.png)
Why is Lego so popular?
Lego has the highest revenue of any toy company in the world, outpacing giants like Mattel and Hasbro despite having far fewer properties under their banner. Famously, producing the wheels for their toy sets makes them the world’s largest tyre manufacturer. Since the introduction of their iconic plastic brick in 1947, they have expanded from Denmark to build offices across the world, Legoland amusement parks, and a line of successful video games and films. All of this, for a bunch of bricks.
The reason Lego has such an enduring and widespread appeal is that it encourages the imagination in such an open-ended way. The promise is simple: whatever you can envision, you can build into reality. The simplicity and flexibility doesn’t limit what you can do with it either – there’s a reason they advertise Lego as having no upper age limit. More advanced Lego sets include all kinds of engineering components, enabling children to learn the basics of mechanical and electronic engineering as they play.
Inspiring future generations to take an interest in engineering is something we value as well, and some of Lego’s most popular kits have been space related. As such, we were a natural fit when Lego was looking for a way to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of their Lego Cities range.
Getting paid to build Lego (finally!)
Getting to build a Lego Cities space station while on the clock has got to be one of the highlights of our month. We designed and 3D printed bespoke mounting points that integrated with Lego’s modular connectors, in order to replicate the positioning of the space station and craft as it appears on the packaging. Unfortunately, we had to break one cardinal rule of building with Lego and glue some of the pieces together to ensure they would survive the sometimes-turbulent journey to the edge of space!
How did the space station fare high up in the Milky way?
The space station and ship look incredible flying over 33,000 metres above the Earth’s surface, where the atmosphere is less than 1% the density as at sea level and the temperature is below -60°C. Launched from our site in Sheffield, the space station travelled over a hundred miles horizontally, landing near the racing town of Newmarket three hours after launch.
Space - the perfect backdrop
The entire flight is visible on Lego’s Facebook page and YouTube channel, which combined have racked up over 300,000 views since release. You can also catch a timelapse of the set’s construction on their behind the scenes video.
Whether you’re a toy manufacturer, a school looking to inspire pupils or any company in need of a cool marketing activity, we’ve got something for you. Get in touch with our team today.