royal yacht britannia lego

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Royal Yacht Britannia immortalised in Lego

It’s no secret that royalty love a yachting vacation and, when it comes to our favourite royals at sea , perhaps no-one is more prolific than Queen Elizabeth II and the British royal family.

Despite being retired in 1997, HMY Britannia is one of the best-known royal yachts of the modern era, drawing over 300,000 visitors to her final home at Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh, Scotland each year.

This year Ocean Terminal is celebrating the Queen’s 90th birthday by teaming up with Lego to create a 1:37 scale model of the yacht using the brand’s iconic bricks. Designed and constructed using the original plans and drawings for Britannia , the model took Lego builder and fisherman Jim McDonough eight weeks and 40,000 bricks to create.

The model measures in at just over 11 feet and boasts extraordinary attention to detail. From the Rolls-Royce Phantom V in the yacht’s garage to the white Baby Grand Piano in the tea room and the dozens of crew decked out in traditional naval uniform, nothing has been left out.

“We are thrilled with our Lego Britannia ,” said Bob Downie, Britannia’s chief executive. “Jim has produced an outstanding replica model of the ship which will be on display during the Queen’s 90th birthday and this unique piece is sure to be a highlight for Lego fans, young and old.”

“It was an honour to be asked to build the Royal Yacht Britannia ,” added Jim McDonough. “It’s one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever undertaken and being able to refer to the original plans allowed me to produce this replica of Her Majesty’s yacht.”

The Lego model of HMY Britannia is on display now at Ocean Terminal, Edinburgh. Visit royalyachtbritannia.co.uk for more information.

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» boat builders, » boating events, 40,000 lego bricks: the scale model of royal yacht britannia to be unveiled at leith, a lego replica model of the queen's former floating palace, the royal yacht britannia, is to be unveiled at the five-star attraction in leith. created using 40,000 lego bricks, and measuring more than 11ft (3m), the 1:37 scale model will go on display at britannia's visitor centre on saturday. it has been designed and constructed from britannia's original drawings. it took lego model builder and fisherman, jim mcdonough, 51, five weeks to create. he built the ship on the dining room table in his home near arbroath and said there was no glue used in its construction. he said everything could be taken apart. the replica has the onboard phantom v rolls-royce in its garage and the white baby grand piano in britannia's royal deck tea room. bob downie, britannia's chief executive, said; "we are thrilled with our lego britannia. "jim has produced an outstanding replica model of the ship which will be on display during the queen's 90th birthday year and this unique piece is sure to be a highlight for lego fans, young and old." mr mcdonough, said: "it was an honour to be asked to build the royal yacht britannia, and it's one of the most exciting projects i've ever undertaken, and being able to refer to the original plans, kindly supplied by britannia, allowed me to produce this replica of her majesty's yacht." the royal yacht britannia was home to the queen and the royal family for more than 40 years and sailed more than a million miles around the world. britannia has held the accolade of being scotland's best visitor attraction for 10 years in a row and in tripadvisor's top three uk landmark attractions for two years..

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Royal Yacht Britannia – now available in LEGO®

A new attraction was unveiled this morning at Ocean Terminal. Jim Mcdonough has spent the winter months creating a scale model of the Royal Yacht Britannia in LEGO®.

He used 40,000 pieces and has dismantled it three times!

The Chief Executive of Britannia Bob Downie commissioned the Arbroath scallop fisherman to create a replica model of the yacht for display in the entranceway to the Visitor Centre.

The Edinburgh Reporter News from Phyllis Stephen on Vimeo .

Bob said he was thrilled with the result: “Jim has produced an outstanding replica model of the ship which will be on display during The Queen’s 90th birthday year and this unique piece is sure to be a highlight for LEGO® fans, young and old.”

Jim told us that he had built the model in his kitchen from plans and had not actually seen the Royal Yacht till yesterday! He said: “It was an honour to be asked to build this. It is one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever undertaken, and being able to refer to the original plans, kindly supplied by Britannia, allowed me to produce this replica.”

The Royal Yacht Britannia lies alongside Ocean Terminal and has been voted Scotland’s Best Visitor Attraction for 10 years in a row and in TripAdvisor’s top 3 UK landmark attractions for two years.

The model will be on display now to coincide with VisitScotland’s Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design,

Phyllis Stephen

Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter. Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.

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Royal Yacht Britannia

By jim7564 , May 6, 2016 in LEGO Town

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Jim7564   .

Here is the Royal Yacht I was asked to build for the RYB Edinburgh.very enjoyable to build when you have an endless supply of bricks.and a change from the usual grey bricks i normally use.finished it measures 11 ft x 18 inches,approx 30,000 pcs plus another 30,000 1x1 trans clear blue for the water effect,

10,000 dark blue make up the hull

boat davits all work like their supposed to

this is the tearoom which was added after she was retired to a floating museum,

plenty gold finishes it off nicely,

added extra

finished off with a good few thousand tiles to give it a smooth appearance,and dark brown for the wooden handrail around the hull.the roof of the tea room has over 600 white tiles.

on display in the RYB visitors centre in Leith

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Link to post, share on other sites, ron dayes   .

What a great Ship! Excellent shaping and incredible detail all around! And dark blue hull - you are one lucky guy;)

How long did it take you to finish this?

Eilif   

Excellent work. I love the variety of lifeboats and tenders you included.

Captain Braunsfeld   

What an extraordinary effort!

Wow! What a great Ship! Excellent shaping and incredible detail all around! And dark blue hull - you are one lucky guy;) How long did it take you to finish this?

It took 2 months to build (including dismantling 3 times to get every aspect right for the customer,it was built as it was in its day then we decided to add the tearoom which made a massive improvement to the overall look) and a day to set up in the display case

Kai NRG   

KlodsBrik   

Another great ship from you.

Looking at MOC's this scale always makes me wish I had the funds to do something similar.

Thelonious Sparke   

Wow. This is awesome!!

Jedi Master   

I wish I could do that kind of stuff!

Sweet ship....

Modelmaker   

I build model ships for a living (non lego) and they can be a real pain to get right sometimes. I can't even begin to imagine how hard they would be to make in lego.

Captain Green Hair   

Very impressive! Not just the scale, but all the detail as well. I like the use of the ''classic'' building techniques and the dark blue hull and use of gold make this model really exquisite.

ER0L   

Anyhow, since I've seen quite a few large ship models built in this style: Would it be possible to get a smooth hull at this large scale? I know we're talking about Lego here, but since this is supposed to look like a scale model, a smooth hull would match the look of the elegantly designed superstructure much better in my opinion.

iammac   

Wow! This is a beauty! She looks mighty yar!

I like how you put stripes on the deck. Nice touch.

Can I ask who gets to eventually keep this wonderful ship?

nine09nueve   

Here is the Royal Yacht I was asked to build for the RYB Edinburgh.

Fantastic build Jim well done... how did it come about that you were asked to do the build?

when the Missouri was in the papers last year Bob Downie CEO of the RYBritannia seen it and emailed asking to build the Britannia,at first it was just a 4 ft model he was after but once he came here and seen them in real life he decided it would be better in minifig.it came out better than what i had hoped for..half built my fiancee commented (my best critique) that it would look good with lights so thats why it has lighting inside,

Kodan Black   

Love the blue hull! The lighting really does add a nice atmosphere also. The included minifigs really help deliver the sense of scale.

soccerkid6   

when the Missouri was in the papers last year Bob Downie CEO of the RYBritannia seen it and emailed asking to build the Britannia

That's brilliant :D So out of the madness that was the Missouri you got a sweet comission for the RYB... great work! (Hopefully the commission helped pay for the Missouri too!)

Patgeo   

It looks stunning! Great work!

I really liked the colour combination, plus the brouwn tiles for the wooden details! Also, the lights inside, make it look gorgeous at low light!

danstraindepot   

One of my all time favorite MOC's! Wonderful work.

LEGO Train 12 Volts   

Gorgeous MOC!

10.000 dark blue make the hull?!? Gorgeous MOC!

the dark blue bricks were donated from a company who wished to remain anonymous they could only get 2x2s 1x2s 1x4s 1x1s due to the rarity of the pieces,which made it very fragile so the inside had to be doubled up enough to hold it together,hence the 10,000 pcs normally you would expect less than half,then the plates which are also rare to find.needless to say my fiancee was busy on bricklink for days on end,the deck tan/black plates around 4500 of each colour,it just eats them up.

lewis   

I've admired this MOC many times "in the bricks" - Britannia is 5 minutes from my house! It looks stunning and I couldn't believe my eyes the first time I saw it. The lights really make it sparkle, and I daresay it looks maybe even more impressive than the real yacht, which is looking slightly dated now!

Hi Jim, I've admired this MOC many times "in the bricks" - Britannia is 5 minutes from my house! It looks stunning and I couldn't believe my eyes the first time I saw it. The lights really make it sparkle, and I daresay it looks maybe even more impressive than the real yacht, which is looking slightly dated now! Lewis

thanks for that,its one of my best,and in its display case it really stands out,the ;ights were a nice touch just adds that extra bit to it.

Sarles   

Fantastic, build my friend! Absolutely beautiful.

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The Royal Yacht Britannia, Ocean Drive, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6JJ

Tel: 0131 555 5566 Email us: [email protected]

The Royal Yacht Britannia is scheduled to be closed 9 & 10 October for planned building works beyond our control

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Tripadvisor’s No.1 UK Attraction 2023 - 2024

Please pre-book your tickets to guarantee admission..

Start your tour at our entrance on the Ground Floor of Ocean Terminal.

A great day out for all the family, explore each of the five decks at this top attraction in Edinburgh and discover what life was like on board Queen Elizabeth II's former floating palace. 

(Last Admission 6pm)

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Stay at our luxury floating hotel, Fingal, Tripadvisor's No1. UK Luxury Hotel, AA Hotel of the Year Scotland.

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The Royal Yacht Britannia is scheduled to be closed 9 & 10 October for planned building works beyond our control.

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Get away from the everyday aboard Britannia’s sister ship, Fingal.  Extend your visit with a stay in one of Fingal’s luxurious cabins, your own oasis by the sea. 

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Exploring Royal Scotland: The Royal Yacht Britannia

In honour of The Queen’s Holyrood Week, we’re taking a look at royal history in and around Edinburgh. Our senior reporter Kristin Contino headed to Scotland to find out more about some favourite royal spots.

“Britannia is the one place where I can truly relax,” The Queen once said, and when you tour the ship for yourself, you can understand exactly why.

The decommissioned yacht, now permanently docked in Edinburgh’s Leigh neighbourhood, is one of Scotland’s most popular tourist attractions, but for 44 years, it was the floating palace of Britain’s royal family.

History of the yacht

The Royal Yacht Britannia was launched in 1953 and during four decades of royal service sailed the equivalent of once around the world for each year, calling at more than 600 ports in 135 countries.

The Queen and her family spent many royal tours and holidays aboard Britannia, as well as honeymoons. Four royal honeymoons took place on the yacht, including Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales; Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York; Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones; and Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips. Interestingly, all of these marriages ended in divorce.

The Queen and Prince Philip attended a ceremony celebrating the yacht travelling one million miles in 1994, but the same year, John Major’s Government announced there would be no refit for Britannia   as the costs would be too great. The question of a replacement yacht was a hot topic leading up to the 1997 election, but the new Labour Government announced there would not be a new royal yacht in October 1997. 

The Royal Yacht Britannia was decommissioned on 11 December 1997 in Portsmouth, and the ceremony is one of the rare times Her Majesty has ever cried in public. All the clocks on Britannia were stopped at 15:01, the time The Queen was piped ashore for the last time, and remain that way to this day.

In 1998, Britannia permanently docked in Edinburgh and opened its doors as a tourist attraction. It has been named as Scotland’s best visitor attraction by Visit Scotland for the past 12 years, and 95 per cent of items on display are originals on loan from The Royal Collection. This is definitely not a recreation, but what the ship actually looked like when the family used it.

Touring the ship

One of the things that surprised me about Britannia is you actually can’t see the ship from the road, as it’s blocked by a large shopping mall called Ocean Terminal.

I can imagine it’s fairly depressing for The Queen to have her beloved Britannia now docked with a permanent view of a Debenhams, but it’s lucky for visitors to Edinburgh that they can experience the royal yacht for themselves.

After taking an elevator inside Ocean Terminal, you enter Britannia through what looks like a typical mall store. A massive LEGO Britannia sits in a glass case next to the ticket desk, and you walk through a gallery of images and information about the history of the ship until you reach a hallway where you collect your audio guide headset and cross a bridge outside to board the yacht.

The audio guide does an excellent job covering the different rooms and their purposes. A special children’s version of the audio tour was entertaining for my son, and they even had a Corgi hunt aboard the ship.

Children (or children-at-heart) are invited to count the stuffed dogs they see on the tour of Britannia and when you exit – through the gift shop, of course – you’ll be given a badge if you count the correct number.

You first enter the ship and see The Bridge, where the officers navigated the yacht around the world. Later in the tour, you’ll see the below decks areas where officers and crew members lived and worked, and the engine room with its gleaming brass fixtures. But most visitors are probably there to see what was the highlight of my tour: The state apartments.

Britannia is the only place you can see one of The Queen’s bedrooms since you don’t get to view these types of private rooms on the tours of Buckingham Palace or Balmoral. Both The Queen and Prince Philip slept in cosy, quite simple bedrooms with single beds (no shared room for them, but the bedrooms are connected by a door).

The only room on the ship with a double bed is the room Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales used on their honeymoon; Prince Charles had the bed specially brought in for the occasion.

Touring the state apartments the visitor gets a sense of just how normal (or as close to “normal”) life was for The Queen and her family on the yacht. Nothing here is grandiose, and The Queen and Prince Philip decorated this way specifically to make the ship feel homely and laid back, more like a country house than a palace. This also makes sense given the post-WWII period when the ship was built, when it would have been unseemly to splash out on gilded, over-the-top surroundings.

The floral sofas in the state drawing room, for example, wouldn’t look out of place in an episode of The Golden Girls. This drawing room, which could hold up to 250 people, is where the family would chat by the fire, play games, and entertain guests after dinner, and the baby grand piano in the room was played by Diana, Princess of Wales and Princess Margaret over the years.

Even the white-panelled state dining room, which is the most formal room on Britannia, is lovely but fairly simple in terms of its decor. This lets the floral centrepieces, candles, and beautiful crystal and china on the table take centre stage. You can see various artefacts from state visits around the world here, such as swords and other trinkets, and these are displayed both in glass cabinets and on the walls.

This room is now available for hire to corporations and private guests, and it must be a wonderful venue for a special event. Britannia, in fact, is where Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall held their pre-wedding cocktail party in 2011.

The teak-panelled sun lounge, overlooking the deck, was The Queen’s favourite room, and I have to agree it was mine as well. This is where Her Majesty would take breakfast and afternoon tea every day, and the family would relax and engage in hobbies such as cards or painting. Prince Philip enjoyed setting up his easel to paint, and you can see one in the corner of the room – next to the drinks cabinet.

The sun lounge overlooks the ship’s verandah deck, where the family would sunbathe, play games, dance and enjoy the sea views. I recently saw a video on a royal documentary with Prince Charles sliding across the deck on a makeshift water slide and couldn’t help but laugh as I stood on deck picturing the scene.

It’s not hard to imagine why the family enjoyed their time onboard so much, as it afforded them the moments of privacy they so rarely got to experience.

Below decks, you can view the crew’s quarters and some of the working areas. Britannia really was like a floating city, with its own post office, several pubs, a hospital wing – including operating theatre –  and a laundry room.

Fun fact: The Royal Yachtsmen, also known as “Yotties,” aboard Britannia sometimes had to change uniform up to six times a day. That being said, Britannia also was the only ship in the Royal Navy to have a laundry service permanently on board. Temperatures in the room could reach 120 degrees with the steam presses, dryers, and laundry machines constantly in use.

Before you leave the ship, I highly recommend the Royal Deck Tea Room. My family and I enjoyed a really lovely tea with amazing sea views (it didn’t hurt we were seated right by the windows).

The royal family used to use this room for entertaining and playing deck games, and with soft music playing and a vintage feel the overall vibe makes you feel like you could have been in the 1950s or 60s when Britannia was in its heyday.

Having tea and cakes here was the perfect way to end my day aboard Britannia – well, until I made my way into the gift shop. 

For more information on the Royal Yacht Britannia or to purchase tickets, visit their website .

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The Royal Yacht Britannia Has a Fascinating History—Here's Everything You Should Know

It doesn't get more majestic than Queen Elizabeth II's yacht.

Seventy years ago, the Britannia began its journey as the royal yacht for Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family of the United Kingdom. Over the next 44 years she’d travel more than a million nautical miles and, in all her glamour and old world elegance, served as a residence that welcomed state visits from all over the world and family holidays alike. Then and now, she was and is a majestic symbol of the British Commonwealth and the reign of Queen Elizabeth II .

“Britannia is special for a number of reasons,” Prince Phillip once said. “Almost every previous sovereign has been responsible for building a church, a castle, a palace or just a house. The only comparable structure in the present reign is Britannia. As such she is a splendid example of contemporary British design and technology.”

Although she retired from service in 1997, today the Britannia, one of many of the world's grandest yachts , is docked in Edinburgh, where she is open as a visitors’ attraction and host of private events. Below we give you all the Royal Yacht Britannia facts you might want to know, from who owns the yacht now to why she was decommissioned to how fast she is to how to get tickets to visit. Britannia was, after all, the one place the queen said she could “truly relax,” so why not see why for yourself?

Royal Yacht Britania Facts and History

On February 4, 1952, John Brown & Co shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland, received the order from the Admiralty to build a new Royal Yacht to travel the globe and double as a hospital ship in times of war, according to the royal yacht's website . King George VI passed away two days after, sadly, and so on April 16, 1953, the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II announced the yacht’s new name as the ship was revealed.

"I name this ship Britannia,” she said. “I wish success to her and all who sail in her." Britannia was commissioned into the Royal Navy in January 1954 and by April of that year sailed into her first overseas port: Grand Harbour, Malta.

The queen and The Duke of Edinburgh worked with interior designer Sir Hugh Casson for the ship to serve as both a functional Royal Navy vessel and an elegant royal residence. Queen Elizabeth II selected deep blue for Britannia’s hull, instead of the more traditional black. Its Naval crew included 220 Yachtsmen, 20 officers, and three season officers—plus a Royal Marines Band of 26 men during Royal Tours.

All of them might have had to change uniform up to six times a day, so the laundry service on board worked nonstop. The yacht also engaged in British overseas trade missions known as Sea Days and made an estimated £3 billion for the Exchequer between 1991 and 1995 alone.

The ship’s wheel was taken from King Edward VII’s racing yacht, also named Britannia, according to Boat International , and the 126-meter ship could reach speeds of 22.75 knots, or a seagoing cruising speed of 21 knots, according to Super Yacht Times . Other fun facts: The yacht could produce her own fresh water from sea water, and shouting was forbidden aboard to preserve tranquility, favoring hand signals for Naval orders instead.

Over the next 44 years, the Britannia would sail the equivalent of once around the world for each year, in total visiting 600 ports in 135 countries. Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones were the first of four couples to honeymoon on the ship in 1960, gifting them all privacy to sail to secluded locations. Prince Charles and Princess Diana followed in 1981 on the Mediterranean as well as Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips before them in 1973 in the Caribbean and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in 1986 in the Azores.

For family vacations aboard the ship, games, treasure hunts, plays, and picnics were organized, and on warm days the children could play in an inflatable paddling pool on the Verandah Deck.

In the Sun Lounge, the queen especially enjoyed taking breakfast and afternoon tea with views through large picture windows, a space you can see replicated in the TV show The Crown. Although no filming took place on board the Britannia for the show, researchers ensured scenes aboard it were accurate. In the queen’s bedroom, the resemblance is seen down to the decorative wall light fittings and embroidered silk panel above her bed that had been specially commissioned.

In 1997, the ship was decommissioned after the government decided the costs to refit it would be too great. On its final day in her service that followed a farewell tour around the U.K., the queen openly wept as the Band of HM Royal Marines played "Highland Cathedral."

"Looking back over 44 years we can all reflect with pride and gratitude upon this great ship which has served the country, the Royal Navy and my family with such distinction," Queen Elizabeth II said. All clocks on the ship stopped at 15:01, the exact time the Queen disembarked from the yacht for the final time, and they would remain at that time until the present.

How to Tour the Royal Yacht Britania

Today the yacht is owned by Royal Yacht Britannia Trus t, and all revenue it generates goes to the yacht’s maintenance and preservation. Ticketed entry allows you to step into state rooms like the Sun Lounge, the State Dining Room and State Drawing Room, in addition to the working side of the ship in the Crew’s Quarters, Laundry and gleaming Engine Room. Along the way you will see original artifacts from the shop—95 percent of which is on loan from The Royal Collection.

How to Visit the Royal Britania

You can visit the Britannia any day of the year on Edinburgh’s waterfront. Hours vary by season, and you can find them listed and purchase tickets on the yacht’s website . Private tours are also available, and you can visit the Royal Deck Tearoom, where the Royal Family hosted cocktail parties and receptions, for drinks, meals and scones. Additionally, the Britannia hosts special ticketed events for New Year’s and other occasions, and event spaces can be booked as well.

While you are in Edinburgh, you can also stay on the Fingal , a neighboring yacht-turned-floating-hotel, which is a seven-minute walk from the Britannia, and dine at its Lighthouse Restaurant & Bar, which serves breakfast, afternoon tea, dinner, and cocktails.

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