Blocks issue 107

One of the things that makes Disney special is that it is truly intergenerational; there was Snow White for the radio babies, The Jungle Book for the boomers, Robin Hood for Gen X, Beauty and the Beast for the millennials and Tangled for Gen Z. The Walt Disney Company has been telling stories for 100 years, a milestone that is being celebrated throughout 2023.

43222 Disney Castle is part of the LEGO Group’s Disney 100 collection. In an exclusive interview, Model Designer Ryan Van Woerkom reveals how he recreated the iconic castle and gave it a fresh colour scheme, inspired by his own love of Disney.

Castles are always great fodder for LEGO creativity and there’s no better illustration of that than the Colossal Castle Contest, which has been running for two decades. You’ll be inspired by some of the amazing models.

There are instructions for two mods this month, so you can make the Jurassic Park Explorer more movie accurate or fi x the walkway to nowhere on 10320 Eldorado Fortress.

Be sure to get on board the LEGO trains story – this month’s instalment covers the very fi rst engines, before there was even a wheel element. That story will continue next month, as we explore how LEGO trains have evolved through the years.

A long-running castle contest, a 34-year-old set revisited, trains going back to the 1960s… Disney isn’t the only brand that’s truly intergenerational. Perhaps that’s why, as with Disney, the LEGO experience holds such a special in our hearts.