Building for charity

[Freddie]

Who would believe it? Me, actually building something! Well, Matija, DNL and myself, to be more exact.

And for charity no less. Each year, NORBOAT, an association connecting all parts of the boating hobby and industry in Norway, hosts a fair, letting manufacturers, boats and motors alike, coachbuilders and hobbyists, show off their skills. This year, through LEGO, Brikkelauget was invited to partake in the fair, and bring our skills, as well.

Already very early on it was decided on that a scale-model of a boat was to be built, and through a bit of coincidence, a debuting boat as well. Hydrolift were to present their new outboard-engined boat, a new field for them, and we were tasked with building it to scale in LEGO.

So, in about a week, which includes scrapping and cannibalizing the first attempt (which took two days to build!), we built a 1:6 scale replica of a Hydrolift SX-22.

More pictures can be found here.

It'll be auctioned off tomorrow afternoon, and we're guessing that it will fetch and pretty nice sum of money, that will be donated to the Cancer Association, and aid in developing new medicines.

Also, since we took these pictures, we've modified a few details as well. Pictures of those will be uploaded later!

[DLuders]

What a noble charity! The model is a very good replica of the real thing. Do you know whether it floats without taking on too much water? When my son was a LOT younger, his Lego boats would sink in the bathtub....

[Eilif]

Nice Job. Excelent work, and for charity too! This should be a textbook case for those looking to do Brick charitywork.

-A realistic and definable goal and buildable subject.

-A dedicated team

-A short defined Timetable

-A well known cause

-A specific "subject" with a very large and targeted group of buyers

-A public display and auction at a gathering of those buyers

I hope I'm not reading too much into this, but I think the model and process is brilliant!

A few questions.

1)Was the brick donated by public, the boat company, or the builders?

2)Was the project the brainchild of the club, the boat company, the charity or the boat show?

3)Was any glue used?

Be sure to let us know how the auction goes. Bravo!

[Freddie]

A few questions.

1)Was the brick donated by public, the boat company, or the builders?

2)Was the project the brainchild of the club, the boat company, the charity or the boat show?

3)Was any glue used?

Be sure to let us know how the auction goes. Bravo!

1) The bricks were bought by NORBOAT and Hydrolift, with the cost split between them

2) The charity is the only one who didn't come up with this. The idea was initially very briefly mentioned at the first meeting, and very quickly grew during said meeting - but Hydrolift only joined later on, since we were initially going to build a Windy 52.

3) No glue, and no cheating! The boat is roughly 98-99% 2x4 bricks, of maybe 6500 bricks in total - some of these make up the internal frame in the hull, which connects the left and right sides of the hull, as well as providing bracing forwards and back, and also functions as the support for the floor. It's pretty solid, despite lack of glue, and relatively light - but it still weighs around 30kg!

Edited March 19, 2010 by Freddie

[Matija]

So... the boat is now finished and has been sold for 6800 NOK, approx. 800-850 EUR... a bit disappointing that not more people wanted to bid

[Teddy]

So... the boat is now finished and has been sold for 6800 NOK, approx. 800-850 EUR... a bit disappointing that not more people wanted to bid

Ai, so considering the costs of the bricks, including shipping, that is about 200 Euro for the charity?

Given the time, effort, and uniqueness of the model, 200 Euro is a bit of a disappointing figure.

That is not even near enough to cover but a fraction of the labour costs that actually went into this.

Maybe an internet auction would have yielded a higher selling price.

Still a verry good effort though.

Are you guys going to try this again int he future?

Any comments on how you feel about the auction?

Was there a selling price you hoped for, aimed at?

Kind regards,

Teddy

[Matija]

Ai, so considering the costs of the bricks, including shipping, that is about 200 Euro for the charity?

No no... considering that the highest bidder was the producer of the very same boat we were building, and it was them who purchased the bricks (not sure, but I think even LEGO donated some), the selling price is the net amount going to the charity.

And yes, it was an internet auction, also covered on one of the major radio programs.

Are you guys going to try this again int he future?

Any comments on how you feel about the auction?

Was there a selling price you hoped for, aimed at?

If we're asked again to do something like this, I'm sure we will say yes. After all, it was a lot of fun And the feedback from the public was extremely positive, which was nice.

We weren't hoping for any particular price, but if it were about the double or more, I think we wouldn't have been disappointed.

[Front]

Really some creation here.

So if Hydrolift ended up buying the boat, this LEGO model would probably be on display in their reception or some similar place for years to come.

[Matija]

Really some creation here.

So if Hydrolift ended up buying the boat, this LEGO model would probably be on display in their reception or some similar place for years to come.

Yeah, I guess it will be either that, or they will give it away.