Another brick in the hall: Lego’s new BrickHeadz line

SINGAPORE – Working in a job that allows you to play with toys is a dream job for some, not least Marcos Bessa, the lead designer on the Lego’s new BrickHeadz collection, which was launched on Saturday (March 11) at the Bricks World store in Ngee Ann City.

The new collection is a series of 12 creations based on well-known characters from the movies and look like a cross between a Lego Minecraft figure and a bobble-head toy.

BrickHeadz, Bessa said, is targeted at those who are a bit older and who “may be staying away” from playing with Lego. “This is a kind of ‘snack build’,” he said, of the BrickHeadz line. “It’s easy and it’s quick; but it’s very fulfilling.

“There’s the achievement of having built something that is a character that you love in Lego form, in an adorable form, (and it’s) pretty cool as well, I’d say.”

The 12 characters are taken from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Lego Batman movie, Beauty And The Beast and Pirates Of The Caribbean, and will be rolled out over four weekends until April 2.

Bessa, who joined Lego as a junior designer seven years ago after graduating from university with a degree in Computer Engineering (“It was the best thing that could ever happen to me”), said this collection took quite a while to put together.

“For a line like this, when you’re tapping into the love of characters that someone has, there will be a lot of opinions. I don’t think there has been a theme at Lego that has sparked off as many discussions as this one (about) what characters should be part of the family; what are the strongest, most iconic ones; what’s relevant for people out there…”

While Bessa is the lead designer for this one, he worked with a team to put everything together, and spent a lot of time getting the details right. “We spent a lot of time designing the hair. The Joker, for instance, has one of the most complex hair designs,” he elaborated. “Because we based him on the mini figure we made for the Lego Batman movie, it was a lot of work to capture those threads of hair, in terms of style, while still being true to the mini figure’s hairstyle.”

“My favourite is Jack Sparrow (from Pirates Of The Caribbean). The guys I was working with did a really great job. He looks adorable and looks cool,” he added.

“And I love his ‘bacon’. He has this little scarf hanging (from his belt) but it totally looks like a slice of bacon. It’s an awesome little element. It can be a piece of fabric, but if you take it out of (that context) it can be a slice of bacon on a plate!”

For Bessa, he hopes this new line would inspire fans – or those who have stopped playing with Lego - to create versions of their own favourite characters “that might not be part of the family yet”.

“Hopefully, it will drive them back into building with Lego. That’s the main goal for us.”

And the 12 creations are only the first in the series, but Bessa isn’t revealing any details. “I can’t give you any names yet, but I can tell you there’s definitely more coming.”