Would You Pony Up $630 for the Lego Titanic Ship?

People have come up with some very creative Lego builds on their own. However, there are plenty of individuals out there who enjoy putting together Lego sets as well. For proof, look no further than the fact that the Lego Group released a $630 Lego set for the RMS Titanic on November 8 of 2021. The Lego set for the RMS Titanic stands out for a number of reasons. For starters, it is the single biggest Lego set ever released at 9,090 pieces, thus enabling it to beat the Lego set for the Colosseum at 9,036 pieces. As such, the finished model is huge, so much so that it stands at 1:200 scale to the ship that it was based upon. However, what makes the Lego set for the RMS Titanic particularly remarkable would be the details that have gone into it. To name an example, it can open up to reveal its interior. Similarly, the propellers can be turned to move the piston engines. Amusingly, one can make the argument that it is very economically-sensible on a per-piece basis because $630 for 9,090 pieces means about 6.93 cents per piece, which is much lower than the average of about 18 cents per piece. Having said that, if someone is prepared to pay $630 for a Lego set, chances are good that isn’t their single most important consideration.

What Was the Titanic Anyway?

Of course, the Lego Group wouldn’t have made the Lego set for the RMS Titanic if said ship wasn’t famous. Chances are very good that interested individuals will have heard of at least some of the general course of events. In short, the RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank on April 15 of 1912 when it struck an iceberg while it was on its first voyage from Southampton in the United Kingdom to New York City in the United States. As a result, more than 1,500 of the estimated 2,224 people onboard died during the incident. The RMS Titanic isn’t the single deadliest maritime disaster to have ever happened. To name a worse one, the French munitions ship Mont-Blanc collided with the Norwegian ship SS Imo in Halifax Harbour on December 6 of 1917, which caused a massive explosion that killed about 2,000 people and injured more than 9,000 others. Still, it seems safe to say that the RMS Titanic is the single most famous maritime disaster to have ever happened.

There are a number of reasons why this is the case. To name an example, the RMS Titanic is an excellent example of the saying that safety regulations are written in blood. It is a well-known fact that the ship carried enough lifeboats for just 1,178 people, which was about half of the people on board and about one-third of the people who could have been onboard. To be fair, that was standard practice at the time. Even so, that meant that there would have been horrific casualties even if the evacuation had been perfectly executed, which was very much not the case. As such, the RMS Titanic provided the impetus for the rule that there be enough lifeboats for everyone plus other rules such as mandatory lifeboat drills and mandatory lifeboat inspections. Similarly, its sinking caused a number of other safety rules to be agreed upon as well. One example would be the rule that a ship’s red rockets must be interpreted as a call for assistance. Another example would be the rule that ships must maintain radio communications on a 24 hour basis. On top of this, the RMS Titanic is even the reason for the founding of the International Ice Patrol, which continues to monitor icebergs that could pose a threat to transatlantic shipping.

Having said that, the single most important reason for the RMS Titanic being so well-known is its sheer memorability as a story. It was the biggest ship of its time. Furthermore, the RMS Titanic was famous for being a supposedly unsinkable vessel that was both extremely advanced and extremely luxurious. As such, when the RMS Titanic set out, it carried some of the wealthiest people in the entire world onboard. Even its name can be considered hubristic. After all, it was specifically named for the Titans of Greek mythology because of its great size, its great strength, and its great power. However, it is important to note that said figures were also associated with an older generation of gods, having been overthrown by Zeus at the head of the Olympians before being imprisoned in Tartarus. A writer couldn’t have come up with a more ominous name if they had tried. Something that presumably contributed to RMS Titanic’s frequent appearances in media, which were foundational for disaster movies as a whole.

What Are Some Other Spectacular Lego Sets?

Of course, the Lego Group has released some other spectacular Lego sets as well. To name some examples, the Lego Group has done some very well-known Lego sets based on the Stars Wars franchise. One would be the AT-AT, which is big enough to accommodate either 40 seated snowtroopers or 85 standing snowtroopers. Another would be the Millennium Falcom that came out in 2017, which is notable for being an improvement on an already very successful predecessor. Given the earlier mention of a Lego set for the Colosseum, it should come as no surprise to learn that the Lego Group has also made a wide range of Lego sets for a wide range of other locations. Some of these locations are fictional in nature. One example would be the NINJAGO City Gardens, which is a celebration of said franchise. Meanwhile, other locations are based on real world places but are no less fantastical for it. There is even a Lego set for the Disney Castle that can be found in Walt Disney World. A place that can be said to blur the line between fiction and reality because of the prominent role that it has in the marketing of one of the most powerful media companies that can be found on the planet.