Some adult fans of LEGO finish a creation, move on to the next, and never look back. Others return to a favorite build again and again over many years, updating parts or expanding scope. Keiichi Kamei falls into the second group. For this former LEGO Master Japan and Sakura LUG member, a love of LEGO is matched, or even surpassed, by a deep appreciation for the classic sci-fi film Blade Runner. Those entwined passions have kept “KABA” expanding and upgrading his vision of 2019 Los Angeles for a decade. His creations were previously featured in Brick Journal and on this site, but when KABA shared new pieces of his Blade Runner tribute, we thought this would be the perfect time to catch up and get to know the builder better.

The Brothers Brick: When did you first start recreating vehicles and scenes from Blade Runner in LEGO? Were you building things like this since you were a child, or did you start as an adult? Did you experience a “dark age” when you stopped building?

Keeichi Kamei (KABA): When I was a child, of course, I played with LEGO, but it was just one of several games for me at that time. LEGO became “my hobby” in 2012, when I was 49 years old.
Originally, my oldest son was a LEGO enthusiast, and as a parent, we built sets together. When he started college and stopped playing with Legos, he told me that “I give all the parts to you Dad,” and I decided to build the Police Spinner from my favorite sci-fi movie Blade Runner. A few years after I started building the LEGO Police Spinner, I finally completed the MOC with a satisfactory result. I wanted a backdrop for my MOC photos, so I started working on buildings and other vehicles that appeared in “Blade Runner. It kept expanding, and a few years later it became what it is today, a diorama that recreates the city that appears in Blade Runner using LEGO. By that time, I was totally hooked on LEGO.

TBB: It is clear that Blade Runner is a very special film for you. Can you talk about how you discovered the film and why it resonates with you?

KABA: I have loved science fiction content since I was a child. Japan had Godzilla and Ultraman, and the Thunderbirds were on the air. When I was a student, I was passionate about Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Wars. Blade Runner was released when I was in college. I went to see it in the theater because it was a sci-fi movie by the director of Alien. I was more fascinated by the stunning visuals than by the story. For our generation, Syd Mead is the master. I also got the video tape and watched it every night.

TBB: Can you speak about your involvement with the Police Spinner Restore project? What was your involvement and what was the outcome of the restoration effort? (I know this was a few years ago, but I haven’t found much information in English)

KABA: Let me start by explaining how I joined the Police Spinner Restore project. The initial impetus came from meeting a core Blade Runner fan who introduced me to the organiser. Through his introduction, I displayed my Lego diorama along with the famous prop guns, TOMENOSUKE BLASTER and 1/6 scale models of VIDPHON, in the lobby of a movie theater outside of Tokyo for a revival screening of Blade Runner in March 2018. This display was highly appreciated by the project members and I joined the Police Spinner Restoration Project.

The members of the project came from a variety of professions, including a video director, the president of a game app maker, a university teacher, an editor, a prop maker, a metal engraver, an actor, and a company employee like myself, but they all loved Blade Runner more than anyone else. Each person attempted to raise funds through crowdfunding while utilizing their own skills.
The restoration work itself was led by a professional model builder Godzilla Murao, and under the supervision of Gene Winfield (who passed away in March of this year), a renowned custom car maker who built a police spinner for the filming of Blade Runner, the first stage of the project was to “restore the car to its original state at the time of filming. That was almost completed and an unveiling was held in Tokyo in November 2019.

The owner told me that the Police Spinner is currently stored in a garage at a certain location and is being prepared for the second phase, “the complex to a complete state that also incorporates the interior”.

TBB: What was it like to meet some of the crew from Blade Runner as well as Sean Young? How did they respond to seeing their work so lovingly recreated in LEGO?

KABA: The Police Spinner Restore project was originally scheduled to have Mr. Rutger Hauer come to Japan for the unveiling, but he passed away suddenly. Ms. Sean Young came to Japan. It was her first visit to Japan. I also displayed my Lego diorama at the unveiling. So Ms. Sean saw it and complimented me on how cute and wonderful it was.

After the event, I posted the photos on a Facebook group related to Blade Runner and received a very big response. Among them was Tom Southwell, a film crew member and graphic designer, who was impressed with the diorama.

TBB: I see your works were showcased again recently at a movie theater in Tokyo. How did that opportunity happen? How was the work received by moviegoers?

KABA: When I heard that “Blade Runner” and “2049” would be screened at a famous movie theater in Tokyo in January of this year, I proposed to the theater to exhibit a LEGO diorama, and it was realized. The exhibit was so well received by visitors that when Blade Runner and 2049 were screened again in May, the cinema staff asked me to exhibit the MOCs.

It is a great pleasure to have Blade Runner lovers watch my creations and interact with them.
For example, comments such as “Four Harley Krishnas,” “There’s an ostrich,” “It’s an ATARI sign!” or “There’s neon lights in the basement!” are just a few of the comments that show that they understand my attention to detail, and they pay attention to the details that I have recreated.

TBB: What do you use as references for your builds? Just the films, or do you reference Syd Mead’s concept art, for example?

KABA: I mainly use movies and photos as references in my builds. To build my dioramas, I also use Google Earth street view to check out Warner’s open sets. I love Syd Mead’s concept art, but it doesn’t directly reflect much in the MOC.

TBB: You’ve created several elaborate dioramas from the film. What scene that you haven’t created would you most like to see in LEGO?

KABA: I am planning on doing the Ridleyville expansion and lighting up some of the buildings for the time being. As for complete new work, Deckard’s Room and Tyrell Corp’s parlor are on the list to be produced. However, I will not be working on them for the time being.

TBB: 
I see that you recently updated your model of the White Dragon sushi restaurant, and you’ve created several versions of the spinner. How has your approach to building changed over time? When do you decide it’s time to revisit a past build?

KABA: Whenever LEGO comes out with new parts, especially curved slopes and wedges, I consider updating MOCs. I am also working on lighting up MOCs as LED lights have become more readily available over the past few years.

I think that the Police Spinner and White Dragon are very attractive when lit up, as they more closely resemble scenes from the movie. However, it is extremely difficult to light them up without cutting or modifying the parts.

For the Police Spinner Takeoff, a 1.6mm x 0.8mm microchip LED light and an ultra-thin cable were used to light the patrol lights and other lights, allowing 38 lights to be incorporated simply by tucking them in without cutting the parts (the gaps are very small). The bundle of cables runs from the right rear tire area through the smoke gap and under the base. Other LED lights in this MOC diorama are used for the VID PHON, lanterns and bonfires, for a total of 53 lights.

TBB: Your latest diorama of the Los Angeles skyline at night is very striking with the use of lighting. How has working with lighting changed your approach to building?

KABA: One of the most fascinating urban landscapes in Blade Runner is a large billboard commercial on the wall of a building. This MOC had been envisioned for some time, and the billboard portion is pixel art made primarily of transparent plates. This is my first pixel art. It is 22 studs wide, 75 plates high, and over 1000 pieces.

I drew it in the image of the Kimono Girl from LEGO Collectible Minifigure Series 4. Of course, I included the “Strong Wakamoto” logo. I recently acquired a handy LED trace board, so I incorporated it into the interior of the building and used it as a backlight for signage. I partially used tiles (since tiles don’t have STUD) instead of plates so that the “STRONG WAKAMOTO” logo and the lines of the minifig’s eyes and mouth look clear.

Lighting up is very attractive because it makes the MOC stand out beautifully. For example, I feel that the more I build the interior of a building, the more I want to light it up. As LED lights have become inexpensive to obtain, more and more builders in Japan are lighting up their MOCs, and at a LEGO MOC exhibition I was involved in, I even temporarily turned off the lights and enjoyed the illuminated LEGO creations.

TBB:  What has been the most challenging aspect of Blade Runner to capture in LEGO?

KABA: There are three individual challenges in the Blade Runner LEGO MOC.
One is the large number of Asian characters. This was a challenge because suitable minifig heads, torsos, chopsticks, rice bowls, and other props had not been available in the past. This has fortunately been largely resolved with the launch of the NINJAGO series.

The second is neon signs and billboards. In Blade Runner, there are many neon signs and billboards, just like the scenery often seen in Asian cities. I tried to reproduce these as much as possible in LEGO. Of course, I used stickers for the ones that are really difficult, but this is still a challenge.

Third is the lighting. Blade Runner is all about night scenes, so I really needed to light up the scene to create that atmosphere. The Police Spinner is especially attractive with its many police lights and other lights glowing and flashing. I wanted to make the lights glow without cutting or drilling any parts, so I utilized microchip LED lights, as mentioned above.

TBB: I love your little vignette of Roy Batty and the microscale spinner in a bottle. What was the inspiration for that miniature tribute?

KABA: Glad you like it. This is called a “hanging LEGO” (“Burasage LEGO” in Japanese) and is the invention of a Japanese AFOL PANNYA @05_pannya. In Japan, it was popular among some builders to put a small LEGO vignette in a plastic bottle and use it as interior decoration or hang it on a bag. I built two, one based on Blade Runner and the other on my LEGO Masters entry, respectively.

The Blade Runner vignette featured a micro-build of the signature building and police spinner, with a minifig of Roy Batty with his symbolic dove, recreating the famous “Tears in the Rain” line, as his tribute. I took them with me to the concert and to LEGOLAND.

TBB: Blade Runner has been released in several cuts over the years. Is there a version of the film that is your favorite?

KABA:  I like the first version released (with Deckard’s narration), but my favorite is Finalcut’s IMAX version. The sound is fantastic. And I also love Funedit’s “the ultimate workprint” by a friend of mine, which portrays Gaff’s shrewdness.

TBB: What are your thoughts on Blade Runner 2049? Have you ever tried building vehicles or dioramas from that film? Is it something you want to try?

KABA: I also like “2049”…no MOC yet, but I’d like to make the K spinner or something like that.
On a side note, I love Arrival most of Villeneuve’s films.

TBB: If LEGO was to release an official set based on Blade Runner, what would you wish for? A minifig-scale Spinner? Or perhaps a scaled-up version like the Star Wars UCS models? Or something else entirely?

KABA:  If I dare to hope for a commercial set, it would be a minifig size police spinner.
Because I would love to see them make the parts that have not yet appeared in blue.
I would buy it and upgrade my MOC, although I am sure I would not be satisfied with the official set.
BTW, it looks like BLADE RUNNER is a non-postable IP on LEGO IDEA, and so is AKIRA.

TBB: Thank you very much for your time and for sharing your passion for LEGO and Blade Runner.

KABA: Thank you very much. You have helped me to organize my own thoughts.