Five surprising influences on LEGO Ideas Insects

LEGO Ideas 21342 The Insect Collection is undoubtedly realistic – but how did it come to be so?

From the smooth gradient on the Blue Morpho Butterfly to the intricately articulated legs of the Chinese Mantis, LEGO Ideas 21342 The Insect Collection pays close attention to every detail, resulting in an effective likeness for each one of the main builds. LEGO Ideas Design Manager Jordan Scott, who took the lead on the set, was keen to make sure that each creature was scaled up to as close to real life as possible, doing a ton of research into exactly how each actual creepy-crawly looked.

As well as getting inspiration from one of the UK's most beloved celebrities, Jordan also named five other somewhat surprising influences on LEGO Ideas 21342 The Insect Collection in a recent interview. Here's what he had to say.

5 – LEGO Marvel 76217 Baby Groot

“Weirdly enough, the set that I referenced for building the trees was the Baby Groot for the layout of the head," explained Jordan. "It made a nice rounded, long log.

Here, Jordan is referring to the three stands that each of the main insects sits on. Each has its own log, particular to the region and habitat that they come from, but also inspired by the magical wood that makes up Groot's body – or at least the brick-built version of it from the LEGO Marvel theme.

"All the insects made sense to be attached to some piece of wood and I wanted to make sure that each still felt unique," continued Jordan. "That's why the Hercules Beetle is on a thicker one that's more rotting, the Mantis is on one that's a bit thinner and covered in leaves, and then the Butterfly is just above a flower. I wanted to make sure that they were all distinct."

4 – LEGO Ideas 21338 A-Frame Cabin and 21325 Medieval Blacksmith

Overall, the colours of 21342 The Insect Collection really pop, especially when all three insects are displayed together. Each one has its own colour scheme (the blue butterfly, orange and yellow beetle, and green mantis) but includes a multitude of shades and colours in both the creatures themselves and their nature-focused stands to give a vibrant effect. To achieve this look, Jordan used his experience with other LEGO Ideas sets, particularly those with natural elements.

"Originally, I built [the logs] in the same colours like dark tan and brown," said Jordan. "As soon as you saw it, it was just very muted, so I shifted the tone to tan and dark tan and it just made everything brighter and made the insects stand out even more.

"Looking at things like [21338 A-Frame Cabin and 21325 Medieval Blacksmith], at how we've done moss and bits of grass in a LEGO form with layering colours, the three-leaf pieces, and small details like that [helped].”

3 – LEGO Botanical Collection

As soon as 21342 The Insect Collection was revealed, comparisons began to be drawn between it and the Botanical Collection. Not only does it include several plants that look similar to those in the range of 18+ sets, but the building techniques and creative use of existing elements are also very similar – as confirmed by Jordan himself.

“I definitely took inspiration from some of the construction techniques [of the Botanical Collection]," he affirmed. "We sit right next to the Icons team that's working on Botanicals, so I got a lot of input from the people that had worked on the previous bouquets, both the first one and the Wildflower one, advising on any fun elements that we could look into.

"I approached the Insects in a similar way to the Botanics, [looking at] what fun pieces can we use in a different colour that you wouldn't expect. That's why you ended up with revolvers for the mantis legs in sand green. I needed something that had a little angle to it and also a little bit of detail.

"We actually looked into an element instead to make those legs but it didn't make sense because we already had something that worked. I think it's better [to use] things you wouldn't expect, instead of making something very specific.”

2 – LEGO Super Mario

For some areas, however, there was no need to get creative with repurposing elements like knives and guns. Thanks to a recent new element for LEGO Super Mario, Jordan was able to get the exact right leaf without creating a new element with the big banana leaves featured in sets like 71424 Donkey Kong's Tree House Expansion Set.

Jordan went on to use the piece in the stand of the Blue Morpho Butterfly in 21342 The Insect Collection, to fill out some of the tropical flowers that decorate the ground around its log, attracting a brick-built bee in the process.

1 – Real-life creatures

Of course, there's only so much inspiration you can get without ultimately needing to see the real thing. Jordan tried to do just that while in San Diego last year – but came up against a snag.

"Last year during Comic Con, I went to the zoo and saw a Hercules Beetle and a mantis – but the butterfly enclosure was closed," Jordan explained. "They actually have the Blue Morpho Butterfly, so it was really annoying [that] I couldn't get in to see them. I was trying to see how big they were to get a reference for scale."

Nonetheless, even without seeing the butterfly in person, the end result is impressive. Check out our detailed review to read exactly why we were impressed, ahead of LEGO Ideas 21342 The Insect Collection's release on September 4 for LEGO Insiders and September 7 for everyone else, retailing for £69.99 / $79.99 / €79.99.

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