In all but one case no specific gender has been assigned to the figures, who are intended to “express individuality, while remaining ambiguous”.

That means jmklamm has had to rely on a modern helmet for their grey spaceman. It’s not quite the same, but it does help the green version to stand out a little less awkwardly. Besides, you’ll only really notice if you stare at them for too long (as we clearly have), or you’re way too pedantic about classic LEGO (as we clearly are).

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I’d moved offices, so wanted to make the space feel like home with something that reflected me and the LGBTQIA+ community I’m so proud to be a part of,” Ashton said. I’ve been at Lego for six years and I’ve never hesitated to be myself here, which isn’t the case everywhere,” Burkitt said. “When I joined Lego, I hoped it would be an inclusive place – but I didn’t know. People like me wonder, ‘will I be welcome here?’ And the answer is yes – but this set means that, now, everyone knows it.” The exception, a purple minifigure with a highly stylised beehive wig, “is a clear nod to all the fabulous drag queens out there”, said the designer, Matthew Ashton, who initially created the set for his own desk.

But the set attracted attention and was soon in demand. “Other members of Lego’s LGBTQ+ community came by to tell me they loved it,” Ashton said. “So I thought, ‘maybe it’s something we should share’.” He also wanted to be more vocal in support of inclusivity. Growing up as an LGBTQ+ kid – being told what I should play with, how I should walk, how I should talk, what I should wear – the message I always got was that somehow I was ‘wrong’,” he said. “Trying to be someone I wasn’t was exhausting. I wish, as a kid, I had looked at the world and thought: ‘This is going to be OK, there’s a place for me’. I wish I’d seen an inclusive statement that said ‘everyone is awesome’.” This set means a lot,” said Flynn DeMarco, a member of the LGBTQIA+ Afol community and a contestant on the television show Lego Masters US. “Often LGBTQ+ people don’t feel seen, especially by corporations. There’s a lot of lip service and not a lot of action. So this feels like a big statement.” Ashton said he was really happy to work for a company that wants to be outspoken over such matters. Jane Burkitt, a fellow LGBTQIA+ employee at Lego who works in supply chain operations, agreed.

This is much more overt,” said DeMarco, who hopes the set will help broaden people’s minds. “People look to a company such as Lego – a company they love and enjoy – and think, ‘Hey if it’s OK for Lego, maybe it’s OK for me, too.’” This is a great activity for birthday parties, playdates, or a simple boredom buster. You can also incorporate building a LEGO rainbow as part of your rainbow unit study for your homeschool. Make a LEGO Rainbow

And his own response? “For Lego to do something so inclusive, so full of joy – it made me smile, then cry, then smile a little more.”For everyone else, this is just a really satisfying line-up of minifigures. All we need now is the purple version teased in this year’s Rebuild the World ad. The set goes on sale on 1 June, the start of Pride month, but a few Afols (adult fans of Lego) and Gayfols have been given a preview. There are countless ways you can build your LEGO rainbow. Let your kids use his imagination, creativity, and engineering skills to design each arc of the rainbow.