MADISON, Ala. (WHNT) — For nearly 20 years, Jay Nolte has been piecing together thousands of Lego bricks to make replica models of iconic treasures.
The 55-year-old has autism and lives at Madison at the Range, an assisted living facility off of County Line Road.
His love for the hobby began many years ago as a gift from his brother.
“I just said ‘Hey that looks really fascinating, I would like to have some’ so he gave me a couple sets on my birthday in 2006 and it started ever since,” Nolte said.
Ever since his love for Legos began, Nolte has built everything from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water to James Bond’s Aston Martin, but his favorite is a familiar robot from a galaxy far, far away.
“My R2, my R2-D2, he’s the one I’m really close to,” Nolte said.
He said the hobby is a creative outlet for him and that he works on his Legos on days that he feels like it and doesn’t on days that he doesn’t feel like it to avoid mistakes.
“When you do Legos, you have to be in the mood to work on them,” Nolte said. “It’s like in other relationships in life, you have to get a feeling to work on it.”
Madison at the Range recently decided to display Nolte’s models for all of his neighbors to see.
“It’s amazing what he does, his creativity and passion for what he’s doing it’s not only inspiring to residents here to continue their passions and their interests,” Madison at the Range’s Director of Lifestyles Leilani Santiago said. “It’s also inspiring families and our staff that come into the community.”
Nolte said having his collections shared with his community is very rewarding.
“I felt very vindicated, I’m very proud of my collection and I want people to come and see them,” Nolte said. “They might in themselves get the urge to do their own Lego sets.”
No Lego challenge is too big or too small for Nolte, he is currently working on a Lego Titanic.
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