Someone is recreating miniature Toronto police scenes in Lego and it's adorable
Since the first interlocking Lego blocks rolled off the assembly line in 1949, the colourful, foot-killing toy has become a staple for children and even adults around the world.
In the latter camp, serious hobbyists take their love of these building blocks to an intense level, often folding in other interests like movie franchises or real-world buildings.
We've seen a few local examples over the years, with Lego fans showing their love for Toronto street scenes and even the regional transit system.
In another case, a Toronto man has spent years creating a parallel police force, mirroring events, equipment, and other developments in local law enforcement on a miniature scale.
A Lego fan and auxiliary officer with the Toronto Police Service, Daniel Ng — known on social media as legocopgta — tells blogTO that he "wanted to see Lego based on my city. So I made my own."
Ng says that he customizes the figures by hand using a mix of official and third-party Lego-compatible parts in conjunction with finer details such as badges and insignia that are carefully printed and glued into place.
What started as a personal project grew into something more five years ago, when Ng shared a few customized Lego figures with fellow officers at 43 Division as Christmas gifts. They were a hit, and later, his wife encouraged him to share more of his work on social media.
"She thought it would be a good idea for me to share some of my great photos and that's how this really took off," says Ng, who has since amassed almost 7K followers on Instagram and over 4K on Twitter.
He places his figures in depictions of real-world policing situations, including the recent fire truck joyride incident, where a woman stole a fire truck and crashed like the Kool-Aid man through the fire station's garage doors before being tracked down and arrested nearby.
A recent subway stabbing was given the same treatment.
As has the all-too-common offence of drivers blowing past stopped streetcar doors.
Other frequent Toronto Police calls represented in Lego include dogs and children left locked in hot cars.
"I use my account to educate people about the roles of police and to put out public-safety messages," says Ng. "I hope these messages can bring some fun to my followers and also reduce 'tension' between communities," he adds.
It's generated plenty of interest, not just from media, fellow police officers, and Lego enthusiasts, but also from other areas of public service.
Ng said that he's expanded to create figures from a growing list of fields including "paramedics, firefighters, transit staff, and letter carriers."
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