Since the first box of LEGOs was sold in 1949, children and adults alike have marveled at the ability of colorful, interlocking toy bricks to incite wonder and creativity in their purest form. Over the years, LEGO has been incredibly adept at allowing people from every walk of life to experience their favorite films, television shows, and greatest dreams by recreating and assembling them with their own two hands. And the LEGO designers and masterminds of today are carrying on this tradition of hands-on dreaming and storytelling—just on a much grander scale. Herein, you'll find the coolest LEGO builds ever built—including life-size fictional vehicles, multi-million-piece scaled recreations of entire cities (and countries!), and an entirely functioning house, just for starters. So read on, and rediscover that sense of childlike wonder.
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40 Lego Builds That Will Blow Your Mind
1. A Full-Sized Functional Home
Top Gear engineering whiz James May built this life-size and livable home in 2009 out of more than three million LEGO bricks. Though the home was eventually torn down later that same year, it was the first of its kind and actually contained a working shower, toilet, and sink.
2. The Lord of the Rings' Rivendell
LEGO enthusiasts Alice Finch and David Frank recreated their favorite Elvin realm from the Lord of the Rings series, Rivendell, in 2013, using 200,000 bricks and featuring impressive details like plant life and tiny (and realistic) Elven figurines.
3. The Taj Mahal
In 2016, LEGOLAND Dubai unveiled a replica of the famous Taj Mahal, made incredibly realistic with attention to detail and created by using 280,741 bricks.
4. The Batman Batarang
Created in 2017 by LEGO design company Bright Bricks, the Batman Batarang appeared to have just crash-landed on Observation Point in London's South Bank. The installation consisted of 35,000 LEGO pieces and measured 133 times the size of the LEGO piece it's based on.
5. A Life-Size X-Wing Fighter
The LEGO company actually hires workers to build crazy contraptions like this life-size X-Wing starfighter from the Star Wars films. In the end, this model contained five million LEGO bricks and weighed in at around 45,000 pounds—more than the maximum takeoff weight of some small aircraft. Additionally, since the team that assembled the Star Wars fighter knew that they were going to have to travel with it, they made sure that its structure could withstand stress and damage.
6. A Full-Service Bar
The Brick Bar is a pop-up operation that consists of over one million Lego bricks for people to sit on, admire, and play with. There's even a functional DJ booth made entirely out of LEGO to help set the mood. The attraction was created by the Australian company Viral Venture. Co-founder and social media professional James Farrell is famous for combining nostalgia and pop culture, then sprinkling in a little bit of booze to create these unique events.
7. The Tallest LEGO Tower in the World
For years, cities all over the world have competed to design and construct the biggest LEGO tower—and for now, Tel Aviv, Israel, holds that title with a 118-foot structure. The project was launched by the teachers of an eight-year-old student, Omer Sayag, who died of cancer in 2014 and attributed much of his happiness to building LEGO towers during his struggle with the disease. Together with the city of Tel Aviv, the teachers were able to gather enough LEGO bricks (more than half a million) to build this tribute to Sayag.
8. Allianz Arena Model
The LEGOLAND Deutschland Resort hosts an iconic LEGO replica of the Allianz Arena in Munich—complete with hundreds of fans and the complicated design structure of the outer dome. The structure, standing around a meter tall, houses more than 30,000 LEGO spectators.
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9. A Detailed Map of Europe
© Ambamja/Reddit
Undoubtedly one of the more impressive LEGO structures in the world, this detailed map of Europe, designed by Bruno Kurth and Tobias Reichling, not only features points of interest (made entirely of LEGO bricks as well), but also highlights the area's topography in different colors. Overall, the map spans 12.5 feet and uses around 53,500 LEGO elements.
10. A Life-Size Giraffe
This giant giraffe, standing 20 feet tall outside of LEGOLAND Discovery Center Boston, was built with 22,000 of the company's Duplo bricks.
11. Escher's "Relativity"
To imitate the 1953 lithograph print by Dutch artist M.C. Escher, creators Daniel Shiu and Andrew Lipson used LEGO to portray a world in which gravity does not exist. They not only spent hours crafting their LEGO mind-bender but also struggled to find the correct angle to take photographs of their art since the optical illusion is created by the angle of the camera and not by the actual artwork itself.
12. Futurama's New New York
<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" data-id="wCA7f" lang="en"><a href="//imgur.com/wCA7f" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_self">Futurama's New New York in a Perfect Lego World.</a></blockquote>
LEGO design master Matt De Lanoy is at it again with this impeccably detailed version of New New York, a fictional town depicted in the television show Futurama. The structure includes new details in every corner of its five-feet-by-seven-feet layout—including Planet Express, its ship, the Robot Arms Apartments where Futurama characters Bender and Fry live, Momcorp HQ, the Head Museum, Elzar's fine cuisine, and so much more.
13. Batcave Playset
<blockquote class="reddit-embed-bq" data-embed-height="628" style="height: 500px;"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/7ye2q1/heyy_batsyy_lego_batcave_built_from_20000/" rel="noopener noreferrer external" target="_blank">Heyy Batsyy. [Lego batcave built from 20,000 blocks;with 4 lights powered from behind]</a><p>by<a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/FirstJediKnight/" rel="noopener noreferrer external" target="_blank">u/FirstJediKnight</a> in<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/" rel="noopener noreferrer external" target="_blank">lego</a></p></blockquote>
This carefully crafted Batcave was masterfully built over a 12-week period of time by Carlyle Livingston II and Wayne Hussey. It contains over 20,000 individual parts, weighs over 100 pounds, and comes equipped with its own sophisticated light system. Holy LEGO, Batman!
14. A Scale Model of Japan
<blockquote class="reddit-embed-bq" data-embed-height="607" style="height: 500px;"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/y49uh/japan_in_lego_form_18_million_bricks_later/" rel="noopener noreferrer external" target="_blank">Japan in Lego form, 1.8 million bricks later...</a><p>by<a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/calebb/" rel="noopener noreferrer external" target="_blank">u/calebb</a> in<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/" rel="noopener noreferrer external" target="_blank">lego</a></p></blockquote>
LEGO's Japanese subsidiary sponsored a cross-country effort (using more than 5,000 volunteers) to create this detailed futuristic vision of the country, comprising over 1.8 million LEGO blocks.
15. A Full-Sized Car
Though it's probably unsafe to drive, this full-size LEGO Volvo XC90, located outside of a LEGO retailer in Vail, Colorado and originally created by LEGO engineers at California's LEGOLAND, is comprised of approximately 200,000 bricks.
16. A380 Airplane
Eje Gustafsson/Flickr
The A380 airplane model is the biggest ever built. It resides at LEGOLAND Denmark, has a wingspan of 10 feet and contains approximately 75,000 LEGO blocks.
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17. Abston Church of Christ
Amy Hughes constructed this seven-foot-tall church, called the Abston Church of Christ, cleverly capturing the other-worldly aura and architectural beauty in many places of worship. Featuring impeccable attention to detail, this sprawling creation was formed using tens of thousands of bricks and unique figurines.
18. An Aircraft Carrier
Modeled after the USS Harry S. Truman, this 350-pound work of LEGO art, containing working elevators, electrical lights, and radar dishes, was built in Germany by Malle Hawking. At 16 feet long and four feet tall, the large model displaces enough water to actually float as well.
19. London Landmarks
anastas_styles/Shutterstock
Engineers at LEGOLAND Windsor constructed this amazing LEGO metropolis, successfully (and artfully) recreating some of London's most important landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Tower Bridge, and the iconic London Eye. Containing millions LEGO blocks, it's worth the trip to Windsor just to see the masterpiece in person.
20. Mount Rushmore
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While perhaps exceedingly bizarre, this recreation of Mount Rushmore constructed by LEGO engineers and located in LEGOLAND Denmark contains over one million LEGO bricks.
21. Montmartre
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Located at LEGOLAND Windsor, this recreation of Paris's 18th arrondissement, otherwise known as Montmartre, was built by engineers at the park and features 650,000 LEGO bricks, figurines, and miniature shrubbery and mountains.
22. A Boardroom Table
Advertising agency Boys + Girls decided to spruce up their office with a four-by-nine foot boardroom table made almost entirely out of LEGO. The piece contains a total of 22,742 pieces and was assembled using only traditional LEGO construction techniques—no glue!
23. Obama's Presidential Inauguration
francefive/Flickr
Shortly after Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, LEGOLAND California decided to honor the occasion by recreating the entire 2008 presidential inauguration scene. It could take one at least thirty minutes to find every major aspect of the day representing—down to Aretha Franklin's performance and guests in line for the portable toilets.
24. Afternoon of a Faun Sculpture
Recreating a popular photo of a 20th-century ballet, artist David Hughes spent countless hours and over 3,000 LEGO bricks to make this still life look entirely effortless—just like the dancer it's based on, Tanaquil Le Clercq.
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25. Toy Story Sculpture
Kit Leong/Shutterstock
Located in the Downtown Disney Marketplace, this LEGO sculpture created by LEGO engineers features Buzz Lightyear and Woody from Toy Story shooting into the sky on a firecracker.
26. A Blackberry 9360
<blockquote class="reddit-embed-bq" data-embed-height="740" style="height: 500px;"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/rupjnu/was_digging_in_my_backyard_and_found_this_anyone/" rel="noopener noreferrer external" target="_blank">Was digging in my backyard and found this. Anyone know why theres a human size lego blackberry buried in my backyard?</a><p>by<a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/mjmorwood_2112/" rel="noopener noreferrer external" target="_blank">u/mjmorwood_2112</a> in<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/" rel="noopener noreferrer external" target="_blank">lego</a></p></blockquote>
Back in 2010, when Blackberry phones were still used by much of the population, self-proclaimed LEGO master Nathan Sawaya created his own five-foot version of the 9360 model built entirely out of LEGO blocks. Despite taking some artistic liberties (his version of the Blackberry features a working flat-screen TV), it still immortalizes one of the most popular electronic devices of our lifetime.
27. The Mona Lisa
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Sawaya has also tackled a far more famous piece of pop culture: The Mona Lisa. Created from thousands of LEGO bricks, her famous smile is artistically redefined by the artist.
28. Mythbusters LEGO Ball
Beyond Productions/YouTube
While looking to debunk the myth set out in a popular viral video depicting a giant ball of LEGO bricks remaining intact despite several collisions, the Mythbusters team recreated the ball using one million LEGO pieces and ultimately proved that the bricks couldn't withstand the trip from the starting point to the finish line.
29. The Biggest Titanic Model in the World
Brynjar Karl Birgisson, a 15-year-old boy with autism from Iceland, created the world's largest LEGO Titanic replica, coming in at 26 feet long and five feet tall. When the boy was just 10, he began working on the ship, which ended up taking him more than 11 months to complete, using approximately 56,000 bricks.
30. A Land Rover Advertisement
Beating out the competition by almost half a million bricks, this Land Rover advertisement required a whopping total of 5,805,846 bricks to build, making it the largest structure built by LEGO bricks in the entire world. Millions of pieces make up this 42-foot-tall replica of London's Tower Bridge and the scenery around it.
31. Kennedy Space Center Model
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Located in the LEGOLAND Florida Resort, this recreation of the Kennedy Space Center features the U.S. space shuttle, launch pad, Rocket Garden, and Vehicle Assembly Building, requiring the use of 50,000 bricks and 1,506 square feet of space.
32. A Giant T-Rex
A signature piece in The Art of the Brick traveling exhibition, this giant T-Rex is 20-feet long and made up of approximately 80,000 bricks.
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33. A Polar Bear Sculpture
Jim, the Photographer/Flickr
Created by artist Sean Kenney, this life-size polar bear sculpture was once put on display at the Philadelphia Zoo. The structure was comprised of over 95,000 bricks and weighed about 500 pounds.
34. Egyptian Pharaoh
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At one point the tallest LEGO structure in the world, this sculpture depicting an Egyptian Pharaoh stands at 16 feet tall and weighs more than a ton. Visitors can revel in the sculpture's size and attention to detail at LEGOLAND Windsor.
35. Herobot 9000
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Sitting atop the LEGO store in the Mall of America, in Bloomington, Minnesota stands Herobot 9000, a 34-foot-tall robot comprised of more than two million LEGO bricks.
36. Brickley, the Sea Monster
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Since 1997, Brickley, a seemingly friendly sea monster, has been winning the affections of many at Disney World. The creature is made up of 170,000 LEGO bricks and stretches an incredible 30 feet long.
37. A Life-Size LEGO Forest
In a rural part of the Australian Outback, LEGO engineers created a small forest with life-size versions of trees and flowers, startling many locals in Broken Hill, New South Wales after it appeared overnight back in 2012.
38. "Yellow"
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Another Sawaya creation, the "Yellow" sculpture, remains one of the most famous Lego builds ever created, having been put on display in museums and galleries around the world. The life-size self-portrait depicts—quite literally—a man tearing himself apart and revealing what's left to the world. It took thousands of Lego bricks to complete this creation, and yes—they really are all yellow.
39. A Brick Cherry Blossom Tree
LEGOLAND Japan secured a Guinness World Record with the introduction of the world's largest plastic sakura tree. The structure measures about 14 feet tall by 17 feet wide and weighs around 6,613 pounds. In total, the build required over 800,000 bricks to put together.
40. A Bugatti Chiron
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Not only is this the swankiest item on our list, but it's also the most high-tech. The full-size, drivable model was created as a passion project by LEGO’s creative team. Being able to use it as a promo during the Italian Grand Prix was an added bonus. As opposed to other amazing LEGO builds, this one was created using Technic pieces, a technology reserved for the brand's moving sets. Over a million pieces were used during a building process that took upwards of 13,500 hours to complete.
This story has been updated to include additional entries, fact-checking, and copy-editing.
