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Why a Duck, Lego?

Visitors to the Lego House in Denmark this month have a rare opportunity to take home a limited-edition 3D-printed Lego duck. They have been selling online for hundreds of dollars.

Norbert Sparrow

November 7, 2022

It might seem extravagant to plan an impromptu vacay in Denmark to visit the Lego House this month just so you can get your hands on a limited-edition 3D-printed Lego duck. But if you’re a brick fanatic, voire completist, it might be cheaper than buying one online, where the collectible reportedly has fetched as much as $1000. Plus, you get to visit this charming country, and perhaps spend a day in the magical Tivoli Gardens, which re-opens for the holiday season on Nov. 19, in the bargain.

Here’s the deal: The Lego House in Billund, Denmark, is offering the 3D-printed duck for purchase to visitors who participate in the Minifigure Factory experience during three weekends this month — Nov. 11 to 13, 18 to 20, and 25 to 27. To qualify, visitors need to sign up in advance and pay about $12. Also, they will be asked to complete an online survey. Lego will use feedback from this pilot project to “help shape future innovation as we continue to test the limits of 3D-printing technology,” explained Ronen Hadar, head of Lego’s additive design and manufacturing team.

The duck is the first stand-alone 3D-printed element to be released by the Lego Group. Previously, a 3D-printed element had been included in a special edition set given to participants in the 2019 Lego Inside Tour. Until now, the duck was not for sale, making it a desirable and expensive commodity on secondary marketplaces.

The duck is manufactured to Lego’s exacting standards using the selective laser sintering process, reports Lego fan site Brickset, which enables the addition of moving parts. In this case, the duck’s beak opens and closes when it is pushed.

Why a duck, you might ask. It’s a replica of a wooden toy duck created by Lego founder Ole Kirk Kristiansen, according to Gizmodo. The 3D-printed version went through extra quality checks to ensure its beak smoothly opens and closes, added Hadar.

About the Author

Norbert Sparrow

Editor in chief of PlasticsToday since 2015, Norbert Sparrow has more than 30 years of editorial experience in business-to-business media. He studied journalism at the Centre Universitaire d'Etudes du Journalisme in Strasbourg, France, where he earned a master's degree.

www.linkedin.com/in/norbertsparrow

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