Growing up in Palmerston North, Oli and Charlie Mollard’s parents taught them that actions had consequences – and that arguing with each other meant nobody would win. And it was this “tough love” that helped the contestants take out the Lego Masters NZ trophy last week.
“Pretty much the only thing that we ever fought over when we were younger was Lego, specifically random bits like glow-in-the-dark bricks that we both wanted to use,” remembers Charlie, 19.
“Our parents would put the bricks on top of the fridge so neither of us could have them and that’s how we learned not to fight. We had our moments on the show, but we knew that if we start arguing and disagreeing, then it was just going to stuff things up and make them worse.”
They may not have seen eye to eye as kids, but they’re the best team now.
Wellington-based Oli, 21, who is non-binary, agrees, although they add that the show came with a lot of added pressure. “I’m not someone who deals well with stress, so I lashed out unnecessarily at Charlie a few times, but he knows it was all in the moment and there’s definitely no hard feelings.”
With their impressive builds, the students proved themselves to be a dynamic duo, taking out the final with a medieval movie scene, but Oli confesses, “I went a bit overboard. The dragon had two heads and three little baby dragons running around causing chaos, as well as our brave hero rescuing the sad prince. Robin [Sather, aka Brickmaster] was stressed about our build because he couldn’t see what was happening until the last minute, when we actually put it all together.”
Charlie points out that the winning dragon build was indicative of their skill sets. He’s doing a Bachelor of Engineering, while Oli is partway through a visual communication course that encompasses graphic design. It came naturally that Charlie would use his engineering expertise to build the structures and Oli would add all the finishing touches.
“One of the things I was personally really proud of is the complicated wing mechanism,” tells Charlie. “And the faces that Oli did for the dragons were just absolutely amazing. If you look at any of our builds, the moving parts would generally be built by me, but anything colourful or cool looking that captures your attention is what Oli would have done.”
As well as an impressive trophy, the pair each won a new Fiat car worth far more than their annual student incomes, plus a shared $25,000 voucher for The Warehouse. They agree that much of it will be spent on adding to the Lego collection at their family home in Palmerston North.
The Mollard family has always been interested in Lego – so much so that when dad Dave built the house, he designed a room that would be half brick pit and half rumpus. However, it’s now full of the blocks, which are slowly creeping into the rest of the house. Not that mum Michelle Hazeleger-Mollard minds – she also regularly builds Lego creations.
After spending several years working with street kids in India, the family also regularly opens their home to international visitors. Charlie says proudly, “At the moment, we’ve got Jani staying with us for six months. She’s 17 and in her final year of high school. But even before we were born, Mum and Dad had international students for a few months at a time. There have been around 12 in total.”
One particularly special student, Motuhia, who came from Tokelau six years ago to go to high school, has since been “adopted” by the family. Charlie adds, “She came into our wha¯nau and she’s just
been our sister ever since.”
Not being fanatical about Lego hasn’t been a stumbling block for Motuhia (far right) fitting into the family.
While many of the family’s overseas students have enjoyed playing with Lego, none have been as passionate as Charlie and Oli, who say their favourite build on Masters was the Kiwiana elimination challenge in episode three. Charlie tells, “That was an example of us really coming together with our different skill sets.”
Oli adds, “We knocked that one out of the park because we made an effort to include as many Kiwiana icons as we could. We built a kiwi and a sheep sitting on the beach eating fish ‘n’ chips. We captured the essence well and the build looked really cool. We had so much fun.”
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