Titanic proportions

All those hours of playing with LEGO toys and Lincoln Logs are finally paying off for Tyler Weiss, not to mention all the times he watched the ’90s classic movie “Titanic.”

The 30-year-old who works for Scholl Oil and Transportation had never put together any of the world-famous LEGO sets as an adult, so what did he pick for his first attempt?

Only one of the biggest LEGO sets ever made.

The 1:200 scale model of the Titanic, which LEGO launched in 2021, was LEGO’s biggest set by length, measuring over 4 feet, 4 inches long, 18 inches tall and 7 inches wide, according to a Nerdist article. And with 9,090 pieces, it was the company’s second-biggest set in terms of pieces.

Weiss said he had been watching the LEGO website in hopes of getting a different set when he spotted the Titanic, which, of course, was “temporarily out of stock.” As a Titanic history lover, he kept his eye on the website with no such luck.

His lucky day came when his brother found a LEGO Titanic set at a store in Texas.

This LEGO model splits into three sections (don’t worry, it didn’t hit an iceberg), and Weiss said that each of the three came in it’s own package so they could be assembled separately.

It takes a detail-oriented person to put together a 9,090-piece LEGO set. Weiss said he had to follow very detailed instructions step by step.

Despite the titanic proportions of this model, it only took Weiss a couple of weeks to complete the project — although he may have stayed up until 2 a.m. a time or two because he couldn’t pull himself away from it.

“I had a great time from start to finish!” he said.

Titanic history buffs and movie fans will recognize the grand staircase, cabins from different passenger classes, boiler room and smoking lounge in the interior as well as the ship’s bridge, promenade deck and swimming pool. If the propellers are turned, the piston engines turn inside. The tension line can be adjusted between masts, and the three sections can be pieced together to form one large ship that sits on a display stand.

As if the step-by-step instructions weren’t enough of a challenge, Weiss took it one step further. He conquered a grueling process of installing a light kit throughout the ship. That part was a bit of a nightmare, he admitted.

Will this Titanic float? No — according to a YouTube video Weiss watched. And he’s not about to try it himself after meticulously building the LEGOS and the lights piece by piece.

For now, Weiss is keeping his LEGO Titanic on display in his home, and there’s no doubt it will be a wonderful conversation starter someday.

Twenty-one years after the real Titanic set sail in 1911, the LEGO Group was founded in Denmark in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen. Its name was derived from two Danish words, LEg GOdt, which means, “Play Well.”

The LEGO Group remains a family-owned company with a mission to inspire and develop the buildings of tomorrow through the power of play. With bricks as the foundation, LEGO toys allow children and fans to build and rebuild anything they can imagine.

From the nearly 12,000-piece world map to the 9,000-piece Colosseum to the 6,000-piece Hogwarts castle, there’s a LEGO set out there for everyone — no matter how old you are! (But you may have to break into your piggy bank to get one.)