Retired art teacher Mark Taylor’s 'most prized' LEGO creation is a stunning Van Gogh's Starry Night picture, which was a retirement gift from his former colleagues at Unity Academy. An avid collector and fan of the Danish product, Mark's LEGO collection includes over 500 figures - including miniatures of some of his favourite bands, Fairport Convention and The Beatles.
His impressive set of 15 builds also includes a Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building, as well as a life-size LEGO cat. Mark’s interest in the wonderful world of LEGO was sparked 12 years ago when he was given a LEGO minifigure and it grew from there.
Mark said: "I love the variation of minifigure characters and they keep introducing more! I'm also amazed with the detail and thought that is put into the kits - they are incredible to build."
Taking fandom to a whole new realm, Mark’s figures of the folk band Fairport Convention have even appeared in their festival programme, and he takes them to the annual Cropredy Festival (since 2005 known as Fairport's Cropredy Convention) - the largest folk festival in Britain with annual attendances of 20,000 - when he pins them to his festival hat.
You can see more impressive LEGO collections this weekend at the Blackpool Brick Festival. The event is on Saturday, 25 April 2026 at Norbreck Castle and includes speed building competitions, large scale displays, activities, traders selling loose bricks, new LEGO sets, retired LEGO sets, minifigures and accessories, plus a dedicated building area.

1. Mark Taylor with his collection of 500 LEGO minifigures and 15 LEGO builds. Photo: Lucinda Herbert
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2. Mark Taylor with his collection of 500 LEGO minifigures and 15 LEGO builds. Photo: Lucinda Herbert
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3. Mark Taylor with LEGO figures of his favourite folk group Fairport Convention, which he attaches to his festival hat! Photo: Lucinda Herbert
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4. Mark Taylor with a LEGO parrot - one of 15 of his builds. Photo: Lucinda Herbert
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5. Mark Taylor with a LEGO parrot - one of 15 of his builds. Photo: Lucinda Herbert
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6. Mark Taylor with figures of his favourite band Fairport Convention. Photo: Lucinda Herbert
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