LEGO MASTERS Australia Season 2 Episode 3: The exit interview

Brick Fanatics hears from the first pair of builders to be eliminated from LEGO MASTERS Australia Season 2

Annie and Runa’s fairytale ended in the latest episode of LEGO MASTERS Australia Season 2. Three builds into the contest, Ryan “Brickman” McNaught had to select one pair of builders to go home. After struggling with their recreation of a scene from The Little Mermaid, it was the end of Annie and Runa’s LEGO journey.

In this exclusive interview, Brick Fanatics finds out more about the duo’s experience building a turtle island, dragon cave and seaside castle as part of the intense LEGO contest.

What was the trickiest thing to adjust to when building competitively?

Annie: Time pressure. When building at home you have the ability to stop and think and review. Building on LEGO Masters is a whole different ball game. Every second counts so you have to commit and go with your instincts. 

Runa: The trickiest thing was having to come up with a plan quickly and then just stick to it for the whole time as the limited time frame means there is almost no room to go back if one idea is not working out. You’ve got to hit the ground running each time and have confidence in your ideas.

 Which was your favourite challenge?

Runa: I loved the twist in episode one, it was a good creative challenge to have to go back and look at what we’d already built and how we could adapt that into something new.

Annie: I think my favourite was the first challenge. Building a whole new world was a perfect way to commence our LEGO journeys and see how we could demonstrate our styles and skills. 

What was the toughest challenge for you?

Runa: The toughest challenge for me was trying to build the SNOT [studs not on top] turtle head in episode one! I had not built anything that big using SNOT techniques before and there are some tricks for getting it to look good. I didn’t have anything I could reference or look up during the build so I just had to try and figure it out on the spot. I learnt a lot through that process.

Annie: The toughest thing was not knowing the challenges in advance. I have a sneaky ability to predict future events, but my powers go blank when it comes to personal gain. 

Are there any particular stand-out moments that made you laugh?

Annie: Hamish on his scooter, the hat trick, Sharknado – and Hamish asking me to read his tea leaves.

Runa: Episode 2 – the shark moment. Everyone was laughing for ages at how incredible that moment was!

 What was the best thing about participating in LEGO MASTERS?

Runa: The whole experience was the best thing but I treasure the new friendships we have all made on this journey the most.

Annie: Making lifelong friends, watching their insane abilities and growth, playing with LEGO all day, eating awesome food, having the freedom to be creative without kids wanting to destroy everything immediately.

Did you learn anything new, about yourself or about LEGO creativity, through being a part of the show?

Annie: I learned that we’re better than we thought, and with even more practice, we’ll only get better. 

Runa: You don’t realise just how much you can achieve until you push yourself and that’s exactly what the LEGO MASTERS competition gives you.

The next episode of LEGO MASTERS airs on Nine at 7.00pm, April 26.

To continue to support the work of Brick Fanatics, please buy your LEGO sets from LEGO.com and Amazon using our affiliate links.

More LEGO MASTERS Australia coverage

Interview with host Hamish Blake
Interview with judge Ryan McNaught

Episode reviews
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4

Exit interviews
Episode 3
Episode 4

Meet the contestants
Summer and Iona
Jackson and Alex
Trent and Josh
Jay and Stani
Jennifer and Jodie
Tim and Danii
Andrew and Damian
Annie and Runa