LEGO Inside Tour 2016—Exclusive Set

Every Inside Tour ends with a very special gift from LEGO: A set produced only for those who attend the tour that year. The sets have always been linked to LEGO's history and this year continued that tradition.

The sets are numbered and only 320 produced this year. They are further personalized for each tour by printing a group photo of all participants on the packaging. In my opinion it's a beautiful set and it was a pleasure to build. Now I just need to decide where I should display it.

Here are some photos from the build, and of course I had to take it outside to get natural light on it—

Tightest packed set I've ever got

Minifigures

The base of part 1

It's a Volvo!

Part 1 done, on to part 2.

Great details and solid design. The only thing missing is the sleeping quarters in the cab. In the model the cab instead holds the flags (see below).

LEGO Truck Show—"The world's largest and most beautiful LEGO Truck drove across Europe from 1996-2004. The unique project was conceived to showcase the LEGO Group's products throughout Europe in a new and different way."

Welcome LEGO Fans! The JVK minifigure is not in the set, we got it when we met him on the tour. #starstruck

The box. My box. Signed by set designer Steen Sig Andersen, instructions designer Michael Madsen, driver Jens Conrad Hansen and Johnny Pinholt Thorsen, who designed the real truck back in 1994.

LEGO Inside Tour 2016

I've been a LEGO fan all my life, but never heard of the Inside Tour until last year when I noticed an article on Brickset about it. I set a reminder in my calendar for November 9 and on that day I send in my application. A few weeks later the Inside Tour team sent a mail saying I'd made it to the list of participants.

Then: I waited. I got a Christmas card. I got my tour #3 assignment. I bought plane tickets. And finally, it was June 7—

A Unique LEGO Experience

Besides what some articles on Brickset had revealed about previous years' tours I didn't know anything about what to expect, but the three days in Billund far surpassed everything I'd imagined. It was three days with thirtyfour other passionate fans, with LEGO designers, with marketing professionals, and with lots of secrets from inside the world behind the bricks as we see them.

As usual, I'll let photos tell my story. Here is the LEGO Inside Tour—

The road from Hotel LEGOLAND into Billund town (and the LEGO offices) 

LEGO HQ

Innovation house, where the designers work

Someone left a shutter open. Is that an old set, or something coming next year?

The LEGO archives, where one of every old set is stored for reference

The first bricks

The first wheel

The first train

The first minifigures

It's a classic, though I preferred the grey generation

Fabuland

Another classic: LL928

The modern LEGO city, including 2016 sets

Wall repairs

What I built on the first night when designers rolled in cabinets full of elements, the same sets they work with, and hosted a MOC contest for us (I didn't win)

LEGO House under construction, opening 2017

I'm not the only LEGO photographer

Inspired by above

During a private tour of LEGOLAND, before it opened to the public in the morning, our guide pointed this out: The smallest model in the park; only 4 bricks

The solar panels are not only for show, they actually power parts of the models

I don't know why, but I can never resist photographing trains when I get a chance to

Clever use of HERO Factory retail sets in the park

They've hung the balloon from a tree; more fun if it was actually flying and tied down

Mini-Sweden

Riding the yellow dragon

Super-sized sea serpent

Great detail on a (real, not LEGO) building in the park's Polar Explorer section

Friends' skyscraper

The lookout tower at night

Mini-moose

Great details, with an audio track playing telling the visitors about NASA's shuttle program

One of our many souvenirs: A new Cole minifigure with photo-friendly details

The 2016 Exclusive Set

Click here to see it.