Six of the best hidden references in LEGO sets over the years

15/09/202415/09/2024 Rachael Davies 100 Views 0 Comments

LEGO Art 31213 Mona Lisa includes a hidden Easter egg and it’s got us thinking about some of the neatest LEGO references over the years.

LEGO designers love to include a hidden reference (or two, or three) in LEGO sets. Some designers will leave their initials or other calling cards in models and the LEGO Ideas team in particular loves to put in personal nods to the fan designers of the sets.

In other builds, the LEGO Group makes reference to cultural or historical moments. There are a wealth of different Easter eggs to find in sets throughout the LEGO system. Too many to name in fact and the list is getting ever longer. 31213 Mona Lisa, for example, is coming out next month with 1,503 pieces. You might think that’s simply the number of pieces required, but history buffs will know that 1503 is the year that the real-life Mona Lisa was painted.

While we won’t name all the LEGO Group’s Easter eggs in one article, the tidbit about 31213 Mona Lisa has got us thinking about some of the best references ever released. We’ve rounded up six below, ranging from LEGO Marvel to Icons.

76057 Spider-Man: Web Warriors Ultimate Bridge Battle

We’re kicking it off with a pop culture reference, seen in LEGO Super Heroes 76057 Spider-Man: Web Warriors Ultimate Bridge Battle. The set features a stickered tile over the arch of the bridge reading ‘1962.’ It blends in well and could easily be simply the year the bridge was built in-universe – but it has a hidden meaning that it’s also the year Spider-Man was first introduced in Issue 15 of the comic book ‘Amazing Fantasy’.

10317 Land Rover Classic Defender 90

Next up is LEGO Icons 10317 Land Rover Classic Defender 90, where the number plate, ‘L316 HUE,’ manages to include not one but two references to Land Rover history. The first is based on ‘L316,’ which refers to the internal code for the classic Defender design, produced between 1983 and 2016. The second half of the plate refers to HUE 166, a vehicle described as ‘the most famous Land Rover ever’, thanks to being the first-ever production Land Rover, debuting at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show.

That’s especially fitting, considering the LEGO Icons set came out to celebrate the Land Rover’s 75th birthday, where extra importance should be placed on the heritage of the brand. That original car carried the registration plate HUE 166, and has since been nicknamed ‘Huey,’ a nickname that carries through into the brick-built license plate.

92176 NASA Apollo Saturn V

Just like 31213 Mona Lisa, LEGO Ideas 21309 NASA Apollo Saturn V has a secret fun fact in its piece count. The number of parts included in the set, 1,969 to be precise, exactly matches the year of the first Apollo launch in 1969. Considering the LEGO spaceship was inspired by the real-life rockets used to send men to the moon by NASA, it’s not only a fun Easter egg but also an impressive feat to keep the piece count so precise when based on an existing structure.

21330 Home Alone

As noted above, LEGO Ideas sets will often feature personal references to the fan designers. That’s true for 21330 Home Alone’s fan designer Alex Storozhuk, who goes by Adwind on LEGO Ideas. That username can be found on a sticker within the set, featured on Kevin’s unused plane ticket, where he should apparently have flown with Adwind Airlines.

21347 Red London Telephone Box

21347 Red London Telephone Box took personal fan designer references to a whole new level. Not only are there stickered references to LEGO Ideas as a theme, but there are also the ‘TC’ and ‘SC’ initials for designer John Cramp’s son and daughter. Plus, the number on the jazz quartet or jazz club poster and the “Your Ideas here’ is his [wedding] anniversary.

21327 Typewriter

LEGO Design Manager explained a subtle reference hidden in 21327 Typewriter in an interview around the time of its release, saying: “The label on the back has a serial number for a typewriter. You can see that it has ‘SG’, for Steve Guinness, and then it has ‘NGUOYD’ – ‘never give up on your dreams’ in an acronym – and then his birthday.”

Little nods like these in LEGO Ideas sets make those sets especially meaningful for the fan designers, making sure they are forever a part of the sets they build. There are plenty more out there that we haven’t been able to include here; leave your favourites in the comments below.

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Rachael Davies

I write about all the very best fandoms – and that means LEGO, of course. Spending so much time looking at and talking about LEGO sets is dangerous for my bank balance, but the LEGO shelves are thriving. You win some, you lose some.