast forward. I had instantly taken a liking to Toa Takanuva, despite only having vague information. Later that year I got a leaflet promoting the Mistika. It was interesting, and I memorized the words that was on it. It went something like: “For the first time in a long time Mata Nui shall wake, the earth shall shake as he rises.” There were two more lines, but I forgot. Now I find it fairly similar to “The Rising” podcast.

In 2009 Glatorian enters, but my Bionicle-mind was elsewhere. I got a #8728 LEGO Bionicle Toa Hahli and #8730 LEGO Bionicle Toa Hewkii. It was only when Glatorian Legends came out when I became aware of the new line. I didn’t understand much at first. They didn’t look like the Toa I had grown to know and love. But I spotted the #8989 LEGO Bionicle Mata Nui set – or more specifically the Mask of Life – and I told myself that if I get one set from this strange new line, I’d better make it this one. I didn’t get it at the end. But I got the The Legend Reborn DVD so at least I got to know the story. I also remember getting the #5621 LEGO City Coast Guard impulse set and the #852119 LEGO Holiday Santa Magnet that year.

In 2010 after a failed attempt to get a #7135 LEGO Bionicle Takanuva, I entered my Dark Ages… only to exit it at roughly March 2011. Well, technically, it’s kind of complicated, since Bionicle (and LEGO in general) was never really my main hobby. Throughout the years, I had done a lot of hobbies, like many boys do. Mine included (I’ve long since stopped doing most of these – just doing it for old time’s sake occasionally.)

1. Collecting toy-cars
2. Hot Wheels
3. Comic books
4. Gundam
5. Various action figures
6. Video-games (mainly on a DS)
7. The Megaman series of video-games
8. The Pokemon series of video-games
9. Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG (trading card game)

My catalyst to get back to LEGO came when I was 11 and I was at a low point of my life. My Hoarder-Disorder had been acting up, and my guilt and worries over many things (including the loss of my dear Bionicle Kardas) had pushed me to a near-depression. After re-evaluating my life, I decided I needed a new hobby. Like in the experience of many others, I didn’t look for it, it came to me… I had been doing some unpacking, since I was bored (my family moves often). I found a few LEGO bricks and my original Jack Stone figures. I started building a little bit and I gradually began to re-accept the hobby. Finally, reading a local magazine, XY Kids’, article about Ninjago, I became interested in the spinners and sets (ironically Ninjago spinners became something I didn’t really like, and something my father is completely against). Finally,  me and my sister asked for some LEGO sets. I got #2258 LEGO Ninjago Ninja Ambush, and my sister got #7279 LEGO City Police Minifigure Collection. As people often say; “the rest is history…”

I got many LEGO sets since then; you can see them here. I got a LEGO Exo-Force set that got me interested in the theme. It had all the wonders of regular LEGO System sets and the familiar click-joints of Bionicle.

When one of my friends gave me a video-downloading software, I started collecting LEGO videos and other LEGO media. I also did a lot of digital-designing and became more active in the LEGO Message Boards. My dad bought me The Star Wars Character Encyclopedia in late 2011, and that’s where I started to be interested in LEGO books. I also collect LEGO gear that I find novel; like salt and pepper shakers. Another form of LEGO gear that interests me is magnets, but not just any magnets, but the special, LEGO-Store and LEGOLAND exclusive magnets with names of various cities/places.

After getting over the loss of Kardas, I salvaged the parts of my old Bionicle sets, and use them to create MOCs. I rarely display them though – I guess half because of shyness and lack of confidence, half because of the remains of the previous “MOC-ing is heretic” experience. Below are some of the LEGO MOCs I made. Not too shabby, eh?

And here is a picture of my LEGO-table. Yes, it is rather cluttered at the moment. As you may figure out, the giant bearded guy is also a MOC. Displaying it was a little uncommon for me. He came about one day when I was bored. I nicknamed him “Norm”. Besides Norm, there are 3 other MOCs… can you guess which ones?

Also, I believe that I am very lucky; I had a chance to visit LEGOLAND Malaysia. Here’s a picture to prove it. Yes, the boy in the picture is me. I’m not fat, just not thin. Close enough to the sigfig, don’t you think so?

Well, I have discussed the past me and my interests. I’ll talk a bit about me currently. I’m a TFOL, turning 14 this year. My birthday’s on the 31st of July. I’m from Asia, Indonesia, specifically. I believe I’m one of the first Asian contributors around here. I’m an 8th grader and my scores are quite average. And now to my pleasure but perhaps everyone else’s disdain, I present to you my list much in the style of admin and gid617:

1. I’m not someone who is very “connected” to social-networking. I don’t have a Twitter account, my Facebook is probably locked by now, and I have no idea what a LinkedIn is.
2. I don’t find myself artistic in any way. I am a poor painter/drawer and a horrible musician.
3. I’m a lefty – perhaps this is why I’m so artistically poor?
4. I constantly claim that I don’t enjoy music. Actually I do, but not from my era. My favorite band is Queen.
5. As for art, I don’t understand or appreciate it. I don’t see the beauty of a man with his fist on his forehead.
6. I’m a total moviegoer. My favorite movie of all time is Real Steel
7. My favorite musical is Grease.
8. I enjoy reading a lot.
9. My favorite books are the Percy Jackson series and I am Number Four/Lorien Legacies series.
10. I have read almost all Greek/Egyptian themed books by Rick Riordan.
11. I’m desperately wanting to read the The Rise of Nine (Lorien Legacies, Book 3
12. Huh, 12. That’s the age I got out of my Dark Ages…
13. I do not find 13 a bad-luck number.
14. I have a theory devised from Murphy’s Law; “If something bad could happen to you during holidays, it will happen.”
15. I’m very attached to my laptop. It’s an Acer and is very resilient. I bring it almost everywhere. At the moment one edge is badly duct-taped and 2 keys fell off.
16. I’ve gotten Dengue-fever twice so far; and proving my previously mentioned theory; both happened during a holiday. No joke.
17. As discussed above, I used to be a sucker for videogames. My favorite consoles are the Wii and the Nintendo DS.
18. I can’t see the justification of racism towards political beliefs. Why would you hate someone just because they’re a Republican/Democrat?
19. I’m a very messy person. Most days you can’t see my desk under all those books.
20. I’m horrible at memorizing; especially numbers, dates and events… luckily History isn’t in my curriculum.
21. My favorite lesson in school is Physics. Ironically, my grades were never that good.
22. The craziest thing I’ve ever done, hmm… probably climbing a fence only to epicly fail by hitting my head on an electric-post. Ouch.
23. I get roadsick moderately easily. I get airsick easier. I get seasick even easier.
24. I enjoy the Back to the Future films, and I really want a time-travelling DMC DeLorean!
25. I’m not an outdoor person; if I would live in America, I’d probably be the last person picked in sports.
26. I’m quite tall for my age; roughly 175 cm, or 5 feet 9.
27. My middle name, Julian – in case you haven’t figured it out – was derived from July.
28. I used to be a target for bullying during my elementary years.
29. I have a blue belt in Tae-Kwon-Do… supposedly.
30. I bet that if I make a movie called 7/4 men – a semi fictional documentary of my best friends and I – it would win at least one award.
31. I’m quite cowardly. I can’t see a situation where I would bungee-jump.
32. My favorite food is chicken, and (sort of) Sushi, and (possibly) mushrooms.
33. I do not have a role-model. Well, Thomas Alva Edison to some extent.
34. Hello, still awake? Yes, I do often write and talk too long – people listening or not. I guess that’s what people call “egocentric”.
35. I have never gotten my IQ checked.
36. I only have flashes of my life before the age of 4.
37. I am of Chinese origin, but I can’t speak the language.
38. I am much more fluent in English than in Indonesian – my mother tongue.
39. I suppose I am computerically dumb. All I know how to do is downloading videos and copy/pasting. I have no idea about programming or hacking.
40. I’m not a cat-person. Or a dog-person either.
41. I’m not a morning-person. Or a night-person either.
42. My dad is slightly reluctantly teaching me how to drive. For some strange reason I can’t seem to be able to drive straight.
43. I hate theme-parks. Quoting my dad, “Why pay to be scared?”
44. I have a doctor’s handwriting (translation: illegible).
45. When I see a boxing-tournament or such, I don’t think of the glory like most people; I think about how excruciatingly painful it must be to be beat up like that.
46. I am very unaware of my surroundings.
47. The quotes from TV I quote way too often is “Legen, wait for it, DARY!” and “83 percent”.
48. I always say to myself I’ll finish watching the Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings movies, but I still haven’t watched them all.
49. Whenever I plan to read the Lord of the Rings books, I pick up the first one with great determination… only to stop at the sight of the fancy Tolkien words.
50. I’m not crazy for round numbers, so I suppose it’s okay to end at 49… oh, wait… this makes 50…

Well, that’s about it. What more is there to know about me? You can ask in the comments below. Oh, and thanks for reading my articles!

---

HERE IS A LIST OF POSTS BY FIKKO

• Collecting LEGO Videos
• Collecting LEGO Instructions
• Collecting LEGO Polybags in Asia & Beyond…
• The Best LEGO Videos – March 2013 Picks
• Collecting LEGO Books – Intro to a Fun Hobby!
• Collecting LEGO Comics – Part 1
• The Best LEGO Videos – April 2013 Picks
• Fun LEGO Webcomics Irregular Webcomic!
• Building LEGO Robots – My Own Creations
• Colleting LEGO Comics – Part 2
• LEGO Contest Story: Build Your World Part 1
• LEGO Contest Story: Build Your World Part 2
• Chima Online – A Beta Tester’s Review
• Collecting LEGO Gear, Gifts & Novelties
• LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload
• 2014 LEGO Hero Factory Sets Pictures!