Mythbusters

Adam and Jamie are about to tackle the ultimate myth... does the hit TV show Mythbusters work as a LEGO set??

Who are the LEGO Mythbusters? Special effects artists Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, along with Build Team Tory Belleci, Kari Byron, and the late Grant Imahara, have made it their mission to use science and experimentation to bust or confirm myths from all walks of life. Whether urban legend, Hollywood fantasy, viral video, or historical "fact," no tall tale is too tale for the Mythbusters.

The LEGO Mythbusters set depicts their HQ of M5 Industries, an outside testing area, many small extra builds to scatter around the set, the Jato Rocket Car from the first episode of the hit show, and 6 figures: Adam, Jamie, Grant, Keri, Tory, and the show’s crash test dummy, affectionately named Buster.

The interior is designed so you have several unique layouts for the various myths. In the back corner is their display table, where the group would convene to introduce that episodes myths. And on the wall behind them are some remnants of famous episodes like the Pirate Special, the Chicken Gun, Splitting an Arrow, Paper armor, Coke and Mentos, The Star Wars Special, and Archimedes Death Ray.

The main myth of the set is inspired by the episode Rocket Man, where the team put to the test the legend of Lagari Celebi, the alleged first person to have made a successful manned rocket flight.

As with most episodes, Jamie and Adam tackle the myth first in small scale. I’ve included a miniature rocket, affixed to a stud shooter, so you can fire off the model and test its lift capacity. Using the two high-speed cameras and the marked wall, Adam can calculate how much fire power they’ll need to successfully launch Buster into the sky. 

Meanwhile, Tory, Grant, and Keri are revisiting the LEGO Ball myth, which was previously deemed “busted,” to find out if a new building method would result in a stronger boulder. 

Adam and Jamie finish building the large rocket sled in the workshop, using the articulating miter saw. And once the team is ready, they venture outside via the sliding industrial door, and set up for the final test of the rocket man. 

Buster is attached to the rocket, and the launch sled is all set up. Safely behind the bullet proof blast-shields, Adam pulls the trigger and the sled is propelled via rubber bands, and Buster is launched into the air. 

But there’s still a few really fun details in this set I want to point out. With the Jato Rocket Car, not only does Buster fit comfortably inside, but you can also attach the large white rocket to the top of the car for an extra boost.

And finally, to honor Grant Imahara, who passed away tragically in 2020, I’ve included two tributes to the robotics genius. First is his famed Battlebot Deathblow, complete with articulating hammer and moveable wheels. And second, scattered around the Mythbusters set are all the pieces to create Grant’s sword swinging robot, used and reused in several episodes. 

I’m really proud of not only the structure of this set but also the sheer amount of details and builds that go along with it. Everything can fit within the main building, but things can also be rearranged. The blast doors can be placed inside if the small scale test is dangerous, the lego ball can be rolled outside, the cameras can be placed on tripods or be hand-held…

There’s a level of exploration and flexibility with this set that I really enjoy. And I hope you do too.