Derpy Tiger has gone from a compact character build to an enormous brick-built centerpiece. LEGO designer Björn Ramant has revealed a giant rendition of the KPop Demon Hunters character, created as a commission involving the LEGO Group and Netflix. The finished sculpture uses almost 37,000 plastic bricks and is currently being exhibited at LEGO World 2026 in Utrecht, Netherlands.
A 90-second time-lapse shared by Ramant condenses the work into a remarkably quick-looking assembly, but the actual project took roughly two and a half months of intermittent work. The video begins at the tail, then follows the growth of the blue-and-black tiger form through to the ears and Derpy’s unmistakable yellow eyes. Ramant has not specified the sculpture’s exact measurements, although it appears nearly as tall as he is.
A large character build needs more than clever stacking
The project’s brick count is striking, but the structural choices are what make a freestanding display of this scale practical. Ramant used four steel rods to support the body. In a standard LEGO set, the connections between bricks and specialized elements provide enough strength for the object’s intended size and handling. At much larger scale, weight accumulates quickly, and sections projecting outward can put substantial strain on the construction.
That is where an internal support structure becomes important. The steel rods act as reinforcement, helping the sculpture maintain its pose while the LEGO elements form the visible surface. They do not replace the brickwork’s role in creating the shape, colors and character details; rather, they support it. The time-lapse shows the build being layered outward from its core, a method that lets a designer establish the silhouette while gradually covering the underlying structure.
The result is a display piece rather than a consumer kit. It was commissioned work, and Ramant has clarified that he was not personally purchasing the nearly 37,000 bricks. There is also no indication that this giant version is intended for retail release. Its importance is instead as an event-scale interpretation of a character that currently has only one official LEGO set representation.
Why the eyes matter so much
Derpy Tiger’s appeal is not simply a matter of getting the fur colors right. The character’s deliberately strange, slightly haunting eyes carry much of its chaotic personality. At large scale, facial details become especially unforgiving: an eye placed a little too high, angled too sharply or given the wrong shape can make a character look like someone else entirely.
Wes Talbott, a Master Designer involved with the original Derpy Tiger and Sussie Bird set, previously described the eyes as the hardest feature to translate into LEGO form. “It took a lot of testing to get both the shape and the angle right,” Talbott said. Ramant’s large model appears to retain that visual idea, using the yellow eye treatment as a focal point amid the dense blue and black exterior.
That is a useful example of how character adaptation differs from merely enlarging an object. A huge model can have more room for contours and color variation, but it still needs to preserve the few visual cues people recognize immediately. Here, the tail, ear shape, fur patterning and expression all work together, but the eye placement is the detail that sells the character’s intentionally off-kilter charm.
Related coverage includes LEGO's 37,000-Brick Derpy Tiger Brings KPop Demon Hunters to Giant Scale.
From retail set to one-off exhibition sculpture
The official Derpy Tiger and Sussie Bird set remains the only LEGO set based on KPop Demon Hunters. Ramant’s sculpture therefore occupies a different lane from the product fans can build at home: it is a one-off promotional installation designed for public viewing. The smaller official set and the giant display share a character, but their purposes are fundamentally different.
Retail LEGO sets have to balance build experience, packaging, durability, part selection and an approachable scale. An exhibition sculpture can prioritize visual impact and use a reinforced internal framework because it does not need to be reproduced by builders from a box. That distinction also means the 37,000-brick total should not be read as a suggestion of what a future consumer version might contain.
For people interested in the physical side of pop-culture collecting, it is worth separating official retail products from commissioned event pieces. A display model can be official in the sense that it was commissioned by the rights holders, while still not being merchandise, a production set or a collectible offered for sale. That distinction matters when photos of a major display build circulate online and enthusiasm naturally turns into questions about where to buy it.
The broader collectibles space often gives branded items a life beyond their original release window, particularly when availability is limited. The recent sellout of Pokémon Santa Cruz blind-bag skateboards is a reminder that interest in licensed objects and actual access to them are separate things. In Derpy Tiger’s case, however, there is no evidence that the giant model will enter any consumer market at all.
Where the giant Derpy Tiger can be seen
The sculpture is on display at LEGO World 2026 at the Jaarbeurs convention center in Utrecht. The event runs through October 21. A separate video shared by Ramant shows the completed tiger in action at the venue, giving attendees a better sense of its exhibition presence than a static build photograph can provide.
What happens after the event is not known. No future exhibition location, permanent installation plan or other destination has been announced for the massive model. That uncertainty is common for commissioned displays: some travel, some return to their creators or commissioners, and some are eventually reworked, but no outcome should be assumed for this particular sculpture.
What this says about the current LEGO collaboration
The giant Derpy Tiger demonstrates that the KPop Demon Hunters partnership can support a visually ambitious public display, even while the retail lineup remains narrow. It also puts the character at the center of the collaboration rather than expanding into a broader cast. There are currently no official HUNTR/X or Saja Boys minifigures identified as part of the LEGO range.
That leaves plenty of room for fan speculation, especially with a KPop Demon Hunters sequel anticipated in the future. Still, a large commissioned display is not confirmation of new sets, minifigures or any particular product roadmap. It is best understood as evidence of an existing promotional collaboration and a showcase for what a professional LEGO designer can do when a compact character is given nearly 37,000 bricks, a reinforced frame and months of careful construction.
For now, the practical takeaway is straightforward. Fans who want an official buildable representation have the smaller Derpy Tiger and Sussie Bird set. Fans visiting LEGO World in Utrecht before October 21 can see the enormous commissioned interpretation. And everyone else can appreciate the time-lapse’s unusual magic: a complex sculpture that took months to make, compressed into a minute and a half of what looks, fittingly, like a human-powered 3D printer at work.
