This is the Apollo Motel! I knew from the start I wanted to capture the classic roadside motel, and I wanted to pin down a distinctive style: American Midcentury.

The model features two motel rooms and an office that come with tiled floors and full furnishings, as well as a red pickup truck and four minifigures to visit or work at the motel. The roofs of the two motel rooms and the top of the truck are removable for easy access, and the parking lot uses the current road system to easily connect to City layouts.

I've never really built with light aqua before! I thought it looked beautiful and appropriate with some dark turquoise pinstripes, and that defined the color scheme. I made sure to accent it with splashes of warmth using red and flame orange to keep the whole thing balanced. I also knew the signage was going to be a critical part of the look- something bombastic and flamboyant, using multiple lettering styles and geometric shapes. I tried many different designs and iterations before I landed on this combination of an arrow, stars, and diamonds.

I had the most fun creating all the "mini builds" all over this model, such as the furniture and vending machine. I wanted this build to be dense with details, so that there would be all kinds of fun elements to decorate with. My personal favorite is probably the dresser with the metal coffee pot on it.

My main area of focus when it comes to building LEGO models is vehicles, so I definitely wanted to include a fun one here. The truck is based on no specific or particular truck, but it combines general styling from various classic vehicles. It has some cool details like an interior with dark orange upholstery, a steering wheel, and a gear shifter; an opening bed; and a realistic gap between the cabin and bed bodywork.

I hope everybody enjoys building and exploring the Apollo Motel!