Under the Sea: Motorizing the Ocean Floor

In September, I went to Skaerbaek and Billund with a few friends from France. The Skaerbaek Fan Weekend is the world’s biggest gathering of LEGO fans, and I was able to meet and admire the work of a number of creators. It was an opportunity for Quentin Biasotto to exhibit several creations that caused a sensation among the viewing public, and I took the opportunity to have a detailed chat with him and explore his seabed in depth.

You can see how special a MOC it is in this brief video. Its absolutely entrancing standing in front of it, see it move.

So let’s chat with the builder about this amazing view under the sea.

Meet Quentin

Sam: Hello Quentin! Welcome to BrickNerd! You're one of the pillars of Puissance Brick, so could you introduce yourself so we can get to know you better?

Quentin: Hello everyone! I fell in love with LEGO in 2014. I had visited several LEGO exhibitions, and the catalyst was the creation of the Puissance Brick association by two friends Sébastien (Briques Mag) and Jean-Marie, which is located 10 minutes from my home.

Since then, I've been working alongside them. I’ve been the secretary for several years, and I look after the logistics for the exhibitions we organise.

I was more of a collector, buying sets that I dreamed of as a child. I discovered the term “AFOL” on Facebook and shared photos of my sets. Then I joined a LUG, and that’s when I started making MOCs. As time went on, I became more and more involved in MOC building, admiring and being inspired by the creations I would see on social networks and the craze around LEGO at exhibitions.

Journey To The Depths

Sam: How did the seabed project come about?

Quentin: I made a MOC with Brazilian birds in 2022, a very colourful model. And I wanted to have a second animal MOC to present the two in exhibitions... and the idea of a reef with aquatic animals came up. The idea was to use of colour while adding movement to attract the public's eye during the exhibitions.

Sam: What is your creative process?

Quentin: I don't do sketches, I just jump in with the idea at the time. I started by making an initial MOC with six animals, followed by an expanded version with two other animals (the turtle and the crab).

My first step was to create bases that could be transported without major breakage, that could be assembled in one hour, and finally to provide a technical gallery to run the cables for the motors and lighting. The second stage was to create the ‘skeletons’ for the movements of the different animals, motorise them, and ‘dress’ them in bricks to make them look more realistic.

Flora

Sam: Were you inspired by existing plants to create the lush wallpaper for your diorama?

Quentin: I took my inspiration mainly from tropical corals, the idea being to cover the ground with different plants in beautiful fluorescent colours.

The idea was to create beds with a repetition of the same plants.

Sam: There are a number of NPUs (Nice Part Usage) for plants, so did you enjoy hijacking the parts?

Quentin: In fact, that's what’s so interesting about building plants: the way you use the parts. To begin with, I looked through my stock of brightly coloured parts and found enough to make several similar plants.

To make the corals, rather than using ready-made pieces from LEGO, I used SNOT bricks 1x1 with 4 studs, part 4733 and plates 1x1 with U clip, part 4085.

I also made plants using bananas (part 33085), eggshells (ref. 39262) and globes (part 51283).

Fauna

Sam: How did you choose the species in this sea? Did you try to be consistent with reality?

Quentin: In the first version, there was a clown fish (Nemo), a surgeon fish (Dorie), a moray eel, a tiger ray, an octopus, and yellow fish.

In the second version, I added a crab and a turtle. My aim was to have animals that would be easily identifiable by the public, while also trying to achieve a ‘tropical’ consistency in the species and colours selected.

View fullsize
View fullsize

Mechanisms of Movement

Sam: How many mechanised elements are there in your diorama?

Quentin: Each animal is motorised, so there are eight motorisations in total. Each movement has its own motor.

Sam: All these engines are relatively complex. How did you go about developing them?

Quentin: I used an existing movement that LEGO has made for the fish in LEGO Forma sets. I used it for the surgeon fish, which is very realistic.

For the rest, I started from my LEGO Technic bulk and carried out tests to obtain a credible movement. Some are very simple, like the octopus and the clownfish. Some are more elaborate, like the yellow fish, the turtle, or the moray eel.

A Gift for BrickNerd Readers: Free GBC Instructions

Sam: You regularly produce tutorials for the French magazine Briques Mag. Tell us about your favourite tutorial.

Quentin: I do have some favourite tutorials, but if I have to choose, I’m going to say the GBC that I made for Briques Mag N°15. I did a lot of testing to get something that worked, and I put it on display from time to time with a motor. It’s a mini GBC that catches the eye—it’s quite hypnotic!

Sam: And just for BrickNerd readers, Briques Mag has offered to share the instructions for the GBC model. Enjoy!

Future Projects

Sam: I'm really pleased to have been able to interview you on BrickNerd, thank you! I can't wait to discover your next diorama—could you give us a hint about this one?

Quentin: My next diorama is under development and will be a Gaelic village resisting the invaders... (Sam: Wow!) I’ve already made the first version several years ago. This time, the aim is to have motorised animations on it and improve the assembly time of the MOC on display, just like the seabed.

Sam: Thank you for yout time, Quentin! And good luck with your continued building.

Quentin: Thank you, Sam, for this interview, and thank to BrickNerd! Please don’t hesitate to follow me on various networks.

What kind of diorama would yo uwant to see him build and motorise next? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Do you want to help BrickNerd continue publishing articles like this one? Become a top patron like Marc & Liz Puleo, Paige Mueller, Rob Klingberg from Brickstuff, John & Joshua Hanlon from Beyond the Brick, Megan Lum, Andy Price, Lukas Kurth from StoneWars, Wayne Tyler, LeAnna Taylor, Monica Innis, Dan Church, Roxanne Baxter, and Steven Laughlin to show your support, get early access, exclusive swag and more.