Meet the
MODEL DesignerS
Helping to turn Jake’s idea into an official set was a
meaningful project for LEGO® Model Designer Tiago
Catarino. “I found out soon enough that making a LEGO
ship in a bottle must be just as challenging as doing it in
real life! However, I enjoyed it every step of the way and
was very excited to be a part of the project. Ships and
the sea mean a lot to me, as historically speaking, the
Portuguese were one of the greatest maritime explorers
back in the 15th and 16th centuries.”
“I was really inspired by Jake’s original submission, and
tried as much as possible to keep the details that made
his idea such a huge success on the LEGO Ideas website.
There was room to do some crazy building techniques and
sneak in some elements in cool colors, as well as bringing
back some really old ones that we hope the fans will
enjoy!”
LEGO Graphic Designer Mark Tranter had a nostalgic
experience, too. “It was great working on the new sail. We
wanted it to resemble the flag that Jake used in his model,
with the old LEGO Castle lion emblem, so it was a lot of fun
designing a sea monster with this look in mind and trying
to give it a classic LEGO feel but with a more modern LEGO
style. I’m very happy with it.”