Everything is awesome when you own 6,334 Lego Minifigures, have built a global community of over 62,000
Meet Robin Chua, 44, better known as Minifigbin on Instagram, who runs one of the biggest
“She’s my enabler,” he declared. “I started collecting Lego Minifigs in 2012 because she didn’t know what to get me as a Christmas present. So, I pointed at the Star Wars Advent Calendar at the Lego store.”
Lego Minifigure collector Robin Chua with his very supportive wife, Cynthia Soh. (Photo: Robin Chua)
Soh, a civil servant in her 40s, had no idea that her innocent gift would be the genesis of his growing Minifigdom. “I didn’t know he would be this crazy! We had an agreement when we moved into our flat – we share our master bedroom and have one room each to do whatever we want with. His collection has overflowed into the rest of the house,” she laughed.
Signage for Robin Chua's Lego Minifigure collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
When CNA Lifestyle visited the couple at their four-room Housing Development Board flat in Bedok in August, we were greeted by this sign at the door: "Welcome to Minifigbin’s Lego Sanctuary".
Inside, over 6,000 colourful Minifigures, or Minifigs, occupied every square inch of available surface in the living room, even their mahjong table. Only the coffee table was spared, presumably because they have to eat somewhere.
Robin Chua’s Lego Minifigures collection set up nicely at his HDB flat.. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Everything was neatly arranged according to themes. The biggest "army" was the Star Wars Minifigures, which was fitting since it started Chua’s craze. We also spotted Ninjago and superheroes such as the Fantastic Four.
Fantastic Four Lego Minifigures from Robin Chua's collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Lego Minifigs from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Lego Minifigs from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
This amazing sight took Chua four weeks to set up, singlehandedly, for our story. The Minifigures are kept in his Lego room although he might display some now and then.
Chua’s interest in Lego started in childhood. “When I was in primary school in the 1980s, I was super fascinated by Lego sets but couldn't afford them,” he recalled.
His first Lego Minifigure was a fireman, which he got when he was six years old. Although his mum threw away all his toys when he grew up, Fireman somehow survived. Chua found him 10 years ago when the couple moved from his parents’ home to their new home.
Stranger Things Lego Minifigures from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Star Wars Lego Minifigures from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Lego Minifigs from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
He estimated that his collection is worth “between S$100,000 and S$150,000”. Like many fellow collectors, Chua does not buy just one Minifigure; he can buy 10 or 20 of the same if he likes it, to build an “army”. One of his most expensive purchases was four Zelda Minifigures, which cost him S$180.
The item that would give him the highest return on investment is a set of four Ninjago Minifigures, which he bought from Carousell. A gift-with-purchase item from American store Target, only available in the United States, it cost him S$30
Interested in collecting Lego as a hobby or as an investment? Follow these tips from Minifigbin’s Robin Chua.
In September 2022, the couple went on a trip to the “motherland”. The three-day Lego Inside Tour at Lego’s global headquarters in Billund, Denmark, is a highly coveted experience.
Anyone can register for a chance to be considered for the tour and the process includes writing a little "resume". However, Chua said that only one in 10,000 make the invitation list.
Robin Chua and his wife Cynthia Soh at Lego's headquarters in Denmark. (Photo: Robin Chua)
It cost about S$3,300 each in 2022 and included three nights in a hotel. Chua said that the experience was worth every cent.
“It is literally a once-in-a-lifetime experience because you can only go on the tour once,” said Chua. He and his group of more than 40 people even met Lego’s top management and designers, some of whom he’s still in touch with.
One of Robin Chua's most memorable experiences was meeting lead Lego designer Jamie Beard. (Photo: Robin Chua)
The tour included a two-hour shopping spree at the Lego employee store, at up to 70 per cent off retail prices. “Once the gates opened, we all ran in and I went straight to the back of the store. Friends who had gone on the tour previously told me that there were some cool sets there,” recalled Chua. The couple came home lugging 60kg of Lego.
Lego Minifigs from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Lego Minifigs from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Participants were also given tour-exclusive goodies. This included 5kg of Lego factory parts, six Minifigures
Beatles Lego Minifigs from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Minions, Muppets and Powerpuff Girls from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Chua said he has spotted one of the exclusive Lego sets resold for over S$4,000, and the Minifigures for S$500 each and more. “Lego has since stopped giving these sets away. This means the value has risen even higher, but I won’t sell them,” he said.
While Chua collects other Lego too, Minifigs take up 90 per cent of his collection. "It's just a preference thing," he said.
To Chua, doing his part to build a global Lego community is more precious than profiteering from the bricks. While it is common for Lego collectors to buy and resell their sets – and Chua has done that too, to cull his collection before his visit to Lego HQ – he and his closest Lego fanatic friends don’t really do so.
Robin Chua with his Lego Minifig collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
In fact, many "true" collectors like Chua generously gift their spare Minifigures to one another, especially the local specials.
To Chua, the best thing about being a Lego collector isn’t the fact that these toys make good investments. According to a 2022 study, Lego’s resale value appreciates 11 per cent annually, outpacing stocks, bonds, and gold.
To him, it is the joy of finding his people. He has made good friends around the world – a fellow tour participant, a chef from Germany, reconnected with the couple when they went to Germany to visit Legoland. “He invited us to Bavaria and cooked for us.”
Chua has also hosted overseas Lego fans, including Christo Baranowski, an American Lego ambassador who goes by The Stud City on Instagram. “When Christo visited me last year, I took him out for roti prata and Milo peng.”
Robin Chua hosted American Lego ambassador Christo Baranowski when he visited Singapore in 2024. (Photo: Robin Chua)
There are less than 100 Lego-recognised ambassadors in the world who actively engage and build communities of Lego fans. Singapore doesn’t have one yet and Chua hopes that he will be the first, some day.
Come October, Chua will be hosting some American Lego YouTubers. However, they will not have the good fortune of seeing his Minifigure display in its full glory. “My wife gave me a ‘tenancy agreement’ for one week, before I’d have to dismantle and keep everything. That’s why after our CNA Lifestyle shoot, we have Lego friends popping by for ‘viewings’ every day.”
A Lego Minifig from Robin Chua's collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
The Chuas don’t have kids but they welcome friends who do. In fact, he often prepares small packs of Lego for the kids. What if they accidentally knock over his display? Unlike Lord Business in the Lego movies, who wants to freeze the Lego world with his Kragle superglue, Chua isn’t quite as authoritarian.
“It’s Lego, we’ll just build it again,” said Chua with a shrug. And that attitude, in our opinion, is the most awesome thing of all.
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Meet Robin Chua, 44, better known as Minifigbin on Instagram, who runs one of the biggest
“She’s my enabler,” he declared. “I started collecting Lego Minifigs in 2012 because she didn’t know what to get me as a Christmas present. So, I pointed at the Star Wars Advent Calendar at the Lego store.”
Lego Minifigure collector Robin Chua with his very supportive wife, Cynthia Soh. (Photo: Robin Chua)
Soh, a civil servant in her 40s, had no idea that her innocent gift would be the genesis of his growing Minifigdom. “I didn’t know he would be this crazy! We had an agreement when we moved into our flat – we share our master bedroom and have one room each to do whatever we want with. His collection has overflowed into the rest of the house,” she laughed.
MINIFIGBIN’S LEGO SANCTUARY
Signage for Robin Chua's Lego Minifigure collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
When CNA Lifestyle visited the couple at their four-room Housing Development Board flat in Bedok in August, we were greeted by this sign at the door: "Welcome to Minifigbin’s Lego Sanctuary".
Inside, over 6,000 colourful Minifigures, or Minifigs, occupied every square inch of available surface in the living room, even their mahjong table. Only the coffee table was spared, presumably because they have to eat somewhere.
Robin Chua’s Lego Minifigures collection set up nicely at his HDB flat.. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Everything was neatly arranged according to themes. The biggest "army" was the Star Wars Minifigures, which was fitting since it started Chua’s craze. We also spotted Ninjago and superheroes such as the Fantastic Four.
Fantastic Four Lego Minifigures from Robin Chua's collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Lego Minifigs from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Lego Minifigs from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
This amazing sight took Chua four weeks to set up, singlehandedly, for our story. The Minifigures are kept in his Lego room although he might display some now and then.
IT STARTED WITH A FIREMAN
Chua’s interest in Lego started in childhood. “When I was in primary school in the 1980s, I was super fascinated by Lego sets but couldn't afford them,” he recalled.
His first Lego Minifigure was a fireman, which he got when he was six years old. Although his mum threw away all his toys when he grew up, Fireman somehow survived. Chua found him 10 years ago when the couple moved from his parents’ home to their new home.
Stranger Things Lego Minifigures from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Star Wars Lego Minifigures from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Lego Minifigs from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
He estimated that his collection is worth “between S$100,000 and S$150,000”. Like many fellow collectors, Chua does not buy just one Minifigure; he can buy 10 or 20 of the same if he likes it, to build an “army”. One of his most expensive purchases was four Zelda Minifigures, which cost him S$180.
The item that would give him the highest return on investment is a set of four Ninjago Minifigures, which he bought from Carousell. A gift-with-purchase item from American store Target, only available in the United States, it cost him S$30
3 TIPS FOR WANNABE LEGO COLLECTORS
Interested in collecting Lego as a hobby or as an investment? Follow these tips from Minifigbin’s Robin Chua.
- Don’t buy a newly launched set right away. “Check out all the e-commerce websites, like Bricklink (an online Lego marketplace), Amazon, Lazada, Shopee and Carousell which often offer discounts a few months after the launch. I try to ‘tolerate’ and wait for the sales.”
- Collect within your means. “You don’t have to collect 6,000 Minifigs. For some, three or five
- Know when to cut and sell. “Based on my experience, about 10 per cent of the white, blue and grey bricks, even those in unopened packets, will fade. The brown parts also become very brittle and break easily. Keep your Lego sets for 10, 20 years, and then let go.”
COUPLE TRIP TO THE “MOTHERLAND”
In September 2022, the couple went on a trip to the “motherland”. The three-day Lego Inside Tour at Lego’s global headquarters in Billund, Denmark, is a highly coveted experience.
Anyone can register for a chance to be considered for the tour and the process includes writing a little "resume". However, Chua said that only one in 10,000 make the invitation list.
Robin Chua and his wife Cynthia Soh at Lego's headquarters in Denmark. (Photo: Robin Chua)
It cost about S$3,300 each in 2022 and included three nights in a hotel. Chua said that the experience was worth every cent.
“It is literally a once-in-a-lifetime experience because you can only go on the tour once,” said Chua. He and his group of more than 40 people even met Lego’s top management and designers, some of whom he’s still in touch with.
One of Robin Chua's most memorable experiences was meeting lead Lego designer Jamie Beard. (Photo: Robin Chua)
The tour included a two-hour shopping spree at the Lego employee store, at up to 70 per cent off retail prices. “Once the gates opened, we all ran in and I went straight to the back of the store. Friends who had gone on the tour previously told me that there were some cool sets there,” recalled Chua. The couple came home lugging 60kg of Lego.
Lego Minifigs from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Lego Minifigs from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Participants were also given tour-exclusive goodies. This included 5kg of Lego factory parts, six Minifigures
Beatles Lego Minifigs from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Minions, Muppets and Powerpuff Girls from Robin Chua’s collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
Chua said he has spotted one of the exclusive Lego sets resold for over S$4,000, and the Minifigures for S$500 each and more. “Lego has since stopped giving these sets away. This means the value has risen even higher, but I won’t sell them,” he said.
While Chua collects other Lego too, Minifigs take up 90 per cent of his collection. "It's just a preference thing," he said.
BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF LEGO LOVERS, NOT RESELLERS
To Chua, doing his part to build a global Lego community is more precious than profiteering from the bricks. While it is common for Lego collectors to buy and resell their sets – and Chua has done that too, to cull his collection before his visit to Lego HQ – he and his closest Lego fanatic friends don’t really do so.
Robin Chua with his Lego Minifig collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
In fact, many "true" collectors like Chua generously gift their spare Minifigures to one another, especially the local specials.
To Chua, the best thing about being a Lego collector isn’t the fact that these toys make good investments. According to a 2022 study, Lego’s resale value appreciates 11 per cent annually, outpacing stocks, bonds, and gold.
To him, it is the joy of finding his people. He has made good friends around the world – a fellow tour participant, a chef from Germany, reconnected with the couple when they went to Germany to visit Legoland. “He invited us to Bavaria and cooked for us.”
Chua has also hosted overseas Lego fans, including Christo Baranowski, an American Lego ambassador who goes by The Stud City on Instagram. “When Christo visited me last year, I took him out for roti prata and Milo peng.”
Robin Chua hosted American Lego ambassador Christo Baranowski when he visited Singapore in 2024. (Photo: Robin Chua)
There are less than 100 Lego-recognised ambassadors in the world who actively engage and build communities of Lego fans. Singapore doesn’t have one yet and Chua hopes that he will be the first, some day.
Come October, Chua will be hosting some American Lego YouTubers. However, they will not have the good fortune of seeing his Minifigure display in its full glory. “My wife gave me a ‘tenancy agreement’ for one week, before I’d have to dismantle and keep everything. That’s why after our CNA Lifestyle shoot, we have Lego friends popping by for ‘viewings’ every day.”
A Lego Minifig from Robin Chua's collection. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
The Chuas don’t have kids but they welcome friends who do. In fact, he often prepares small packs of Lego for the kids. What if they accidentally knock over his display? Unlike Lord Business in the Lego movies, who wants to freeze the Lego world with his Kragle superglue, Chua isn’t quite as authoritarian.
“It’s Lego, we’ll just build it again,” said Chua with a shrug. And that attitude, in our opinion, is the most awesome thing of all.
Continue reading...