LEGO confirms the X-Mansion wasn’t always going to be modular

The LEGO designers behind 76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion have confirmed that the Marvel model wasn’t always going to be a modular building – and that it originally looked very different.

76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion follows in the same format as 76178 Daily Bugle, 76218 Sanctum Sanctorum and 76269 Avengers Tower, sitting on regular LEGO baseplates and with connection points to those other buildings (as well as the wider LEGO Modular Buildings Collection). That felt almost inevitable after three years of LEGO Marvel modulars, but it wasn’t even in the conversation when the designers first started considering a giant X-Mansion set.

“This one’s been in the pipeline for ages,” X-Mansion designer Justin Ramsden told MiniSuperHeroesToday. “I think Marcos Bessa made the original sketch [model], at least in my memory. I’ve been in Super Heroes for nearly 10 years. And originally we didn’t even think of putting it on a baseplate. It was going to be this tan building and it was going to live by itself.”

A confidential image of that original sketch model was floating around certain corners of the internet a little while ago, and while we can’t show it or link to it here, it really was very drastically different to what we’ve ended up with in 76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion. Given how long it was apparently in the works, it’s perhaps not surprising that it changed. But the specific direction of those changes was ultimately dictated by the sets that arrived in the meantime.

“It was only when we saw the success of the Daily Bugle,” Justin confirmed. “When the Bugle was getting sketched up we were like, ‘Oh hang on, maybe we could do a series of these.’ And so then the Sanctum came along, because obviously Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness was coming out. And we were like, ‘Maybe it makes sense then to do another one.’

“The Avengers Tower seemed like the next [best] fit, and then, well, what do we do after the Avengers Tower? Well, it has to be the X-Mansion. So the question is, what’s next? And we have a few thoughts, but we’ve love to know your thoughts.”

That suggests that the LEGO Marvel modulars will continue their annual release pattern, and there are obviously plenty of potential candidates that could fit the bill. But from a wider perspective this also implies that larger LEGO Marvel buildings are seemingly forevermore locked into being modular, even for those locations that – like the mansion – wouldn’t traditionally be sandwiched into a city street.

Are you glad 76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion is compatible with LEGO modular buildings, or would you rather have had a standalone building? Sound off in the comments.

76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion is available from November 1 for LEGO Insiders (and November 4 for everyone else) for £289.99 / $329.99 / €329.99. Click here to check out the set’s exclusive day-one gift-with-purchase, or head here to take a closer look inside the mutant mansion.

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