Struth! Lego Boat a Labour of Love

STRUTH !    

IN his continuing search for the more weird, wacky and wondrous in the world of travel, David Ellis says that a love of cruising has seen Princess Cruises’ famous Love Boat reincarnated in LEGO® by a Melbourne man who is obviously endowed with infinite patience.

Measuring 3.2 metres long and 1.5 metres high, it’s made from more than a quarter of a million LEGO bricks, took six months to build and is the largest single project ever undertaken by professional LEGO builder, Ryan McNaught.

“I wanted to do something with character so I chose the original Love Boat, Pacific Princess, and studied photos and deck plans to capture all aspects of her features and beauty,” Mr McNaught said.

While one side of the model features the exterior of the famous ship, the other is an open cutaway revealing all the action inside – from chefs in the kitchen to passengers working-out in the health club.

Mr McNaught has also brought the cast of the famous Love Boat TV show to life with LEGO models of the legendary Captain Stubing, Gopher and Cruise Director Julie, along with some of the show’s most famous guests such as David Hasselhoff.

Flashing LED lights flicker in the disco and tiny motors power the propellers and passenger elevators.

Mr McNaught is one of only 12 certified professional LEGO builders in the world, and having shown his Love Boat model at Australia’s LEGO Convention – Brickvention – in Melbourne this month, now plans to ship it to  one of the largest LEGO conventions in the world, Brickworld in Chicago in June.

More images of the LEGO Love Boat can be seen on www.flickr.com/photos/ryanmcnaught