Got five minutes? Watch us put together the LEGO NES set

Now you’re building with power

When Nintendo and LEGO announced they were collaborating on a new product line featuring the Super Mario franchise, I wasn’t exactly stoked for what they were going for. It’s certainly innovative and reeks of Nintendo’s desire to differentiate itself from the pack, but as a collector in my mid-30s, it didn’t mesh with how LEGO sets fit into my life as something I build over the course of the day and then admire from time to time afterward.

The LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System is much more up my alley. Designed for collectors like me, this set is a behemoth with lots of tiny pieces and plenty of moving parts. It’s a lot of work building it one sitting, and to give you an idea of how labor-intensive it can be, I recorded the entire process and condensed it down into a five-minute video for your viewing pleasure.

A lot of work, but so well worth it. If you’re wondering, here are a few details about all the work that went into making this video:

• Total time it took to complete: 7 hours, 30 minutes
• Total amount of gigabytes recorded for this video: 135
• Number of pieces listed on the box: 2,646
• Number of pieces left over: 50
• Number of pieces that stuck to my arm and fell to the floor during filming: 14
• Number of times I had to take the set apart to fix it: 1
• Number of times I had to stop filming to unload my memory card: 5
• Number of blisters on my thumbs: 2

This is easily the most complicated and time-consuming LEGO set I’ve ever assembled, and it’s cooled my interest in picking up anything larger, like the 4000+ piece LEGO Death Star or that LEGO Grand Piano. Though if we ever get that LEGO Hyrule Castle people keep pitching in the Ideas program, I’m sure my passion for massive sets will burn once more.