LEGO for Adults 10294 Titanic references an ex-LEGO designer

The new LEGO for Adults 10294 Titanic features a reference to an ex-LEGO designer, with a personal touch that recognises their involvement.

Tiago Catarino, a previous designer at the LEGO Group has published an early review of 10294 Titanic ahead of release, noticing an Easter egg to himself in the massive model.

Starting at 8:55 in the early review, Tiago explains how he initially pitched the Titanic as a potential set to the LEGO Group in 2019 before leaving the company, consequently feeling a personal connection to the newer model, and being thankful for receiving an early copy. Despite the pitch, he was never involved in designing the final set itself.

However, whilst building 10294 Titanic, the ex-designer discovered that his original suggestion had not been forgotten, with a small, but important reference to him. The printed gravestone found in 10273 Haunted House has been hidden in the hull, confirming that Tiago’s colleagues remember his pitch and wanted to involve him in the official set despite his departure.

“Long story short, in 2018 I designed 21313 Ship in a Bottle and included a tile with my initials ‘T.C.’. In 2019 I left the company for personal reasons and in 2020 10273 Haunted House was launched, which included mentions to my name in the form of the Organ of Catarino and the T.C. tombstone in the graveyard,” explained the YouTuber.

“Now I’m assuming my pitch to the LEGO Group in 2019 must have had some sort of significance in turning the idea into a LEGO set and for that reason, the tombstone tile was used again. I think that’s the greatest Easter egg ever in a LEGO set.”

LEGO for Adults 10294 Titanic will launch on November 8, but pre-orders will begin sailing on November 1. At a total of 9,090 pieces, it’s one of the largest LEGO sets ever made and you can tour through the set in our comprehensive gallery of images.

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