LEGO has announced what could have been the perfect stocking-stuffer, a new Retro Camera Creator Set that will cost only $20. Unfortunately, it will arrive in stores just after Christmas.
As seen on Kosmo Foto, the LEGO Retro Camera set allows builders to craft a 35mm film SLR camera, complete with a moving lens, film loading, and film-inspired strap.
The set includes the necessary parts to build the camera, two film rolls, film canisters, a working film rewind handle, and a hot shoe.
Alongside the 35mm camera build, which includes little LEGO film rolls that have transparencies of photos, like wildlife snaps of a giraffe and some butterflies, LEGO fans can also create a retro video camera with an opening flap or a retro TV with an antenna using the parts included in the 3-in-1 set.
The set is recommended for builders aged eight and up and includes 261 pieces. The LEGO Retro Camera will be available for $20 beginning January 1, 2024.
It has been a good year for the cohort of vintage image-making enthusiasts who also love LEGO. In early July, LEGO announced a Walt Disney Tribute Camera, a beautiful vintage cinema camera, as part of LEGO’s Disney Centennial celebration.
In June, PetaPixel featured a LEGO Ideas project that pays tribute to Ansel Adams. The proposed LEGO set reached the necessary 10,000-supporter threshold to enter official review by LEGO, meaning that the set may one day become a reality.
The impressive LEGO build includes an Ansel Adams-like figure on top of the famous photographer’s iconic station wagon, capturing a landscape scene with a large-format camera. Hopefully, for photography fans everywhere, LEGO will approve the set, and it will land on store shelves.
It would not be the first time a photo-related LEGO Ideas project became a reality. Minibrick Productions’ Polaroid Onestep SX-70 project was supported, reviewed, and eventually approved by LEGO.
Per Bricks Up, the LEGO Ideas Polaroid Camera (#21345) is rumored to be released next month, joining the new LEGO Creator Retro Camera 3-in-1 set. It is expected to cost $80 and promises to be similar to the original design submission, albeit with about 20 fewer pieces. It should still include a functional film tray and, according to Bricks Up, may even feature some electronic components.
Image credits: LEGO
