A Lego recreation of the sinking of the Titanic It could well be the most tasteless depiction of the Titanic ever created. An Australian model maker has spent 250 hours making a Lego-based recreation of the moment the doomed Belfast-built luxury liner split in half while sinking. Ryan McNaught's replica also includes scores of 'minifigs' - miniature figurines - re-enacting the plight of the 1,500-plus passengers who lost their lives when the New York-bound Titanic sank to the bottom of the north Atlantic after striking an iceberg during its maiden voyage in April 1912. The 120,000-piece project - which lights up - has actually been hailed as a masterpiece in the modelling world, with The Brothers Brick, the popular online blog for adult Lego fans, calling it "an incredible feat of engineering". But Susie Millar of the Belfast Titanic Society said she feared people here would find it in rather poor taste. "It's a shame that, having gone to so much trouble, rather than showing the Titanic at its finest, this model maker has instead decided to show it at its worst moment, just as it's plunging into the ocean and breaking apart," she said.
"He's obviously a very creative chap and it's just a pity that he's chosen this particular time in Titanic's history rather than something more positive. "People may find it insensitive because in this model there are people in the water and people in lifeboats. Was that really necessary?" Jan Dizon of the technological innovation magazine Tech Times is, however, clearly impressed by the replica. "What really makes our eyes pop is the fact that this Titanic was built to minifig scale," he said. The photograph shows bodies in sacks piled three high on the deck of the CS Mackay Bennett, before being tipped overboard as the ship's priest conducts a service. Photo issued by Henry Aldridge and Son. "Little Lego men and women are scattered throughout the ship, and even in the water, telling their own various mini stories of terror, and fighting for survival as the ship splits in half." Mr Dizon praised Mr McNaught - also known as 'The Brickman', and one of only 13 Lego certified professionals in the world - for his story-telling prowess via his Titanic recreation.
"When you look into the opening of the ship, there are minifigs hanging on for dear life," he said. "Four minifigs are working together to help their friend back up. One poor chap has a pile of ice that fell on top of him. "Up on the deck, minifigs are also scrambling in chaos. One man is hanging from his foot caught on a hook, others are by the railings, looking hopelessly at the fortunate few in lifeboats and the unfortunate ones in the icy cold, blue water. "Stories are told even in the little blue lifeboats; rich passengers in top hats would rather save their bulky chest full of money on the boat, rather than take in survivors who are swimming around. "Another minifig floating in an upturned car has a sad look on his face as it looks at the devastation around." He added: "Not since James Cameron's Titanic movie have we felt our heart strings pulled at the loss of the real life Titanic. They may just be minifigs, but McNaught was certainly able to convey the heightened emotions that must have happened on that fateful night."
Mr McNaught, who is married with twins, was unavailable for comment. But his website says: "Making interactive models and build experiences is my speciality, building things that people can not only be inspired by but interact with allows an amazing flexibility, giving a remote control or allowing people hands-on exposure in the build process really does make for a great experience. "I have also been lucky enough to win many awards over the years for my models and I look forward to inspiring more and more people with my creations." Titanics made out of Lego aren't new. An autistic Icelandic boy Brynjar Karl (10) - who visited Titanic Belfast last year - became an internet sensation after posting a time-lapse video of him building a 6.3m model of Harland and Wolff's most famous vessel from 56,000 pieces over 11 months.The file photo shows Brynjar Karl Birgisson, with his Lego replica of the Titanic. An eleven-year-old boy in Reykjavik, Iceland, who suffers from autism, is building a replica of the Titanic with Lego cubes.
Legoland in Denmark supported his project after he uploaded a YouTube video expressing his passion for the project.The 56,000 Lego-brick-ship is 6.3 meters in length and costs €3,500 to build.Karil has 5,000 more bricks to go and is expected to complete the ship in two to three months. After completion, Karl hopes to display the finished product in a museum or create his own “Lego Iceland.”The latest design to reach the second stage of Lego Ideas product development is an enormous replica of the Titanic. If this Lego kit makes it all the way to production, it would be the biggest single kit every produced. The project was designed for Lego Ideas which is a crowdsourced platform that can bring anyone’s concepts for a new Lego set to fruition. If a project gathers 10,000 supporters on the site, then it will be eligible for a special review after which it could go into production. The RMS Titanic kit was designed by user Ssorg who is on a roll after gaining support for his Douglas DC-3 model airplane design.
Ssorg’s proposed Titanic design is offered in 3 different scales. The smallest is 750 pieces and measures in at 41.4 cm (1.37 ft), and the largest of is a 4000-piece, four-foot long behemoth. The smaller models actually split down the middle—for real sinking action! The designer says it’s “a little macabre, but many people have been asking for [it].” The smaller scale versions also feature a detachable hull, so you can display the ship as if it were floating at sea. According to the Lego Review guidelines, it takes about nine months from when the design gathers 10,000 supporters to the Lego’s decision to produce the design. All of qualified designs in a three-month period are reviewed against each other in a battle where only one design makes it to production. There is no word on how long it takes the actual product to be released, but previous winning projects took about a year. As we wait for the Titanic set, we just need to find a bottle big enough to fit this massive ship, making the ultimate coffee table display.