The Hertford College Home Bursar, Dr Andrew Beaumont, has created representations of all the Oxford West and Abingdon candidates out of Lego.
Dr Beaumont, who has a doctorate in Modern History and describes himself on Twitter as “a benign Lego obsessive”, made the figures during his lunch break after getting campaign literature and thinking that all the candidates “looked a bit the same”.
The electoral candidates met their Lego counter-parts during a Radio Oxford constituency debate.
So far, the reaction has been positive. The incumbent MP, Conservative Nicola Blackwood, told Cherwell, “Although I’m not known for wearing a neck tie, Lego Nicola has a fabulous blonde mane – Dr Beaumont gets my vote for innovation and light relief in the middle of a very hard fought campaign.”
Mike Foster of the Socialist Party was equally impressed, saying, “The Lego figures have been one of the highlights of the campaign for me, and seeing the article on the BBC website gave me a good laugh. When we hear the election results hopefully none of the candidates will go to pieces as easily as their Lego counterpart can!”
Sally Copley, the Labour candidate, was also pleased with her likeness, telling Cherwell, “My kids were impressed when they heard about it, but less so when they saw it! I quite liked it though.”
The Lego MPs are the latest in a line of projects undertaken by Dr Beaumont. He has also recreated the famous Bridge of Sighs in Lego, which was featured as part of the College’s open day events for access and outreach. This was followed (due to popular demand) by the Hertford College Chapel.
Other interesting projects include homages to Harry Potter, the Rocky Horror picture show and “the life of Vladimir Putin”, as well as a “more inspirational” version of the criticised “Lego friends” range, which instead features representations of important contemporary female figures such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Maya Angelou.
Regarding the election mini figures, Dr Beaumont told Cherwell, “The election mini figures which you’ve seen have been really popular, but they were honestly made in about five minutes on my coffee break last week, and I had absolutely no idea people would like them so much.
Several of the candidates have asked to keep them as lucky mascots. I’m considering this.”
Dr Beaumont has also disclosed details of his next project: the front façade of Hertford College, which would be up to five feet long and contain around 20,000 bricks – hopefully ready in time for the University open days in July.
When asked who he’d be voting for, Dr Beaumont replied by saying, “I’m not telling you my voting plans, although I think my Twitter feed might give it away a bit.”
For more designs, Dr Beaumont has an impressive
Twitter feed displaying his most interesting projects.
