Lego Brick Sizes
The typical Lego brick size is 8 mm x 8 mm. This is a brick with one knob on it. However, there are many types of Lego. The ones made for younger kids have larger pieces for safety reasons. The other types like Lego Technic have smaller components.
Other Facts about Lego Brick Dimensions
When the bricks are set on top of each other, it creates friction. To reduce this and make building simpler, there is space between the bricks. This space measures 0.2 mm. If you deduct the 0.2 mm from the dimensions, the smallest brick will be 7.8 x 7.8 mm.
It is easy to determine the Lego brick size. You just have to multiply the number of knobs in one direction by eight millimeters. Next, deduct 0.2 from the figure. The formula is n x 8 – 0.2 = brick dimensions.
For instance, a 4 x 4 Lego brick is four knobs long and four knobs wide. By multiplying the set by eight, the result will be 32 x 32. Remove 0.2 from the figure and you will get 31.8 x 31.8. This is the size of the brick.
Other Lego Types and Sizes
As stated earlier, the Lego bricks for infants and toddlers are much larger so there is no risk of the piece being swallowed. The Lego Duplo blocks for example, are 8 times larger than the typical Lego piece. The dimensions are virtually double.
Also for safety concerns, the Duplo figures cannot be disassembled. The Lego Quatro pieces can be used with Duplo, even if they are twice as large as Duplo. The biggest pieces are the Lego Baby.
Lego Records
In spite of their small size, Lego builders have come up with some truly gigantic sets and designs. The tallest Lego tower is 100 ft 10 in high. It was built in Günzburg (Germany) on 16-20 August 2010. It is made of 550,000 pieces. The longest is 5,179 ft and made of 2,901,760 pieces. It was made in Grugliasco (Italy) on 13 February 2005.
The biggest Lego installation (scale 55:1) is in SEE Science Center in Manchester (NH, USA). It occupies an area of 2,000 sq ft. Over 3 million bricks were used with 8,000 minifigures.
The Lego brick sizes as described here are subject to change. The standard brick sizes use will probably remain unchanged, but the records for the highest and longest Lego sets will always be challenged.