Canadian LEGO artist Paul Hetherington probably needs no introduction. But in case you’ve been buried under the ice since the Truman administration like Captain America, Paul has just launched his largest commission yet; a 152,000 piece Seaspan Canadian Polar Icebreaker complete with a fully detailed interior. Designed with the help of LEGO Certified Professional Robin Sather of Brickville DesignWorks, this ship measures 11 feet long and 2 feet wide. Paul tells us the real Seaspan hasn’t been launched yet so this model will do more than help to visualize the real polar icebreaker currently under construction— it will help inspire future shipbuilders.
Not only has Paul built the ship, but he has included detailed landscaping, including the ice and ocean floor. Here is an aft view of the ship and its surrounding ice. The helodeck and helicopter are all very nice touches. This shot makes it clear that the interior is lit up as well.
This shot best demonstrates the model’s permanent display situation at Seaspan’s main office lobby located in North Vancouver, B.C. It also features some of that aforementioned ocean floor as well as the sea life that can be found there. I love the orcas situated near the front of the craft.
The aft end of the cross section features just some of the many, many interior spaces within and also showcases how the craft integrates with the surrounding ocean. Per an article on the Seaspan website:
The vessel was built from the bottom up, starting with Paul and Robin deciding to make each internal floor of the vessel 7 Lego bricks high, accommodating the height of the crew (Lego minifigures). This “standardized” height also determined the length of the model.
As the real ship is still under construction, Pau and Robin were invited to Seaspan’s “holoship” facilities to tour the design in VR.
After six months and over 520 hours of building, Paul (in the red) stands proudly with Robin next to his creation, both looking like Canadian superheroes. But that has me wondering; Does Captain Canada have the same origin story as Captain America? Like was he also injected with a supersoldier serum and frozen in the ice for about 70 years? While you’re mulling that over, be sure to check out Paul’s other heroic deeds in our Paul Hetherington archives.
