Exploring the Unseen Models of the  LEGO® Icons Tropical Aquarium

The new LEGO® Icons Tropical Aquarium is here. Are you ready for an exclusive peek at the concept work and model discovery that went into the set?

A lighthouse… a shipwreck… colorful coral and plants… no creative stone was left unturned when LEGO Designer Sven Franic was developing the LEGO Icons Tropical Aquarium. 

We have raided LEGO Designer Sven Franic’s concept cupboard and discovered a treasure trove of models that were considered while creating the ultimate aquarium. 

Lighthouse

Sven initially explored the option of adding a lighthouse within the aquarium. This was to serve as a focal point to build the aquarium around. However, as they added more elements and features to the design, it became clear that the lighthouse was disrupting the flow of the set, and it didn’t fully integrate with the more natural builds in the set.

Shipwreck

On a continuous creative journey, Sven also explored the idea of a shipwreck to give builders something fun to stack coral on. But scale quickly became a challenge – should it match a real ship or the fish? In the end, the ship risked dominating the tank, so while it added to the story, its size made it hard to integrate into the final set. 

This led to the idea of the treasure chest in the final set: a man-made element that Sven calls “a classic that never raises questions about its size.” 

Around the same time, Sven and the team experimented with different frame colors, like the brown version above. But it was decided that a black frame would be more timeless!

Plants and coral

Coral was one of Sven’s main focuses for this set, and these natural elements went through many iterations, too! The quest for unique part usage reached another level during development – some dragon wings even made a cameo…

“Fans really appreciate when we use pieces in unexpected ways,” says Sven. “Like a minifigure hat or something like that, used in a different way.”

Cool, right? Now the unseen models are… well, seen. Check out our full interview with Sven Franic for a deeper dive into the journey behind the set.