How we made LEGO® Monster Fighters with Adam Grabowski

A simple request for a haunted castle that somehow grew into the launch of one of the most memorable ‘monster-led’ themes. We sat down with LEGO® designer Adam Grabowksi to discuss the behind-the-scenes origins of Monster Fighters!

From werewolves and vampires to zombie brides and swamp creatures, Monster Fighters truly had it all! This vast array of classic creatures, monsters and intrepid hunters all came together through a cleverly scripted narrative worthy of any Hollywood ‘horror movie’ script. But what were the origins of this classic theme? Was it a result of some Frankenstein-esque laboratory experiment or were there darker powers at work? Well, truth be told, it’s more like a heady potion of desire, talent and good timing all coming together at once.

The initial request

Over ten years on from its initial release, one of the members of the Monster Fighters creative team, Adam Grabowski, opens up to give us some insight into its creepy origins. He starts to explain: “It all started when Matthew Ashton, the Vice President of the LEGO Group, said that he’d like to design a creepy castle. But instead of a conventional, square fortress, he wanted it all higgledy-piggledy with lots of towers. He really wanted it to look like the home of a vampire. Keeping that in mind, I started with the Vampyre Castle (set 9468). I had a picture in my mind of what it could look like: I wanted it S-shaped! The final product ended up quite close to the one I sketched, the only difference being that mine had a science lab on the inside, and it didn’t include all the gems, as the story was yet to come.”

One sketch down, Adam continues to discuss his next preliminary drawings. “After the Castle, I began sketching the Ghost Train (set 9467) and The Crazy Scientist’s lab (set 9466). Both were inspired and partially based on one of the first sets I ever bought after my dark ages: the Scary Laboratory studio set (set 1382), released in 2002. It directly influenced the one I drew for Monster Fighters!” He goes on to describe how his desk is littered with all kinds of models and ideas, so when it came to the hearse design, it was kind of already built. He recalls: “It was something I had made just for kicks, and then before I knew it, it ended up being in the range.”

Driven by classic monsters

It’s all very well talking about coming up with ideas and concepts, but what was Adam’s process and drive in the frightening project? He goes on to explain. “I had started the concept for the theme like I normally would: just making fun, hilarious models, but then with scary monsters running through it. I really like all the old classic monsters like Frankenstein, Dracula and zombies. We wanted to go for a classic monsters-and-hunters type of theme, but we had no planned storyline, we just wanted that classic vibe. There were no gems to collect, no story, no characters, no Doctor Rodney Rathbone or Lord Vampyre. It was just pure monster-led creations.”

“The story kind of came out of nothing. Most of the designs and sketches were done before we came up with the characters and gems. The storyline ended up being made to fit the sets, and the addition of the gem-collecting part of it came much later!”

Cool cars

“All the Monster Fighters cars are loosely based on real cars. The light blue car in The Crazy Scientist & His Monster set (9466) is inspired by a Citroën 2CV, and the car that comes with the Vampyre Castle is based on a Jaguar E type. Another fun fact: except for The Vampyre Hearse (set 9464), I didn’t end up designing any of the final cars. They are the works of other people!”

He goes on to explai: “I really wanted to include a stagecoach with a V8 for the werewolf, inspired by this famous custom hot-rod called the Boothill Express. It’s an 18th century hearse coach with a giant V8, and I thought it would be so hilarious to include. But the idea ended up being too extreme, so we went with the normal hearse instead!” Well, maybe we didn’t get that giant V8 hearse this time, but this takes nothing away from the whacky vehicles that were included in this amazing theme.

An inspirational journey

From a simple request for a creepy castle to an entire theme of wonderful, monster-packed, story-driven sets. It just goes to show that the right question to the right person may just result in something spectacular. A heady potion of ‘monster-passion’ aligned with a timely question to the right designer gave birth to an entire theme that continues to be much-loved and revered by fans, and arguably unrivalled within its genre.