After I received word that I had been lucky enough to be selected to be part of the 21/22 season at Casey, one of the first questions I asked myself was, what am I going to do with my spare time?
The usual answers soon came to the forefront: books, movies/TV, puzzles and the good old sit around and have a yarn. After some time getting to know some of the aviation crew, I began to ask some of the more experienced operators what their thoughts were.
The answers I received were varied. Some said they like to take down wood and complete projects, like furniture and such. One of the crew even mentioned someone brought an engine down to rebuild – I raised an eyebrow to this one, I must admit. As in life, everyone has their own take on things, and I was still left wondering what to take.
After some time I came to a decision to go with something which had been around since I was a small boy: LEGO!
I was very surprised with the amount and varying types of sets available. Of course I went with one of the sets which struck a chord with me straight away. Being in the earth moving game, I chose the Liebherr shovel. A big mining digger, for those not in the know. 4500 pieces and remote control, you couldn’t ask for more. Packed it all up, consigned it to be sent down south and before long it was on its way to Wilkins and then Casey.
After completing the summer season at Wilkins Aerodrome, I have 'relocated' to Casey station for the winter. After a few weeks settling in, I thought to myself I may as well make a start on my own project. Wasn’t too long and I caught wind of others who were also spending some time constructing LEGO sets. I thought to myself, “Great minds think alike”. Didn’t take much convincing for the others to come forward and let me know what they also were constructing.
At the time of writing this, the list comprises of one shovel digger, two Cat dozers, one space shuttle and the largest set, an Imperial Star Destroyer which four of the lads paid together to get. These are just the ones I know of.
I was lucky enough to get hold of another set of plans to build a Quadtrac tractor, the same as the two at Wilkins and the one at Casey. Will start this one during the next blizz day(s).
It was rewarding to find a long-lost connection during my time here in Antarctica. Who would have thought this was to be LEGO.
Keep safe all
Cheers,
Michael Wood
