Citations › Citation ID: 161

C161. BOOK: Daniel Konstanski, The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks: The Inside Story of a Design Icon (Unbound, 2022), p. 92,95.

The next idea from designers was moulded horses. Considering that jousting was supposed to be this theme’s focus, horses were a necessity and had dutifully been included with sets 375 and 383. But in both cases, they were brick-built and, while designers liked the size, each animal was inherently fragile and somewhat simplistic. If LEGO Castle was going to continue over the long haul, designers felt that something stronger and more realistic was needed. Until now, moulded animals had been resisted, since the company did not want to set a precedent and risk children not accepting future brick-built animals if they knew detailed, moulded versions could be made. The thinking was that such creatures would require more specialised parts, leading to a proliferation of elements.

Crafting the new LEGO horse began with tracing an existing brick-built version. Then, a skeleton of bricks was constructed, with clay added on top, to form possible body designs. Designers had wanted it to be articulated, but this meant more parts and manufacturing time, so they incorporated only a single function to make the horse’s neck move. All those designs led to a mix-up that resulted in a horse being produced for over twenty-five years that had one leg thinner than the other three.

Brick-built horses were replaced with a moulded horse to make it more realistic and more durable. This was especially relevant when introducing conflict in sets featuring two horses jousting.