This is truly unbelievable: Lego has built a 1:1 scale model of the X-Wing fighter using an astounding 5,335,200 bricks! It's as big as the real thing, capable of fitting the real Luke Skywalker—and Porkins.
As you can see in these exclusive Gizmodo images and video, it reproduces the official $60 Lego 9493 X-Wing Fighter. But instead of being 560-pieces and a few inches long, this model uses more than five million pieces and it's 11-feet tall and 43 feet long, with a 44-foot wingspan. Just like the real X-Wing—and 42 times the size of the commercial Lego set.
The unbelievable facts
Here are all details about the model:
- Contains 5,335,200 LEGO bricks
- Weighs 45,979.61 pounds (including bricks and steel infrastructure)
- Height: 11 feet / 3.35 meters
- Length: 43 feet / 13.1 meters
- Wingspan: 44 feet / 13.44 meters
- 32 builders spent 17,336 hours (about 4 months) to construct
Engines that light up and roar
There's only one thing different from the original model: the engines glow and roar like the X-Wing in the movies. Check it out:
Where to see it
To capture these photos and videos, Gizmodo had to travel to an airplane hangar near New York City, where the model had arrived by ship from the Lego Model Shop in Kladno, Czech Republic. But you can see it for yourself now if you are in Manhattan, since it's on display in the middle of Times Square. According to Lego:
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.
The X-Wing being unveiled today in New York City's Time Square. Bottom image by Gizmodo reader Ludlow Smith. You can see official Lego images of the unveiling here.
Not in New York? Don't worry. After three days in the city, the X-Wing will be transported to the West Coast, where it will stay until the end of the year. And, by the way, you will be able to sit inside:
Exclusive Gizmodo images
The thing is so huge and heavy that it requires an internal metal structure to support it:
Here's one of the crates used for shipping:
The model was created to promote the original Lego Star Wars animation TV series The Yoda Chronicles, which will premiere on Cartoon Network on Wednesday, May 29 at 8:00PM.
You can see my review of the Lego X-Wing Fighter 9493 right here. You can get the original 560-piece version at the Lego Shop and Amazon.
Images and video by Gizmodo's Nick Stango.
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