Back in 1996 LEGO released a set that used simple bricks to build an approximation of the South African flag. Almost two decades later I decided to break out the bricks and see if I could make a better version of our flag using modern pieces. I wanted to better replicate our flag and also make it as small as possible with LEGO’s current catalogue of parts.

While some flags with big blocks of colour would be easy to replicate in LEGO, the South African flag is a different story. The sharper corners and angles aren’t really suited to bricks which is why the 1996 version looks so appropriately blocky.

Thankfully LEGO has been steadily pumping out new pieces all these years and we have a lot more to work with. I decided that the best way to do this is with LEGO’s range of tiles. The company makes a large amount of tiles that, importantly, include wedge shapes and triangular pieces that were crucial to the design.

Despite this I was left unable to complete the flag to a reasonable degree, until LEGO released two important pieces: 5091 and 5092. Released only this year, these small wedge tiles going left and right were exactly what I needed to complete the flag… or so I thought.

Unfortunately, due to the newness of these pieces, they were not available in green, the colour I needed to complete the interior Y shape of the flag. That was until set 76925 released in June. This set – a double pack of two Mercedes cars from the Speed Champions theme – contains multiple copies of the wedge plates.

Unfortunately that makes the piece rare so if you want to make my compact and accurate version of the flag below, you will either need to hunt for these pieces on Bricklink or scavenge them from this set.

I actually finished the flag as you seen it below back in June when the pieces first came out, and I was happy to sit on it as a fun little project I could build and use as, for example, a fun DIY badge or something similar.

But then I had a better idea: a tiny flag pole you can keep on your desk. These small flags have been around for ages so I got working on a LEGO version. Before I get into how it was made, you can find a free parts list and instructions available right now on the LEGO sharing site Rebrickable.

My LEGO flagpole is based around a tower of 2X2 round LEGO bricks which are reinforced by a Technic axle running through them. It uses the longest axle LEGO makes, but it was needed for a strong enough pole. While my version of the flag was always intended to be small, the fact that it is placed right at the end of the pole still adds a lot of weight as the pole acts as lever. Prototypes with thinner poles saw a lot of bending, so 2X2 bricks were the solution.

While most toy flag desk toys have a domed base, LEGO dome pieces large enough for this application are rare and expensive, so I decided to build my own with a combination of curved bricks, tiles and plates. The result is a bit blockier than a dome or a dish, but it still looks stately enough for this application. The Technic axle also runs down through the base right to the floor of the build, to provide maximum rigidity.

With a simple attachment point between the flag and the pole, I tolled things off with a gold ball. I’m no vexillographer but searches say this ball is called a “finial”. I’m not sure if this is an appropriate inclusion for a South African flag, but I think it ads a nice pop of colour to the otherwise all-white pole.

As mentioned the flag, pole and base can all be built right now with a free parts list and instructions available on Rebrickable. Just keep in mind the rarity of the green tile wedge pieces and the fact that you may need to wait a while for those to become available, or at all. Hopefully LEGO uses them in more sets, increasing the number out in the wild.

Also consider the fact that the pole and its base can be swapped out for other colours. In the files section on the right hand side of the Rebrickable page, you will see parts list files for white, black and light bluish grey flagpole options. The main parts list on Rebrickable is just for the flag itself.

Check out a quick animation of the white flagpole option below:

If the complexity and cost of my version aren’t for you, I completely understand. For anyone in this boat I highly recommend going all the way back to the original set that LEGO created.

While LEGO does offer digital versions of its instructions for most sets on its website, it does not provide this service for all sets. Older sets especially are left out of the catalogue, and that is the case with set 1869: South African Flag.

Several fan-operated websites dedicated to hosting LEGO instructions also didn’t have these available. While I could create custom instructions like I did for my version of the flag, I would like to make the official 1869 more accessible.

Thankfully someone in the South African LEGO community had my back. Roxzanne de Jongh owns the original set complete with box and instructions, and they were kind enough to turn the latter into the PDF you can see below.

Interestingly the last few pages of the instruction booklet show several alternate builds you can do with the included pieces. There’s some kind of bird with a tree, a crocodile / alligator, a clown, dragon and a fish.

None of that really creams “South Africa” but it’s still an imaginative use of the bricks.