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For the latest issue of WIRED, we handpicked our favourite gadgets, holidays, cars, apps, food and more to form the Live the WIRED Life feature - a guide to this summer's must-have objects.
Each of us was tasked with selecting an item, and chief sub-editor Mike Dent chose the Classic 1966 Batcave LEGO set.
At WIRED we take our products seriously, so Dent graciously volunteered to not only build the set – which contains a staggering 2,526 pieces – he was willing to do it in a single sitting.
A camera was set up to capture every brick, bump and block and, dedicated to his art, Dent spent eight hours crafting the final piece - all recorded in this mesmerising timelapse video.
"My building skills were a little rusty to say the least, and I hadn’t recently tackled anything on this scale (the 735-piece Avengers Quinjet Aerial Battle was my last big-ish build), so I looked up some pre-build advice on the set," explained Dent.
"The expert consensus was around six hours – though I ended up taking eight in a single sitting. Watch the film carefully, and you can just about make out when I go to the loo, eat a sandwich and take some phone calls..."
The first thing to build out of the box is the Batmobile. "It's a smart move, to make you feel you’ve achieved something straight off the bat (ho ho)," continued Dent. "Plus it’s a lovely model in its own right. I was really impressed by just how much of the George Barris car it channelled, right down to the goofy labels for the bat-gadgets."
"The Wayne Manor Library is just lovely – so it’s disappointing there isn’t more of the interior. All the action takes place in the cave underneath, which is full of fun elements with some nice details, including working Batpoles! You have no idea how happy these made me."
Dent's main gripe with the set was that a lot of time was spent building brown stalactites for the substructure, which has the potential to become dull for younger builders.
"Overall, it’s a satisfying but pretty complex build, with a fair amount of repetition of elements (Atomic Pile, I’m looking at you), so I’d say it was geared more toward adult builders. Besides, only a very peculiar child would be delighted that the Joker minifig has Cesar Romero's makeup-covered moustache..."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
