Typing With LEGO

I can’t imagine any typewriter lover — whether you use one or just admire them, as I do — not delighting in the new LEGO product, a very elegant, and realistic-looking, typewriter. So realistic, in fact, that once the 2,079-piece model is constructed, the typebars rise when you push the keys and the carriage moves across. It has a cloth black-&-red ribbon which is a lovely touch, and the platen even rolls so you can feed a piece of paper into it.

It was designed by a a Brit, Steve Guinness, a former secondary school Design and Technology teacher and avid LEGO fan. He has long made bespoke creations out of LEGO and in 2017 entered and won a TV competition called “Lego Masters.” He was inspired by seeing an old black-and-white photo of Ole Kirk Christiansen, the founder of the LEGO Group, which had in the background on a credenza a ’50s era typewriter. (It’s not very clear, but from what I can tell it may be a Remington Quiet-Riter.) Guinness submitted his typewriter design on LEGO’s Ideas platform, which turns winning proposals into reality. He has said, “I wanted to create something totally different from anything that LEGO has ever done before and showcase that you really can make anything out of LEGO. I hope it will bring nostalgia to adult fans like me, and wonder and curiosity to younger fans who might not have ever seen a real typewriter.”