NUSAJAYA: Visitors to the Legoland Malaysia Resort now have a new attraction to see after the Sultan of Johor officially unveiled a Lego replica of his residential palace, Istana Bukit Serene today.
During a ceremony at the theme park, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar laid the final gold-coloured Lego brick on the replica of a crown arch which in real life is situated in front of the palace.
The entire replica is made up of 278,023 Lego bricks and weighs 350kg.
It took four months to make and includes intricate details such as the sultan's motorcycle, cars and even a stray black cat which is said to be a regular visitor to the palace grounds.
Legoland Malaysia model builder, Stefan Bentivoglio said the work was conducted by a team of six builders.
"We had an audience with the sultan after his coronation in March. A team then went to Istana Bukit Serene on several occasions to take pictures and measurements of the palace that was built in 1939.
"The biggest challenge of building the replica was making the sultan happy, and judging from Tuanku's smile today, I think he is indeed happy," Stefan said after the launch ceremony.
The Istana Bukit Serene is now among the other replicas of iconic buildings such as the Petronas Twin Towers and the Taj Mahal at Legoland.