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7 life-size LEGO builds
Who needs a real Volvo when you can build your own out of 201,076 LEGO bricks?
The world record holder for the largest Lego model goes to the builders behind this recently unveiled scale model of the dogfighting spaceship from Star Wars. The LEGO Model Shop in Kladno, Czech Republic, took more than 17,000 man hours and 32 builders to put together this massive model. It consists of more than 5 million bricks and weighs approximately 23 tons.
2. A mecha robot
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The X-wing project took the record away from the LEGO Store in Minnesota's Mall of America. There, a massive "mecha robot" called the "Herobot 9000" consists of more than 2.8 million LEGO bricks, and towers over customers at a height of more than 34 feet.
3. A two-story house
Top Gear host and toy enthusiast James May took on a series of insane toy challenges for a BBC special. That included building a livable, two-story house entirely from LEGO bricks. The final structure consisted of 3.2 million bricks, and wasn't just a giant box with LEGO walls. May's team also put together an entire set of LEGO furniture, furnishings, housewares, and even bathroom fixtures — including a working shower and toilet. Sadly, the house was eventually demolished.
4. A 2004 Volvo XC60
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The folks at the model shop of California's Legoland amusement park decided to use their uncanny building powers to pull off one of the most impressive office pranks you'll see in your lifetime. General manager Peter Ronchetti discovered that his car had been towed out of his usual parking space and replaced with a perfect LEGO replica. It was made with exactly 201,076 bricks and weighed more than a ton. Sadly, it wasn't a working model, so Ronchetti probably had to bum a ride from someone in the office.
Piano enthusiast and LEGO sculptor Henry Lim combined his two greatest passions to create a working LEGO harpsichord that plays real music. The 150-pound LEGO instrument took two years to design and build, and consists of more than 100,000 bricks. It can play a range of 61 notes with five octaves on a single manual keyboard. (Watch a video here)
6. A jet engine
Rolls-Royce turned to LEGO to make a replica of its Trent 1000 turbofan engine — the same one found in Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. The model wasn't just built to look like Rolls-Royce's engine. The 150,000-plus brick model also contained several moving parts that replicated the engine's movements and functions. Of course, it was purely for show, since the LEGO version wasn't strong enough to keep a plane in the air.
