Building radars during daytime and LEGO in the spare time
Leonard Jegerås, traveling assembler at Saab, recently took part in the TV show LEGO Masters. Here he tells us how building LEGO helps him in his profession, and vice versa.
You were one of the participants in the show LEGO Masters on Swedish TV, how did it go?
“Better than expected. Me and Sarah, who was in my team, ended up in fourth place. I also had a really good time during the show and built things that I didn't even know I could, especially considering the time limit.”
How was it to be in the show?
“I had to go on leave from Saab for a full month so it took a lot of time, just shooting the show took 20 days. It was a bit unusual at first, having all the cameras around all the time, but as soon as we started building, I forgot about the cameras and focused on the LEGO. I'm really happy with how we performed under pressure.”
What do you do at Saab?
“I work as a traveling assembler, which means that I go to our customers and help them with repairs or maintenance of our products. Due to the pandemic, I've spend more time at Saab, assembling our products.”
When did you start building LEGO?
“I have older siblings who build LEGO so we always had it around at home when I grew up. It was easy to just pick up a few pieces and start building. It was a good way to use my creativity – kind of when someone who likes to draw picks up a notebook and a pen and starts sketching.
When I left home I stopped building LEGO, but during my parental leave for my first child, I had some extra time and bought a set of LEGO Technic. Then it escalated. You can buy used LEGO quite cheap and I missed out on many sets, during the years when I didn't build any LEGO.”
You build radars during daytime and LEGO on your spare time. Does building LEGO help you in your profession, and vice versa?
“Both things give me a feeling of satisfaction when I complete what I have been working on. I think that my interest in LEGO has helped me to think in 3D, seeing the object from different angles, and my work at Saab has given me a depth in technical thinking that I can use while building LEGO. I like to work with my hands and now that’s something I can do both at work and at home.
LEGO is a good way of exercising your creativity and it's easy to pick up a few pieces and just start building. LEGO is simple, there are no rules and we probably have enough rules as it is, with the pandemic. It also gets you in a good mood.”
Watch the episode when LEGO Masters visit Saab here (24 minutes into the program – registration needed).