Ryan McDonough
Founder, Sometime Artist
CFO and co-founder @Accompany, acquired by @Cisco. Turnaround CFO @Ning, sold to Glam Media. Former seed VC. McKinsey trained. @Wharton School and @Haas School of Business.
I hacked the LEGO Retro Camera (31147) into a working nostalgia machine. Open the film door and it auto-plays Everything is Awesome from The LEGO Movie thanks to salvaged video hardware from a charity chocolate box 🍫📺.
I hacked the LEGO Retro Camera (31147) into a working nostalgia machine. Open the film door and it auto-plays Everything is Awesome from The LEGO Movie thanks to salvaged video hardware from a charity chocolate box 🍫📺.
To make it even cooler, I added a flash module + a Pimoroni Tufty 2040 in the film flap that mimics a digital camera screen—complete with button-controlled LEGO-ified photo galleries.
Old-school LEGO vibes meet hidden modern tech. Everything is, indeed, awesome.
This project started with a bit of serendipity. At a charity event, I picked up a box of chocolates that hid a delightful trick: when you opened the lid, a video would automatically play on a slim LCD screen embedded inside. Naturally, I couldn’t resist taking it apart to see what made it tick.
Inside, I found a thin circuit board with a display, speaker, and magnetic switch. It was begging to be transplanted into something more fun—and the LEGO Retro Camera (set 31147) turned out to be the perfect host.
I modified the LEGO camera, making it just tall enough inside to house the salvaged video hardware. I mounted the magnetic switch to the film door, so when you flip open the flap, it instantly plays Everything is Awesome from The LEGO Movie. It’s a hidden Easter egg that turns a simple display build into a working nostalgia machine.
To keep the spirit of a real camera, I built two interchangeable LEGO lenses that snap onto the front. That way, the Retro Camera can switch between “film” and “digital” personalities.
The “flash module” on top is actually a slim battery pack that powers a Pimoroni Tufty 2040, mounted on the inside of the film flap. The Tufty mimics a digital camera screen, complete with working buttons, and now cycles through a curated set of LEGO travel photos. Open the flap, and suddenly the Retro Camera feels like a modern point-and-shoot, showing off an entire gallery of brick-built adventures.
I love the idea of taking LEGO Creator sets and pushing them beyond their static intent into functional, playful objects. This one combines scavenged tech, modular LEGO design, and the sheer joy of Everything is Awesome on repeat. With its swappable lenses, hidden video player, and interactive photo gallery, the camera bridges LEGO nostalgia with modern interactivity in the best possible way.
