MOC: RMS Acadia - Ocean Liner

[Murdoch17]

Way back when (around 2010) I designed this ship as a standalone piece for my desk. I spent about $120 USD on Pick A Brick from the online LEGO shop & from 3 Bricklink sellers. (I later found I could have saved a bunch of money by going through Bricklink alone.)

The RMS Acadia in all her glory.

I have updated the ship twice, and rebuilt the stern (rear) three times. (I now have great respect for someone who can build a boat stern that looks realistic.) I am going to use the 1990's boat bow, (Boat Bow Brick 8 x 10 x 1, part # 2622) as my stern, as It is the only (cheap) way get that curved look.

The top view features 44 lifeboats, (I'm pretending the 22 brown tiles are actually life boats stacked on top of each other) & the four funnels.

Ship Name: RMS Acadia

Ship Type: Atlantic Class Passenger Liner

Owner: Red Star Line

Ship Built: 1919 – 1921

Capacity: 2140 passengers, 1140 crew (3280 persons total)

Lifeboats: 44 boats with

75 people per boat (3300 people total capacity)

Builder: Steele & Sons Shipbuilders

Propulsion: 24 Boilers, 3 turbines, 3 steel propellers

Top Speed: 28.5 Knots

Fuel: Diesel (originally Oil)

The bridge shown here is in mini-figure scale. It is supposed to be a sized-up version of the one on the actual ship model seen above.

Th Acadia's bridge features:

-the Ships wheel

-dual nautical telegraphs, (those things with the paddles on them near the wheel)

-large table with lamp for studying charts and messages

-a radar screen (added to the ship in 1947)

The flag of Red Star Line, owner of the RMS Acadia.

LDD file for the ship & bridge: http://www.mocpages....1395333580m.lxf

Here is the real life model of the ship:

Fictional Background:

The RMS Acadia was designed in 1913, but World War One prevented it's construction by Steele & Sons Shipbuilders to start until 1919. The ship was modified from it's original design to burn oil, and was completed in February 1921. The ship could hold 3280 people total, with 1140 being Crew, with 270 being First class, 530 in Second class, and 1340 being the steerage, or Third class. The ship sailed it's maiden voyage in July 1921 from Southampton to New York City. The ship was English, and as such, was immune to American law of Prohibition. The ship took off-season sailings (informally known as Liquor Cruises) around the Atlantic, returning to the port of origin within a couple days. The ship managed to hold a steady service record, and remained relatively full-up until the Great Depression really took hold in 1931. The ship's owners, the Red Star Line, managed to stay financially afloat long enough to get the ship through the worst of the Depression, until the ship was requested by the English Navy as a troop ship in late 1939 for use in World War Two.

The Acadia's fancy woodwork was put in storage and the ship was turned into a troop ship relatively quickly. The ship was strafed several times by enemy aircraft during the war, and narrowly missed being torpedoed in 1943, but it survived the war not too much worse for wear. When it was handed back over to Red Star Line, it was given a complete overhaul mechanically and eclectically. The whole ship was rewired, and the oil burning engines converted to diesel. The Acadia's woodwork was painstakingly restored to it's original grandeur, and she was ready for for sailing by 1948, almost a year after being handed back to it's original owners.

In thew early '50's the ship began sailing luxury cruises to the Mediterranean from England and the United States, in addition to it's usual scheduled Atlantic crossings. The ship began showing it's age by the late 1960's, when it's original glass dome began to leak badly. A handful of cracks in the reinforced glass caused the ship to be dry-docked, but before it could be fixed the huge dome collapsed in on itself, causing the grand staircase to be heavily damaged. Luckily, the accident happened in the middle of the night, and no one was on board at the time to get hurt by all that broken glass. The ships' dome was replaced, but only because the ship's owners knew of it's heritage and couldn't bear to see the old girl scrapped. (Not to mention it would have cost more to scrap the ship than fix the dome) By 1975, she was last four-stack ship in existence, and the owners were planning the Acadia's 55th Birthday for the next year.

The Acadia celebrated July 1st, 1976 as her fifty-fifth birthday, and as part of the celebrations she was given to a preservation group dedicated to keeping the ship sailing as an "ambassador of history", as a peek into the way things were and how the men and women visiting and working on the Acadia went about their lives through each period of this ships stoic history. Many former passengers and crew detailed their experiences on the ship in writing or on film for the beginning of what later became known as The Acadia Living History Museum. Today, the ship features a feature-length film that chronicles the story of the ship and it's many passengers and crew through out the ships commercial and wartime lives. The film is shown in the Second Class movie theater, built into the ship in 1947 after World War Two, flowing seamlessly into the 1920's flavor of the ship. The ship still sails, making stops in New York and London (substituted for Southampton) at least twice a year.

The ship from a top-down view. The mini-figure standing nearf the side is the Captain Edgar Danforth Fuller (or E.D. Fuller for short) We can also see the Grand Staircase's glass dome, which is between funnels two and three. This is the Captain's suit, in case any one wants to know: http://www.bricklink...?P=973pb0294c01

EDIT: Here is a little comparison with another ship to show you how big the Acadia really is:

This ship in the foreground is the Tramp steamer "Morrow II" which is in scale (or as close as possible) with my passenger liner "RMS Acadia" in the background.

Here is the statistics for each ship:

Ship Name: Morrow II

Engine Type: steam-fed turbine to double screws

Vehicle Configuration: tramp steamer

Vehicle type: ocean going freighter

Designer: (unknown)

Build Date: 1917

Builder: Throwing Star Freight Lines

Current Owner: Captain Karloff

Ship Name: RMS Acadia

Engine Type: steam-fed turbine to triple screws

Vehicle Configuration: luxury passenger vessel

Vehicle type: ocean liner

Designer: Steele & Sons Shipbuilders

Build Date: 1921

Builder: Steele & Sons Shipbuilders

Current Owner: Red Star Lines

LDD file: http://www.mocpages....1434723184m.lxf

Oh, and just so you know, this is the Morrow II in mini-figure scale:

You can draw you your on conclusions on how big the Acadia would be if it were mini-fig scale!!

Edited June 20, 2015 by Murdoch17

[DesignerJSL]

No replies?!? Wow, that is so sad.

Well done, Murdoch17, terrific model. You actually invested $120 to build it in real-life? I would have been content to have a nicely rendered digital image from LDD, but then again it is a great model.

How big is it (in cm)?

[Murdoch17]

Thanks for the compliments, and no comments (besides yours) is not that uncommon for me. You just get used to it, I guess.

Also, It's two exactly X-L baseplates long. I'd don't have a ruler at the moement, and can't remember how long that is. I'll try to find it on google.

EDIT: Looked up how long a large base plate is, then times by three (as three Larges make a XL) and converted to CM. It's is exactly 76.2 Centimeters long.

Does this help?

Edited March 25, 2014 by Murdoch17

[DesignerJSL]

Yes, thanks - wow, that's pretty big! I was wondering whether it was minifigure-scale since you had the cabin that size, but then I saw the pieces and realised it was 'Creator' scale. But still, amazing job.

[Only Sinner]

This is a fine ship. I would be very proud of this model, that is if I actually had the patience to order all those parts! I also like the scaled up bridge, and would be interested to see some sailors in there.

[Murdoch17]

Sorry for the late replies and topic bump!

Yes, thanks - wow, that's pretty big! I was wondering whether it was minifigure-scale since you had the cabin that size, but then I saw the pieces and realised it was 'Creator' scale. But still, amazing job.

Thank you.

This is a fine ship. I would be very proud of this model, that is if I actually had the patience to order all those parts! I also like the scaled up bridge, and would be interested to see some sailors in there.

This might interest you:

Here we see the real-life ship in a side profile. The mini-figure standing on the side is the Captain Edgar Danforth Fuller (or E.D. Fuller for short) We can also see the Grand Staircase's glass dome, which is between funnels two and three.

The first post is updated.

Edited April 15, 2015 by Murdoch17

[Murdoch17]

Sorry for the bump, but if anyone still wants to see more, here you go:

This ship in the foreground is the Tramp steamer "Morrow II" which is in scale (or as close as possible) with my passenger liner "RMS Acadia" in the background.

Here is the statistics for each ship:

Ship Name: Morrow II

Engine Type: steam-fed turbine to double screws

Vehicle Configuration: tramp steamer

Vehicle type: ocean going freighter

Designer: (unknown)

Build Date: 1917

Builder: Throwing Star Freight Lines

Current Owner: Captain Karloff

Ship Name: RMS Acadia

Engine Type: steam-fed turbine to triple screws

Vehicle Configuration: luxury passenger vessel

Vehicle type: ocean liner

Designer: Steele & Sons Shipbuilders

Build Date: 1921

Builder: Steele & Sons Shipbuilders

Current Owner: Red Star Lines

LDD file: http://www.mocpages.com/user_images/80135/1434723184m.lxf

Oh, and just so you know, this is the Morrow II in mini-figure scale:

You can draw you your on conclusions on how big the Acadia would be if it were mini-fig scale!!