Just when you think the LEGO craze can’t get any more over-the-top, some absolute genius out there finds a way to one-up everyone and build something even more ridiculous out of the plastic bricks. I thought the LEGO Bugatti Chiron was the epitome of cool. . . and then I saw the LEGO Volkswagen T2 Camper.
I have been lusting after a VW Camper ever since my brain developed the capacity to see a car. I need it in my life. I have also been playing with LEGOs since my brain developed the motor skills necessary to hold things. A LEGO VW Camper is, quite literally, a childhood dream I didn’t even know existed come true.
The genius and labor behind this particular masterpiece are Rene Hoffmeister and Pascal Lenhard, who built the entire camper in just six weeks of very long days and even longer nights, Petrolicious.com reports. Hoffmeister is one of twelve officially certified LEGO model makers in the entire world—a job title I didn’t even know existed until today but which I will now aspire to achieve when I grow up.
The two men had one hell of a process to get things going that involved a lot of engineering and math to make sure the construction plan was accurate, that the walls and windows would be rigid enough to hold the camper’s weight, and they they’d have enough blocks to complete the damn thing. All told, after a scare where they realized they were missing 20,000 transparent blocks for the windows, Hoffmeister and Lenhard used a grand total of 400,000 blocks. That is absurd.
The bus is 16.4 feet in length and 1,543 lbs, according to newsatlas.com, which makes it quite possibly the largest LEGO camper to ever exist. And, to put the cherry on top, it uses twice as many LEGOs as the record-breaking teardrop trailer did in 2015.
Unfortunately, there’s currently no indication as to the functionality of this particular trailer. The teardrop trailer had running water and working lights, and the Bugatti Chiron actually drives—but it doesn’t look like the T2 has been equipped with that kind of technology.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t one hell of an incredible art piece, complete with actual Volkswagen tires, a working pop-up roof, a sliding door, and minute details like dishes in the sink. I’ve never been so happy that something I can’t even touch exists.
If you happen to be in Munich this week, the LEGO camper is making its debut at the F.re.e travel and leisure fair alongside plenty of other functional campers that you can actually buy.