The Lego Life: What used to be a kids’ product in 90s now grabs the attention of youngsters, as well as adults

The interlocking plastic bricks have been a source of fascination and enjoyment for millions over the years. It’s a fun exercise, and a great pastime for kids, as well as the elderly. And what better time than this when you’re locked up inside your home to enjoy this as an indoor hobby? The whole idea of collecting, building and keeping oneself engaged with the Lego building set is interesting. The bricks last years and can be passed down generations.

A Danish toy brand, Lego rose to massive popularity in the mid-20th century and today it has something for everyone. What used to be a kids’ product in the 90s has over the years grabbed a lot of attention from youngsters, as well as adults. Take, for instance, the Star Wars sets, which are apt for the older generation and equally popular among young adults. Apart from this, one can look at sets from a wide range of favourite themes like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Marvel Superheroes and more. Recently, Time magazine even named Lego Group among the world’s 100 most influential companies in its inaugural list of businesses shaping the future of society.

Lego as a trend has diversified and has also inspired various products in terms of design and thinking. From shoes, paintings, jewellery boxes, theme parks and Harry Potter-themed kits, the trend is quite evident. Legoland Windsor Resort—styled and also known as Legoland Windsor, a theme park and resort in Windsor, England—which is themed around the Lego brand, has a new attraction opening this month: Lego Mythica. It will feature the UK’s first flying theatre ride—Flight of The Sky Lion, a 4D experience, which will be over 25 metres tall. It will also have vibrant Lego models such as the Greek mythology-inspired Chimera, Troll and the Hydra.

Not just that, taking the inclusivity spectrum a notch high is Lego’s upcoming collection of bricks designed to help children learn Braille. The toys are designed in such a manner that they will help visually-impaired kids learn characters of the alphabet represented by raised dots.

Last month, footwear brand Adidas too launched a smart shoe in Lego design. The high-performance running shoe features three stripes of bricks to celebrate the builders, dreamers and risk-takers. The product is made with Primeblue, a high-performance recycled material made in part with Parley Ocean Plastic, a material created from upcycled plastic waste that was intercepted from beaches and coastal communities before reaching the ocean.
NASA Space Shuttle has also created a space-themed kit honouring the accomplishments of the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery. It is a 2,354-piece scale model, which has two stands to hold up the models, a cargo bay and a robotic arm holding the Hubble Space Telescope.

If Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night oil on canvas fascinates you, then take a look at the 3D Lego set of the 1889 masterpiece that has been created by Hong Kong designer Truman Cheng. It has been approved with public voting and the toymaker has decided to produce the set. It will come with a brush, easel, painting palette and a miniature printed version of The Starry Night featuring 1,552 bricks.

For all the Harry Potter fans, there’s a Potter-themed set as well describing 10 movie scenes. This year celebrates 20 years of the Potter movies and so Lego has created 11 masterpieces ranging from big collectibles such as Hogwart’s castle to smaller ones like shops from Diagon Alley.

While its popularity is still growing, among many of its followers is a man in Vietnam who has been labelled as the “biggest Lego fan” after he collected over two million bricks in the last 10 years. In a video, shared by South China Morning Post, industrial designer Hoang Dang has segregated bricks as per colours and functionality and built a bright blue, yellow and red fishing boat with a Vietnamese flag on it.

An interesting feature on the Lego website is Lego Ideas, a portal which allows users to submit ideas and designs for products to be turned into potential sets available commercially. So if you love getting imaginative with bricks or want to be a master builder, this place can help in creating ideas, enter competitions, support and vote for models.