Photos: Inside the Legoland model shop

Throughout the model shop, there are hundreds upon hundreds of bins, each of which is full of a single type of Lego brick in a single color.

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Senior model designer Tim Petsche said his favorite model, and the one he spent the most time on, is this grizzly bear with a raccoon on its head.

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Legoland California's miniland contains thousands of models of real-life buildings. Its Freedom Tower is the only building that doesn't exist in the "real world" (yet).

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Before building the Freedom Tower for the Legoland California miniland, the theme park's master model builders worked with small prototypes.

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Nearly every inch of flat surface space in the model shop is being used for one Lego model or another.

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Senior model designer Tim Petsche working on a large model for Legoland California's forthcoming Pirate Shores attraction.

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Throughout the model shop are models of all kinds, including many that are incomplete in one way or another.

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On the floor of the model shop, looking forgotten, sits a box full of finished yellow taxicab models.

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Hidden among the model shop's hundreds and hundreds of bins are those that contain esoteric "bricks" like hats, animals and snowboards.

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Hidden in a far corner of the Legoland California model shop is a small Lego man looking like he's taking a time out.

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The model shop builders like to have fun and work on models that will never make it into Legoland proper. One example is this execution scene replete with couches and a coffee table for comfortable viewing.

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