Ex-hairdresser swaps beauty career for ‘dream role’ as Lego builder and makes nutcracker to mark first Christmas in job

A Lego master model builder who left his job in the hair and beauty world after winning a competition has constructed an impressive one-metre tall moving nutcracker as he marks his first Christmas in his new “dream role” in the plastic brick business.

Jacob McPeake, 37, a master model builder at Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester – who lives in the city with his husband, Scott, 38, got into the hobby after attending an AFOL (Adult Fans of Lego) event with his partner in 2018.

The same year, Jacob ditched his job as a hair and make-up artist and became a member of the guest experience team at Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester, before being promoted to a master model builder in October 2023.

He did so by taking part in a Lego building competition with other applicants, to see who could build the most imaginative construction – Jacob wowed the hiring team by creating a piece which honoured the industrial revolution, as well as a spooky ghost.

Jacob has since built a huge nutcracker, which opens its mouth, and decorated the centre’s Miniland for Christmas, getting an “amazing reaction from visitors”.

“I can’t believe I landed my dream role, really,” he told PA Real Life.

“I love everything about it, especially being creative, it’s just amazing.

“I mean, I get to build things with Lego as a job – it’s brilliant.”

Jacob first got into Lego in 2018, after his husband introduced him to the hobby.

“My husband’s been a fan for a very long time, and we went to an AFOL (Adult Fans of Lego) group together, and we actually won the competition, and my interest just sparked from there,” Jacob explained.

“I found a really creative outlet with Lego because the possibilities are endless.”

The same year, Jacob left his job as a hair and make-up artist and began working at Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester, on the guest experience team.

He said: “It was incredibly nerve-wracking to change careers after 15 years.

“It wasn’t a decision I made lightly, but I was very ready for a new challenge to take me outside of my comfort zone.

“I thought that working at Legoland Discovery Centre would be something incredibly different, and although it was in some ways for me, such as finding a passion for working with children, it also made me realise that aside from being creative, it’s the making people feel good which I love, which translates into this role massively.”

But, when he saw the job advert for a master model builder in October 2023, he jumped at the chance.

“It appealed to me because of the ability to be creative,” he said.

“I mean, I loved my job on the guest experience team, but I am very passionate about Lego and I’m very passionate about working with children.

“I didn’t realise until I started this job, how much I enjoyed working with kids and seeing them thrive and seeing their creativity, their unique perspective and their way of thinking so the master model builder job was ideal – it sort of encompassed everything that I was interested in.”

Jacob described the hiring process: “They actually even refer to it as an audition and you take part in a competition called the brick factor.

“So initially, there was an online application that you had to do.

“And then there were about 20 people selected from the online application, which then went into the brick factor competition.

“We were all given a mixture of bricks and we had to build things based on three different themes, at around the size of an A4 piece of paper.”

For the first build, Jacob and his competitors were given 20 minutes to decorate a name badge with Lego.

As it was near Halloween at the time, Jacob opted to build a “mix between a boombox and a monster”.

The second round had a time limit of half an hour, and they had to follow the theme of spooky season – Jacob built a person wearing a white sheet, dressed as a ghost.

The last challenge involved building something to do with Manchester in 45 minutes, and Jacob constructed a building based on the industrial revolution, “instead of going with the typical landmarks like Old Trafford or a bee”.

When Jacob discovered he got the job he was overjoyed, especially because he could have a lot more involvement with Miniland – a model scene of the north of England with landmarks such as Coronation Street and Old Trafford.

He has decorated Miniland for Christmas, complete with reindeer, a flying Santa’s sleigh, wreaths on doors, and gingerbread men.

He explained what his role involves day-to-day: “You get to not only build things for Miniland, but there’s a lot of interaction with the guests as well.

“My office has a large window with a sign above it, saying ‘Ask the Master Model Builder’ so people come in and ask me things.

“I like getting involved and I like seeing what the kids build.

“So my day to day is very varied, and I take ownership of Miniland to make sure that it looks the best it can do for everybody that visits.”

Since starting his role, Jacob has also been able to build their latest Christmas instalment – a one metre nutcracker that moves.

He said: “I picked a nutcracker because they’re instantly recognisable as something festive, and I’ve always liked them, so that was my initial thought.

“I just threw myself into it – it took me about 16 hours which was relatively speedy, and I added a simple mechanism so it moves, it kind of works like a seesaw.”

On how he felt when his epic build was finished, he said: “It was definitely a huge sense of achievement and excitement.

“I wanted  to show it off and show the fact that it had a moving part – and I always enjoy that reaction from guests when they come and ask me about it.

“They’re always pleasantly surprised that the mouth moves – it gets an amazing reaction from visitors.”

In his spare time, Jacob has built around 15 of his own designed Lego constructions.

He said: “Now, I like to keep it at work more, but my favourite thing I’ve ever made at home is a replica of Pokemon Gigantamax Alcremie which to most people, looks like a cake.

“It took me hours and hours, and I even used graph paper to build it and map it all out.”

Looking to the future, Jacob said: “I can’t wait for all the exciting build opportunities the new year will bring.

“With all of the different events we have at Legoland Discovery Centre throughout the year, it really inspires me to come up with new ideas.”

To see the nutcracker and experience Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester’s Bricktacular Christmas event, book tickets via: LEGOlanddiscoverycentre.com/manchester/whats-inside/events/christmas-bricktacular/