Over 6,000 Lego pieces sit in a nondescript apartment in Singapore. One would be forgiven for mistaking it with a Lego store, as the battalion of minifigures fill most of the space. This is the home of Robin Chua, better known as Minifigbin on Instagram—a Lego minifigure collector who runs one of the biggest Lego-themed social media pages in Asia with over 60,000 followers.
Robin’s collection began when Cynthia Soh, his wife, was contemplating what to give him on Christmas of 2012. When she asked what he wanted, he pointed to a Star Wars Advent Calendar at the Lego store. Little did the couple know that this would mark the beginning of Robin’s ever-growing collection.
“I didn’t know he would be this crazy!” exclaimed Cynthia in an interview with CNA Lifestyle, remarking on how the Lego collection filled out their unit. While the Lego Star Wars set may have been a spur of the moment choice, Robin had always had an interest in Lego, receiving his first minifig—a fire fighter—when he was 6 years old. And while most of his toys were eventually thrown or given away by his mom, miraculously, he found the exact same fire fighter minifig in his parents’ home as he was packing to move out. From there, it was only natural to rekindle his affinity with the toy brand.
Photos from Robin Chua
As his collection grew, Robin’s passion for Legos began transcending borders, so in September 2022, he embarked on a mission to visit the motherland of Legos in Billund, Denmark to go on the Lego Inside Tour. Chua described it as a sort of pilgrimage for Lego fans, where thousands apply but only 1 in 10,000 actually gets invited to visit Lego’s global headquarters. Once inside, visitors are treated to the ultimate and immersive tour of Lego culture and history—from visiting the founder’s home to witnessing the actual production of Lego pieces, it’s considered a rare treat by every Lego superfan out there.
Currently, Star Wars minifigs dominate Robin’s collection, but a variety of heroes join their ranks like various versions of Superman, Batman, Iron Man, and of course, his namesake, Robin. And despite his present collection amounting to an estimated $100,000, the best thing for Robin about being a Lego collector is the friends he made along the way. What started off as an interest has grown into something more, giving him a community of people to connect with and making him appreciate his life more.
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