We’ve featured LEGO aircraft models by Jack Carleson before, but his latest model of Air Force One completely dwarfs them. This stunning model is a whopping six feet long and has a wingspan of five-and-a-half feet.
The aircraft is a modified version of the classic Boeing 747 airliner, used as the US President’s personal aircraft. Its official designation is VC-25A, but “Air Force One” is its popular name. It is the radio call sign whenever the President is on board. Whatever you may think of its current occupant, this model of his aircraft simply oozes class.
Jack’s model isn’t just pretty from the outside. It has a full interior, including the President’s stateroom and meeting room, and also a galley, an operating theatre and space for Secret Service agents and the White House press corps that accompany the President on his trips. It also has working folding stairs, for direct access to the aircraft’s lower deck. Whether the model also features an escape pod, as depicted in the 1997 movie Air Force One, is, of course, classified.
Two of these jets first entered service during the George H.W. Bush presidency. Their gorgeous colour scheme was introduced on earlier Boeing 707 aircraft, as used by President John F. Kennedy. Jack used aqua bricks for the light blue parts. This cannot have been easy, given the limitations of the parts available in that color.
The wings are swept back, but also point slightly upwards. This requires a seriously strong structure where they meet the fuselage, which Jack built using solely LEGO parts.
He recreated the fuselage shape using an intricate combination of curved slopes and hinges. The distinctive hump that houses the cockpit and the aircraft’s upper deck made this particularly complicated, but everything fits together almost seamlessly. It looks fit for a president.
