Nino Guba is from Torrance, California, USA. He played with LEGO as a kid, but growing up in the Philippines, it wasn’t something he had easy access to. He only got reintroduced to LEGO when he moved to the US and had kids of his own. When his sons were younger, they received LEGO sets as gifts, but as they grew older, the sets got put into storage as their interest faded. Fast forward a few years, he started coming up with his own product ideas and thought about how he could quickly prototype them. That’s when he discovered LEGO MINDSTORMS—and was hooked! He raided his kids’ old collection, got everything organized, and now he's designing and building his own creations, blending his coding skills with LEGO robotics to bring ideas to life.
Tell us about your Ghostbusters Remote Trap Vehicle (R.T.V) project.
This project is a LEGO Technic adaptation of the Ghostbusters R.T.V.—a ghost trap converted into a remote-controlled vehicle. Its companion build is a prop replica of the Futaba radio transmitter that controlled the R.T.V. in the movies. It is powered by a LEGO Control+ hub running a custom Pybricks program, allowing full control with an Xbox controller. It was first displayed at LA Comic-Con 2024 and then featured at LUGOLA events. It was awarded Best Pop Culture at the inaugural Solvang Brick & Builds 2025. You can see the model in action here.
Most recently, I’ve built a custom Mini-Puft MOC which goes perfectly with the R.T.V. My future plans are to embed a LEGO City Train remote controller on my Futaba transmitter MOC so it can actually control the R.T.V. at events. I also want to upgrade to more powerful motors for greater speed and performance.
I’ve started with the LEGO Technic Audi RS Q e-tron (set #42160) as the base since it is already a remote-controlled vehicle. I added one large motor and had to order a lot more system parts from LEGO.com and Bricklink sellers to complete the build. This set already has the basics – drive and steering – so all I really needed was to figure out how to open and close the ghost trap door.
How do you do a remix and what are the steps to a successful remix?
I look at the box art of the set or the product images on LEGO.com to see what interesting parts and functions the set has, and from there, I start to brainstorm remix ideas. What sparked the Ghostbusters R.T.V. idea was the visibly red tire rims and shocks.
A successful remix starts with the appeal of the original set. The more people have access to it, the more worthwhile your remix becomes. Once you’ve chosen the set, the key is figuring out what combination of parts can be used to create your remix. It's especially satisfying if you can build it using only the parts from the donor set, but that's not always possible. In those cases, you gather the extra pieces you need and begin prototyping the play features and functions.
I usually build the original design first because I enjoy the process and it’s a great way to learn new tricks and techniques. Learning from professional LEGO designers always helps me improve my own building skills and gives me ideas for my own creations. A lot of your inspiration can come from official sets or MOC (My Own Creation) instructions, but there’s always room for discovery through trial and error. It's a fun part of the process—learning new building techniques and applying them to both simple and complex mechanisms.
Once the main features of your build are in place, it’s time to focus on aesthetics and polish. A great remix should not only work well, but it should also look good. If you're like me and want to share your creation with the community, the next step is to build it digitally using Bricklink Stud.io and create easy-to-follow instructions. Finally, take plenty of pictures and videos of your build and share them to inspire others!
What are some challenges that you faced in this project and how did you overcome them?
The main challenge was making the ghost trap door functional. I needed it to open and close quickly, with each door’s motion staying reliably in sync. The final challenge was figuring out the most compact way to build the mechanism, all while integrating the motor to actuate it.
The basic principle involved converting rotational motion into vertical linear motion. I also managed to stack and align all four motors in the midsection of the build, keeping them hidden beneath the ghost trap door. The hub fit nicely in the back section, making it easy to replace the batteries.
How have you grown as a LEGO builder?
I started out primarily building robotic creations using mostly LEGO Technic pieces, but I've since expanded into LEGO System builds and character design.
I’ve definitely grown by trying new things and pursuing more creative ideas. I started with basic builds and quickly got into LEGO Technic and robotics, which taught me a lot about mechanisms and problem-solving. Lately, I’ve been playing with LEGO System creations and character building, which has really opened up my creativity. Every new project has helped me learn more about the different techniques and ways to make my builds better and more functional.
What is one advice you might have for a young person who wants to do projects like yours?Just keep building! Start by following LEGO instructions to get the hang of it, then have fun deconstructing them and creating your own designs. Always stay curious, keep a learning mindset, and draw inspiration from everything around you.
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