Edinburgh LEGO artist Warren Elsmore speaks on 10th anniversary of LEGO business

An Edinburgh man who creates LEGO sculptures for exhibitions worldwide has been reflecting on the last 10 years since he gave up his corporate job to pursue his number one passion.

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Warren Elsmore first started piecing together LEGO bricks when he was just a toddler and it has been his favourite pastime ever since.

But it wasn’t until he was in his 30s and flying down to London every week for work as an IT consultant that he decided he wanted to try and make the hobby his full time job.

Warren Elsmore at the West Dunbartonshire Council LEGO launch

“It was never something I’d planned when I was a kid or thought could happen,” he said. “I didn’t know what direction it would take either. I didn’t know if I’d be authoring books, building commissions or running exhibitions but as it turns out, I do all of them.”

Warren started his own business in 2012 which over the past decade has seen him create various touring exhibitions which go around the world. He and his team also design and create stunning structures for clients.

One of his favourites is the National Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street - a model which took the team three months to create.

A LEGO model of St Pancras in London

“That was a big project,” said the 46-year-old. “It’s still on display there which is really nice to see.”

A model of a DFDS ferry, built in 2016 for the company’s 200th anniversary, was another model which proved popular - with what was meant to be a three month showing turning into four years.

“We toured that one round Europe. It took off and went much further than we ever expected it to,” said Warren.

It’s not just making grand models with LEGO that Warren enjoys, but the freedom he says that comes with it.

“The main thing for me is that it’s completely open ended. There isn’t a limit to what we can build other than what you can imagine and how much LEGO you have,” he said. “There are no set rules, no rights or wrongs. You just build what comes to you and see how it comes out.

“That leads to amazing things that people build everyday. They go in one direction with it and do whatever they want.

“That’s why no one should worry about keeping pieces in the right sets or anything. If it mixes together, it just means that what was once a police station could be a castle next because the more pieces you have, the more you can create.”This year, Warren is celebrating 10 years in the LEGO business - a milestone he thinks would baffle his younger self.

“Younger me would be surprised that there’s even a job in LEGO, I think he’d be quite taken aback at the amount of LEGO we have to make models. We have about four or five million parts.

“I meet loads of kids doing this work as you can imagine and it’s nice saying to them that these jobs do exist. They may be niche but if you work hard and keep at it, it is possible.”