For LEGO builders who create scale models of real-world vehicles, capturing the distinctive shape of an original is a mighty accomplishment. Doing so with minimal seams can challenge the best builders. Nailing both while also integrating motor functions? That’s the mark of a LEGO modeling master. Max Richter’s Boeing 747-8 in Lufthansa livery is one of the most impressive scale model aircraft we’ve ever seen. At 1.5 meters long (nearly 5 feet!) and with a wingspan of 1.35 meters, clocking in at 12,500 pieces for a weight of 11.4 kg (25 lbs), it’s also one of the biggest, dwarfing LEGO Icons Concorde. The motorized landing gear system is a thing of beauty. This build soars.
To fully appreciate Max’s model, I highly recommend watching his video tour. As a bonus challenge, can you find where he uses a droid body, hockey stick, and pirate hook in the build?
Seen from a distance, the seams from Max’s incredible shaping all but disappear. You’d be forgiven for mistaking it for a die-cast model. The brick-built Lufthansa logo and lettering also benefit from the scale.
Max first teased the motorized landing gear last summer. Originally, this was to be the extent of the build. Only after completing this slice did Max decide to house the mechanisms inside a fully realized plane model.
To get a better sense of scale, here’s Max holding the front of the fuselage. Despite the build’s weight and size, the plane is remarkably stable, as Max puts the wing section through some heavy “turbulence” in the video.
While part of the fuselage hides gears and wiring to control the landing gear and flaps, Max did make part of the roof removable to show a fully realized interior with so many tiny seats in a row on two levels.
While this is our first time spotlighting one of Max’s builds, each of his past models is worth a deeper look whether photos on Flickr or on his Legomanufaktur YouTube channel.
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