I designed this replica of a real-life research vessel on commission. While I’ve done a few seafaring builds before, I’d never built a full-size modern boat prior to this project. I love to tackle new subjects, since they throw all kinds of unexpected puzzles my way; as such, I relished this project as a great opportunity to grow as a builder. In the end, I finished with a larger, cooler, and more beautiful model than I ever expected to produce.
Clocking in at over 2,000 bricks, this minifigure-scale recreation measures over than 20" (50cm) long and weighs over 4 lbs (nearly 2 kg). The boat also features 3 levels of carefully crafted interior details that emulate those of the actual vessel, which are accessible in the LEGO modular building style, via removable roofs and sub-layers.
Read on to find out what’s inside this vessel, and to learn more about the choices I made and challenges I faced during its design process!
Crafting the Boat: Hull & Shaping
The first thing I had to address in designing this model was the shape of its hull. I leaned on some of the—unfortunately rare and expensive!—LEGO boat bottom pieces (front and midsection) to make my foundation, but from there had to continue the curvature upward and, in the case of the prow, into a taper. This proved challenging.
For the sides, I utilized a SNOT frame and clad it with curved slopes. I wanted a clean-cutting front to the boat, so built the bow as its own, separately angled section. The gap between the rounded sides and sharp prow is bridged by flexible “fingers” that meet the bow and create a subtle, compound curve.
In the initial phases of my design, the boat was only going to be about 16” long. But, once I attached its sleek siding—which also included those wire railings—the vessel just didn’t look proportionate anymore, and seemed too tall for its length.
As such, midway through the process, I had to return to the deepest level of the build and lengthen its foundation. This was time-consuming, but the labor was well worthwhile, as the finished boat looks far better and has much more room for play.
Probably the trickiest bit of shaping I had to tackle on this vessel was its front-facing windows. The three-sided walls in which they sit lie in a trapezoid arrangement and are angled ~15 degrees off of plumb. I ended up using a combination of hinges and slopes to approximate the tricky, rhombus-shaped side walls.
Another challenging area was the top deck’s solid railing. On the real boat, this area also tapers inward as it gets higher, which was unfortunately impossible to accomplish stably here, but I think my staggered arches do about as well as possible given the limited space I had to work with.
Zero Layers Down: Deck & Exterior
As I mentioned before, this LEGO research vessel is built like a layered cake, or like one of LEGO’s modular building sets, in that it separates into different “slices.” By removing a layer of roof, or the floor above, new interior spaces within are revealed.
Before we take any sections off and dive deeper into the model, however, there are a few external details I would like to highlight. Consider this an overview of the boat “zero layers down.”
The rear portion of the deck is laden with the detritus of a boat in use. Dive tanks, a trash can, a bucket, and a measuring tape exist among the objects strewn about. Also of note here are the boat’s working crane and folding platform, a sheet of metal that can swing down and sit just below the waterline. This space is intended to allow the crew to hold or measure sharks and other marine creatures without taking them out of the water.
The buoys hanging over the sides of the boat are one of my favorite details, since they add a pop of color to the otherwise extremely white-heavy model.
Another of my favorite details is the door to the captain’s deck, which emulates the real-life version by sliding, rather than swinging, open. The back window functions in a similar way.
I used flex tubing (AKA rigid hose) to create the sinuous curves of the “metal” banisters where necessary, then married them with other, inflexible bars where possible to shore up this fragile area of the model. In this regard, those decorative, hanging flags actually also serve a functional purpose by joining the flex tubing with the friction rams at the corners.
Beyond a working crane, this model also has a raising and lowering anchor, which can be spooled or unwound on its chain. This is a pretty simple and effective mechanism that I could include at little “cost” to accuracy.
I relied heavily on 1x2 up-facing brackets to manifest the side rails of the ship. By using these, I was able to unite the solid portions of the railings with the sides of the boat, so that even as the decks below them are lifted, the railings still remain.
The research vessel has a myriad assortment of antennae on the top of its roof, as well as a few lights. It was fun to come up with the different designs for different pieces of equipment.
I included seagulls and minifigures in my photos of this model to bring it to life. However, neither the birds nor people seen here were actually part of my final deliverable, since the client wanted to supply his own, authentic crew of characters to the model and so had no use for mine.
One of the last things I designed for this replica were the beverage and food coolers up on the back deck. I’m really pleased with these little designs, which feel so recognizable despite their diminutive sizes!
One Layer Down: Captain’s Quarters
By taking off the topmost roof on the ship, the one with antennae, one can gain access to the captain’s deck, the highest interior space on the vessel. It’s a small room, but not as little as some of the ones to come!
Most importantly in this room, we have the boat’s controls. The wooden console is a tightly-detailed section: I managed to squeeze a steering wheel, 2 levers, a set of dials, a navigation screen, and even a cup of coffee into this tiny space.
Just outside of the captain’s cabin, a blue cushion can be removed, revealing a little storage box. I opted to include a few scuba masks in here, since they were about the only nautical things that could fit in the tiny compartment.
The captain’s deck also includes a bed wedged up against the back wall. This bed, like others on board, has been made up in grey linens. I opted against using white because I wanted to avoid any confusion between the brick-built bedclothes and the boat’s hull.
Two Layers Down: The Galley
The captain’s deck comes off the model in its own piece, revealing beneath it the boat’s galley, a communal space encapsulating the kitchen, “living room,” and briefing area.
This is the biggest interior space in the whole model, and further differentiates itself from other rooms by having—or, really, earning!—a deliberate carpet. I chose sand green because sand blue, while more accurate to the real boat, didn’t come in the bricks I needed, and because dark bluish grey felt too drab.
Another of my favorite details on the model—one of those details, I’ll admit, I spent a disproportionate amount of time working on—is the cute little microwave! This was actually something of a puzzle to figure out less because of the design of the zapper itself, but because of the way I had to house it in the model, given the need for stability and the distinctive triangular shape of the support wall nearby.
Behind the backsplash sits a trapezoidal table. I wish I had included a pizza or something on there, since there’s plenty of room for decoration on this space.
A flatscreen TV is mounted up in the corner of the galley. Below it is a line of cushy couches, the backrest of which is actually built onto the wall. I had to compromise on the layout here; in real life, this couch is an L-shape, but that would have blocked the already-narrow passage.
A door provides access to the galley from the deck, and two sets of staircases give the crew access to the below-decks spaces. Both of these staircases genuinely connect the galley with the lower deck spaces on my LEGO replica.
Three Layers Down: Belly of the Boat
The below-decks section of the boat contains 8 rooms and two corridors, which is a pretty incredible number of spaces!
All the rooms are small, of course, and not just in terms of square footage: due to the proportions of the boat from its outside, I’ve actually also had to abbreviate the vertical aspect of this “floor” of the boat. In most cases, a minifigure can’t actually stand upright if they’re positioned below-decks, but there is plenty of space for them to lie down.
There are 7 crew berths on this vessel. One is up on the captain’s deck, and the other 6 are here, below-decks. In what little extra space I had to play with, I shoved cardboard boxes and little trinkets into these personal spaces.
No LEGO living space would be complete without a bathroom! Matching the floor plan of the real vessel, a diminutive toilet sits towards the back of the boat.
The boat’s aftmost space is a freezer. I designed this as a removable piece, where the ice and fishes can be slid up and out by pulling on those handles to either side.
The engine room is arguably the most cramped space on this model. There’s hardly any space for a minifigure to stand. Fuse boxes, dials, valves and a fire extinguisher crowd the walls, while pipes and a toolbox clutter the floor.
I’ve designed the engine itself to be easily removable, so that its greebly goodness can be appreciated from all angles.
In this image, the vertical staircase block has been removed. However, normally, this companionway remains fixed to the lower deck, a spine that protrudes through the deck above out of necessity.
Thanks for reading! If you have any other questions or thoughts about this model, feel free to leave them in the comments below. And, if you’re interested in getting a model like this yourself, reach out to me about commissioning one of your own!