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West Neighborhoods

 
 


Lego Likeness
 
Model builder labors 160 hours
to create a replica of PNC Park

 



 
Wednesday, November 15, 2000

By Bob Podurgiel

Jason Burik has created his own field of dreams - an exact replica of PNC Park, which he constructed out of 3,600 Lego blocks.  His model is so exact, he has even included ads for local companies on his model scoreboard and if you were a fan 1/400th of your actual size, you could fit into seats that are painted the exact shade of blue that will be used in the new ballpark.

The Robinson resident said it took him 160 hours to construct his replica of PNC Park, and he built it to a scale of 1-to-400, so that one foot in his model is equivalent to 400 feet in the ballpark.  "It was a real challenge to build this model because of the many arches and rotunda that were part of the ballpark's design," Burik said.

He said he was able to create the arches and curved surfaces in the new ballpark by slightly changing the angle of each block as he placed it in the model.

Another problem complicating his effort was the fact that he didn't have a finished structure to copy since the park is still under construction.  He said he solved the problem by using pictures from the Pirates Web site of what the completed ballpark would look like.  He also went to the construction site on the North Side and snapped his own photographs.

Burik goes to great lengths to get his Lego models exactly right.  He said he even knocked on the door of the HOK Sports trailer at the construction site of PNC Park - HOK is the company that designed the park - and asked them what color they were using for the seats.

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