The beloved Apple iMac G3 could make a comeback through LEGO Ideas
if Apple were to sign off on it, a LEGO iMac G3 might be in the offing. A fitting tribute to a tech icon.
The iMac G3 is one of the most beloved Apple products ever. Before the iPhone was even a twinkle in Steve Jobs’ eyes. The all-in-one desktop wrapped the CRT monitor in a colourful semi-transparent shell, loaded with the like-it-or-loathe it Mac OS 9 operating system.
Now the iconic iMac G3 may be making a comeback through the LEGO realm. A project suggestion from a community enthusiast has reached the 10,000 upvotes needed for the toy company to take it under consideration.
The ~700-part version of the 1998 Mac G3, which comes with a keyboard and a mouse accessory, has a removable upper shell to reveal the ‘motherboard’ and other components. The cathode ray tube within the monitor has also been reproduced. It was suggested by the fan designer “terauma” more than 18 months ago, but it has now hit the landmark necessary.
While it’s unlikely Apple would sign-off on the product, the strength of the LEGO brand might convince them otherwise. There have been several of these LEGO Ideas projects that have featured Apple products before – notably this Apple Store from 2024 that also reached the 10,000 upvote threshold.
“The LEGO Review Board is deciding if this could become an official LEGO Ideas set,” LEGO says, but that doesn’t mean a lot unless there are discussions between LEGO and Apple.
I had the iMac G3 in my university newsroom loaded with the design program Quark Xpress. I designed my first newspapers and magazines using it, and that one-button, translucent hockey puck mice where you needed to hit control on the keyboard to summon a right click. So, I quite like the idea of having an iMac G3 back in my office. For old time’s sake. I would absolutely buy this.
The iMac G3 was arguably the product that put Apple back on the map after years in the doldrums. Steve Jobs had just returned to the company and this fashion-first desktop PC was the sign of things to come.
It was the precursor the iMac G4 running on Mac OS X that began the transition to consumer friendly, attractive and intuitive software that still shines through Apple’s products today. The iMac G3 was the jumping off point for the modern Apple and for that reason it’ll always have a solid place in tech history. A LEGO set would be a fitting tribute to a tech legend.
Chris Smith
