Nautical review of RMS Titanic
Posted by FlagsNZ,
The sinking of RMS Titanic on the night of 14/15 April 1912 after she hit an iceberg during her maiden voyage, and the aftermath and controversy has elevated Titanic to celebrity status: she is arguably the most famous ship of all time.
At 1.35m from bow to stern, 10294 Titanic is the longest LEGO set ever, and its part count of 9,090 is surpassed only by the 11,695-piece 31203 World Map; One could say that this is a LEGO set of Titanic proportions!
Read on as I describe some nautical features of this ship and the impact the sinking had on the maritime community.
Olympic-class liner
RMS Titanic was the second of three ships built by Harland and Wolff of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
- The first vessel of this class, RMS Olympic, was launched on 20 October 1910
- RMS Titanic was launched on 31 May 1911
- RMS Britannic was launched on 26 February 1914
Unsinkability
Much has been made of the claim that these vessels were designed to be unsinkable.
The Olympic-class liners were subdivided into 16 watertight compartments, with watertight double bottom tanks extending the entire length of the ship. The watertight bulkheads extended up to E Deck (D Deck in the case of the two forward most bulkheads).
As Huw has described in his review of this set:
"Construction is split into three distinct parts, and it's built from bow to stern rather than from top to bottom.
"You are therefore never working on anything much bigger than a 48x48 baseplate, other to connect them together at the end.
"Furthermore, each of the three subsections is built in two halves: effectively you're building six mini-models, so it never feels overwhelming."
The three distinct parts of 10294 Titanic represent the following watertight compartments of the actual Titanic:
- The bow section represents the first six compartments ending with No 5 boiler room.
- The midsection shows the Number 1, 2, 3, and 4 boiler rooms.
- The aft section builds the aft six compartments including the two reciprocating four-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engines and the turbine engine room.
Myth
Popular mythology maintains that RMS Titanic was marketed as being unsinkable.
Facts
RMS Titanic was never described as "unsinkable" and Harland and Wolff never claimed that she was unsinkable.
The first unqualified assertion of Titanic's unsinkability appeared in The New York Times on 16 April 1912, a day after the tragedy.
RMS Olympic underwent a major refit in late 1912 raising the middle five bulkheads to B Deck and the other bulkheads to D Deck.
Major design changes were made to RMS Britannic as this vessel was in the early stages of construction.
Suit of Colours
National and ceremonial flags flown in a ship are known as a "Suit of Colours."
This set comes with a flexible sheet with some printed flags that were flown in RMS Titanic.
Pilot Jack
The Merchant Shipping Act of 1854 specified that British merchant ships should fly the Civil Jack (sometimes called the Pilot Jack).
The Pilot Jack is a flag having the Union Flag at the centre with a white border.
This is very similar in design to the flag flown by Queen's Harbour Masters.
Technically, the national flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Flag. It should only be called a Union Jack when flown from the jackstaff of one of Her Majesty's Ships.
Stars and Stripes
The US Ensign (Stars and Stripes) was flown when RMS Titanic departed Southampton.
In 1912, there were only 46 states after Oklahoma was added to the Union on 4 July 1908. The Stars and Stripes flag included in this set has the correct number of stars for a 1912 version of the flag,
This flag was the national flag of the United States until 3 July 1912 when New Mexico and Arizona joined the Union.
Blue Ensign
All commercial ships have a nationality and have a passport styled document called a Certificate of Registry.
RMS Titanic was registered in Liverpool and was, therefore, a British registered ship.
Normally ships registered in the United Kingdom fly the Red Ensign.
The 1894 Merchant Shipping Act states that: "The Red Ensign usually worn by the merchant ships, without any defacement or modification whatever, is hereby declared to be the proper national colours for all ships or boats belonging to any British Subject".
The plain Blue Ensign is worn by British merchant ships when commanded by an officer of the Royal Naval Reserve, having a certain number of RNR officers and ratings on board, and holding an Admiralty Warrant which is issued in accordance with the conditions laid down in Queen's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions.
I would attempt to trim the flexible flag to remove the blue border at the top of the flag being mindful of the holes that thread through the Ensign Staff. I would also make sure the flag was not being flown at half-mast!
The master of RMS Titanic was Captain Edward John Smith RD RNR.
In addition, the following officers in Titanic were also officers of the Royal Naval Reserve:
- Lieutenant Henry Wilde, RNR - Chief Officer
- Lieutenant William Murdoch, RNR - First Officer
- Sub-Lieutenant Charles Lightoller, RNR - Second Officer
- Sub-Lieutenant Joseph Boxhall,, RNR - Fourth Officer
- Sub-Lieutenant Harold Lowe,, RNR - Fifth Officer
- Sub-Lieutenant James Moody, RNR - Sixth Officer
Third Officer Mr. Herbert Pitman also served in RMS Titanic, but he was not an RNR officer.
The Royal Naval Reserve is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom.
Professional officers (including this author) who are serving in the British (and Commonwealth) Merchant Navies can join the RNR as commissioned officers (RNZNR in the case of this author).
Missing flags
In addition to the three flags mentioned above, the following three important flags were flown in Titanic:
- White Star house flag
- Royal Mail Pennant
- French Ensign
It is disappointing that these three flags have been omitted. The RMS in Titanic's name stands for Royal Mail Steamer and these ships fly the Royal Mail Pennant.
The White Star house flag (actually a broad pennant) is the company flag of the White Star Line.
This flag is still flown on one day of the year, April 20th in Cunard ships when this flag is flown together with the Cunard house flag. This is in commemoration of the day on which these two companies merged.
The French ensign was flown when RMS Titanic entered Cherbourg on 10 April 1912.
Lifeboats
Accurate to the real-world version, 10294 Titanic has 16 lifeboats; four banks of four boats. RMS Titanic also had four collapsible lifeboats stored adjacent to the bridge.
Myth
RMS Titanic carried fewer lifeboats than similar vessels due to her "unsinkability."
Facts
The Merchant Shipping Act 1894 stipulated the number of lifeboats that ships were required to carry. The regulations were modified but by 1912 they had one significant flaw: they had been intended to regulate vessels of up to 10,000 Gross Registered Tons.
Titanic had a gross register tonnage of 46,328 GRT and a total capacity of over 3300 people.
RMS Titanic exceeded the lifeboat capacity stipulated in the regulations. A ship of her size was only required to carry 16 lifeboats; The four collapsible lifeboats were additional to the minimum requirements.
At the time of the Titanic incident, only six of the 39 ships over 10,000 GRT had sufficient lifeboats for everyone aboard. The six compliant vessels were only marginally over 10,000 GRT.
Outfitting the Titanic with sufficient lifeboats for everyone aboard would have drawn attention to all the other, smaller ships that were also less safely equipped liners that also lacked sufficient lifeboats.
The White Star Line considered that the primary purpose of the lifeboats would be to safely transfer passengers and crew to a nearby vessel rendering assistance.
RMS Titanic was designed to remain in a survivable condition for sufficient time for this transfer to be completed safely.
Wireless telegraphy
The wire that spans between the foremast and mainmast is called the Triatic Stay and is used as a radio aerial. The Triatic Stay is typically the longest wire in the ship.
The radio equipment aboard RMS Titanic was owned by the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, Ltd, who also employed the two radio operators.
These radios transmitted and received signals on 500 kHz and the radio signals had a wavelength in the region of 600 metres. Radio aerials are typically half a wavelength long.
Part of the radio equipment is used to artificially tune the aerial when it is not possible to have the aerial precisely at half a wavelength long.
The radio signals are horizontally polarised as the aerial is horizontal.
There would have been ceramic insulators at the ends of the aerial to isolate the aerial from the steel of the masts and hull.
Legacy
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)
The first version of SOLAS Treaty was passed in 1914 in response to the sinking of the Titanic, which prescribed numbers of lifeboats and other emergency equipment along with safety procedures, including continuous radio watches.
The 1914 treaty never entered into force due to the outbreak of the First World War. Subsequent amendments to the SOLAS Convention have been made and when you board a commercial vessel nearly all the safety features in that vessel will be due to the SOLAS Convention with origins due to the sinking of Titanic.
International Ice Patrol
The International Ice Patrol is an organisation with the purpose of monitoring the presence of icebergs in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.
The organisation was established in 1914 in response to the sinking of Titanic.
Overall opinion
From what I have seen, this is a seriously impressive model. Being 1.35m long, it will take some space to display.
Will I purchase one - probably.
Will I modify the model - most likely.
- I would attempt to have one side of the model exposed to show off more of the wonderful interiors. This might be difficult to achieve while ensuring the structural strength is maintained.
- I would also like to install Power Functions to the engines and have those two wonderful reciprocating four-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engines turning over very slowly.
- I would connect the propeller shafts with gearing, so they turned simultaneously.
272 likes
52 comments on this article
This was very informative. I would love to see the powered engines running. And everyone seems to be clamoring for the Grand Staircase, so if that could be worked into your cut-away, it would be spectacular.
Add Rose, Leo and the Phantom minifigs with the name plate and the display is 100% accurate.
Wonderful review!
It is a true statement to what I see as one of the most impressive additional features of this set: its value as a tool for learning. It invites us to learn more about the boat, its story and the history of its time - and, through @FlagzNZ's kindness, about ships, naval conventions and its impacts on us all.
Not to mention the obvious: how gorgeous a LEGO set this one is!
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. Thanks for the info FlagsNZ, this was a fun read!
Excellent info; I was wondering why she was flying the Blue Ensign rather than the Red Ensign. I am not a huge fan of this flag type compared to earlier LEGO flags
I hope you’ll give the Queen Victoria another go after seeing this. mahi pai!
I imagine the White Star flag was omitted for a few reasons. It could be distancing the model from the real-world entities related to the ship would make the LEGO model more neutral to history and make less of the case of the set "trivializing" history, but it could also be that since White Star is still technically an active company (with its modern merger with Cunard, which is in turn part of the Carnival cruise ship brand today), using the flag would require a license fee that LEGO might've felt wasn't worth including in the production costs.
Thanks for sharing this info @FlagsNZ. The level of detail relevant to the model is one of those things that makes it apparent that this model is not specifically aimed at AFOLs, but also at people with an interest in Maritime Heritage and customs.
Thanks to one thing or another on PBS, I have a passing familiarity with the career of one Bob Ballard, the guy who located the wreck after so many years. He had previously come up with a great idea for how to find Phoenician wrecks in the Mediterranean. Since you know where all the ports were (because it’s where all the ports still are), all you have to do is trace lines between them and travel those paths. Criss-cross over those paths as you go, and you should find the “beer cans” of the ancient world. Ships back in those days would often carry amphorae of wine as cargo. Sailors, then as now, liked to drink. They would periodically sneak one from the cargo, drink it during the voyage, and chuck the empty amphora overboard when they were done. And sometimes they’d sink. If you follow the trail of broken pottery, that will actually lead you right to many of these ancient shipwrecks.
Next was figuring out how to locate the Titanic wreck. They had a rough idea where it should be, but that was never enough into for anyone to actually locate it. So he realized you could use the same trick...as long as you had a starting point and knew the prevailing current. As ships break up and sink, stuff spills out. Heavier stuff sinks straight down (like the sections of hull), while lighter stuff is carried by the current for a while before it finally hits bottom. Figure out where the lightest stuff ended up, and it gets you one end of the path. Well, the most buoyant stuff to come off the Titanic was the lifeboats. They knew exactly where those got picked up, and they had the currents charted very accurately. So they drew a line on a map and set about criss-crossing that line in the ocean looking for underwater debris. On the last day they were budgeted for, they finally found the debris trail, and were able to home in on the actual hull sections.
That’s what he’s most famous for, so a lot of people mistakenly believe it’s his proudest accomplishment. It’s not. Everyone already knew the wreck was out there, and all he did was put a pin in a map. What he’s most proud of is discovering black smokers, aka undersea volcanic vents. That was something nobody has ever dreamed off before he announced it to the world. The discovery almost cost him his life, twice, and both times nobody would have even known why he died. The first was on the trip down where they actually found the vents. They reached out a temperature probe into the upwelling, only to see it melt from the extreme heat. Their portholes were made of the same material, and they had gotten caught in the convection current, which was pulling them into the upwards jet of superheated water faster than their prop could pull them away, but they did manage to manouver out of harm’s way somehow. The other time was when their buoyancy bladder sprung a leak. Because of the extreme depths, an air bladder would collapse from the pressure, so they use one filled with gasoline to offset the weight of the vessel and passengers. It got snagged on a rocky outcropping and tore, leaking gasoline into the ocean. He said they immediately headed for the surface, but they were reading the instruments that told them their depth, vs how quickly the gasoline was leaking out of the bladder. Lose too much, and the vessel loses its buoyancy...and you sink all the way back down to the ocean floor. Depending on whether you were an optimist or a pessimist, there was enough play in the numbers that they would either make it in time, or not. After these two close calls, they realized they were always fighting for access to the one tiny little porthole, so they developed the underwater ROV. If that sinks, nobody dies.
Excellent article, I had no idea that I wanted a historical review like this, but it was a great read. Big thanks to the author.
“ Technically, the national flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Flag. It should only be called a Union Jack when flown from the jackstaff of one of Her Majesty's Ships.”
Pedant alert. This is a common myth. The origin of the term Union Jack is not clear and it is defined acceptable to call it the Union Jack on land or sea
https://www.royal.uk/union-jack
https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/uk-flags/the-union-jack-or-the-union-flag/
@jsworpin said:
"“ Technically, the national flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Flag. It should only be called a Union Jack when flown from the jackstaff of one of Her Majesty's Ships.”
Pedant alert. This is a common myth. The origin of the term Union Jack is not clear and it is defined as acceptable to call it the Union Jack on land or sea
https://www.royal.uk/union-jack
https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/uk-flags/the-union-jack-or-the-union-flag/
"
I looked at both of those references as I wrote this article.
The second reference suggested that this was discussed in The House of Lords in 1908. This is the Hansard transcript:
https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1908/jul/14/the-flying-of-the-union-jack
It seems as if the discussion in the House of Lords was about flying the Union Flag/Jack vs flying the Royal Standard as the national flag of the UK.
I welcome robust discussion but I'm sticking to my claim. The proper name of the national flag of the United Kingdom should be the Union Flag - but this will be an argument I will never win.
Thank you, @FlagsNZ, for this interesting addition.
@PurpleDave I went to a lecture given by Bob Ballard at the Royal Geographical Society in 1988 or 1989 and he was so enthralling to listen to then.
@Drewsko said:
" I imagine the White Star flag was omitted for a few reasons. It could be distancing the model from the real-world entities
White Star is still technically an active company (with its modern merger with Cunard, which is, in turn, part of the Carnival Cruise Line brand today), using the flag would require a license fee that LEGO might've felt wasn't worth including in the production costs."
I never considered that. You are probably correct.
Thank you very much for the interesting insights. I have watched countless documentaries about Titanic, the history of the White Star Line, and general shipping history, plus have several books on the subject, yet even with all that background there was new fascinating stuff to be discovered in your article.
Highly appreciated.
Fantastic article, thank you!
Articles like this are what really elevate Brickset from a straightforward Lego website to one of my favorite stops on the Internet.
Thanks for writing this and sharing your expertise, @FlagsNZ!
Thanks for this great episode of Fun with Flags!
Great article! Very informative!
Probably the first thing I noticed was the missing White Star flag, which I think I will add quite easily using a red 4495b flag.
I might also fix the lack of doors (I'm sure there is another term), in particular in the mid-section of B and D deck, and others toward the bow and stern of E deck and I think C deck too toward the stern (not sure if these doors were present on both port and starboard - can anyone clarify?).
Another fix that may be possible is that the windows along B deck should have a bit more variation, whereas the LEGO model appears to just have a 6-brick wide repeating pattern throughout (and again no doors).
That said, I cannot wait to get this model. I was building LEGO Titanic models 30 years ago having been fascinated by the ship since I was 10 years old when I bought a book that came with three cardboard cut-out models of the ship (one cross-sectional model, one representing the sinking, and one of the shipwreck). I also had a few Revell models which cats destroyed with time. This set is just so much more than I ever expected from LEGO, and may well be the top No.1 LEGO purchase of my life.
"Lieutenant"? That is the U.S designation. The officers were 'Left-tenants'.
It's interesting to learn these thing. Thank you for the article!
It didn’t matter that there weren’t enough lifeboats for the passengers, the crew weren’t able to launch all the lifeboats she had anyway. More trained crew, faster lifeboat deployment mechanism or slower sink rate and more passengers might have survived, but more lifeboats alone wouldn’t have helped
@Interstellarpig said:
"It didn’t matter that there weren’t enough lifeboats for the passengers, the crew weren’t able to launch all the lifeboats she had anyway. More trained crew, faster lifeboat deployment mechanism or slower sink rate and more passengers might have survived, but more lifeboats alone wouldn’t have helped"
don't forget actually filling the boats with passengers! They were tested by the ship's builder's with the weight of 70 men, and at least one left the ship with around 20 or so people aboard. None of the lifeboats reached anywhere near the number of people they were designed to hold.
Thank you for your article. Lots of great information here that I had never thought of/heard of/considered.
I don't know much about the history of this vessel other than it sank 100+ years ago and they made a movie about it. I understand there is a cult following about its history.
Articles like this are always interesting to read. They get the fun facts thrown in and it isn't terribly long to create any sense of boredom.
Thanks so much for the article. It was quite enjoyable.
Thank you for this article! Some interesting pieces of information even for a Titanic nut like me :)
Dammit articles like this make me incrementally more willing to blow £550...
@benredstar said:
"Dammit articles like this make me incrementally more willing to blow £550..."
And gives those who never would buy the set more understanding of those of us eager to do so!
Three brick separators? Wow.
10294 does not have 16 lifeboats, but 18 (and the real Titanic has 20). Parts 32124.
Hey @FlagsNZ, I immediately thought of you when the release of this popped up on Brickset. Thanks for sharing this background information. Something tells me you’ll be ordering yours on day 1.
@Nesquik:
It’s still spelled the same. You just pronounce it funny.
What a splendid article, @FlagsNZ - many thanks!
Some interesting and informative comments posted here from the community too.
Bet it won't float...
Would like to see it side by side with the super star destroyer, which is the closest sized model to this but with only around a third of pieces.
@abeverage:
As long as there’s sufficient air trapped inside the bricks, it actually will float. Not well, but “capsized” is not the same as “sunk”.
@Anio said:
"10294 does not have 16 lifeboats, but 18 (and the real Titanic has 20). Parts 32124."
Yes. You're right. I see the two collapsible lifeboats (boats A and B) stowed next to the forward funnel.
And yes. Titanic had 20 lifeboats in total. Collapsible lifeboats C and D were next to the two cutters that had been swung out during the voyage.
@kolaxanthe said:
"Probably the first thing I noticed was the missing White Star flag, which I think I will add quite easily using a red 4495b flag.
I might also fix the lack of doors (I'm sure there is another term), in particular in the mid-section of B and D deck, and others toward the bow and stern of E deck and I think C deck too toward the stern (not sure if these doors were present on both port and starboard - can anyone clarify?).
Another fix that may be possible is that the windows along B deck should have a bit more variation, whereas the LEGO model appears to just have a 6-brick wide repeating pattern throughout (and again no doors).
That said, I cannot wait to get this model. I was building LEGO Titanic models 30 years ago having been fascinated by the ship since I was 10 years old when I bought a book that came with three cardboard cut-out models of the ship (one cross-sectional model, one representing the sinking, and one of the shipwreck). I also had a few Revell models which cats destroyed with time. This set is just so much more than I ever expected from LEGO, and may well be the top No.1 LEGO purchase of my life."
I had that book too! I'd totally forgotten about it until I saw your comment, thanks for reminding me!
@FlagsNZ said:
" @Drewsko said:
" I imagine the White Star flag was omitted for a few reasons. It could be distancing the model from the real-world entities
White Star is still technically an active company (with its modern merger with Cunard, which is, in turn, part of the Carnival Cruise Line brand today), using the flag would require a license fee that LEGO might've felt wasn't worth including in the production costs."
I never considered that. You are probably correct.
"
As the Royal Mail is still a company then the same reason could be responsible for the omission of the Royal Mail pennant
Now we just need the Land Titanic!
"Land Titanic was the largest and only street-going vessel ever built. The ship was built as a giant bus, going from one point of New New York to the other. However, it never made it. Near 32nd street, four days into the "voyage", the bus hit a mailbox, "sank" and went down to the underground."
@nymnyr8694 :
Maybe someone can clear the Hindentanic from Ducktales through Ideas, or the other Titanic from Futurama.
"The Merchant Shipping Act of 1854 specified that British merchant ships should fly the Civil Jack (sometimes called the Pilot Jack)."
That being said, the International Conference of 1889 changed those rules and by 1900 the use of the Pilot Jack was discontinued in favour of the the new International Code of Signals.
The Titanic NEVER sailed with the Pilot Jack. In fact, there's only evidence the ship ever flown the flag once, and that was on the 4th of April 1912, when the ship was all dressed up for an event.
The ship didn't even have a pole for it, it was added for that event and then removed.
So, for historical accuracy sake, either the pilot jack shouldn't be in this set or LEGO would have had to include all the other missing flags so that the display model represents a realistic depiction of the ship.
@djcbs said:
""The Merchant Shipping Act of 1854 specified that British merchant ships should fly the Civil Jack (sometimes called the Pilot Jack)."
That being said, the International Conference of 1889 changed those rules and by 1900 the use of the Pilot Jack was discontinued in favour of the the new International Code of Signals.
The Titanic NEVER sailed with the Pilot Jack. In fact, there's only evidence the ship ever flown the flag once, and that was on the 4th of April 1912, when the ship was all dressed up for an event.
The ship didn't even have a pole for it, it was added for that event and then removed.
So, for historical accuracy sake, either the pilot jack shouldn't be in this set or LEGO would have had to include all the other missing flags so that the display model represents a realistic depiction of the ship."
You are right. Jacks should only be worn by ships in harbour, at anchor, secured to a buoy or alongside. Jacks should never be worn by ships underway.
The modern etiquette is for merchant ships to wear the company House Flag as a Jack when in port.
@FlagsNZ:
I don’t know how it works in other nations, but the British Navy apparently flies the Union Jack from the jackstaff while underway if they are dressed for special occasions like the Queen’s birthday.
@PurpleDave said:
" @FlagsNZ :
I don’t know how it works in other nations, but the British Navy apparently flies the Union Jack from the jackstaff while underway if they are dressed for special occasions like the Queen’s birthday."
I'm not so sure. Underway means not made fast, not at anchor, and not aground. HMNZ Ships would never fly a Jack while underway and ships would never be dressed when underway.
https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/-/media/royal-navy-responsive/documents/reference-library/brd2/ch91.pdf
9132. Wearing of Colours by Ships in Commission
1. A suit of colours worn by HM ships in commission comprises the White Ensign, Jack
(Union Flag) and a White Masthead Pennant. These flags are the formal acknowledgement of the British national character, sovereignty and status of the ship in which they are flown. All HM ships in commission are to wear colours as laid down in the following Clauses. In the special case of ships undergoing contractors sea trials see Para 9142.
2. Peacetime
b. The Union Flag is to be worn as a Jack during the hours laid down in Para 9136, by ships in harbour, at anchor, secured to a buoy or alongside, but not when in dock or conducting a “cold move”.
9140. Dressing Ship
1. National Occasions. From Colours to Sunset (or Evening Colours if earlier) ships in port or at ceremonial anchorages are to dress overall on the following occasions:
a. Her Majesty’s official birthday (date published annually by signal from YOTA).
Her Majesty’s birthday (21st April).
His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh’s birthday (10th June).
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales (14th November)
Accession Day (6th February).
Coronation Day (2nd June).
Commonwealth Day (second Monday in March).
b. Between such times as may be ordered by the senior officer present:
(1) When in the presence of a Royal Standard or the flag or standard of a Commonwealth or foreign Head of State.
(2) On certain Commonwealth and foreign ceremonial occasions when in the
presence of ships, or in the waters, of the countries concerned. Ships visiting
Commonwealth or foreign ports should seek guidance on national anniversaries
and festivals from the British Defence Adviser or Naval Attaché, or local
authorities in the countries concerned.
Nice to see a shout-out to the International Ice Patrol!
It's a great model, and Lego clearly have tried to be accurate - but they need to change that centre prop. The real ship had a four bladed prop in the centre, not three bladed, like the outer props.
@WelshSarastro:
And that’s one of the drawbacks of building a LEGO set vs just buying a museum-quality scale model. The only 4-blade props/propellers they’ve ever made are either 5 or 13 studs in diameter. There’s a 2-blade design that can be reversed and stacked so they lock together into what is effectively a 4-blade propeller, but I think it’s about 6 studs in diameter, and it’s more suited for a helicopter tail rotor or a prop plane than a ship’s screw. They already have a 3-blades prop, and getting a new mold approved requires pitching the idea to higher-ups and demonstrating how it’s able to fill a critical role in the parts lineup. It wouldn’t be different enough to get approved, unless maybe it also came in an unserved or underserved size, like 4 stud diameter.
@PurpleDave
I’m sure it’s a bit of a pain; but there are I am sure other parts on here that are new. And this set seems to have been in development for a long time, so I’m sure a new prop could have been made. It looks like an oversight to me.
@WelshSarastro:
Maybe, but I kinda doubt it. New E hasn’t posted anything about this, and Brickset has had a review up for about a week. I just skimmed through it, and the only new parts I see are the flags, which don’t count. I do see some recolors, but those don’t count either.
If there is one or more new molds, they either came from another theme, or they were likely far more crucial for designing this set. They have limits on how many new recolors they can use, so new molds aren’t even guaranteed in most cases. And of course there’s no guarantee anyone was even aware of this during the design process.
@PurpleDave said:
" @WelshSarastro:
Maybe, but I kinda doubt it. New E hasn’t posted anything about this, and Brickset has had a review up for about a week. I just skimmed through it, and the only new parts I see are the flags, which don’t count. I do see some recolors, but those don’t count either.
If there is one or more new molds, they either came from another theme, or they were likely far more crucial for designing this set. They have limits on how many new recolors they can use, so new molds aren’t even guaranteed in most cases. And of course there’s no guarantee anyone was even aware of this during the design process."
I suspect it’s going to be a bit of a thing amongst the Titanic community. But it’ll be an easy fix if Lego create the right part one day :)