Scale: 1cm = 36 cm
One of the reasons why Vasa sank was because the gun ports was left open. A slight gust of wind tipped the unstable ship, the gun ports dipped below the surface, water rushed in and the ship was doomed.
Turn the wheel to sink the ship.
The ship was really fancy. The king had ordered 700 ornate oak carvings to decorate his prized ship. By the time these were salvaged, they were mostly all black. Scientists viewed samples under a microscope to work out what colours the paint would have been. They found strong, vibrant colours with lots of gold. Vasa was designed to dazzle.
Builder’s notes
Designed by: Ryan McNaught and Will Durkatz
Built By: Ryan Mcnaught
Designing a model that actually tips over is the opposite of what we normally do. Traditionally we build things for strength, stability and safety, so it was fantastic to work on a model that has a totally different design goal.
The intricate works on the outside of the ship meant there was all manner of crazy and unusual parts used. Great examples are the ice creams and micro figures.
The ship had a lot of “gold” details. Unlike the real ship, we of course can’t paint LEGO® bricks, so we are really limited in what parts come in gold, and often we are forced to use some really unusual parts. Making the ‘lions’ at either end of the ship was a great example, using many parts like golden bananas, musical instruments, clips, pans and even a pair of golden binoculars!
Model facts
- This model took 82 hours to make
- It uses 5,850 bricks
- It weighs 15 kilograms