LEGO fandom is global and here at The Brothers Brick, we strive to feature creators from every corner of the world. Access to bricks and local support isn’t evenly distributed, though, as the recent changes to Bricklink’s service reminded us all. For Mexican builder Zazil Yakín Xipé, who shares LEGO creations as @tenkyuu.mocs, not amassing a huge collection of bricks hasn’t stopped her from creating a string of impressive and innovative mechs. Today we’re excited to share an interview between Tenkyuu and Zakar.ion that covers LEGO-inspired fashions, Exo-Force, and that one time a worker at a Mexican LEGO factory went rogue and made black market Vaders with the official molds!
Zakar.ion: Hello my friend, I hope you’re doing well. Let’s start with a bit of background about yourself? And, most importantly, where does your passion for Lego stem from?
Tenkyuu: Hi! First of all, thanks for having me on TBB, such a great honor!
My name is Zazil Yakín Xipé, which, despite being a trans person, is my birth name (except for Zazil). I’m Mexican, and I’m 30 years old. I’d say I’m a part-time artist. I make music under the name Sister Sorrow, which is the same name of the first MOC of mine that TBB featured last year! Haha
My passion for Lego comes from a very early age. LEGO wasn’t a big thing here in Mexico like 20-some years ago, but I remember the first huge sets we had at Walmart were Bionicle and LEGO star wars. Since then I always used the pieces to make my own stuff and growing up I left the bricks aside for a couple years until I was 19 and found the Mexico RLUG and jointed them. We’re still together!
Z: How long ago did you start your moc page and how did you feel when TBB reposted your work for the first time?
T: I think it was around 3 years ago (?) can’t remember exactly. There are times where I don’t post anything in months. But I try to keep it up.
And gosh, the TBB feature, it felt amazing. Ever since I returned to LEGO eleven years ago, I came across TBB and I saw those amazing and very detailed MOCs in all shapes and sizes, and I always wanted to be featured. But didn’t feel like I had the talent back then, so when it happened, it was really flattering. And now, being interviewed feels way more amazing.
Z: I’m glad i can be the one to interview you. I remember when i started my page almost 2 years ago, and i found your account i was really impressed by your work. You were one of the first one to follow me too, and we’ve grown to be friends ever since. You were one of the persons that helped me define what style i wanted to have in my creations.
T: Thanks my friend. I’m glad to see how far have you succeeded with your account. You really deserve to be where you are today, I’m really flattered and I look up to you a lot!
And you’re one of the best online friends I ever had. That’s what I love about the international online LEGO community.
Z: How is the music side going, do you have anything coming out soon? What genre are you into and what are your goals for the band?
T: It has been a unstable year regarding music. I released my first EP, but having a band is complicated; It took us 8 months to have 4 songs completed, it was a bit overwhelming. I’m the only one composing the music, lyrics, producing, vocals and pretty much everything. My wife is a very talented instrumentalist and she makes the bass arrangements and plays the drums live. I’m aiming to release a new single this January. The band disbanded, so I’m going to focus the project solely on social medias for the moment. The goal is to get the music out there, if it takes me to another places and people I’ll be glad.
Z: I’m sure you’ll be able to release your single even with all the hurdles. I hope you find ways to make the whole process smoother so you can create more easily. Being able to make music is one neat thing.
T: Thanks! I hope so. I’m also tempted to merge once in a while my LEGO stuff and my music stuff. Like some music video or more single covers featuring some MOCs. After all, that’s what I do aside being a seamstress.
Z: I’ve seen quite a few of your creations, you do great work as a seamstress. How have things been going on this side?
T: Thanks! Well it’s going fine, not excellent but not bad. I have to make more effort on the social media side to get more sales. But I’d say I’m very confident of what I do. But being on camera to make content is my true weakness.
Back in the day I tried to make a series of mech pilot jackets, combining a mech MOC and a real life jacket inspired in the MOC I made. Maybe I’ll make it again this coming year.
Z: I really liked that series, the results of those combos was great. It’s a fun way to combine both medias. I hope you make more.
T: Yes! Sure thing I’ll do. I just have to have time and a better workstation. Since I make all garments one by one, it takes a long time to finish things between commissions and my own sewing projects. But commissions are the ones that pay the rent, so I haven’t had the chance. But sure thing It’ll happen soon.
Z: How did you come across the RLUG if you took a break from brick building? Does being part of the group have an impact on how you build today?
T: I remember I got myself an Nexo knights set. It was set 70313, Moltor’s Lava Smasher, from the first wave. I was curious to see if there were some other people building stuff and I went to search Lego Facebook groups in Mexico city. Most of them are selling groups, until I found Mexico RLUG.
And I’d say it has been really great having friends that are into building and collecting LEGO. I’m more into the making MOC stuff than the collecting sets and minifigs side of the hobby, but all of them are incredible.
My friend Luis (@bricksofcolin) makes really amazing cyberpunk cities and has is own lore about a regime and the rebellion against it. It’s pretty neat.
Z: Is there a big scene for LEGO creations in Mexico? Where do you usually get your bricks from?
T: Not really. There are very few lugs in Mexico, and in the Mexican LEGO groups, everyone is just bragging about having the biggest set the earliest. It’s very common to see people in the hobby in Mexico. Not many people build MOCS and that’s disappointing.
LEGO has a production plant in the state of Monterrey. A few years ago, some employees there used the moulds to make unofficial Darth Vader figures in some crazy colors. Unofficial but original, funny enough isn’t it?
And I try to get my pieces from some Amazon discounts and offers, or going to the “rock show” which is a toy tianguis (a street market on Saturdays) in the search of spare pieces. There has been an increase in sales of sets with crushed boxes in market place, costing around 30% less. Even with that discount, it’s still very close to the real price in dollars, since we Mexicans pay around 25% more per set than the official prices. It’s insane! So I don’t get to have new sets or pieces very often.
Z: I guess you were pretty happy when you found the RLUG, being able to share this interest with some other AFOLS. It’s sad that even if you have a factory right there, access to lego bricks seems to be difficult. At least you are able to get some pieces here and there to fuel your creativity. Plus with prices going up, it must be hard to keep up sometimes.
T: I know! The reselling is insane as well. Not long ago, some unofficial stores opened and it’s being said that they operate under the Union Tepito, which is one the most prominent criminal groups in Mexico city. They have business in everything you can imagine, but I didn’t think it would expand to LEGO.
Z: Lego cartel seems like a weird concept but i guess it make sense since there’s demand for it.
Z: What about your building process, what inspires you, what do you like to build the most?
T: Gosh, it’s hard to say. Over the years I’ve changed from inspiration to another. At first I really wanted to make some huge mechs, all Japanese inspired. Exoforce was my favorite theme when I was young and sadly I lost almost all my Exo pieces. That’s why I liked Nexo Knights, it kinda reminded me to Exo Force. And I went from making mechs to making Iron-Man suits, concept characters, high fantasy, etc.
Sometimes it takes a piece, a colour scheme, a concept, or looking at the feed and looking at what other builders are doing and letting myself be amazed by them. You have inspired me very often, my friend.
Z: i’m glad i can inspire you, but you inspired me too! I’ve used your frames quite a few times. I remember the blossom scraper collab we did from a while back, where i built from your feedback. The result was and still is one of my favorite creations to date, but i do wish to revisit it soon.
Z: What are some of your goals for 2026, creation-wise. Do you have anything cooking currently, big projects down the line?
T: I’d like to expand the high fantasy era of my creations. There are some figs I haven’t been able to catch. But I hope in time I’ll get them and use them as I’ve imagined already. I’ve developed a new smaller frame and I’ll try to make the best out of it! And I’d like to make things like vehicles, something I find very challenging to be honest.
Z: I do feel stuck making figures sometimes, i would like to try making vehicles also but i always end up coming back to character design.
T: Haha same here. Making characters has something that really makes me feel satisfied. I’m always trying to make everything as articulated as possible, since I keep playing with my mocs and making explosion noises and all that. It also helps me to stay inspired. Maybe we should look out for a job where we can make character design using LEGO.
Z: Well that would be a dream job, but that seems like a dream too. Do you have anybody you want to shout out before we wrap this up? Other people from the community that really inspire you or even outside of the legogram.
T: Yes! My wife, my mom, my dog, my brother, and my dad, haha. And the Mexico RLUG gang, my friend and fellow colleague in sewing Mica who helped a lot when I was beginning. My friend Docksini which always helps us me and my wife when it comes to computer stuff and music production advices (and we met through him).
And a band called Misophone, two guys from UK, very talented people who had me featured in their last album “A floodplain mind”.
Z: Misophone is very good, don’t sleep on it.
T: And if anybody is interested, you can check out my music project (@hermanastristes) I’ll be releasing some music in January and there will be some songs in English and Catalan, despite my accent. I really believe that having an accent tells a lot about where you come from, who you are and your desire to communicate. So there’s nothing to be ashamed of.
And my sewing project (@s.o.evil) for commissions. I should be able to ship USA, Canada and Europe.
Oh, and I have a project on LEGO ideas, “The wandering Castle” if you want to cast a vote. That’s a lot of promotion haha!
And thanks a lot again to you my friend, to TBB, and to all the cool people I’ve met so far online. Keep building and making MOCs!
Z: Thanks for your time my friend it was nice talking, now i have to use that new frame of yours, so people, keep an eye open for a new collab soon ;)