From therapy to a new passion: Lego Star Wars superfan earns world record
An Edmonton man recently became the world record holder for the most Lego Star Wars sets. That journey started 23 years ago as a way to recover from surgery and has since become a new life passion.
Frederick Oliver holds the current Guinness World Records certification for the most interlocking plastic brick Lego Star Wars sets, with 858. The previous record holder had 789 sets.
That number only includes official sets designed by Lego. Oliver has more than 1,000 sets total, including some that are still in the box and custom-designed sets made by Lego and Star Wars superfans.
"I buy a lot of custom instructions off of different builders from around the world of sets that I like," Oliver explained.
A few years ago, Oliver had his collection appraised by an expert, who pegged its value around $150,000.
"It's expanded substantially since then," he added. "My entire collection is probably (worth) close to US$300,000."
'I LOVE DOING IT'
When asked how many hours he has put into assembling his Star Wars-themed sets, Oliver says he can't even begin to estimate.
"It's a lifetime really," he said. "It's taken up a lot of my time. A lot of leisure hours spent, but I love doing it."
While he grew up playing with different types of Lego, Oliver says he first decided to start collecting Lego Star Wars sets when he was 23. His first set was the original X-wing fighter.
Several different classes of Star Destroyers, some X-wings, and various Clone Wars ships from Frederick Oliver's collection (CTV News Edmonton/Nahreman Issa).
"Growing up, I had just watched the movies and loved them," Oliver said. "I remember listening to the records with my mother as a kid, going through the books. It was just great memories."
But building Lego represented more than just a passion for Oliver.
"I had an issue with one of my hands when I was younger," he said. "In 1999, I ended up having to have hand surgery. So it was recommended to me that I take up something that would help with my dexterity and my fine motor skills afterwards.
"So this was the choice I made to start building Lego sets and never stopped."
A Lego AT-ST set and two custom AT-ATs from Frederick Oliver's collection (CTV News Edmonton/Nahreman Issa).
'I JUST LIKED BUILDING THEM'
From the Imperial Shuttle, Slave I, Y-wings, B-wings, sand crawlers, Tie Fighters, podracers, two different Death Star sets, Oliver has it all. He also builds busts of Star Wars characters, including General Grievous, Yoda, and Darth Maul.
"Most people are blown away," he said. "Most people don't even know there's something like this in Edmonton."
Oliver even builds scenes from the movie, including a Death Star hanger complete with the Millenium Falcon. He also has a whole shelf dedicated to just Hoth-themed sets, with a battery-powered motorized AT-AT.
"I just liked building them, collecting them," Oliver added. "Every year, they (Lego) would have a new release, a line of sets. I would buy them. Some of them I would build, some of them I would put away."
Shelves containing some of Frederick Oliver's Lego Star Wars sets (CTV News Edmonton/Nahreman Issa).
Some of the Lego Star Wars sets that Frederick Oliver has still in their boxes (CTV News Edmonton/Nahreman Issa).
For him, smaller sets can take between three to four hours to build in one session, and larger scenes take a whole winter season.
To apply for the world record, Oliver said he had to submit a picture of every single set, create a spreadsheet inventory, and then make a video to confirm all the sets.
Two witnesses had to be present as well, including a person affiliated with Lego.
Frederick Oliver's Guinness World Record certificate (CTV News Edmonton/Nahreman Issa).
Three-and-a-half months later, in May this year, he got word he successfully became the new record holder.
"I'm going to hold the record for as long as I can," Oliver said with a smile. "Hopefully, it'll be a few decades before I have to give it up."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nahreman Issa
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police arrest Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
NDP house leader laments 'agents of chaos' in precarious Parliament
NDP House leader Peter Julian says there's more his party wants to do in Parliament before the next election, but if the current dysfunction continues it will become a factor in how they vote on a confidence measure.
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme
A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
Here's what the jury didn't hear in Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial
A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.
Youth pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of P.E.I. teen Tyson MacDonald
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
2 dead after fire rips through historic building in Old Montreal
At least two people are dead and others are injured after a fire ripped through a century-old building in Old Montreal early Friday morning, sources told Noovo Info.
Scientists looked at images from space to see how fast Antarctica is turning green. Here's what they found
Parts of icy Antarctica are turning green with plant life at an alarming rate as the region is gripped by extreme heat events, according to new research, sparking concerns about the changing landscape on this vast continent.
A French judge in a shocking rape case allows the public to see some of the video evidence
A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
Jury begins deliberations in Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial
The jury tasked with determining if Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard sexually assaulted a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago began deliberating Friday after nearly two weeks of testimony that saw the singer and his accuser give starkly different accounts of what happened.