The epic search for the coolest LEGO ever

I've decided this is the coolest LEGO ever – and pretty
elusive, too.

Caroline and I discovered its existence when we saw a display in Target. But you just can’t buy the Statue of Liberty. LEGO sells figures in sealed bags, and the sixth series has 16 figures. Some are pretty cool, like a Minotaur. Some kind of suck, like a crying little kid with a Teddy bear.

We spent more time than we cared to admit squeezing bags trying to see if we could feel the crown. We ended up with two Minotaurs and a surgeon.

We thought it might be cheaper to find the figure on eBay,but, well, it was not.
There’s a huge LEGO store in Chicago’s Water Tower Place right next to American Girl Place, no doubt to give dads and brothers a place to which to escape.

The store sells all kinds of individual blocks, so I hoped there would be some Lady Liberties there without the guesswork.

There were all kinds of sets and blocks, but nothing separating our favorite national landmark. We asked a clerk, and he pointed to a bin of the familiar little bags.

I started squeezing bags when Joshua, another clerk, came over and asked which figure we were looking for.

“That’s a popular one,” he said. “But there’s a trick to finding her.”

Two of the figures, Liberty and a flamenco dancer, have a solid, triangular shaped base instead of the usual bendable LEGO legs.

We dug into the bin, squeezing the bags. Joshua was an expert. “This is a flamenco dancer,” he said, fingers squeezing the triangular brick. “This one might be Liberty, but I can’t be sure.”

We assembled stacks of certain flamenco dancers, and possible Liberties. As with Target, this went on longer than we care to admit.

“Wait!” Joshua said, holding a bag. “This is a Liberty, I can almost guarantee it. I think I can feel the torch.”

I had to believe the fine-fingered expert, so we moved over to the register with the bag and a Star Wars stormtrooper key chain for Caroline.

After paying for our treasurers, Joshua pulled out a pair of scissors. “Ready for the reveal?”

Slicing open the bag, I reached in and pulled out a green block – confirming that the elusive Lady Liberty figure was in hand.

I was excited. I think Joshua was relieved.