The world’s largest LEGO model, a 1:1 replica of the LEGO Star Wars X-wing starfighter, made its first public appearance a couple weeks ago and has now landed at LEGOLAND California, set to debut this week. It first debuted in New York’s Times Square in late May in front of thousands of onlookers marveling at the five million LEGO Bricks it took to construct. 32 Master Model Builders spent more than 17,000 hours to complete the sculpture, which weighs nearly 46,000 pounds and stands 11 feet tall by 43 feet long, with a wingspan of 44 feet. Now it has flown across the country where it will debut at LEGOLAND California at 9 a.m. on Thursday, June 13 following a brief ceremony featuring members of the Rebel Legion and 501st Legion inside a special air hangar in the Imagination Zone. Fighter pilots stationed in San Diego and their families have been invited to be the first to “inspect” the starfighter during the ceremony. Afterwards, Pass Members are getting exclusive access to the X-wing starfighter between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 13 and after 2 p.m., it will be accessible to all Park guests through the end of 2013.
In advance of the official unveiling, members of the San Diego Chargers football team had a chance to preview the giant exhibit while visiting the park earlier this week. The X-wing was built in honor of LEGO Star Wars The Yoda Chronicles, a new animated story on Cartoon Network, featuring Jedi Master Yoda.California Bucket List: Strange vibrations near Joshua Tree, monarch butterflies, startling urban archaeology and a new adventure each day The LEGO Group unveils world's largest LEGO® model More than five million LEGO bricks used to create life-sized X-Wing starfighter in celebration of new LEGO Star Wars animated TV special “The Yoda™ Chronicles” premiering on Cartoon Network The LEGO Group today unveiled the world’s largest LEGO model, a 1:1 replica of the LEGO® Star Wars™ X-Wing starfighter, in New York’s Times Square. To celebrate the upcoming premiere of The Yoda Chronicles on Cartoon Network on Wednesday, May 29 at 8:00 p.m. (ET, PT), the massive replica took 32 master builders, five million LEGO bricks and over 17,000 hours to complete.
The model weighs nearly 20,865 kilograms, stands 3.35 meters tall and 13.1 meters long, with a wingspan of 13.44 meters. The Model will “take off” for a summer landing at LEGOLAND® California Resort where it will be installed through the remainder of the year. “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 and remains among the best-selling global toy lines. The theme’s evergreen strength comes from its appeal across generations to fans of all ages and a steady introduction of digital content such as The Yoda Chronicles to compliment the building experience.
“Much the same way that fans can build the Star Wars universe with our LEGO sets, we are fortunate to work with Lucasfilm to build new stories, characters and vehicles through one-of-a-kind content such as the new “Yoda Chronicles” miniseries launching on Cartoon Network,” said Nicholas Hort, LEGO Star Wars brand manager. LEGO Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter Model Fun Facts • Contains 5,335,200 LEGO bricks • Weighs 45,980 pounds/20,865 kilograms • Height: 11 feet / 3.35 meters • Length: 43 feet / 13.1 meters • Wingspan: 44 feet / 13.44 meters • 32 builders spent 17,336 hours to construct – about 4 months • Built in the LEGO Model Shop in Kladno, Czech Republic • Is a one-to-one replica of LEGO Star Wars set #9493; The model is 42x the size of the retail building set • The model was heavily engineered to withstand all the transportation, setup/break down and to ensure it was safe for Times Square given the subway system below and California’s seismic requirements for the LEGOLAND California Resort installation.
Fiona Chan for LEGO Systems, Inc. LEGO Star Wars Red Five X-Wing Starfighter™ Legoland Deutschland is a Legoland park located in Günzburg in southern Germany, roughly half way from Munich to Stuttgart, which opened in 2002. It is 43.5 hectares (107 acres) in area, and it is one of the four most popular theme parks in Germany.[1] The Miniland contains Lego reproductions of various German cities and rural landscapes. Legoland Deutschland was opened on May 17, 2002 in Günzburg, Germany [3] The park opened nine months earlier than planned by Merlin Entertainments Group.[4] On opening year, the park welcomed 1.35 Million visitors.[5] All of the lighting for the park was done by Gallegos Lighting Design which had done the lighting for Legoland California Resort and the sound and video production for the park was done by Edward Technologies Inc.[4] The park features Lego explore centers, roller coasters, water attractions and shows.[6] When it opened in 2002, it contained 40 attractions, 7 themed lands and was made out of 50 million Lego bricks.
[3] 10 years later, the park expanded to eight “adventure worlds” with 50 attractions and 55 million Lego bricks.[3] Legoland Deutschland is home to the world's largest Lego building, representing Munich's Allianz Arena and weighing 1.5 tons with dimensions of 5 meters in width and 1 meter in height.[7] Legoland Deutschland also contains many other world records such as the largest Lego flower bed (2007), largest amount of energy generated through cycling underwater (2010), highest Lego tower (2010), largest Lego mosaic (2011), longest Lego millipede (2002), and the largest Lego brick (2005). The park celebrated its ten-year anniversary in 2012: in that occasion, the attraction Flying Ninjago debuted, and six scenes in Miniland based on the Lego Ninjago toy series were added. On April 22, 2013 Merlin Entertainments Group introduced an app entitled “LEGOLAND Deutschland” available for Android and Apple devices.[10] The app features an interactive park map, ticket purchasing, a “Find my car” feature, and a day planner that has all of the day’s events listed for visitors.
[10] Legoland Deutschland also introduced the electronic “express pass” which allows guests to purchase either a Standard, Premium or Gold express pass, allowing guests reserve a spot in the queue line for select attractions.[11] In 2013, the CEO of the park, Aksel Pedersen, announced the largest expansion in the history of Legoland Deutschland and consisted of 86,000 Lego bricks.[12] The park expanded by building the “Kingdom of the Pharaohs” themed land within Adventure Land which added the ride "Temple X-pedition".[6] Additionally in 2013, the park expanded the Star Wars Miniland Model Display when they added a Yoda Lego model display.[6] On April 5, 2014, Legoland Deutschland will introduce the 5 million Lego block X-Wing Model Display which will be in the theme park across from the Hero Factory attraction for a limited time. Legoland Deutschland plans to continue expanding throughout 2014 to 2020 with plans including a new theme area, three large rides, and several other attractions.
The entrance area is where the guests first enter the park through one of twenty entrance gates.[15] There are five shops in this area, and it is also where guests can purchase an Express Pass and visit tourist information booths.[15] At the information booths, guests can find out more information about the park and Holiday Village. Miniland contains 1:20 scale recreations of various European cities and landscapes such as Berlin, Frankfurt, Venice, Swabian Village, The Netherlands, Hamburg Harbour, the Neuschwanstein Castle and several tall buildings from around the world including Legoland's own observation tower which is also to scale.[17] All of the recreations were built entirely of 25 million Lego bricks.[8] Many of the people, animals and vehicles can be moved by hitting a button.[2] Miniland also houses several Star Wars models: seven scenes reproduced from the franchise, including large Yoda and Darth Vader models. In 2008, Legoland opened the first ever Legoland Holiday Village directly across from the Legoland Deutschland theme park.
[8] Holiday Village is an 11-hectare village with 72 holiday houses, 144 family rooms, a large campground and 34 themed rooms in the Knight's Castle which was added in 2013.[27] There are two restaurants, "Steak House" and "Jungle Buffett" both located in the main building.[27] The village also has a pirate themed 12 hole mini golf course named "Captain Nick's Mini Golf".[28] Another recreational activity is the high ropes course which has six different courses made for guests aged four and older.[28] The high ropes course includes a 300 meter long zip line that goes across the Holiday Village lake and a 15 meter high climbing wall.[29] There is also a Winther Test Track where younger guests can ride two or four wheel vehicles around a track.[28] Additional activities for guests is an eight lane bowling alley, soccer court and a lake with a beach. Holiday Village also allows guests to take a Hot Air Balloon ride above the Legoland Deutschland Resort, for an additional fee.[30] Legoland Deutschland is considering expanding Holiday Village by adding a motel, four star hotel with a swimming pool and fitness centre, and a new restaurant complex.