Eight new teams take on Season 4 of LEGO Masters on Nine this week.

Hamish Blake & Ryan “Brickman” McNaught return to crown new champions, with three grand final teams competing for $100,050.

This year the immunity Titanium Brick of Triumph will change hands during the competition as the contestants play in every build.

In a series first, teams will head out of the studio and in two more new challenges, the teams must come up with gravity-defying builds.

The Brick Pit houses 3.8 million bricks -this year, an additional 600,000 bricks were ordered.

Episode 1 begins with a “Drain the Ocean” challenge in a giant pool of water. Teams have 16 hours to complete their builds.

Alex (25) and Caleb (21)
NSW
Alex from Sydney is a makeup artist with a love and natural creative knack for LEGO. A self-confessed nerd, she enjoys watching Star Wars and Harry Potter on repeat most weekends. She collects Star Wars memorabilia, and despite having only been an AFOL (Adult Fan Of LEGO) for the last two years, she now owns 12 LEGO sets, and that number is quickly growing. Alex says: “My family no longer ask me what I’d like for my birthday, rather which LEGO set!” Her teammate Caleb is a Sydney law student who uses LEGO to decompress after long, stressful hours of studying. He likes to create unique takes on architecture with his builds and is often inspired by movies. Unlike Alex, Caleb grew up with LEGO and he loves the challenge of mastering the creations he dreams up. A high-energy, ultra-competitive type who thrives on social interaction, Caleb always gives 100 per cent and throws himself into any challenge he is presented with. As a LEGO builder, he says he’s not the sort of guy to get upset if a build doesn’t go his way – he’ll laugh it off and then try again. When it comes to LEGO Masters, Alex is determined to bring her energy, organisation and imaginative mind to the table. She is a quick learner and will need to hit the ground running to pick up some more technical skills if she wants to make it all the way to the end of the competition. Alex’s biggest build ever is the Death Star from Star Wars, and the build she is most proud of is her creation of the Ewok Village. Her favourite LEGO piece is the rat.

Trent (45) and Paul (50)
NSW
Trent and Paul are a fun-loving, lively couple from Newcastle who became the first Australian gay men to be wed, in New Zealand in 2013, years before marriage equality laws were passed in Australia. Paul describes himself as loud and extroverted, while Trent is more reserved. Trent still acts the clown though, and they always find a way to laugh and support each other when they are going through tough times. Trent is artistic, with a gift and love for sculpture, and laughs easily, usually at Paul’s expense. He is in touch with the natural world and loves building LEGO botanical sets. Trent likes his builds to look aesthetically pleasing, and as a primary school teacher he incorporates LEGO into his classes. Paul has a passion for art and wants to use his favourite artworks as inspiration for his builds. His first LEGO set was an auto service tow truck he built in 1979, and he has been hooked ever since. He uses LEGO building as his mindfulness activity after a stressful day at work as a veterinary surgeon, and he always gets excited when a new Star Wars set comes out. Trent got into LEGO as a child, and says his fondest memory is from his time in kindergarten when he was fascinated by the chance to recreate characters from other sets. He would save his pocket money for a year to splurge on LEGO train sets. Trent and Paul mostly build from sets, so they might find building only MOCs challenging during the competition. However, they are determined to work through their ideas and experiment and support each other on their LEGO Masters journey.

Branko (48) and Max (17)
NSW
Branko and Max are the father and son duo from Sydney who are ready to put their relationship and LEGO skills to the test as they team up for the ultimate competition. Originally from the Netherlands, they have lived in Australia for 15 years. Branko discovered his love of LEGO when Max and his twin brother were born, and now they have an entire room at home full to the brim with LEGO, around half a million bricks. As an engineer, Branko believes his technical skills will come to the fore when they are required to build extremely complex structures. Branko is determined and rational and says that often he is his own biggest competitor. He deals well with pressure and has learned how to work effectively in similar environments. Unlike dad, high school student Max admits that he might be the one to crack under the pressure. Max is the youngest competitor in LEGO Masters Australia history, and although he is quick-witted, smart and articulate, he admits to being worried that his comparative lack of building experience might be a shortcoming. As a team, Max will provide the creative vision for the builds while Branko focuses on the mechanical and structural elements. Branko says: “As an engineer I know how to build, but I like the fact that Max tells me what to build.” Generally, Branko prefers to build with instructions, while Max relies on his imagination.

Daniel (42) and Kirsti (44)
NSW
Daniel is a web developer from Canberra, a long-time solo builder whose passion for LEGO was renewed once he started building with his two young children. Daniel even has his very own “mini brick pit” at home. Support worker Kirsti’s love of LEGO began when she was in her 20s and writing a sitcom. Without access to a cast or crew, she decided to get creative and developed her show using LEGO. Daniel and Kirsti have very different building styles but are excited to get into the groove of working together. Daniel is a skilled builder with experience in Technic. He draws inspiration from movies and his childhood and says that while he is immersed in his builds they often come to life as he works on them, taking an imaginative form that he didn’t necessarily plan for. Kirsti is an enthusiastic foster mother from Sydney who works as a school learning support officer. As she loves her job LEGO equally, it was only natural for her to play with it with her students and her foster children, to help them learn and grow. She doesn’t often attempt large-scale creations, preferring intricate, smaller builds. Kirsti finds LEGO very therapeutic and says her favourite brick is the Travis, as it is great for any SNOT (Studs Not On Top) builds. At home, Kirsti tries to build something small at least once a day. She loves to create upside-down builds and says that LEGO is always on her mind. Daniel also dedicates at least an hour a day to building because it makes him feel happy and relaxed.

Henry (20) and Joss (23)
NSW
Newcastle-based brothers Henry and Joss might just be the ones to beat in this series, with Joss already a well-known name in the LEGO world. Joss is obsessed with all things LEGO, working at a LEGO store and having one of his builds exhibited at the LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery in Denmark. The brothers are confident in their abilities and passionate about building. Student Henry agreed to take part in LEGO Masters to support Joss, and while he too loves LEGO, he doesn’t have the same depth of experience in MOCS as his brother. Henry usually sticks to smaller builds like trees and houses and admits that when he is not passionate about something, he finds it difficult to give it his all. Despite this, his creations capture a lot of emotion. Joss is determined and composed and says that building LEGO relaxes him with the opportunity to explore his creativity. Spending at least 20-30 hours a week on building, Joss believes his collection would be worth thousands of dollars. He goes for creatures and characters that have real personality and can be clearly understood from the outset. Henry and Joss often spend hours building together and say that LEGO has nurtured their relationship. Through play, the brothers have found a safe space to break down walls and talk to each other about anything at all while they are building, saying that “it brings us back to our childhood”.

Lexi (32) and Rachael (37)
NSW
Rachael’s passion for LEGO is on display in all her builds as she challenges herself to always go bigger and better than her original plans. An auditor by day and a massive Harry Potter fan, Rachael’s biggest build is the 6,000-piece Hogwarts Castle she made after discovering Harry Potter LEGO in 2008. In 2015, her second son was born and since then their LEGO collection has exploded as they enjoy building together. Video editor Lexi loves creating with LEGO as it makes her feel calm and gives her a chance to put her imagination to the test, trouble-shooting and problem-solving along the way. Lexi is proud of every build, even those that might not be as impressive as others. She regards them all as a learning opportunity to improve her skills and she takes immense pride in her work. Lexi and Rachael are the only all-female team on LEGO Masters Season 4, and Lexi wants to inspire girls all over Australia to get into LEGO because it is such an amazing tool to create with. “The possibilities are endless and that’s what I love about it,” she says.

Nick (30) and Gene (32)
NSW
Video editors Nick and Gene are best friends and lifelong LEGO lovers. When they realised they shared this passion they became obsessed with what they could create. Nick tries to bring his sense of humour and creativity into each build, while Gene likes to get his builds done as quickly as possible. Nick got into LEGO as a kid and says the first set he remembers playing with was the Black Seas Barracuda. To this day, LEGO Pirate sets are Nick’s favourites to build from, as they bring him a sense of nostalgia and playfulness. Gene’s favourite build is a dragon head he once made by using deliberately misaligned bricks – a design concept that came to life almost exactly as he planned. However, Gene is hoping that Nick will be the one to bring the necessary creativity to their team, including what Nick describes as his “cinematic” build style. Nick always tries to tell stories through LEGO in as much depth as he can and loves the challenge of incorporating jokes or puns into his builds. Gene’s dream build would be a huge number of different cars filling a drive-in cinema, complete with a concession stand with waiters serving food and drinks, plus popcorn machines and food trays to feed the Minifigs watching a stop-motion LEGO movie. Nick’s dream build is a sunken galleon that features divers exploring the ocean depths where they find the tendrils of a kraken, a mythical sea monster, stirring in the darkness. He would use lots of colours in the build to showcase the difference between the scenes above and below the waterline.

Andrew (38) and Crystal (30)
VIC
Andrew and Crystal met over 10 years ago through Andrew’s cosplay photography business and have been friends ever since. Although they have never built together, they are confident that their shared love of LEGO will be enough to see them through to the end of the competition. Now a social media producer and curator of a LEGO news and reviews blog, Andrew’s passion for LEGO began when he used it for a stop-motion animation he was working on. He prides himself on his efficiency and speed, and now is a LEGO super-fan. His dream is to use around 5,000 bricks to create a zoetrope, a giant spinning wheel giving the illusion of movement to the Minifig scenes he would create inside the wheel, with motors making it move at high speed. Crystal is a content creator, model and actress. She uses LEGO to relax when she’s stressed, and although she favours building sets over her own creations, she is positive that her creativity won’t let Andrew down. Andrew has always been an avid LEGO builder, inheriting his father’s sets when he was a boy. From there his collection has grown exponentially and he can’t put a number on how much LEGO he now owns. When he’s building, Andrew mostly focuses on what he describes as bringing LEGO into reality. He says: “It might only be with one element or one Minifig, but it’s all about making that element look like it belongs in the human world.” Crystal’s favourite bricks are Tile Quarter Circles, which she incorporates as lettering on her builds. Both hailing from creative worlds, look out for Andrew and Crystal to put their imaginative skills together and create some very distinctive builds throughout competition.

7:30pm Sunday – Tuesday from April 18 on Nine.