When Miranda Maynard’s brother, Drew, got an Instagram message from the producers of “Lego Masters,” the siblings were skeptical.
“We all looked at it and we were like, ‘Is this real?’” Miranda Maynard recently told the Idaho State Journal. “He sent it to the family group chat and we were doing our amateur detective stuff, trying to figure out if it was real.”
The investigation didn’t take long.
Drew Maynard has been building with Legos since “practically birth,” Miranda Maynard told the Idaho State Journal. At 18, he already has an impressive collection of Lego creations under his belt — including a model of New York’s One World Trade Center that stands 77 inches tall. That creation, especially, stood out to the “Lego Masters” producers and earned the teenager a spot on the show’s third season, per the Idaho State Journal
Miranda Maynard — a 22-year-old BYU student who has been building with Legos since her early teens — completed the team. The siblings from Pocatello, Idaho, were the youngest contestants to compete on the show’s third season, which premiered Sept. 21 on Fox.
“I’m the youngest person that has been on the show,” Drew Maynard told the Idaho State Journal. “And so that was kind of intimidating because you want to show that young builders can still build really cool things.”
“It was a big deal to us being the youngest on the show,” Miranda Maynard added.
Here’s a look at how the siblings fared in their “Lego Masters” debut.
What happened on the ‘Lego Masters’ Season 3 premiere?
On “Lego Masters,” which is hosted by actor/comedian Will Arnett, 12 teams of Lego enthusiasts compete for a Lego Trophy and $100,000. During each week of the competition, Lego pros Amy Corbett and Jamie Berard judge the creations and make the elimination decisions.
For the Season 3 premiere, the teams were tasked with building a personalized spacecraft in under 13 hours. The contestants had to create a spacecraft that introduced them to the show’s judges and viewers. When completed, the entire model had to hang suspended by a single attachment on the Lego Space Station.
For their creation, the Maynards opted to create “The Bottle Rocket,” a soda bottle-shaped rocket filled with activities their family loves to do together — “the ultimate travel vehicle for our family,” the siblings said during the episode.
Astronaut Jessica Meir, host Will Arnett and contestants Drew and Miranda Maynard on the Season 3 premiere of “Lego Masters.”
Tom Griscom, Fox
Miranda Maynard said it represented their small-town life of grabbing a big soda, hopping in the car and going exploring. (At one point during the episode, the siblings discussed putting the soda shop name Fiiz on the rocket.)
As the siblings worked on their creation, they bantered with Arnett, who commented on their age and joked that they looked like they could be the leads in a teen drama. NASA astronaut Jessica Meir later made a surprise appearance and announced that the winning creation would be displayed at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
When the countdown reached the five-hour mark, the contestants got to video chat with NASA astronaut Thomas Marshburn, who was aboard the International Space Station.
In the final 10 seconds, the teams hurried to get their creations attached to their own space station.
And then it was time for the big reveal.
Drew and Miranda Maynard’s creation on the Season 3 premiere of “Lego Masters.”
Tom Griscom, Fox
Who won the Season 3 premiere of ‘Lego Masters’?
The winner of the Season 3 premiere episode was a team of firefighters that created the “Lego Masters Fire Department.” The build was one of the largest models of the episode, and the judges praised the firefighters for their technical skills and for taking such a risk.
The “Lego Masters” judges applauded the Maynards for their creativity, but criticized their bottle rocket design for keeping their family’s stories and activities hidden inside. The judges said the siblings could’ve revealed more on the rocket’s surface.
The winning creation on the Season 3 premiere of “Lego Masters.”
Tom Griscom, Fox
The judges placed the Maynards in the bottom two teams, and ultimately chose to send the siblings home.
“I know that you will be so inspiring for kids watching this show and dreaming of being on it, too,” Corbett told the pair. “This is just the beginning of your Lego journey.”
“You guys just light up a room,” Berard added. “So I say, keep up that ambition and just keep at it, because you guys are amazing.”
As the episode came to a close, Miranda Maynard said that the best part of being on “Lego Masters” was the chance to spend more time with her brother.
“Working together really means the world to me, and I’m glad that we had an opportunity to do that. That’s the best part,” she said. “Just doing the thing that we love, doing the thing that he’s amazing at, it’s priceless.”