Tag Archives: Maritime

Award-winning Canadian LEGO artist breaks the ice with a stunning 152,000 piece polar icebreaker [Feature]

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.

Dive deeper into this record-breaking, icebreaking build

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

You’ll have a hauntingly good time aboard the Flying Dutchman

The Flying Dutchman has been haunting the minds of those who enjoy a good maritime legend for centuries. The ghost ship no doubt haunts W. Navarre‘s mind, inspiring this cool LEGO creation. This build is for the Iron Builder challenge, specifically the use of giant green minifig hands. The use of them here is subtle and cool. Can you spot them? They’re the cannons! Their bright green color is perfect for a ghostly vessel doomed to roam the seas for all time. Speaking of subtleties, I really like the hints at otherworldliness on the ship. Those details don’t overwhelm the structure of the ship itself, allowing it to pass as an old sailing vessel–until you’re up close and personal. The ghostly touch I like the most is the curved flame piece at the top of the central mast. It’s the perfect part for that tattered, ethereal flag look.

Continue on, if ye be brave enough

A light for the dark waters

The weather is warming up here in the Northern Hemisphere and so are the waters. Beach and boating season is truly upon us as well as maritime scenes which wouldn’t be complete without a lighthouse. Andreas Lenander’s LEGO model surely embodies this summertime energy.

Lenander builds his lighthouse on top of a rocky island composed of dark grey and olive green slopes, bricks, tiles, and plates of varying types and sizes. There are two smaller islands similarly composed, all three islands rest on top of a vast sea of light blue trans-clear 1×2 tiles. There are a couple of trees on the main island fashioned out of orange 1×1 flower pieces and yellow leaves which pop against the darker colors comprising this work. While the build as a whole seems ominous, the brick-built light house offers a comforting light to those wandering the seas.

Brick Wave Off Kanagawa

The world-famous Great Wave Off Kanagawa print by Japanese painter Hokusai gets the LEGO treatment in this great piece of work by koffiemoc. The model’s inspiration is immediately recognisable — from the overall colour scheme, the towering wave threatening the three boats, through to the triangular white peak of Mount Fuji in the central distance. The builder has added in some of the more subtle details of the artwork too — the crests of the waves are tipped with clips, capturing Hokusai’s depiction of the water having claws. There is also the triangular shape of the foreground wave, mirroring the form of the background mountain. This is a beautiful brick-built tribute to a beautiful image.