HOPE castle designer and builder Reed Yaeger.
Reed Yaeger, originally from Madison, WI, has been in Denver since 1999. I came out of the "Dark Ages" in 2007 when I began buying LEGO both for myself and good friend John Stephenson in Madison. I joined the Colorado Wyoming LEGO Users Group (COWLUG) in 2008 where I was displaying early MOCs after getting back into building with LEGO. I founded the DENver LEGO Users Group (DENLUG) in 2012 to try to expand membership in the southern part of the DENVER metro area. In 2012 I made my first trip to Brickworld Chicago and got the bug for going to the big LEGO cons. First idea of making a castle came after seeing the Campbell brothers castle display in 2012. In 2013 with my sister Keely fighting Breast cancer I changed my earliest design of HOPE castle into something I could get ready for Brickworld that year. The keep at 4 levels is where HOPE castle began. The rest is history and displayed on the following pages.
I was an employee of LEGO as I joined the LEGO Brand Retail team as a Brick Specialist on 9/9/2009 after I was recruited to join the team at Colorado Mills, and was let go at the end of December 2017. I had been shopping at the store on average 3-4 times a week on my trips back from Boulder Colorado where I was doing Cable TV, Internet, and phone installs for ICS Communications. I am guessing the Assistant Manager Kevin Hinkle, Full Time Supervisor Robert Schuster, and Store Manager Eric Lumsden must have gotten together and suggested I apply and join the team since I spent so much time at the store anyway. I worked hard and was promoted to Full Time Supervisor on 2/10/2010 when Robert Schuster moved onto other opportunities. Upon learning of another store opening up, what would be Park Meadows, I grew interested in applying for the next step up which was the Assistant Store Manager position. I was promoted to Assistant Store Manager on 4/2011 and followed Eric Lumsden to the Park Meadows Store where I was until December 2017.
I continually inspire young builders to build whatever they can dream up in their imagination. The castle is unique in the sense that it uses transparent bricks and loads of Legends of Chima Ice Bears.
I have business cards finally to be handed out to admirers of HOPE castle at shows.
I was an employee of LEGO as I joined the LEGO Brand Retail team as a Brick Specialist on 9/9/2009 after I was recruited to join the team at Colorado Mills, and was let go at the end of December 2017. I had been shopping at the store on average 3-4 times a week on my trips back from Boulder Colorado where I was doing Cable TV, Internet, and phone installs for ICS Communications. I am guessing the Assistant Manager Kevin Hinkle, Full Time Supervisor Robert Schuster, and Store Manager Eric Lumsden must have gotten together and suggested I apply and join the team since I spent so much time at the store anyway. I worked hard and was promoted to Full Time Supervisor on 2/10/2010 when Robert Schuster moved onto other opportunities. Upon learning of another store opening up, what would be Park Meadows, I grew interested in applying for the next step up which was the Assistant Store Manager position. I was promoted to Assistant Store Manager on 4/2011 and followed Eric Lumsden to the Park Meadows Store where I was until December 2017.
I continually inspire young builders to build whatever they can dream up in their imagination. The castle is unique in the sense that it uses transparent bricks and loads of Legends of Chima Ice Bears.
I have business cards finally to be handed out to admirers of HOPE castle at shows.
WORLD OF LIGHTS - Yearly progression
2013 with just the 4 levels of the keep. In the color of pink for my Sister Keely Yaeger-Decker. The lights are Lifelites RGB units.
2014 with the 7 level keep and the first attempt of castle walls. I was under the shortest part of the Convention hall and the lights bounced off the ceiling. As one of the brightest MOCs during World of Lights at Brickworld it would be the last time(so far) that I have been under the low ceiling near the entrance. Still using the Lifelites RGB units this year.
2016 with a Red, White, and Blue coloring using rolls of LEDs this year. I estimate somewhere around 900-1200 LEDs in the castle this year. I also had HOPE mountain on the right side that cast a light show on the ceiling also. To date this has been the brightest HOPE castle so far. I enjoyed cranking "Everything is Awesome" at the start of the World of Lights.
Brickfair New England 2017. Had the new moat lit up. I haven't figured out how to light up the new keep and will be moving the old keep at Brickworld Chicago(Pictures to be posted in June).
Brickworld Chicago 2018 saw an addition to the display with a large TV behind the display to show a video I made of the people who inspired this massive castle. Even though they all lost their battle with cancer they are forever remembered with their initials on the roof of the clover shaped keep. I didn't take any pictures during world of lights but will add one when I can get one from another AFOL that might have taken a good picture. Thanks to Dalek Bricks for shooting awesome video of HOPE castle during world of lights. I was able to save a picture from his video for use here.