Witness these incredible models and more at the world-first LEGO Star Wars: The Exhibition.
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C-3PO with Ryan ‘Brickman’ McNaught.
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The force is strong in Victoria’s capital, with the world’s first LEGO Star Wars exhibition about to make its premiere at the Melbourne Museum.
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It is a colossal celebration of creativity, craftsmanship and childhood dreams brought to life by none other than Shepparton’s own Ryan ‘Brickman’ McNaught.
Mr McNaught, who was raised in Shepparton, is one of only 21 LEGO certified professionals in the world — and the only one in the Southern Hemisphere.
It is a role he takes seriously.
“I’m the person who makes everything awesome out of LEGO in this part of the world,” he says.
“My job is to inspire people, so hopefully it’s inspirational, and it makes people want to create their own things.”
With more than 25,000 hours of building and over eight million LEGO bricks used, enough to form a tower 7.68km high, LEGO Star Wars: The Exhibition is the most ambitious and immersive project of Mr McNaught’s career.
“Building the Star Wars universe from LEGO has been a dream project,” he says.
“We’ve gone bigger than ever before, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve built.”
Opening on the iconic Star Wars Day — May the fourth — was no accident.
“We worked backwards from the day, so that was always absolutely intentional,” Ryan says.
The exhibition invites visitors into life-sized LEGO recreations of iconic Star Wars scenes and characters.
Interactive experiences such as building your own LEGO lightsabre and digital activities inspired by galactic battles ensure the exhibition is more than just a display — it’s a hands-on journey through the galaxy.
But reimagining one of the world’s most beloved franchises was no small feat.
“I had to watch a lot of the Star Wars movies again, which was kind of cool,” Mr McNaught says with a laugh.
“But it was critical to get it right.
“The story we tell in the exhibition has to match that of the Star Wars universe.
“Planning that out with Lucasfilm and Disney took a long time.”
Despite his global success, Mr McNaught hasn’t lost touch with where it all began.
“If I had to pick one LEGO model to represent Shepparton, it would be the tower (Shepparton Observation Tower) in the middle of town,” Mr McNaught says.
“In today’s world, it doesn’t matter where you’re from — we’re all connected digitally.
“Growing up in Shepp was actually an advantage because everything’s so close.”
The world-first exhibition constructed by the Shepparton local will be the largest of its kind to tour the globe.
“I get to play with LEGO for a living,” he says.
“People kind of look at you funny and think that’s not a real job.”
But it is — one that’s inspiring generations of builders, dreamers and Star Wars fans alike.
Tickets are on sale now, with general admission prices starting from $24 for children and $38 for adults.
Din Djarin vs Moff Gideon took a combined total of 359 hours to build.
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The duel between Darth Vader and Luke Sywalker in The Empire Strikes Back is one of the centrepieces of the exhibition.
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LEGO brick model of the iconic X-wing. Measuring in at over 3m high and built using an astonishing 64,759 bricks, this incredible model took 382 hours to make.
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