LEGO model of Downtown Oneonta on display
Sep. 16—A model of Downtown Oneonta made out of LEGO blocks will be on display in the window of the Community Bank, N.A. until Sept. 26.
Kyle Hedlund said he spent several months putting LEGO pieces together to create a miniature replica of the Downtown area.
He said he always "loved all things LEGO," from when he and his brothers played with them when they were young kids. Then he built the LEGO boxed sets as a teen and young adult before he started his own creations.
He said he created a replica of Oneonta City Hall in February and friends asked him if he could create all of the buildings along Main Street. "I thought I'd try it," he said.
Hedlund said there are about 1,500 bricks in the design and it took about eight months to build, but a lot of that was waiting for special-ordered bricks to be delivered. In all, he said, it took 26 hours to build.
The design includes street lights, cars and trucks driving along Main Street, Mueller Plaza, the green spaces and the historic buildings. Details on the buildings also include awnings and windows.
"The clear window pieces," were the hardest LEGOs to get, he said. "They stopped shipping them from the U.S. and instead were shipping them from their headquarters in Denmark. Main Street has a ton of windows."
He said the flat bricks for the street and sidewalk were also hard to find.
"Also trying to fit all the details of the buildings on a small scale was tricky," he said.
Hedlund said putting the display together "brought back tons of memories," of growing up in Oneonta and walking along Main Street with his mother. Hedlund said he graduated from Unatego Central School and now lives in Sidney, but still spends a lot of time in Oneonta.
Hedlund owns KH Creations and creates jewelry, accessories, candy machines and other pieces out of LEGO bricks. "I really enjoy that with LEGOs, you can do anything," he said. "It's a lot of fun and there's almost no limit to what can be created."
He built the trophies for this year's Blend-A-Rama Basketball tournaments and said he works with clients to create what they want.
He will be one of the artists selling their artwork during the City of the Hills Festival on Saturday, Sept. 17. He said he was grateful for "Jamie at CANO for setting it up with Community Bank to let us use the display case until Sept. 26."
He said he intends to sell the display for $200 and will donate a portion of the sale to the Community Arts Network of Oneonta for its help in getting it displayed and for allowing him to be in the show.
Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.
