Hey Hey! We Build LEGO The Simpsons: Krusty Burger

Think backmost connected the dozens of landmarks and locations astir Springfield, and inquire yourself, "Which 1 of these is the astir instantly recognizable?" The archetypal one, obviously, is the Simpsons house. After that, it's Moe's Tavern. And aft that, it's astir apt the Kwik-E-Mart. The Simpsons location and the Kwik-E-Mart already person LEGO sets. That leaves Moe's, but instead, LEGO went with Krusty Burger.

Maybe the designers didn't privation to reintroduce the LEGO Simpsons enactment via Moe's degeneracy. But whereas Moe's has an established, iconic layout – we tin representation the excavation table, the backmost room, and adjacent the placement of the stools and the emotion tester successful our heads) – the Krusty Burger is little defined. Numerous episodes (as good arsenic the movie) usage the edifice arsenic a setting, but not successful a mode establishes the determination arsenic unique; its mundane, firm ubiquity is benignant of the point.

So LEGO decorator Ann Healy utilized galore Simpsons episodes, crossed the full series, to make the astir official, canon mentation of the edifice possible. She went implicit each of the episodes successful our exclusive interview with her, but the 2 main ones were “Coming to Homerica” (Season 20, Episode 21), and “I'm Spelling arsenic Fast arsenic I Can (Season 14, Episode 12).

You statesman the acceptable by gathering Homer's car decked retired with Krusty decorations, arsenic seen successful "Homie the Clown" (Season 6, Episode 15). This is the benignant of deep-cut notation this acceptable is rife with. Elsewhere, there's a poster of the Krusty Burglar, whom Homer astir kills successful the aforesaid occurrence for "stealing each the burgers." There's 1 past notation to "Homie the Clown" connected 1 of the currency registers, which reads $6.15 – a notation to the play and occurrence number.

The different currency registry reads $847.63, which is what Maggie scanned arsenic during the archetypal opening amusement sequence. This magnitude was, astatine the time, the per period outgo of raising a kid successful the United States. There's assorted posters for Krusty promotional items, including 1 for the Ribwich and different for the Mother Nature Burger. The bid motion adjacent the drive-thru model calls for 700 Krusty Burgers, which references "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood" (Season 5, Episode 8), successful which Krusty builds a Krusty Burger connected an lipid rig.

I emotion the Krusty Burger's layout. Of course, determination is simply a well-rendered eating country – with a Krusty's Kidz Zone shot pit – wherever astir of the show's scenes person taken place. But there's besides a fully-realized worker area, with a navigator and prep country (with a fryer presumption and a breached crystal pick machine, an worker bathroom, and a drive-thru wherever the attendant tin instrumentality orders and capable the soda cups. The prep presumption has Krusty Burgers stacked connected it, and this is simply a fantastic illustration of LEGO's minimalist ethos – however they negociate to convey an thought with the bare minimum of bricks.

Outside the restaurant, the drive-thru paper area, wherever you spot your order, is astir the country from the drive-thru model area, wherever you prime up your food. It's a tiny detail. But it's bully that this acceptable is much than a postulation of references, and that it really 'makes sense' from a practical, workflow standpoint.

The LEGO Krusty Burger is recommended for builders aged 18+, making it 1 of the galore LEGO sets for adults. In the past, LEGO utilized property scope to denote trouble and complexity; i.e. "You should beryllium astatine slightest this aged to person the good centrifugal control, observational abilities, and fastidiousness to physique such-and-such." And for galore years, builder property and LEGO accomplishment were commensurate, with nary cognitive dissonance betwixt the theming of a acceptable and its underlying simplicity.

But then, LEGO began selling to adults, galore who hadn't played with LEGO since they were children. And now, determination is simply a caller assemblage to cater to, which requires thing thematically mature but technically simple. I'm an 11th people nationalist schoolhouse teacher, and educators woody with a akin script regarding ELL students. A 16-year-old English learner whitethorn necessitate elemental prose. But helium besides requires thing property appropriate; we wouldn't nonstop him to the kiddie conception of the library.

That's wherefore today, the 18+ designation is inactive utilized to denote difficulty, but it's besides utilized to denote country of interest. The LEGO Krusty Burger is the cleanable acceptable for its intended Gen-X and Millennial assemblage – casual to assemble and elaborate to the past brick.

The past clip LEGO sold a full-fledged, minifigure standard Simpsons acceptable was 10 years agone (the now-retired Simpsons location debuted successful 2014, with the Kwik-E-Mart pursuing successful 2015). Perhaps the intervening decennary has allowed LEGO to execute the benignant of mainstream, big popularity to marque LEGO Simpsons a regular, yearly release, similar however the LEGO Lord of the Rings sets person been successful caller years. Certainly, we would emotion to spot more. And please, bash Moe's next!

LEGO The Simpsons: Krusty Burger, Set #10352, retails for $209.99, and it is composed of 1635 pieces. You tin purchase it here.

Kevin Wong is simply a contributing freelancer for IGN, specializing successful LEGO. He's besides been published successful Complex, Engadget, Gamespot, Kotaku, and more. Follow him connected Twitter astatine @kevinjameswong.

Originally posted:

Jun 4, 2025 1:30 pm