LEGO designer’s mystery photoshoot finally solved

This summer’s LEGO line-up has finally solved a five-month-old mystery, revealing exactly which set designer Marcos Bessa was teasing back in January…

Almost every LEGO set these days gets its own photoshoot, with ‘in-situ’ lifestyle images accompanying renders, box art and product shots. And in January this year, LEGO Design Master Marcos Bessa – who recently left the Harry Potter theme to work across the adult portfolio – gave us a behind-the-scenes glimpse at a shoot for an upcoming set.

Exactly which model he was teasing has remained a mystery, however: until now. StoneWars has pointed out that the lifestyle images for one of this summer’s LEGO Disney sets matches the interior of Clausholm Castle, the Danish country house from which Bessa published teasers to his social media channels.

The model in question is 43227 Villain Icons, which launched on June 1 alongside a handful of other LEGO Disney sets. The lifestyle images and model (that’s the person, not the set) clearly match Bessa’s photos from January, giving us a rough idea of the lead time required for these shoots. (Presumably the LEGO Group is currently gearing up to shoot its January 2024 range.)

Bessa has also confirmed through his social channels that he was the lead designer on the display-focused 43227 Villain Icons, which recreates both on-screen and real-world objects from across Disney history.

“This has been a really fun product to create – all about nostalgia and sort of an homage to some of those pesky villains we love to hate!” Bessa wrote. “I’m a ‘90s kid and most of my classic Disney memories are undoubtedly linked to countless hours of playing VHS tapes on our old VCR… so to finally create a LEGO VHS tape has been quite fun!”

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Alongside a buildable VHS tape, books and even a poisoned apple, 43227 Villain Icons includes four unique minifigures of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Gaston and Jafar. The 1,540-piece set is available right now from LEGO.com and in LEGO Stores for £124.99 / $139.99 / €139.99.

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