Technology
How Lego builds a new Lego set
Exclusive: Lego’s official version of the classic rainbow stripe Polaroid OneStep SX-70 instant camera gave us a window into Lego’s world.
The other half of the Polaroid button challenge: figuring out how to create a Polaroid-like “picture” worthy of being ejected from the model. Originally, they tried a flat tile like Marc did but decided it wasn’t right. “It looked Lego, it felt Lego, but it didn’t feel like a Polaroid photo because you want it to be thin; it also meant we couldn’t print on the back because you need the tube side; it caused a lot of issues in production because of warping,” says Scott. But Lego’s textile department came to the rescue: “We found this card, could we use this for anything?” Scott remembers them asking. It was a thin sheet of matte polypropylene plastic — a “foil” — that had only been used a couple of times before in Lego sets, most prominently in this Chinese Lunar New Year Ice Festival photobooth where minifigures can pop their heads through. It was flexible (though you can’t quite “shake it like a Polaroid picture”), and it could be easily printed on both sides. So, Lego graphics designer Matthew Parsons, who typically works for the Lego City team, embedded himself in the company’s textile department to help figure out the foils. A photographer himself, he jumped at the chance to be part of the Polaroid project, and he designed the three Easter egg photocards that come in every box. Lego got one of the images, choosing to depict the Lego House; Polaroid chose an iconic photo of its founder, Edwin Land; and Marc decided to thank his inspirations: the city of La Rochelle, France, where he cultivated his love of Lego and first prototyped the set, and his sister Mia, whose instant photography hobby brought him the idea. You can see some of Parsons’ sketches in our embedded gallery. One of the last challenges was safety. Unlike actual Polaroids, the foils have rounded corners rather than sharp points. But even then, Lego’s safety department had to continually test the launcher during the monthslong project to ensure other unspecified objects couldn’t be dangerously blasted. With just a few weeks left in the schedule, they told the team they’d found one more undesirable object that someone could potentially launch out of the camera. “So that was another week of testing and building,” Scott says. The final design ensures four Lego studs barely brush against the photo every time it ejects thanks to two sets of locking hinges that hold them at just the right angle. Inclined slopes on the edge of the film slot make the photo curve slightly upward as it ejects, too. Put it all together, press the button, and — chonk — the photo extends just far enough for you to easily grab, almost exactly an inch, instead of shooting all the way out.