Hundreds gathered in New York City yesterday to witness the unveiling of the world’s largest LEGO model, a life-sized replica of the Star Wars X-Wing fighter, in Times Square.
32 master builders employed by LEGO required more than five million bricks and four months to complete the massive replica. The model weighs 45,000 pounds (21K kilograms) has a wingspan of 44 feet. The stunt is a promotion for the upcoming premiere of The Yoda Chronicles on Cartoon Network on Wednesday, May 29.
“Just as kids love to test and hone their LEGO building skills and imaginative storytelling, our LEGO Master Builders are always testing their creative skills to top their last larger-than-life sized creations,” said Michael McNally, Brand Relations Director for LEGO Systems. “The size and structural complexity of a freestanding model 42 times the size of one our retail sets was a challenge they could not resist.”
LEGO Star Wars is the original and most successful licensed product collection in The LEGO Group’s history.
The “Yoda Chronicles” miniseries is a collaboration with Lucasfilm to build new stories, characters and vehicles.
The giant X-wing plane, built in the LEGO Model Shop in the Czech Republic, will soon head for its summer destination at LEGOLAND® California Resort where it will be installed through the remainder of the year. It will be in New York through Saturday.
Fun Facts – The X-Wing Model:
- Contains 5,335,200 LEGO bricks
- Height: 11 feet / 3.35 meters
- Length: 43 feet / 13.1 meters
- Is a one-to-one replica of LEGO Star Wars set #9493; The model is 42x the size of the retail building set
- Is heavily engineered to withstand all the transportation, setup/break down and to ensure it was safe for Times Square given the subway system beneath the stree and California’s seismic requirements for the LEGOLAND resort.