The secret about overnight successes is that it takes years of hard work to get to that “overnight” success. Sakiya Watanabe, who builds under the handle n.a.b.e_mocs, does the work. In the six months since he started sharing his creations online, Sakiya’s MOCs have earned kudos on this site and from AFOLs and professional builders alike, even as the young builder studies Organic Chemisty at university. We sat down with Sakiya to learn about how he prepared for this “overnight success,” and what drives him as a builder.

TBB: Your work caught our attention from the very first MOC you shared, but you must have been building a lot before reaching that point. When did you first discover LEGO and what excited you about building?

Sakiya Watanabe: Thank you for giving me this opportunity. First of all, my parents gave me LEGO SpongeBob Krusty Krab set (3825) when I was around 6 years old. Also, at the time, I was obsessed with the Lord of the Rings, but LEGO didn’t sell Lord of the Rings sets yet, so instead, my parents often bought me sets of the LEGO Castle fantasy era. And I often reassembled them to create the world of Lord of the Rings. This may have been my first works.

TBB: It sounds like you were making your own creations from the start. When did you become aware of the creations of other builders?

SW: I got into LEGO Star Wars when I was about 9 years old, and started making my own creations(MOC) around that time. At the time, I was always watching speed builds of sets on YouTube, and I would create MOCs while referring to the techniques used in the sets. This is a picture when I was 10 years old.

TBB: I see that you were the Winner of the 1st Japan Student Lego Exhibition. Can you tell us a bit about the exhibition and how you came to participate? What was your winning contribution?

SW: On March 13-15, 2025, university LEGO clubs from all over Japan gathered in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, to hold a joint exhibition of their works. Representatives from each club exhibited their works for the competition, and thousands of visitors voted for their favorite works to determine the winner. I exhibited a bald eagle and won first place. The eagle’s dynamism and detail were popular with the participants. Next year, the exhibition is scheduled to be held in Tokyo!

TBB: As your interest in LEGO building grew, did you have friends that shared in your hobby? Was your family supportive of your building? Did you join any clubs or LUGs?

SW: I didn’t have any friends who shared my hobby until high school, but my environment changed dramatically after I entered university and joined the university LEGO club. It’s hard to believe, but I’m surrounded by Legoland Master Builders, The LEGO Masters Japan Season 2 winners, and DeRa, who is also familiar to TBB. We compete with each other to improve our skills, and we often play LEGO together. My family is supportive and encourages my LEGO activities. When I exhibited a large work at an exhibition in the past, my mother transported a large amount of LEGO in her car. Without the support of my family, I wouldn’t have been able to be so bold in my LEGO activities. I am currently a member of NULC (Nagoya University LEGO Club). NULC is one of the university Lego clubs in Japan, with about 50 members. Every year in June, we exhibit the works of the club members and myself at the school festival.

TBB: In November of last year, you created a new account focused just on builds with Bionicle elements and complex techniques. What motivated this new introduction?

SW: Originally, I was creating large-scale architectural works, but at one point I realized that anyone can do it if they have the money and time. I wanted to make a name for myself in the world of LEGO, and I wanted to build more by focusing on each and every LEGO part. So I decided to go back to my roots and start all over again, and debuted as n.a.b.e_mocs six months ago. It’s not interesting to just make works, and I want my works to have an identity, so I study ways of assembling and combinations of parts that no one has done before and incorporate them into my works. I particularly like to combine strange parts that are unfamiliar with usual parts, and I often use Galidor and Bionicle elements. I simply love the design of the parts in those series!

TBB: How did you become interested in character builds, “constraction” elements, and crazy integration of unusual parts? It’s a big change from your more straight-forward, if epic, earlier works.

SW: As mentioned above, before I debuted as n.a.b.e_mocs, I only created large-scale works and building works like Hogwarts Castle, but since these were basically just stacking blocks on top of each other, I got bored. One day, a friend (he is Legoland master model builder!) introduced me to Flickr, so I just made an account. There were many high-level works on Flickr, and works that use parts I’ve never seen before, which inspired me a lot, and made me want to create MOCs like that myself. You might be surprised, but actually, I was not familiar with BIONICLE or Galidor parts until then, and had never even touched them! I was fascinated by the combination of unusual parts. But just using strange parts is not interesting. I think it’s only interesting when I can convince that using strange parts is the best way to build. It’s mean right parts, right place. Recently, I’ve been casually using Galidor parts at the rear of Howl’s Moving Castle. Have you noticed?

TBB: The 2025 Bio-Cup just started. Do you plan to participate?

SW: I won’t be participating this year. Maybe I’ll participate next year.

TBB: I’m in awe of how quickly your skills have progressed. In just six months, you’ve been consistently sharing models with incredible skill and a deep catalog of strange pieces. What is your secret?

SW: Thank you. I am surprised that my building technique has improved more than I expected, but I think the crucial difference between me six months ago and now is my knowledge and my attitude towards Lego. First of all, regarding knowledge, since my debut as n.a.b.e_mocs, I have memorized almost all the parts on Bricklink. Until debuting as n.a.b.e_mocs, I only had Lego Creator, NINJAGO, Star Wars, and the castle series, so I didn’t know about parts so much. I was surprised when I first saw the BIONICLE and Galidor parts! Next, regarding my attitude towards LEGO, I started researching part combinations six months ago. Specifically, I looked at high-level works on Flickr, analyzed the techniques, and repeatedly thought up new ways to assemble them based on that. Other than that, I searched for interesting combinations with the parts I had, or looked up interesting parts on bricklink and thought about how to apply them in my head.

I am busy with research of organic chemistry at university from Monday to Friday, so all I can do is look at works on Flickr and think about the concept of the work in my head, so I actually make it into a shape on the weekend. The process of making works is as follows:

1. I try creating something by using the parts I have.
2. I order the parts I’m missing or the interesting parts I want to use from bricklink. (At this point, the project is already more or less complete in my head!)
3. Review the assembly method before they arrive at my house. 4. I actually build the MOC.

Since the project is already complete in my head after steps 1 to 3, step 4 is the shortest. By doing these steps simultaneously for multiple projects as shown in the diagram below, I can consistently create MOCs.

TBB: You told me you have “three building policies” – can you share what they are?

SW: Yes, I create my works based on these three policies: APE

1. Achieving harmony between usual parts and unusual parts
2. Pursuing of the best answers as expression
3. Exploration of new applications of parts

TBB: Are there any ways that your study of organic chemistry influences or inspires your building? Or has your pursuit of LEGO innovation influenced your approach to university studies? Do these worlds overlap, or do you keep them separate?

SW: Knowing previous research is essential when studying chemistry, and I think the same is true for LEGO. Learning previous builds leads to new ideas for NPU and CPU. From that perspective, these worlds overlap.

TBB: Who are some builders who have inspired you in your growth? Have you been able to meet and get feedback from any of the builders who inspired you?

SW: I was able to see a lot of high-level works on Flickr, but I was especially influenced by the MOCs of woomy world(Nathan Don) and Jayfa_mocs (Joss Ivanwood). Their use of parts, the design of their works, and the color schemes are absolutely amazing. I learned more about Nathan’s process on the his blog. I read everything on his blog!! When I shared Howl’s Moving Castle on Instagram, Jayfa_mocs said to me, “It’s an incredible build, you should be very proud,”. He also praised the technique of the face on Howl’s Castle, which made me very happy. Also, my LEGO friend, a builder named DeRa, has had a big influence on the way I approach Lego now. I often talk to DeRa online and play Lego, or go Lego shopping together.

TBB: What has been your most technically challenging build to date? Could you walk us through a difficult build challenge that you overcame?

SW: This may be unexpected, but it’s a build of a fish that looks like it’s about to be caught by a bald eagle. The most difficult thing was figuring out how to build the fish’s scales. I had originally planned to build it in a different way, but when I actually put it together, it looked awkward. So I came up with the idea of ​​wrapping the sail parts which appear in set 71042 LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean Silent Mary around a black Technic panel. The sail parts have many holes in them, and these holes looked just like fish scales.

TBB: What is the most unusual LEGO element that you’ve worked into a build? Do you have any parts reserved to try and work into future builds to flex that NPU (nice parts usage)?

SW: The Galidor parts (41563) used for the rear of Howl’s Moving Castle and the Lego Ninjago spinner discs used for the eyes. The other is T-Rex body parts from Lego Dino Attack for Ekimu moc. But my favorite element is sports hockey mask parts which I used for tiki totem. So far I’ve used a lot of Bionicle and Galidor parts, but I’d like to try my hand at scala, Clikits, and Znap in the future. Look forward to it!!

TBB: What’s a recent LEGO set that you’ve especially enjoyed for the techniques or parts? Do you have an all-time favorite set?

SW: I think the recent LEGO Creator animal series are all very well made. 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox and 31150 Wild Safari Animals are outstanding. Thanks Aaron Newman! I think Dreamzzz sets are interesting in terms of parts. Izzie’s hair part is my favorite part of the recent ones. My favorite of all time is Star Wars 75159 Death Star – UCS. This set is a reproduction of 10188, but my parents didn’t buy me 10188 because I was 6 years old when it was released. Luckily, when the 75159 set was released in 2016, my parents bought me for my birthday. It’s the set that I remember the most.

TBB: Do you think you’ll return to building castles and buildings again? Do you miss including minifigures in your builds?

SW: I’ll not return to creating castles like I used to but I’ll create them with more techniques and interesting parts. I still create MOCs that include minifigures!

TBB: Will you be displaying your models at any events this summer? Where might fans see your work?

SW: This summer, I will be participating in two exhibitions. I will be exhibiting my works at Nagoya University’s school festival from June 6th to June 8th. I will also be participating in JBF (Japan Brick Fest), the largest Lego exhibition in Asia, from July 5th to 6th.

TBB: What is your dream as a LEGO builder?

SW: My dream is to be selected for the lego house masterpiece gallery.

TBB: Do you have any advice for builders who aspire to be more creative in their building but might be intimidated or unsure of how to begin?

SW: I think it’s important to actually try out a wide variety of parts. If I find some unusual parts, I’ll buy them even if I’m not sure if I’ll use them much. For example, I recently bought a bunch of head parts for the Bionicle Barraki Ehlek just for fun, and I can create some unexpected mocs. Don’t fret, build just for fun!!

A big thanks to Sakiya Watanabe for taking the time to share about his building process and journey as a builder. You can read more of our thoughts on his spectacular builds in our Sakiya Watanabe archive.