Interview with designer Ryan Short (grasshoppersquadron)

In this series we want to introduce some of our designers by interviewing them. Today we will be talking with Ryan Short, also known as Grasshoppersquadron on instagram. Ryan is an expert in micro scale planes and designed almost all of the Battlin’ Bricks planes that you can find in our webshop.

Hi Ryan, thank you for doing this interview. I hope our customers and fans will like getting to know you a litle bit more. Let’s get started, could you please tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m a middle-aged father of two, commercial photographer by current trade, and flight instructor / pilot in Texas (USA). I’ve got an entrepreneurial and creative bent as well, and have had various hobbies related to my aviation interest since childhood. I got back into Lego as an AFOL of sorts about four years ago as my children reached an age that made me think I should dig up my old buckets of childhood Legos.

You say you got back into Legos. Does that mean you played as a kid with Lego to?

Yes, I did. My parents weren’t very wealthy, but they bought me a few small sets.

Can you remember what your first set was?

I’m not really sure which ones I was given first, but it was probably one of the following: 6611 Fire Chief’s Car, 6696 Exxon Fuel Tanker, 6621 Fire Truck, or 6021 Jousting Knights. I’ve still got most of those sets in some form of completion.

When it comes to sets that Lego releases, what is favorite theme they currently run?

The current Lego themes that I like best are the Architecture themes (I don’t have any!), Creator, and some of the City (Why is Wildlife Rescue Camp a City set, though!?) sets. I’m most likely to buy Lego on clearance, however, OR if there’s a colletible minifig that I like.

And from the past?

My favorite theme from the past is Castle, followed closely by Pirates and Model Team.

Except the Model Team the others can be seen as a kind of military theme, when did you start creating military models for yourself?

I build Lego military stuff back in the 1980s and 90s before it was “a thing.” I wish I had pictures of some of my earlier creations, but I do have some old scans of stuff I built as a teenager.

Why did you join the OmahaBricks team?

I wanted to be able to share the “Battlin’ Bricks” designs with more people.

Do you have a favorite Lego part you use for your designs?

Not really, although you might say that the 2421 3 bladed propeller is a bit of a favorite.

Dark Bluish Gray is clearly the most used Lego color in all our designs, but which other color do you like to use?

When there is a Dark Green option, that’s always a plus, but I also miss using the old primary blue color.

Which of your own designs in the OmahaBricks store are you the most proud?

It’s probably a toss-up between the He-115 and the Ju-52 from a design standpoint.

And finaly, can you give a little spoiler of one model you are going to release at OmahaBricks in the near future?

Pilots and ground crew need a place to sleep, and I eventually want to have an airfield diorama to display some of my planes.

Thanks Ryan for this interview. We look forward to seeing more of your work.
Next in line is Erwin.