(Written by E. B. – Eabs3)
If you have been involved in the LEGO hobby for a while, you may have noticed that LEGO likes to include Easter eggs in their sets. Easter eggs are unexpected and usually undocumented small details that LEGO designers add as an insider joke or little surprise for the pleasure of their most dedicated fans. They are usually not noticed by general shoppers, but only those who really pay attention. 🙂
Some sets include Easter eggs related to the topic of the set. For example, the #76057 LEGO Super Heroes Spider-Man Web Warriors Ultimate Bridge Battle includes a stickered tile over the arch of the bridge with the year Spider-Man was first introduced (1962) in issue #15 of the comic book Amazing Fantasy. Another good example is the recently released #21309 LEGO Ideas NASA Apollo Saturn V, where the number of parts included in the set matches the year of the first Apollo launch (1969).
Some Easter eggs in LEGO sets refer to LEGO’s own history. A wonderful example is the #70317 LEGO Nexo Knights The Fortrex. The front gate features two numbers 375-6075. This is a reference to one of the most iconic early LEGO sets, the #375/#6075 LEGO Yellow Castle.
Other Easter eggs are more subtle and are harder to identify. When I recently built the #76083 LEGO Super Heroes Spider-Man Beware the Vulture set, I noticed that the license plate number was AC-JR10. It is known in the LEGO fan community that LEGO designers like to hide their initials in the sets they work on, so I was curious to see if the license plate matches the name of the designer.
Brickset.com has a really neat feature, where you can check the sets a particular LEGO designer worked on. Some of the lists are maintained by the designers themselves, and others are updated by the community (if it is known who is the designer).
After some searching in the Brickset Featured Bricklists for designers, I discovered that the #76083 LEGO Super Heroes Spider-Man Beware of the Vulture set was designed by Justin Ramsden, and thus the JR in the license plate number. And I also found out that AC are the initials of LEGO graphic designer Adam Corbally.
LEGO City sets with vehicles also commonly have the initials of the designers hidden on license plates. If you look at the Brickset Featured Bricklist for Pierre Normandin, you will see his initials on a number of LEGO City vehicles, like the #60107 LEGO City Fire Ladder Truck pictured above.
You can go through all the other Featured Bricklists, and see if you notice the initials of any of the designers. You will probably find them hidden somewhere in the sets they worked on.
What do you think? Have you noticed any Easter eggs in the LEGO sets you own? Feel free to share your own finds in the comment section below! Also, I’m a TFOL (Teen-Fan-of-LEGO), and this is my first post at theBrickBlogger. I run my own blog called KeyToTheBrick.WordPress.com. Feel free to stop by and feedback is welcome! 😉
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