LEGO Senior Model Designer Laura Perron dives into the challenges and quirks of designing a chocolate river and working waterfall in Ideas 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
Have you ever wondered what it takes to create a chocolate river? So does the team at Blocks, but with boatloads of cocoa and milk likely involved, the team is content to stick with the LEGO brick version in the new 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Senior Model Designer Laura Perron had to figure out how to convey a flowing chocolate river and waterfall with rigid bricks.
The delectable stream was present in the original LEGO Ideas submission from Jody Padulano and Roberto Ceruti and featured a motorised waterfall with a tiled off river, so Laura had a plenty solid foundation to start from — albeit one that would have to see some changes to best fit as an official LEGO set.
A river may not at first sound like the most complicated of features to add to a LEGO model, but Laura had to consider the aesthetics of the chocolatey waters and how they would match the rest of the set, all while ensuring it used an acceptable number of LEGO bricks for the set’s size.
“There’s always a question of balance,” Laura explains. “Where do you want to put your parts? For us, it was a lot about focusing on the detail work and the lush texture of the side. So that’s where we primarily wanted our details and our effort to go towards. So having the chocolate be the studded plates like that felt like a really good solution. That worked well for the river. Then we don’t have to necessarily take away plant details to smooth out the chocolate. I think the texture of the studs also just adds to the churning nature of the chocolate.”
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With the texture of the river sorted, Laura could turn to figuring out how to best adapt the waterfall to fit the aesthetics of the model, to ensure it appears as if it is flowing while also matching the look of the studded river.
“We did try a few different versions of the waterfall,” says Laura. “We had a flat version at one point, but because the main chocolate river is primarily studded, that wasn’t feeling quite right. It was feeling too separate. And then fully studded wasn’t quite feeling right, either. It didn’t feel very flowy; it felt very static. So we played around with some different options.
“I remember at one point, someone asked, ‘Can it be gloopier?’ And I was like, ‘Okay, yes, let’s try that.’ So we tried this gloopier version, and we found it was working really well to give some texture and, even if it’s not moving, give that illusion that it’s dripping down. We liked that version the best and that’s what we continued with.”
Aside from the texture, the waterfall proved to be a relatively simple part of the set to build, despite having to create the look of flowing chocolate with rigid LEGO bricks.
“I would say that the waterfall was an easier aspect of the model,” says Laura. “Just because we only have a certain number of elements to perform this task. So using this size of tank tread [was an easy choice because] we only have so many of those in the portfolio. So right away it’s like, ‘okay, we’re using those elements, we’re going to use these specific gears that fit those elements.’ And then it was just a matter of how tall we want it.”
Using those tread and gear elements, the designer was able to get the chocolate waterfall flowing smoothly, operated from the back of the model via a crank. While the original fan submission proposed a motorised waterfall, Laura opted for a purely manual design. Given the high price tag of LEGO Powered Up elements, the choice to forgo official motorisation makes sense, but the decision wasn’t purely down to budget.
“At the end of the day, the model we wanted to deliver just didn’t need a motor,” she explains. “I don’t think the motor is essential to giving this experience. You can activate the waterfall yourself and so much of this film, in this universe, is cool contraptions and wacky levers. It’s a very, very tactile universe. So I do think there is something nice about having it like this, with a chunky, rotating lever in the back.”
For fans wanting to motorise the waterfall on their own, the placement of the knob on the back of the model does allow for an easy adaptation. But there is an undeniable charm to cranking the waterfall by hand and immersing yourself in the world of LEGO Willy Wonka.
Learn more about the design of LEGO Ideas sests – like how 21357 Disney Pixar Luxo Jr. went from fan concept to official model, or the inspirations that encouraged the design of 21359 Italian Riviera.
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