Idea for 'Mister Rogers'-themed Lego set winning support
Jun. 5—A man's childhood memories of "Mister Rogers Neighborhood" could lead to the world-famous Latrobe native becoming the subject of his own Lego set this year.
When the covid-19 pandemic shut down businesses around the world, it didn't take long for Matt Smith to begin looking back to his younger days.
"I was an 'OG' Lego Star Wars collector," said Smith, 31, of New Jersey. "I had the first dozen sets they released. During the pandemic, my wife and I didn't want my toddler doing things that involved a screen, and Lego was something we could enjoy together."
When the Smiths did decide to bring television into the picture, it was one show only: "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."
"My wife and I both have fond memories of that show growing up," Smith said. "She was the one who suggested that I try and make a Lego set of Mister Rogers' house."
And less than a month after submitting his set creation to Lego's "Ideas" forum — where fan-created set ideas can garner support to be considered as a future Lego commercial set — it has gained serious traction.
Since being submitted May 16, it has rapidly racked up more than 6,000 supporters. Once a submission passes the 10,000 supporter mark, it goes on a list for consideration by Lego officials. This submission period ends Sept. 1.
"One of the most important things is figuring out the scale — how large is one part going to be compared to other parts?" Smith said. "You also have to work with Lego's existing bricks. You can't create a piece that doesn't already exist, but you can do re-colors."
For specific things like the color of the walls in Mister Rogers' house, or the slate blue of Mr. McFeely's mail jacket, Smith was able to tinker with the details as he built his set with Lego's free design software.
The re-creation of Mister Rogers' house is packed with play features and Easter eggs for fans of the show. The porch door where he entered and exited each day is in place, and the closet opens to reveal a hanging sweater. The accurately re-created Picture-Picture, couch, traffic light, fish tank and kitchen feature small details for the eagle-eyed viewer. These include the VHS tape that slides into the wall behind Picture-Picture, the brick-built refrigerator replicating the fridge on set, the kitchen drawers with tools and gadgets, and the door leading to his back porch.
The famous red trolley travels through the walls to the back of the set, which reveals a re-creation of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
"I'm a perfectionist, so I kept working with the design until it was really polished," Smith said. "I spent about 125 hours, between taking individual bricks, working out the geometry, putting the correct colors in place and everything else."
By gaining support so quickly, Smith earned himself an additional 700-plus days to reach the 10,000 mark.
"They do three review sessions per year, and you go up against every other set that's made 10,000 supporters within that timeframe," he said. "It could be five sets or it could be 75."
The public can vote to support Smith's submission by creating an account at ideas.lego.com.
Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick by email at pvarine@triblive.com or via Twitter .
