Watching This 120,000-Piece Lego Jeep Fall Apart Hurts My Heart
There is something compelling about watching a huge Lego sculpture crumble to bits.
For many of us, LEGO is a fun toy that we enjoyed in our youth and left behind when exciting things like jobs and bills came along. Some, however, remain life-long LEGO enthusiasts. These members of the community are typically the brains and hands behind all the amazing giant LEGO builds out there. A great example is this giant life-sized Jeep which fell to bits at a recent convention, as captured by YouTube channel Beyond the Brick.
The Jeep build itself consists of over 120,000 pieces, and was built by Simon Blackburn, Kevin Hyatt, and Colin Smithson over a period of two years. The men are members of the Sheffield LEGO User Group, which formed in 2015 as the self-described group of AFOLs (Adult Fans of LEGO) began to get together for regular meetups.
The actual-size Jeep build is modeled after the classic World War II flat-fender design. It features plenty of neat details, from the realistically-modeled intake manifold to the battery which is clearly seen to be a 6-volt unit, as it should be. The build was featured at the 2022 Bricktastic event in Manchester, UK. The event is run by Fairy Bricks, a charity which aims to provide LEGO sets for children in hospital.
Naturally, the impulse at the end of the show was to see if was possible to see if an adult could actually sit inside the Jeep. With some support from an assistant, and by treading carefully over the sections best supported by the ladder frame, a fully-grown man is able to gingerly place himself inside the cockpit.
Instead, it's on the way out that chaos breaks forth. Standing up to exit the vehicle, the rider places a hand on the shoulder of the assistant to lift himself out. As the force is transmitted to the floor of the Jeep, his feet pass straight through the floor. As the body shatters into pieces, the engine bay gives way, throwing its contents all over the floor, before the rear end collapses in quick succession. Comically, the front-left wheel is the last piece standing, only to slowly tip over, hit the ground, and crumble last of all.
The group take the collapse well; indeed, taking the photos of the rider onboard was rushed as they were already well aware there was a risk of collapse. In any case, like many of us, they are probably well aware that there's a little joy to be had in the destruction as well as the creation when it comes to LEGO.
We've seen some great LEGO builds over the years, from the Airbus A380 to a full-sized Toyota Supra capable of driving at 17 MPH. Who knows, the Sheffield LEGO Users Group might even take a few tips from that design for their next car build!
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