(27 Nov 2014) LEAD-IN:
Big buildings are being re-imagined with a tiny twist at a Lego extravaganza event in London.
Fuelled by a popular film release and a multitude of possibilities, the Danish children's toy is still the top of Christmas lists the world over.
STORYLINE:
Whether it's the British royal wedding or a glitzy film premiere, big events are being re-created in tiny form in London.
At the British capital's ExCel exhibition and convention centre, a Lego extravaganza is in town with professionals and fans alike showing off their intricate creations.
They include this sprawling recreation of London's St. Pancras train station by Lego artist and author, Warren Elsmore.
Lego sets were all he wanted for birthdays and Christmases when he was young.
He decided to leave a career as an IT consultant to become a full-time expert in the bricks and published his first book on Lego in 2013.
He now works creating one-off Lego models for individuals and companies.
This creation took shape over the course of two-and-a-half years of busy evenings and weekends.
"This is St. Pancras station which is really recognisable if you're anywhere near London, it's a beautiful gothic building. I just wanted to build it because I loved it really," says Elsmore.
"It's about two metres wide (6 feet), four metres (13 feet) long and there's roughly 120,000 in there - not that we counted. And it was something I really wanted to build and it's worked out really nicely thankfully, but it's a bit of pain to move around sometimes."
Elsmore's work is now set to take centre-stage at BRICK 2014, a four-day family fun event which tackles almost everything in brick form.
And it couldn't have come at a better time, this year Lego officially became the biggest toy company in the world.
In September 2014, the Danish company reported their revenue for the first six months of 2014 had increased by 11 percent in comparison to the previous year.
That increase - thought to be fuelled by the popular Lego movie and new products releases - meant it surpassed US toy makers Mattel who make Barbie dolls.
This event is further proof of the toy's growing global popularity.
"We've got 21,000 square metres worth of Lego, 1.1 million bricks to play with in the play pits, we have Lego Minecraft here, Lego Architecture here," says Elsmore.
"If you like video games, TG Games who make all the Lego video games are here with pretty much their entire catalogue, we've got Lego shops galore. You name it, if you like Lego, it's here."
Despite its apparent increased popularity, Lego bricks haven't changed significantly since their launch over five decades ago.
The Lego Group was founded in 1932, but it wasn't until 1958 that the traditional brick as we see it today hit shop shelves.
According to Elsmore, it's the simple concept behind the toy which has contributed to its ongoing popularity.
"The tubes on the bottom of the Lego brick - that was the patented idea in 1958 - they're exactly the same now as they were back then, that hasn't changed at all," he says.
"So if I'm building creations like these sorts of things, I can be pulling out bricks occasionally that might be 30, 40 years old - still work just as well."
While professional Lego builders like Elsmore are showing off their creations, there's also fans jetting in from all over the world to exhibit their intricate models.
Computer expert, Bert Giesen, and his friends have come all the way from the Netherlands to construct their Lego model of a typical Dutch town.
Giesen says it doesn't have a name, but can be called 'Steendorp', which means 'Brick Village' in Dutch.

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